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There was an awkward silence. In her anger at her cousin, Jane had almost forgotten that the Earl was sitting there, listening to every word they said, taking it all in. Marianne looked uncomfortable. Jane’s face burnt deeper.
“It is a pleasant day for a walk,” said the Earl eventually. “You look refreshed, Lady Jane.”
Jane inclined her head, sipping her tea. Sitting opposite him like this, with her sister and her cousin, was very embarrassing. She couldn’t stop thinking about what he had done to her in the gardens of that house on the night of that ball. How close they had been. Now, it was as if they were polite strangers.
Here he was, the Earl of Carlisle, on a formal house visit. But then he had been Percy, a man who held her trembling body, evoking pleasure within it. A pleasure she still could not forget no matter how hard she tried. She fixed on his hand on the teacup, remembering how it had stroked the most intimate area of her body, while his mouth had been fastened around her nipple, suckling it fiercely....
“Jane.” Marianne’s voice penetrated her consciousness. “Are you quite well?”
Jane jumped. How long had she been lost in her imagination, thinking about what he had done to her? It was mortifying. Was she losing her mind entirely?
She looked at him. His dark eyes were fixed upon her face.
He knows, she thought, her heart flipping.He knows exactly what I was thinking about.
Abruptly, she stood up. It was all too much for her.
“Excuse me,” she mumbled, fleeing the room. She felt sick. What was happening to her? And for the love of God, how could she make it stop?
Chapter 27
Percy put the old key into the lock, twisting it. There was a grating sound, almost like a rattle, before the door clicked open. He walked into the house, gazing around. The builders were due to start work at Cliff Lodge today, and he wanted to talk to them, go over his plans for the place, to make sure they knew exactly what he wanted and watch the work commence.
Despite his confused state of mind and his previous conviction he must leave Seaborne, he felt a small stab of excitement. It felt good to be focusing on something other than Lady Jane Metcalfe for a change. He frowned as he walked into the drawing room, thinking how oddly she had behaved yesterday when he had called upon her home, fleeing the room.
He hadn’t been intending to call at all. He was trying his best to stay away from her. But the memory of what they had done together in that garden had been haunting him. He couldn’t get the vision of her in his arms, almost purring with pleasure, out of his mind. He had always suspected she was a passionate woman, and she hadn’t disappointed him. Her release, when it had arrived, had seemed to shock her with its intensity. It had taken all his will to not pin her to the ground and make sweet love to her and find his own release at last within the beauty of her body.
He wouldn’t have done that to her, of course. Letting herself go the way she had with him had been hard enough for her, and he wasn’t about to take her virginity on the ground while a ball carried on around them.
He had tried to reassure her afterwards when she had felt shame for it, but he wasn’t sure he had been successful. She was a well-brought-up, proper lady after all, and more than likely, ignorant that women could experience pleasure at all in that way. It must have been a huge shock for her.
He had wanted to talk to her when he had seen her at the church after Sunday service, but she disappeared before he could. That was why he had felt compelled to make the house call. But when he had arrived, she wasn’t home. Apparently, she was out on a solitary walk.
Ηe had smothered his disappointment and tried to make the best of it, talking with Marianne and Lucy, who had batted her eyelashes at him the whole time, almost simpering. When Jane had finally arrived, he had been relieved in more ways than one.
His frown deepened as he thought of the small spat between Jane and Lucy. Jane’s cousin seemed to be questioning the honesty of what she was saying about where she had walked. But why?
There was a sudden knock at the back door. Percy was startled, then collected himself. The builders were here. Firmly, he pushed all thoughts of Jane away. He had a home to renovate. It really did feel good to have a purpose today. Praise the Lord.
***
Jane gripped her sketchbook tightly to her chest as she navigated the steep steps to the top of the cliff. The wind was blowing a gale today. With her other hand, she tightened her bonnet. It was in danger of being whipped off her head. Perhaps she shouldn’t have headed out for a walk in these conditions, but she was loathe to turn back now.
She gritted her teeth, almost fighting the wind, feeling like it was pushing against her, intent on making her tumble back down the path. She didn’t want to return home yet. Lucy was having an exceptionally busy morning.
Suitor after suitor was calling upon her, and the drawing room had been awash with flowers and stilted conversation. Jane had slipped out, murmuring to Marianne that she wouldn’t be long. Her sister had frowned but hadn’t forced her to stay.
Jane didn’t know why she had decided to take this walk rather than her usual one on the beach. She told herself it was because she wanted to finish the sketch of the view from the cliff, but that wasn’t the real reason. She wanted to see Cliff Lodge. Somehow, being near the house reminded her of the Earl. The day they had illicitly wandered through the house together.
She knew she was being a foolish woman, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She trulywasin the grip of some strange madness, swinging from one mood to another, unable to settle upon anything.
As soon as she resolved to avoid him, the next minute, she was doing this. But she consoled herself that she was only seeking the house. He wasn’t going to be there. He had told her that he was having the house renovated before he moved in.
Finally, she reached the top. The wind was even stronger up here, swirling violently. She saw branches on trees bending and swaying, threatening to break beneath the onslaught. She cast her eyes towards the sea. It was fierce and choppy, with waves so large it sounded like thunder when they crashed against the beach. Jane bit her lip. She hoped no ships would wreak against the rocks in this wild weather.
She turned her back to it, gazing at the house. To her shock, it was a hive of activity. Workmen were scurrying everywhere, carrying buckets and tools. A scaffold had been set up around the front of the property. Thankfully there were no tradesmen on the scaffold—they must have prudently decided that it was too risky in this weather. And standing on the front porch was the owner himself, overseeing everything.
“’Tis blowing a gale!” cried one man, as his hat whipped off his head. He turned to the Earl. “We might not get much done today. I will not put my men at risk, my lord. One of those branches could come off and make short work of them.”
