Free The Jacobite's Return (The Georgian Rebel Series) by Jane Godman

looks cheerful enough to me.” There was a touch of acidity in Rosie’s voice.
    “Ah, that is exactly what he would have us believe,” Perry informed her. “The lady who secures my friend Jack’s heart will be most fortunate. His nature is such that he will, I believe, remain true to her throughout his life.”
    “’Tis a happy circumstance that there is no such lady.” She didn’t know if Perry was being inquisitive, or if he might be Jack’s messenger. She did not believe Jack would lightly let go of the matter of why she had married Clive. Rosie watched as Jack’s partner presented him with a flower from her breast, and he kissed it reverently before placing it in his buttonhole. “It leaves Jack free to play the field. At which, you must admit, he seems most adept.”
    “Shall we stop talking in riddles? I don’t know what has transpired between you and Jack, but I believe whatever it was left him heartbroken. At a time when his heart was not in a good place anyway. All this is an extravagant charade intended to show the world that he has moved on from his rebellious past. I do not believe it means he has moved on from you.”
    He gestured to where Jack could be seen, in full view of the whole room, taking turns to sip from a glass of champagne with yet another simpering debutante. “Don’t you?” She raised an incredulous eyebrow.
    Rosie was aware of Perry following the direction of her gaze. “He may not be helping his cause at this precise moment, but if ever I am in any kind of trouble, there is one man above all others I would trust to get me out of it.”
    “Jack?”
    “There is no better friend in the world, I assure you. And I have more reason than any to know it.” Their hostess came along at that moment to claim the dance Perry had promised her, and he rose. Bowing in his unique, exquisite way, he said in an undertone. “Think about what I have said. Appearances can be deceptive.”
    Rosie watched Perry depart. She wished he hadn’t spoken, hadn’t raised, however briefly, a spark of hope in her heart. This was the outcome she wanted, the one she had been forced to seek. Jack had to move on from her. But there had been a dangerous moment in the conversation. Perry’s probing had touched a nerve. She couldn’t risk anyone getting close. Only Clive knew the full extent of her secrets. It was how he was able to blackmail her. Harry knew the part that concerned him, of course. There were times when she thought Tom guessed some, even all, of the rest. It was up to her to make sure no-one else, especially Jack, ever discovered more.

Chapter Five
    Jack was lost in thought as he strolled along one of the many lakeside paths in St. James’s Park. Fashionably dressed crowds flowed aimlessly around him, and lines of hedges receded into the distance. Across a view made up of fields and trees, he could see Westminster Abbey. He had been hailed by so many acquaintances that he was regretting his decision to take the air. London at the height of the Season was not the place for quiet introspection. He was starting out for home when a body suddenly hurled itself at him from a side path, knocking him almost off his feet. He paused in the act of reaching for his sword when he realised that the body in question was not human and it certainly meant him no harm.
    “Get down, Beau,” he said firmly.
    Panting wildly with excitement, the dog stopped leaping up and trying to lick his face. Instead, Beau sat and waved a paw in an ecstasy of fawning delight.
    Looking up from patting the euphoric dog, Jack saw Harry Delacourt standing a few feet away, regarding him with a hopeful, wary look on his young face.
    “Hello, scamp.” A relieved smile flitted across the boy’s face. How like Rosie he was! And why the devil did everything have to come back to her?
    “Rosie told me that you were alive. I was never so glad of anything, I can tell you.” Harry came over and shook Jack’s outstretched hand eagerly.