And then he registered a small laugh. He snapped his gaze toward Chloe, pleased that one of them should find Jane’s antics entertaining. There was solace to at least be found in knowing she was even now packing her hideous brown skirts and apron and preparing to join the other dragons. A growl rumbled from deep within his chest. He grabbed his knife and fork and with a gleeful delight, carved the ham on his plate.
“Gabriel?”
He looked up.
A smile lined his sister’s face—mischievous and coy—and as life had taught him, all things dangerous. “I rather like her a lot.” He stilled. The wheels of his mind turned with a staggering slowness and then roared to life, spinning wildly out of control. Those words. Her enjoyment. Oh, blast, damn, and double-damn. “In fact,” Do not say it. Do not say it. “Mrs. Munroe will do splendidly as a companion.”
With that, she popped up from her seat and took her leave. Laughter trailed in her wake. Gabriel dropped his head into his hands. What had he done?
Chapter 8
Jane marched through the house. What madness had possessed her to not only return the kiss, but also crave the kiss of an insufferably arrogant, condescending, pompous lord such as Gabriel? With each step that carried her away from the breakfast room and above stairs to her private chambers, the more her fury and annoyance grew. This position posed one hope for freedom, and yet, how could she ever dare live beneath the roof of a man who’d disparage the beliefs and hopes of his sister, believing he knew what was right for her? Though if he truly knew, he’d realize that any and all gentlemen were nothing more than priggish, domineering louts who—
“Mrs. Munroe!” The breathless cry brought Jane up short and she stumbled.
She came down hard on her palms and grunted. Pain shot out from the palms of her hands.
“Oh, my!” Chloe Edgerton cried out. “Do forgive me.”
Jane’s cheeks burned with a blend of annoyance, embarrassment, and remembered fury. She sat back on her haunches when the young lady held her fingers out. She eyed her fingertips a moment and then accepted the kind offering. “Thank you,” she said shakily. She’d never possessed the grace that would have earned her a position as companion if it hadn’t been for her father’s insistence.
“Where are you off to?”
Intelligence sparked in Lady Chloe’s eyes, and yet surely, the young woman knew precisely where Jane was headed. Unless this lady, like so many before her, merely toyed with Jane the way she might a bothersome rodent “I was just returning to my chambers,” she said cautiously eying the young lady and braced for a heavy dose of gloating from the woman who no more desired Jane’s presence than Jane did the company of the shrewish Mrs. Belden. When Lady Chloe still remained silent, she added, “If you’ll pardon me, I must see to my belongings.” And either swallow my pride and contact my father or, well, was there really another option? She couldn’t very well live on the streets of London. Her gut churned at the prospect of humbling herself before the stranger who’d sired her. She made to step around the young woman.
Gabriel’s sister stepped into her path. “You are not a dragon.”
She cocked her head.
“I daresay you overheard me in the breakfast room. I referred to you as one of Mrs. Belden’s dragons and yet…” She leaned close and peered through squinted eyes, until Jane recoiled under her scrutiny. The young woman gave her head a slow shake. “And yet, I do not believe you are truly one of those dragons.”
Jane thought of the other instructors who’d honorably earned their posts at the finishing school. Always frowning, grim, and determined to train the joy and free-thought out of a young lady’s mind.
“May I walk with you?” Lady Chloe did not wait on a response. She looped her arm through Jane’s. “That was a rather splendid showing.”
Jane cast a glance back at the carpeted floor she’d stumbled upon.
The young lady squeezed her arm. “Not your fall.” She wrinkled her nose. “A fall, which was very much, in fact, my fault. Rather, your exchange with Gabriel, my brother,” she said almost as an afterthought.