The ground floor of the Cross and Crown Tavern consisted of the front room for the riffraff, a private salon for hire and the taproom. The fire had died out in both the salon and the large room, but she could see the warm glow from the taproom in the distance, and she headed toward it, drawn like a moth to the flame.
A wing chair had been drawn up to the blaze; the perfect spot. She headed straight for it and then stopped, panicked. It was occupied. She saw the long legs first, propped on the fender, and she tried to back up, but she’d already managed to wake him, and he rose to his feet, still half asleep.
It was the groom. Without his cumbersome cap she could see his face and head quite clearly, and she could see why he wreaked havoc among all the women of the household. He was utterly, wickedly handsome, with guinea-gold hair, the bluest of eyes and a mouth made for sin.
His long, lean body, clad in de Malheur’s dark livery, was just delightful. He loomed over her, and she thought she could see a peculiar light in his eyes. They were surprisingly merry as they surveyed her, from her loose, tousled hair to her feet, and she gasped as she realized just how improper this all was. She should turn and run back upstairs. But for the moment she was frozen.
“I’m so sorry,” she said nervously, trying to act as if she held conversations with strange men in the middle of the night all the time. When there was only one other time she could remember. Indeed, that she couldn’t forget. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I thought you’d be sleeping in the stables. ” Oh, no, that sounded terrible, she thought. Like she thought he was one of the horses. But where did drivers sleep?
But he smiled down at her, that slow, lazy smile. “Aye, yer ladyship,” he said. “They said they had a bed for me, but like as not it’s that cold, and the bed might have bugs or I’d need share it with another ‘ostler, and I figger a chair in front of a good fire won’t do no harm, and it’d be a right treat for me, after such a long, rainy drive. ”
“That’s true—you were out in this awful weather,” she said, immediately feeling guilty. While they’d bowled along in relative comfort he’d been up on the box getting drenched. Her practical side came into play immediately. “You could have caught your death. Have your clothes dried properly? Sitting around in wet clothes is a certain way to catch pneumonia. I hope you had something warm to drink?”
His charming smile turned wicked. “Are you asking me to take off me clothes, yer ladyship? Because I’ll gladly oblige, just to see if they’re still wet, don’t you know, though I’m not sure what I’ll do while I wait …”
Jane stepped back, not bothering to keep the look of shock from her face. “Mrs. Grudge warned me that you weren’t to be trusted. ”
The groom didn’t look the slightest bit chagrined. “Did she now?” He moved toward her, just a bit. “I didn’t mean no harm, your ladyship. There’s no need to get on yer high ropes about it. I was just having a wee bit of fun with you. ”
There was something odd about the man, something strangely familiar. It was the kind of face a girl wouldn’t forget, particularly a shy, romantic, love-starved girl about to settle for a stultifying marriage. She stared at him, her outrage fading slightly, turning to curiosity. “You didn’t talk like that before. ”
She could tell she’d startled him, and he fell back a pace, looking troubled. “Aw, my lady. I’ve lived a great many places and I talks like a lot of different people. Don’t mean no harm by it, I don’t. ”
No, there was something definitely havey-cavey about this man, and her curiosity overwhelmed her good sense. “Do I know you? You seem familiar. ”
It was only fleeting, the look of discomfiture in his bright blue eyes, and then his expression changed, almost like one putting on a loo mask, and he leered at her. “I wouldn’t forgets a pretty lady like you. ”
She looked at him, anger stronger than her discomfiture. “You needn’t bother, Jacobs,” she said, though her voice shook slightly. “Perhaps you think you’re required to flatter your employers, or perhaps it simply comes naturally to you, but I know perfectly well that I’m not a pretty lady and never have been, so leave off, please. ”
“You need a mirror. ” His voice was different, without the wheedling, servile accent, and she looked at him with suspicion.
“Begging your pardon, your ladyship,” he continued, and the accent was back, part Yorkshire, part Irish, with a bit of cockney thrown in. He truly was the mongrel he’d said. “And what can I be doing for you this foine evening?”
On impulse she held out her hand, the one with the diamond. “Do you have any idea how do I get this off?”
He stared down at it for a long moment, but surprisingly there was no acquisitive gleam in his eye. “How should I know, miss? You might ask Mrs. Grudge. ”
“I did. She was thinking axle grease. Since you’re the driver you’d be the one to have access to such. ”
“Lord love you, my lady, it’s in the middle of the night and it’s cold as a witch’s tit out there, begging your pardon. I’ll get you some in the morning before we leave. But why would you be wanting to get rid of a fine piece of the sparklies like that?”
“It’s stolen,” she said nervously. “And my fiancé might have a problem with it. ”
“Happen as he might,” he allowed. “You know, you ought to be up in bed, my lady. We’ve a long day on the road tomorrow. And you shouldn’t be down here alone with the likes of me. ”
“I’m too stiff to sleep,” she confessed.
“So am I,” he said, looking oddly amused.
Poor man. It didn’t matter how disreputable he was—he’d spent the day out in the pouring rain and she could hardly kick him out. She took a deep breath. “Well, then, Jacobs, why don’t you bring me another chair and we can both stay down here?”
He didn’t move, looking down at her.
Oh, God, that was a terrible idea, Jane thought belatedly, feeling the color flood her face. She knew better than to suggest such a thing. He was a womanizer and it sounded like she’d just issued an invitation for dalliance. “I mean. ” she began nervously. “That is …”
He simply smiled down at her, and there was none of the leering aggression. “No worries, my lady. I knew what you meant. I was just about to find my own bed over the stable. I’ll leave you in sole possession of this very fine chair and this very fine fire, and tomorrow I’ll bring you the best axle grease to be had. ”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Jacobs,” she said gratefully and she settled into his recently abandoned seat. It was still warm from his backside, and the whole thing felt completely improper, but she could hardly jump up again. She had to pretend she was entirely comfortable with this bizarre, midnight encounter. She’d been avoiding looking at him, keeping her eyes focused on his shoulder when necessary, but now she looked up, into his handsome, reckless face, into his blue, blue eyes and she knew.