Free The Highwayman by Catherine Reynolds Page B

rogue.’“
    Alice’s lovely blue eyes widened innocently. “But that is what Papa calls the highwayman.”
    Jane refrained from saying that the squire should not be using such language in his daughter’s presence. But since it was not, thank heaven, a part of her job to try to change the father’s ways, she only said, “That may very well be. But men are free to say and do a great many things which are not at all proper for a lady.”
    Alice put her hands on her hips and said indignantly, “Well, it all seems very silly to me, and not at all fair.”
    Jane had difficulty suppressing a smile as she suddenly thought of how Jon would laugh at that when she told him. Yes, and most likely agree wholeheartedly. But before she could answer, another girl, scarcely older than Alice, entered the house. From her mode of dress, and demeanor, it was not difficult to guess that this was Alice’s abigail.
    Jane regarded the newcomer with a mixture of relief and chagrin: relief, because she knew that if Elsie were forced to wait upon Alice, she would no doubt leave in a huff before the day was out; chagrin because every additional person in the house made it more difficult to keep Jon’s presence a secret.
    Doing her best to force that worry from her mind, she spent much of the morning getting Alice settled in, which was no easy chore. The amount of baggage the girl had brought with her made it necessary to prepare a larger chamber than had originally been planned for her use. And with only Elsie to help her, since Agatha was kept occupied in trying to entertain Alice, Jane was obliged to do most of the work.
    In addition, she was called out to tend one of her tenants for a stomach complaint which proved to be no more than a touch of dyspepsia, easily relieved. The performance of this small service took up the remainder of the morning.
    By noon, Jane was exhausted and longing to escape her seemingly endless tasks to see how Jon fared. With that object in mind, immediately after their nuncheon, she set her reluctant young charge to reading a book entitled Correct Conduct and Manners for Young Females. Only then did she feel it safe to look in on her patient.
    Slipping through the door of his chamber a few minutes later and closing it quickly behind her, she felt distressingly like a sneak-thief.
    But Jon seemed not to notice her furtiveness as be looked up and said, “Where the devil have you been? I wished to discuss these....” He stopped, and a slow smile spread over his face before he broke into laughter. “Good God, woman! What has happened to you? You look as if you had been dragged through the brush backwards.”
    Jane’s hands flew to her hair. Sure enough, her cap was missing, and most of her hair seemed to have come loose from its usual neat arrangement. She spent only a moment in trying to smooth it, however, deciding that as he had already seen her like this, it was too late to do anything about it. Instead, she sank down wearily onto the bedside chair and began to tell him about Alice and her agreement with the squire to take his daughter into her home for a short time, and to coach that rather lively young lady in how to conduct herself in Society.
    When she reached the point in her story concerning Alice’s unexpected arrival, she discovered that she had been perfectly right. He did laugh, and he agreed with Alice’s views on the unfairness of propriety. Amazingly, Jane found herself laughing with him. For he had also listened to her tale with interest and sympathized with her plight when she expressed doubts over the enormity of the task before her. In any event, she felt immensely better after she had unburdened herself.
    He reached out to touch her hand when she was done. “Poor honey,” he said, and Jane nearly melted at the endearment as well as at his touch.
    Despising herself for blushing again, she looked away. “Yes, well, I suppose I have only myself to blame.”
    “I’ll not argue with you