Page 35 of A Troublesome Circumstance

Josephine forced a polite smile as she walked towards Charlotte, acutely aware of every step and of Jude’s gaze lingering on her back. Her gloves felt too tight, her heart still pounding from the nearness that had so suddenly evaporated.

Once they were a safe distance away, Charlotte leaned closer and murmured under her breath, “You must forgive the intrusion, but truly, if we had arrived a moment later, I daresay you might have scandalized the entire household.”

Josephine’s breath caught in mortified shock. “I am not quite sure what you are referring to.”

Charlotte’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “I think you are. One would think we were in a gothic novel instead of the countryside.”

“Nothing untoward happened,” Josephine whispered fiercely, her blush deepening.

“No, of course it didn’t. But I have eyes. And I think I understand more than you realize.”

By the time they reached the drawing room, Josephine had schooled her expression into polite composure, the mask she had worn countless times before. But inside, her thoughts were tangled and aching.

What would have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted?

She knew the answer. Nothing would have happened. Nothing could happen. Jude was a gamekeeper. She was a lady. The world they each inhabited might as well have been divided by oceans.

The sooner she left this place, the better.

It was the only way to protect her heart—before it betrayed her entirely.

Jude watched Josephine walk away, the morning sun glinting against the loose strands of hair that had escaped her coiffure. He wanted to call after her, to say something—anything—that might dispel the tension lingering between them, but the sharp clearing of a throat stopped him cold.

He turned.

Luca stood a few paces away, arms folded across his chest, his expression a mixture of disapproval and brotherly exasperation. “Do you care to explain what that was about?”

Jude exhaled, setting down the pistol he’d been holding. “I was merely instructing Josephine on how to shoot.”

“Lady Josephine,” Luca responded pointedly. “You are being far too familiar with a young woman you have only just met.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Jude said, “but you seem to forget that I do not answer to you.”

Luca’s brows drew together. “What would have happened if Charlotte and I had not interrupted you just now?”

“Nothing.”

“It certainly did not look like nothing.”

“Then your eyes deceive you,” Jude replied, his voice tight.

Luca sighed in that long-suffering way of his. “If you are interested in pursuing Lady Josephine⁠—”

“I intend to do no such thing.”

“Then why,” Luca countered, “do you insist on spending every waking moment with her? It is not even breakfast, and yet you have managed to see her?”

Jude reached for another pistol from the table, aimed at a nearby target, and fired. The sound echoed through the clearing. “You are reading too much into it. It was entirely innocent.”

“Jude—”

He placed the pistol back down with deliberate calm. “Is this interrogation over?”

“It is not an interrogation,” Luca returned, though his tone suggested otherwise. “Merely a conversation. I am worried about you.”

“Do not be.”

Luca hesitated, then said with mock solemnity, “I will admit it is a relief. For a time, I was not entirely certain you even liked women.”