said.
And without another word, she stalked away from him, feeling decidedly unnerved.
Chapter Six
With a footman in tow, Janice returned to the house furious at herself. It appeared
that kissing a groom and wanting to do it again because he’d saved a darling puppy
was a more complicated scenario than she’d ever imagined. There was nothing easy about
the charming Luke Callahan. He posed a threat that she wasn’t sure she understood.
Think about the pups!
She tried; she really did. But instead of focusing on images of tiny wet noses and
scrabbling paws, her mind slid to recollections of Luke Callahan’s chiseled mouth,
his strong back, and the way he lowered himself in the straw on muscular haunches
to cradle a limp puppy in his hands.
Janice actually smiled to herself thinking of how he’d appeared when the near-dead
puppy stirred. Mr. Callahan had been shocked and pleased—and there was a brief moment
when tenderness appeared around his eyes, in the curve of his lips.
It had done something to Janice’s heart, that look. She’d felt an ache like nothing
she’d ever known, a desire to touch that tenderness—
To touch him.
He’d charmed her thoroughly. But in the end, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t to
be trusted. And yet … she couldn’t help being drawn to him, even so.
Perhaps it was his honesty—she’d take an honest scoundrel over a sly one any day,
she supposed.
But what did that say about her, that she was attracted to a rogue of the worst sort, a self-confessed one who teased
her one minute and pushed her away the next?
When she entered Halsey House, she was still seething as the butler took her coat
and bonnet. The hounds sniffed her up and down. They smelled dog. And hay.
The butler shooed them away. “Everyone’s gone off to the billiard room,” he informed
her quietly.
“I think I’ll seek out the duchess, then.” Janice had yet to freshen up, but it was
time to visit Her Grace—the sooner the better. She’d most certainly take Janice’s
mind off what had happened in the stables.
“Your chaperone, Mrs. Friday, is putting away her things,” the butler said. “She’ll
be down for dinner.”
“Oh. Very good.” The news was a boost to Janice’s spirits. Mrs. Friday’s presence
would make everything easier.
A maid led Janice up the enormous staircase, down two long corridors upstairs and
around several corners, and finally across a balcony running the length of the ballroom.
“Almost there, my lady.”
“Goodness, the duchess appears far removed from the rest of the household,” Janice
said, and surreptitiously smoothed down her skirt. She didn’t know why she should
feel so nervous. She knew eccentric people. London abounded with them. This woman
couldn’t be any more eccentric than they.
“In her own wing, she is,” said the maid.
“Why is that?”
“The duke said it’s for her own protection. He thinks the quiet is good for her.”
Was quiet beneficial for a person who didn’t live in her own mind? Shouldn’t there
be distractions? Familiar sights and sounds? “I suppose the doctor agreed,” Janice
said.
“I have no idea if one’s been consulted.” The maid eyed her balefully. “This is a family matter, the duke told us, and we’re to remain silent about it.”
Janice refused to cringe. So she’d been caught fishing, but who could blame her? She’d
been invited by the dowager, and she had a right to know something of what was going
on.
Surely a doctor had been consulted if Her Grace’s condition was so dire. Janice felt
a sudden sense of urgency to see her. This is why you’re here, she thought, to check on this woman. Not to win a duke. And definitely not to daydream about kissing
a groom.
Her heart lifted. Perhaps the complications she’d faced here would quickly fade away
if she could be of real use. She hadn’t felt truly useful to anyone since Mama had
And without another word, she stalked away from him, feeling decidedly unnerved.
Chapter Six
With a footman in tow, Janice returned to the house furious at herself. It appeared
that kissing a groom and wanting to do it again because he’d saved a darling puppy
was a more complicated scenario than she’d ever imagined. There was nothing easy about
the charming Luke Callahan. He posed a threat that she wasn’t sure she understood.
Think about the pups!
She tried; she really did. But instead of focusing on images of tiny wet noses and
scrabbling paws, her mind slid to recollections of Luke Callahan’s chiseled mouth,
his strong back, and the way he lowered himself in the straw on muscular haunches
to cradle a limp puppy in his hands.
Janice actually smiled to herself thinking of how he’d appeared when the near-dead
puppy stirred. Mr. Callahan had been shocked and pleased—and there was a brief moment
when tenderness appeared around his eyes, in the curve of his lips.
It had done something to Janice’s heart, that look. She’d felt an ache like nothing
she’d ever known, a desire to touch that tenderness—
To touch him.
He’d charmed her thoroughly. But in the end, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t to
be trusted. And yet … she couldn’t help being drawn to him, even so.
Perhaps it was his honesty—she’d take an honest scoundrel over a sly one any day,
she supposed.
But what did that say about her, that she was attracted to a rogue of the worst sort, a self-confessed one who teased
her one minute and pushed her away the next?
When she entered Halsey House, she was still seething as the butler took her coat
and bonnet. The hounds sniffed her up and down. They smelled dog. And hay.
The butler shooed them away. “Everyone’s gone off to the billiard room,” he informed
her quietly.
“I think I’ll seek out the duchess, then.” Janice had yet to freshen up, but it was
time to visit Her Grace—the sooner the better. She’d most certainly take Janice’s
mind off what had happened in the stables.
“Your chaperone, Mrs. Friday, is putting away her things,” the butler said. “She’ll
be down for dinner.”
“Oh. Very good.” The news was a boost to Janice’s spirits. Mrs. Friday’s presence
would make everything easier.
A maid led Janice up the enormous staircase, down two long corridors upstairs and
around several corners, and finally across a balcony running the length of the ballroom.
“Almost there, my lady.”
“Goodness, the duchess appears far removed from the rest of the household,” Janice
said, and surreptitiously smoothed down her skirt. She didn’t know why she should
feel so nervous. She knew eccentric people. London abounded with them. This woman
couldn’t be any more eccentric than they.
“In her own wing, she is,” said the maid.
“Why is that?”
“The duke said it’s for her own protection. He thinks the quiet is good for her.”
Was quiet beneficial for a person who didn’t live in her own mind? Shouldn’t there
be distractions? Familiar sights and sounds? “I suppose the doctor agreed,” Janice
said.
“I have no idea if one’s been consulted.” The maid eyed her balefully. “This is a family matter, the duke told us, and we’re to remain silent about it.”
Janice refused to cringe. So she’d been caught fishing, but who could blame her? She’d
been invited by the dowager, and she had a right to know something of what was going
on.
Surely a doctor had been consulted if Her Grace’s condition was so dire. Janice felt
a sudden sense of urgency to see her. This is why you’re here, she thought, to check on this woman. Not to win a duke. And definitely not to daydream about kissing
a groom.
Her heart lifted. Perhaps the complications she’d faced here would quickly fade away
if she could be of real use. She hadn’t felt truly useful to anyone since Mama had
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