Page 72 of A Stormy Season

“There is one in the drawing room.”

As he led her in that direction, she said, “I only ask because it was in the longcase clock that Penelope and Henry found something that had been hidden away by Penelope’s first husband.”

“Ah, I remember hearing of that.”

“It is unlikely the list will be there, but . . .”

“It doesn’t hurt to look, and it is a good idea for a hiding place.” Luke turned into the drawing room and went to the longcase clock that stood against the wall and was almost as tall as he was.

He opened the glass case in front and looked around inside.

“While you do that, do you mind if I look around?”

“Please feel free to look anywhere.”

“I feel as though I am snooping,” Jane said, opening up a little door in a mahogany sideboard.

“Please don’t worry. I am not hiding anything, and there is nothing you will see that I would be embarrassed about.”

He said the words while his head was halfway inside the clock. He stood up and grabbed a candlestick, holding the light where he might see better inside the clock’s dark inner workings.

Jane was glad to hear he wasn’t hiding anything. She looked inside the sideboard, even feeling around at the back of it, searching for anything that felt like a piece of paper or even a crack where someone might hide a written list.

From the sideboard she moved on to the next piece of furniture, a small table which contained a drawer. Jane examined it but found only odds and ends: a candle nub, a quill pen, and a loose knob that looked to have fallen off another piece of furniture.

Luke stood and closed the clock case. “Nothing there.”

They continued searching through the drawing room, looking behind paintings on the wall and testing the floor for loose boards.

“I think we can safely say it is not in the drawing room.” Luke was staring at her. “Hold still. You have a spiderweb on your forehead.” He gently brushed her forehead with his fingers.

“Oh. Thank you. I hope my hair is not a mess.” She felt for her hairpins, hoping they were not falling out.

“You look perfect.” Luke was still staring at her.

“Shall we look in the sitting room now?” Jane turned away, her heart starting to beat fast.

Luke led the way and they did the same search they had executed in the drawing room.

As they worked their way around, Jane grew brave, as they were both focused on their tasks at opposite ends of the room. “Our conversation last night at dinner was interrupted. Do you remember what you were saying?”

He was down on his knees, looking underneath a small side table.

“I believe I was apologizing for what I’d said when we were in Hertfordshire.” He stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder at her, giving her a lopsided smile. “I was convinced then that you did not care for me a whit.”

“Why would you think that?” Jane’s heart rose into her throat. She hoped he wouldn’t answer that question.

“Well, I had proposed marriage to you and you refused me, preferring topretendwe were engaged, with the understanding that we would break it off in a few months.”

“I didn’t want you to feel obligated to me.” Her face and neck were growing hot.

He seemed to be waiting for her to continue, alternately staring down at the floor and up at her.

“We didn’t know each other very well,” she explained, “and I want to marry someone who loves me.”

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

“You cannot find fault with me for that, can you?”