Page 19 of A Stormy Season

“Sh,” Penelope cautioned, a look of alarm on her face.

When Jane turned around, Mr. Watley was stopping behind her with two cups of lemonade.

“Oh, thank you,” she gushed, the air rushing out of her. He hadn’t heard what she’d said, had he? She felt sick at the thought. But why should she worry? He’d only danced with her to get away from Miss Trotworthy. He couldn’t be offended.

She hadn’t danced with himonlyto get away from Mr. Showalter. She danced with him because she wanted to dance with him, because he was kind and gentlemanly and interesting and very handsome. But she couldn’t say that.

He handed her one of the cups of lemonade and offered the other to Penelope.

“Oh, thank you!” Penelope said, taking it gratefully. “I was just thinking I wished I had a cup of something, my throat was becoming parched. I’m not used to talking so much.” She smiled in amusement at herself before taking a sip. The next moment, she was greeting another guest.

“Penelope is so good. I only wish I could be so good and kind as she is,” Jane confessed, studying Mr. Watley’s expression for any indication that he had heard the not-so-kind thing she had said about dancing with him only to avoid Mr. Showalter.

“You may not be like Mrs. Gilchrist, but that does not mean you are not kind. Are you kind?”

“I do try to be. I sometimes say things without thinking, though. I am too outspoken to always be kind, and I value my own opinions too much, I think.”

Luke Watley looked again as if he might laugh. “You are honest, at least. That is also a refreshing trait, if we are discussing societal rules and norms.”

Jane did laugh. “That is very true.”

The conversations around them seemed to stop, and Jane noticed more people staring at them. The way she laughed must certainly make her look like a flirt. She remembered how she had secretly judged the young women who had gathered around Luke Watley at the ball a few days before. She’d seen them as flirtatious and shameless, making their interest in the young widower obvious.

But Jane managed to put the other guests out of her mind.

“How is Jeffrey?”

“He was well when I left him in Hertfordshire two days ago. I am glad he is just a short ride away, but I do miss him when I don’t get to see him every day. He has so much energy and spirit. I know the average gentleman never pays much attention to their children when they are as young as Jeffrey, but I find I am not like most gentlemen. I want to know my son, even while he is young.”

“I confess, I do not understand the current way of things—ignoring one’s own offspring. My mother has always said she disagrees with such indifferent upbringing of children, entrusting them to the care of others. She always spent much of her day with Henry and me, as far back as I can remember.”

“And you feel the same?” He was looking at her most intently, even leaning toward her.

“Why, yes. I do. And so does my brother and Penelope.”

He seemed to realize he’d been leaning toward her and straightened himself. “It is rare to find a lady who feels this way.”

“I believe you are right.”

Was Luke Watley thinking of his late wife? She had frequently left her son at their country home in Hertfordshire while she went to London to go to parties and engage in things that could hardly be whispered about. No doubt he didn’t want to marry someone like her again.

The dancers were already lined up for the next dance but Luke Watley didn’t seem to notice.

“I am curious,” he said, his gaze on her as they conversed rather privately against the wall near the entrance to the assembly rooms.

“Yes?”

“How did you end up buying half of the shop from your friend? What made you think of it? Did you always want to own a shop?”

She no longer felt as if Luke Watley was particularly attracted to her. It was as if he was gathering information for an article in the newspaper, so matter of fact was he, his eyes no longer portraying any of the tenderness she thought she’d seen on the dance floor. And that was just as well, since this was more comfortable—talking together as friends instead of flirting.

“I knew my friend Catherine’s finances were greatly reduced because of her husband’s debts, due mostly to his medical expenses, and I wanted to help her. I had some money that I inherited from my aunt, so I became Catherine’s partner. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of going into business, using my money to invest in Catherine’s shop. As I started to help her, I realized I could keep the accounts myself, and I actually enjoyed it.”

Jane watched Mr. Watley’s face. He seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying. The only other time she had tried to explain all this to an eligible young man, he had looked slightly horrified, then his eyes began to wander about the room, as if he wasn’t even listening. But Luke’s gaze never left her face, and that businesslike, interviewer look was replaced with the same intense expression he’d had on the dance floor.

“I know it is unusual for a woman to go into business, but I am not sorry I did it. And I don’t understand why anyone would consider what I did to be scandalous. Why should women not help each other? And if that involves going into business, what could be wrong with that? I don’t consider figuring up receipts and expenses to be scandalous.”

“No. Indeed not.” Mr. Watley looked thoughtful. “I think what you did was a good thing, and there can be nothing scandalous about bookkeeping.” He gave the wall behind her an ironic half frown before his gaze returned to her face.