Chapter Four
July 1, 1817
Apair of sapphire blue eyes surfaced into her consciousness. Jane huffed in exasperation as she neared the end of her walk through Mayfair. Why was she thinking of Major Storme yet again? It had been three days since she’d last seen him, and though she’d attended two other society functions, he hadn’t attended those. Yes, he was handsome and striking, and yes, she’d been a bit tongue-tied when she’d first met him, and yes, he smelled outrageously delicious, but he had a few struggles facing him while he came to terms with his altered reality. In fact, he’d been injured two years before. Wouldn’t that have been plenty of time for him to discover his new path?
That alone should make her worry. A man who wasn’t at peace with himself wouldn’t find the same with anyone else. Yet she felt nothing but calm and curiosity regarding the major.
She’d meant what she’d said. Something in her called out to something in him. Why, she had no idea. The same thing had happened with her fiancés as well, so she’d be a fool to ignore the odd connection. Not that she wanted to marry again. It would take much more than grudging charm and intense blue eyes to change her mind on that point. But… he’d taken her troll bridge comment in stride. Did he read such tales, or did he consider them pedestrian to other literature?
There’d been something in those eyes, however, which had tugged at her heartstrings. That need to be understood, to fit in made her want to help him find the answers he sought. Chances were high he’d misinterpret her motivation as charity or even pity, but her natural confidence wouldn’t let that possibility deter her. With a gloved hand on the door latch of Brummel and Basil Booksellers, she tilted up her chin.
The only way to find out was to further her acquaintance with the surly major. Once she’d completed this errand, she’d call at his townhouse, the possibility of societal rumors be damned.
She pushed open the door to the shop. Located in an alleyway off Brook Street, the cozy tucked away area conjured up images of magic and mystery. Whenever her mind was in a tither, she came here to lose herself in the smell of books and ink for a couple of hours. Usually, after browsing the stacks, the answers to her problems made themselves known.
Would that the shop provided insight today regarding the major.
As she stepped inside, a slight tinkling of a tin bell over the shop door made her smile. That cheerful jingle was a magnificent sound. “Good afternoon, Mr. Basil,” she called as she headed for the shelves containing books from around the world.
“What are you after today, my lady? Another thrilling novel?” Fondness echoed in his voice, for he and she had been friends for years.
“I’m in the mood for fairy stories.” All the teasing of the major had fired her imagination and her appetite. “Something beyond the usual.” How easily she could picture him clad in dented and scratched armor, riding upon a white horse into battle.
“Well, I don’t know if anything has changed with my inventory since your last visit, but you’re welcome to look.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll have the run of the shop. At the moment, there’s only one other customer browsing.”
“Just the way I like it.” She preferred the book shop empty, for she craved the quiet. Such an atmosphere made it easier to commune with the books while she ascertained which one would accompany her home. With a wave, Jane made her way between the narrow aisles then was obliged to stop short at her destination. The object of her recent musings sat in his Bath chair, glaring up at the shelves. Her heart skipped a beat… and then another before resuming its normal rhythm. “Major Storme, what a surprise.” Her traitorous pulse kept up its rapid beat, and when he turned his head to rest that intense sapphire gaze on her, tingles raced down her spine.
Oh, my.
A muttered, “Bloody hell,” escaped him before his facial features returned to the usual blank mask of indifference. “Lady Jane. Not really a surprise though, is it?” He expelled a breath and glanced once more at a higher shelf. “To what do I owe this intrusion? Here to berate me more on how I should live my life? Or have you had me followed so you can memorize my daily schedule?”
“Of course I haven’t. I’m merely out doing errands.” Jane stood at the end of the aisle, temporarily flummoxed. Words skittered about her brain, but her tongue refused to let any of them loose. Outside of a society event and in the public eye where her confidence basked in the attention, she was suddenly at a loss of how to interact with him on a personal level. Drat her inability to befriend a male of the species.
“Ah, so you were gripped with the need to purchase a new book then? I somehow have the feeling you are well-read and don’t suffer the absence of reading material.” He didn’t look at her again. Instead, he leaned slightly forward in his chair with narrowed eyes on the shelf, as if willing a book from the location.
“As a matter of fact, you’re right. My bedchamber is filled with books, much to my maid’s chagrin and my brothers’ exasperation. They are all of a mind that keeping a nose buried in a book will somehow do me harm.”
He snorted. “Imbeciles, all.”
While she agreed with the sentiment, she didn’t say so aloud. Instead, she took a step toward him. “Also, this is my favorite book shop. Mr. Basil keeps a good selection of books on hand to satisfy any reading whim.”
The major grunted. “It is mine too.” But he didn’t spare her a glance.
Well, at least they had that in common. Excitement circled through her insides to know that he was a booklover, which made him intelligent. Her respect for him edged upward. “How interesting.” As she trailed gloved fingertips along book spines and spun mental tales around the foreign-sounding titles, she covertly studied him.
Midnight hair in the same disorder she’d seen it the other night. It stuck up in places as if he’d just shoved his hands through it. Was it soft? Her fingers itched to comb the tresses into some semblance of order. His jaw was set at the stubborn angle she knew all too well, but that didn’t stop the thought that if she peppered that underside with kisses, would he respond in kind? A shiver danced down her spine while she continued her inspection. His aristocratic nose was straight, which meant he’d never broken it while in the military, and his pristine cravat was slightly undone, giving off a devil-may-care attitude even though he was out in public. Seeing that bit of skin behind the loosened knot hitched her breathing. His clothing, like the other night, was impeccably tailored and impossibly expensive. They fit his lean body as if they were a second skin.
Why, he’s a veritable Beau Brummel except he’s three times as handsome!
“Are you quite finished staring at me?”
Startled out of her thoughts, Jane gawked at him as if she were a schoolgirl instead of a woman grown of two and thirty. “What?”
“You’re staring at me. Did you wish for me to move my chair so you can better see me or devour me with your eyes?” One of his dark eyebrows rose in challenge. “Unless you merely suffer from bad manners.”