while and then… But no, he said to himself impatiently, if the danger was removed then no doubt she would want to return to her life in London, and who was he to stop her? He had effectively behaved no less callously than his father, taking her virginity and risking the ruin of her reputation even while withholding information from her. She deserved better than one such as him. In truth, as magical as their lovemaking had been, he now felt wretched.
For Jasper was a spy, working for the Crown against the French, and his lifestyle was not one that lent itself to love and domesticity. They were things he had never thought were meant for him, having known little love growing up or ever witnessed it between his parents.
Somehow meeting Amelia was changing everything he had ever thought to be true. Being back at Glendir had at first seemed like the perfect cover, giving him the chance to monitor the smugglers’ trails while he waited for the information he needed to finally catch Horatio, but being here and finding that his tenants may in fact need him had seemed a heavy burden. He had been longing to return to France, but now that he had had a glimpse of an alternative future… Jasper stopped walking and stared up at the clear blue sky where a lone kestrel soared. He wondered idly if it were an omen, the kestrel showing his own path in life, when another appeared and flew alongside it.
Foolish
, he told himself, but he continued to watch them as they flew together past the horizon.
* * *
He did not hear Amelia’s scream as she walked back to Trevan House and straight into the arms of the man she thought she had escaped.
Her heart sank as she saw Horatio, along with a man she did not recognize, but who was certainly not any man of the nobility, judging by his rough clothes and the jagged scar down one cheek. Horatio of course looked as slick as ever, his smile cruel as he took in Amelia’s dishevelled appearance.
‘What are you doing here?’ she gasped, ‘How dare you just walk into my house!’
Horatio walked towards her as if she hadn’t spoken, raising a hand to touch her cheek, and Amelia flinched away, glaring at him, her heart squeezing as if in a vice as she thought of all that Madeleine and Jasper had said about the man in front of her.
Jasper. She must not mention him to Horatio. Composing herself, she straightened her shoulders and looked firmly at the despicable man before her.
‘If you came to convince me to accept your proposal, I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted trip,’ she said stiffly, her heart pounding in her chest. ‘I have not changed my mind. I intend to remain unwed.’
Horatio simply sneered at her and pulled a letter from his pocket. ‘This, my dear, is from your father. He intended to mail it, but I thought I would save some time and deliver it myself. It will, I think, quite change your mind.’
Amelia opened the letter, her hands shaking. The letter was brief and to the point, yet also surprisingly contrite, not a gesture she had expected from him. Her father was in greater debt than she had known, seriously so in fact, and only her marriage to Lord Winters could keep him out of gaol and her from disgrace. A wealth of emotions surged through Amelia as she took in this new knowledge. Relief that her father had not simply tried to force her into marriage for the prestige, horror at the realization that this was why he had been so ready to hand her over to a man she loathed, and then, settling in her gut like a stone, came anger at Horatio’s manipulation of him. She thrust the letter back at Horatio.
‘No.’
His brow furrowed. Behind him, his man had spied Sally hovering near the kitchen door and was looking at her lecherously. Amelia stepped towards them, only to have Horatio grab her arm, gripping it hard enough to bruise.
‘What did you say?’ he hissed at her, his features twisted into ugliness by his expression.
‘I said, no. My father and I will have to find another
For Jasper was a spy, working for the Crown against the French, and his lifestyle was not one that lent itself to love and domesticity. They were things he had never thought were meant for him, having known little love growing up or ever witnessed it between his parents.
Somehow meeting Amelia was changing everything he had ever thought to be true. Being back at Glendir had at first seemed like the perfect cover, giving him the chance to monitor the smugglers’ trails while he waited for the information he needed to finally catch Horatio, but being here and finding that his tenants may in fact need him had seemed a heavy burden. He had been longing to return to France, but now that he had had a glimpse of an alternative future… Jasper stopped walking and stared up at the clear blue sky where a lone kestrel soared. He wondered idly if it were an omen, the kestrel showing his own path in life, when another appeared and flew alongside it.
Foolish
, he told himself, but he continued to watch them as they flew together past the horizon.
* * *
He did not hear Amelia’s scream as she walked back to Trevan House and straight into the arms of the man she thought she had escaped.
Her heart sank as she saw Horatio, along with a man she did not recognize, but who was certainly not any man of the nobility, judging by his rough clothes and the jagged scar down one cheek. Horatio of course looked as slick as ever, his smile cruel as he took in Amelia’s dishevelled appearance.
‘What are you doing here?’ she gasped, ‘How dare you just walk into my house!’
Horatio walked towards her as if she hadn’t spoken, raising a hand to touch her cheek, and Amelia flinched away, glaring at him, her heart squeezing as if in a vice as she thought of all that Madeleine and Jasper had said about the man in front of her.
Jasper. She must not mention him to Horatio. Composing herself, she straightened her shoulders and looked firmly at the despicable man before her.
‘If you came to convince me to accept your proposal, I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted trip,’ she said stiffly, her heart pounding in her chest. ‘I have not changed my mind. I intend to remain unwed.’
Horatio simply sneered at her and pulled a letter from his pocket. ‘This, my dear, is from your father. He intended to mail it, but I thought I would save some time and deliver it myself. It will, I think, quite change your mind.’
Amelia opened the letter, her hands shaking. The letter was brief and to the point, yet also surprisingly contrite, not a gesture she had expected from him. Her father was in greater debt than she had known, seriously so in fact, and only her marriage to Lord Winters could keep him out of gaol and her from disgrace. A wealth of emotions surged through Amelia as she took in this new knowledge. Relief that her father had not simply tried to force her into marriage for the prestige, horror at the realization that this was why he had been so ready to hand her over to a man she loathed, and then, settling in her gut like a stone, came anger at Horatio’s manipulation of him. She thrust the letter back at Horatio.
‘No.’
His brow furrowed. Behind him, his man had spied Sally hovering near the kitchen door and was looking at her lecherously. Amelia stepped towards them, only to have Horatio grab her arm, gripping it hard enough to bruise.
‘What did you say?’ he hissed at her, his features twisted into ugliness by his expression.
‘I said, no. My father and I will have to find another
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