Free At The Stroke Of Midnight by Bethany Sefchick Page B

might be
a good idea if you continue to remain so obstinate."
    Angeline glared at Jane across the
breakfast table, as if she had somehow single handedly ruined the house
party.   Struck mute for a moment, there
was nothing Jane could say to defend herself.   However, she was also certain that Angeline did not know about Jane's
meeting with Sebastian the night before.   If she had, Jane would be in a coach traveling north at this very
moment.
    "Now, darling, do not be so
hard on the girl."   Jane could not
believe that her father was finally taking her part in things, especially not
when he had remained silent these last many years, allowing his new wife to
berate Jane at will.   "I spoke with
Tildon earlier and she was seeing about acquiring more candles for the guests
to find their rooms.   It was a small but
important thing and we all forgot, save Jane.   He was informing me this morning how much he valued her help."
    Tildon had been the butler at
Blackstone when her mother had been alive, and Jane was thankful that he was
loyal, if not to her, then to her mother's memory at the very least.   He had lied for her.   To her father.   She would have to make certain to thank him later.
    "Is that true,
Jane?"   There was suspicion in
Angeline's eyes and Jane wondered if her stepmother knew about the previous
relationship between Jane and Sebastian.   She probably did, at least if what Sebastian had told her last night was
true and she had no reason to doubt him.
    Nodding, Jane bit her lip and
prayed that Angeline had been so preoccupied by faro that she would not think
to take into account the missing hour in between the sound of the gong and the
time Jane had emerged from the back hallway to find Tildon searching in vain
for more candles so that the guests would not injure themselves as they left
the ball for their rooms.
    "It is."   Somehow she managed to find her voice and
keep it steady.   "I was checking on
another issue for a guest, a request for more hot bricks, actually, when Tildon
stopped me in the hallway.   As I know
how important this house party is to everyone, I did not want any guest to
think that we did not care about their safety.   Most of the candles are in use for the decorations, so it was a bit
difficult to locate enough.   It took
some degree of searching.   My apologies
if I was not quick enough to suit some of the guests."
    Of course, the fact that she had
still been weak-kneed and reeling from Sebastian's attentions hadn't helped,
either.   Even now, Jane could still feel
the press of his lips on her body and the way he had given her more pleasure
than she had ever known simply by suckling her breasts.
    Later, when we are well and
truly alone, you will come for me again, Jane.   And that time, I will take you as you cry out for me, my name on your
lips.
    She could still hear the heated
words Sebastian had spoken in her ear as they parted, him slipping away into
the darkness as footfalls rapidly approached in the other direction.   Even now they made her tingle in places that
a gently bred lady ought not to think about. Then again, in a few more days,
she would cease to be a gently bred lady and would sink to a middle ground
where she was neither peer nor servant.   Instead, she would be somewhere in between.   If she would not think of them now, then when?   Never, most likely.
    Jane wanted to further defend
herself, but instead sat silently, her hands in her lap, waiting for Angeline's
response.   Now was not the time to fight
back against what she viewed as years of harsh treatment.   If she kicked up a fuss, Angeline might send
her away today, before her time with Sebastian had even begun.   Her father would certainly not protect her,
this morning's light reprimand of his wife not withstanding.   That could not be allowed to happen.   Jane wanted her three days with Sebastian
and she would have them.
    "I am surprised that you did not
encounter the earl," Lizzie piped up