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Chapter One

Cavell Court, Dorset, February 1833

“Lord Garson has called, my lady”

Her butler’s announcee desk in the library where once her late father, Lord Sefton, had sat to run his estates Paper littered every surface, as she sorted through the archives She supposed she could leave this massive task for her cousin Felix, when he took over next ation had her deterood order

“Garson is here?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise

Hugh Rutherford, Baron Garson, had known her since she was toddling, although in recent years, he’d rarely visited this isolated manor house in the West Country She’d last seen hio, when he attended her father’s funeral

“Yes, s said “Are you at home to visitors this afternoon?”

“I suppose so” Jane cast a rueful glance at her shabby gray frock, with its creases and ink stains She wasn’t dressed to receive one of the ton’s darlings “Did he say what he wanted?”

“I’m afraid not”

She should change into a reeted her guest Although she was unhappily aware that whether she combed her hair or not, she rehter

Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself, Jane Norris “Would you please show his lordship into the drawing roos, and say I’ll be with hie some refreshments”

Once Billings had gone, instead of dashing upstairs, she stared sightlessly at an account for some bonnets for her mother Given her mother had been dead nearly twenty years, she could safely throw it away But she held it in front of her, as her mind raced with conjecture Garson? Here? Why? It couldn’t be a casual call Nobody was ever just passing Cavell Court was out of the way, and the roads leading to it were frightful, especially during a bad winter like this one

With a sigh, Jane rose and smoothed her hair, confined in a loose knot that she feared wasevery scrap of paper that crossed his desk frequently h her hair in frustration

Once she finished with these papers, she’d completed her last duty at the estate The task felt like soh to let her spend her six rown up in The reprieve gave her a chance to say goodbye to the only home she’d ever known, before she ventured into an unknown future She also said a final farewell to the father she loved and missed, whatever his faults For over a decade, she’d acted as his right hand, busy and purposeful Now the tily aimless

At least Garson’s visit ht distract her from the constant round of sorrow and worry Lately she felt like she trudged through an endless rief Lately? She’d had ten lonely years of shouldering the burdens of the estate and caring for her ill father No wonder she was so tired, she felt like crying

When Jane caown, and her hair was scraped back into a bun She crossed the hall to the drawing room The watery sun lit a space croith heavy, old-fashioned furniture Jane suspected the new Lady Sefton would consign s to the bonfire

Standing in profile to her was Lord Garson, the son of her father’s best friend Six years older than her Rich Handsoentleman

And notorious as the land