Now I’ve invited her to the opera at Mother’s request. Even if I wanted to shy away from this duty, I cannot. It has already begun.
As he neared his home, Nathaniel felt both pleasure and pain at the thought of the evening. He was eager to sit near Lady Jane and perhaps help her open up a bit more. But at the same time, he would have to work hard to hide from her what he really needed out of their arrangement.
***
At his hotel, Edward threw back a glass of whisky, and nearly slammed it onto the table in his room. He was staring down at the latest document from his clerk in France. There was hardly any money left. His father had a small bundle of it through a bit of investing that he’d done, and he’d left it to Edward upon hispassing. But he’d also always told Edward that he should work hard to get what was rightfully his.
“He always thought he was better than me, as the eldest and the heir. Father always treated him better, too.” His father had become quite angry on his deathbed, spouting out curses against his brother and telling Edward only a little of what had passed between them.
“I suppose it is only right that he didn't have a son for it’s what he deserved, the blackguard, and now it will all be yours. All you need to do is find a way to get that money. It is yours by right. He is only leaving it to his daughter to spite us both, thinking that we were better off crawling on our bellies through the gutter.”
Edward had listened intently as his father had spoken, and the diatribes continued until they lessened just before he breathed out his last breath. When he was younger, Edward had not paid much attention to his father's anger at his brother. But as he’d gotten older, and he'd learned more and more, he was angry for his father and for himself.
He was the one that deserved to gain his uncle’s title and wealth. He was the closest living relative, after all. And now that his father died, hating his brother to his very last breath, Edward had slowly become more and more furious. With his father’s death in France, he had become nothing, despite the title. He had gained debt upon debt as well as a bad reputation for not paying his bills.
And so, he’d buried his father, made plans to somehow return to England and to get what was rightfully his. He stood from the table in his room and poured himself another glass of whisky. What did it matter? The bills would come to his door, and by the time they did, he was determined to have the money.
All I need to do is convince her that we would be perfect together. Combining our families, combining the title and the wealth that goes with it. She seems a sensible girl.
He took a sip, a little grin on his face.Sensible and quiet. I think I'll like that. Very biddable. Just the kind of woman for me.
He went to stare out of the window at the busy London streets below. He would do his best to become a part of the season and gain as many invitations as possible. Lady Barnet would likely help him in that regard. He had at least enough money to provide the sheen of respectability and wealth for a little while.
It will be so simple. I will charm her, and she will be mine. And then we will see who is better after all.
He finished off the whiskey and went to get dressed. He would be paying his first official call to Lady Jane that evening.
Chapter 12
Nervous about her time at the opera, Jane had dressed early, and she was waiting down in the entryway for Iris to join her. She was pacing back and forth, her long, white gloves hanging between her fingers as she tried to calm herself. This didn’t feel like something she would do, go to the opera with a gentleman. She would much rather have stayed in for the evening to look up at the stars, to read a little, to sketch.
But this is Lord Balwood. It’s different. You want to go with him? You haven’t been able to stop thinking of him since.
That might have been far truer than she wished. As she paced, she tried to think about what she could discuss that evening with Lord Balwood and his family in their private box. It was hard enough to speak to any handsome man around her age. But it was even harder with him. When he looked at her, her thoughts seemed to disappear.
Margaret would be much better at this.
She might have asked her friend what to do when she came to visit earlier that afternoon, but Margaret had been too full of smug delight to be helpful. She laughed and encouraged and chatted away with Aunt Sarah about the evening ahead while Jane had merely sunk deeper and deeper into the couch, hoping Lord Balwood had not noticed her intense attraction to him.
On the wall, her eyes caught on a portrait of her parents. She stood in front of it for a moment, and she could feel the tension easing a bit. Sometimes she could not remember their faces, and it made her feel so guilty that she hurried to look at any paintings they had of them.
Such love they had between them. Love I might have wished for myself.
But after the loss of her mother, her father had turned into someone she didn't recognize. He had been bitter and angry, drowning in his grief and taking it out on everyone. Love had often sounded so beautiful to her, but if it could make someone act like he had, unable to function and to live and to find happiness because of her death, then Jane wasn't sure she wanted it.
She was so intent on looking at the picture that she didn't notice someone had entered the room until they stood right beside her, shoulder to shoulder.
“Ah, what a lovely picture this is my uncle and aunt, I presume.”
Jane gasped, turning to look at Edward. At first, she thought it had been Lord Balwood come early and silently. She was a little relieved that it was not.
“Oh yes,” she replied, quickly curtsying. “Good to see you, Lord Claridge. I’m sorry I did not hear you come in.”
“Ah, the butler said something, but you did not turn.”
Jane colored. “Forgive me, Mr. Minton,” she said to the kindly butler, who only gave her a wink before he reached for Edward’s hat and gloves.
“No matter, I’m sure. And you must call me Edward, please.” He grinned and continued staring at the painting. “You lost your mother first, I understand. And then it was just you and your father.”
