Page 133 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

Lady Wynten looked surprised.

Jane smiled sadly. “I never loved him.”

Her mother studied her. “I wondered.”

Jane straightened her shoulders. “I shall marry well.”

Her mother searched her face. “You speak as though you’ve already accepted it.”

Jane considered the question. Perhaps she had.

“For you,” Jane said quietly.

Lady Wynten shook her head. “I never wanted your life decided by obligation.”

Jane cupped her mother’s hands. “You and Father gave me love. You gave me a home worth protecting. If protecting it means marrying… then I shall.”

Her mother blinked back fresh tears. “You sound so much like your father.”

Jane smiled. “I hope that’s a compliment.”

“It is.” Lady Wynten drew her into another embrace. “You have always been stronger than you realize.”

Jane rested her head against her mother’s shoulder. She wished she felt strong. Instead she felt tired. And strangely… peaceful.

Colin was alive. He had found happiness. Whatever came next, at least one impossible prayer had already been answered.

Lady Wynten finally pulled away. “You must rest.”

Jane laughed quietly. “I cannot argue.”

Her mother brushed another strand of hair behind Jane’s ear. “And Jane?”

“Yes?”

“When you write to Colin…”

Jane smiled before her mother finished. “I’ll tell him you love him.”

Lady Wynten nodded. “Tell him there has never been a day that changed. And Jane? If this husband of yours ever appears, make certain he deserves you.”

Jane’s heart gave a strange little ache. For one fleeting moment, she thought of a tall duke with steel-gray eyes. She pushed the thought away before it could settle.

“There is plenty of time for that,” she said.

She left the room wearing a calm expression. Only after the door closed behind her did she allow herself to lean against it andclose her eyes. She had promised her mother she would find a husband.

Now she only prayed her heart would remember it had made the promise before it had ever truly belonged to anyone else.

Chapter Nineteen

The first ball Jane attended after returning from the countryside felt strangely different. Nothing about the glittering ballroom had changed, and yet, her life had changed immeasurably since she had last attended such an event.

Crystal chandeliers scattered warm light across polished marble floors. Musicians performed from the gallery above while ladies drifted beneath the chandeliers in silks and satins that shimmered with every movement. Gentlemen laughed over glasses of champagne. Conversations rose and fell like gentle waves beneath the strains of a waltz.

Jane walked into the room feeling as though she had changed entirely. She paused beside her mother at the entrance while the butler announced them.

“Lady Wynten. Lady Jane.”