Page 73 of An Uncommon Earl

Getting up from her chair by the window, Jane limped to the door and turned the key to the first two lines of Aunt Millward’s painful rendition of “Oh Dear! What Can the Matter Be?”

“Well now,” Aunt Millward said, cutting her song short when Jane appeared in the doorway. “That did not take long. Am I to assume that you do not appreciate my singing or simply that you’d rather have my company?”

A giggle escaped. “Come in, Aunt Millward.”

Her aunt breezed past her into the room, then frowned at the unmade bed and the tray of uneaten breakfast on the writing table. “My goodness, Jane, when your mother told me you had not left your bed since Lord Bloxley departed the house yesterday, I thought she must be exaggerating.” She waited until Jane closed the door behind them and then scrutinized her face, her frown deepening. “This must be worse than I thought,” she said, pointing to the chair Jane had just vacated. “Sit. Tell me everything.”

For the next ten minutes, Jane recounted Alexander’s brief interaction with her and Asher at the picnic, followed by his visit to Charwell Park the next morning. Aunt Millward listened in uncharacteristic silence, and when Jane brought her heartbreaking tale to a close, her aunt stared at her incredulously.

“Do you mean to tell me that Lord Bloxley confessed his love for you and asked to court you and you turned him down?”

“Yes.”

“I played that ridiculous game with that awful young woman for this?” she said.

“I beg your pardon.”

Aunt Millward ignored her. “For goodness sake, Jane, whatever were you thinking?”

“I was thinking of Lord Bloxley,” Jane said defensively. “Do not dare to lecture me on being unthinking, Aunt. I have thought of virtually nothing but him for days.” She could not possibly still have tears to shed, and yet, she felt them pricking behind her eyes. “He is the best of men and deserves a wife who can fill that large house of his with children. Children he can dote on and treat as well as he does Asher.”

“What he deserves is a woman he can love completely, someone who shares his interests, supports him in his work and ideals, and challenges him to become even more than he already is. What he deserves, Jane, is you.”

Jane shook her head, her tears flowing freely again. “How can you say such a thing? I am a cripple and cannot provide him with an heir.”

“Do you really think that if Lord Bloxley cared that you cannot run a foot race or dance the allemande, he would have asked to court you?”

As incomprehensible as it seemed, it was true. Alexander had seemed willing to seek a future with her despite her obvious physical limitations. “He does not know the worse of it,” she said.

“Then tell him.” Aunt Millward leaned forward in her seat. “Your relationship with the earl has thrived upon openness and honesty, and yet you have sent him away without offering him any reason for your rejection. Have you given any thought to how that would make him feel?”

Jane’s hands began to tremble. “I tried to tell him, but he would not listen. And to share something so personal with him now . . .”

“Do you trust him?”

She would trust Alexander with her life. “Yes.”

“Then you have nothing to lose by telling him everything.”

“He likely never wishes to speak to me again.”

“Rubbish.”

The ache in Jane’s heart threatened to overtake her. “You did not see his face when he left, Aunt.”

“I have no doubt that you wounded him deeply,” Aunt Millward said. “But he loves you, and once he has overcome his initial response to your rejection, he will listen.” She reached out and took Jane’s cold hand in hers. “You owe him this much, Jane. He deserves to know why you shunned him. Allow him to decide how he wishes to proceed based on all the facts.”

Jane’s thoughts returned to that moment in the nursery when Alexander had taken her hand and used almost the same words as her aunt to describe their relationship: We have always been honest with each other. She whispered the words and felt their sting. She had hurt the man she loved. “I will tell him.” She had never felt more vulnerable, but the decision felt right.

“Good girl.” Her aunt smiled encouragingly. “Now would be best.”

Jane mustered a weak smile. “I shall write to him today, but before I do, I have another battle to fight.”

Aunt Millward raised both eyebrows. “Another battle?”

Jane rose to her feet. Gripping the back of the chair, she faced her aunt. “I intend to tell Father that I wish to adopt Asher as my own.”

Her aunt’s smile was instant. “A worthy battle indeed,” she said. “And before you enter the fray, may I offer my services as a willing lieutenant.”