“Why isn’t Matthew on the list?”
“Why waste the ink? You always cross him out.” Mother sipped her wine. Eyes conflicted, she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.
“Unflattering rumors are circulating about the two of you. The gossips did not take kindly to your actions last night,” she said. “I want you to limit your interactions with him. I have pre-filled your dance card to avoid any mishaps like last night.”
“You had no right to do that! You told me I could dance with whoever I wanted, or not at all,” Jasmine snapped. “And you arenotgoing to limit my interactions with my friends. I’m not a child. I’ll talk to Matthew whenever I wish.”
“Even to your detriment?” Mother’s expression firmed. “If you aren’t careful, your association with him will ruin your prospects of a good match.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a good match!” Jasmine protested. “The rightman wouldn’t care!”
“Where is thisright man?” Mother made a show of looking from one side of the room to another. “I don’t see him, and I have spent years trying to find him for you!”
“What if Matthew is the right man?” The words left her mouth, but before they could take root in her heart, she continued pragmatically, “You told me that love can grow. And we already love each other, even if it’s not the same. Even if he has to be convinced to marry me…” Jasmine squeezed her eyes closed and whispered, “At least he’ll treat me kindly.”
Mother sighed and faced her.
“There is much you do not know about Matthew Cooper. I cannot allow you to marry him. He has a reputation with women. There are rumors he’sviolent, Jasmine. Bare-knuckle boxing at the St. Giles Rookery for fun. He’s unpredictable. You’ve been away for so long—”
“That was your suggestion! Cassandra told me he needed time.Youtold me he needed time! I come home to an entirely different world, and now he’s not an option at all?”Tears formed in her eyes, and she swallowed hard. “I don’t care what gossips say, and you shouldn’t either! The Coopers call youAunt.” She took a shuddering breath. “What happened to my mother who would defend them to her dying breath?”
“I love them, Jasmine. All three of them, as if they were my own children—”
“Then you wouldn’t allow others to treat them like dogs! You should have seen them today, Mother! It was disgusting!”
“Their reputations are not salvageable. I have tried. You cannot change the minds of thetonwhen a person is branded a murderer. You cannot force others to be comfortable with it. And yes, it’s unfair—”
“He acted in Cassandra’s defense!”
“And it doesn’t matter!” Mother snapped. “Because there is noproof!”
Jasmine paused and blinked. “What do you mean there’s no proof? Lord Blackmoor proved it.”
Mother met her gaze outright.
“Don’t be naïve, Jasmine. Lord Blackmoor controls the police. He’s Cassandra’s brother-in-law and the son of Matthew’s employer. He conducted theonlyinvestigation, and it was rushed and sloppy.”
“There were witnesses. There was a journal—”
“With wet ink,” Mother said succinctly. “And handwriting that didn’t match.”
With one heavy swallow, Mother finished the last of her wine, then set the empty glass on the vanity.
A chill seeped under Jasmine’s skin, and she stepped back, holding onto the dressing table for support. The list crumpled under her palm. “That isn’t possible.”
The newspapers said Sir Reginald had planned Cassandra’s murder for months. He wrote about it extensively in a journal, which was as good as a confession from a dead man. It kept Matthew from being hanged. If someone forged it…
“You’re wrong.” Jasmine shook her head. “It was accepted as evidence. Duke Kendall vouched for it.”
“And now Matthew is his favorite drinking companion.” Mother put her hand on her hip. “What would you have said, had it been Cassandra facing the gallows?”
Jasmine’s mind went blank. She stared at her mother, not recognizing her. Her chest clenched painfully. It wasn’t possible, and yet, there was no other explanation for Mother’s words and her treatment.
“You think they’re lying.”
Mother’s eyes darted away for a second before she recovered andhuffed. “Of course not.”
“Yes, you do! You think that Cassandra, Seth, and Matthew are lying about what happened,” Jasmine accused, jabbing her finger at her mother. “Matthew wouldnotmurder a man in cold blood!”
