Jessica Howerty fell for her brother's best friend when she was a young girl, and never quite recovered. Now, all grown-up, she knows that a disreputable rake like Jacob Hurst is the last thing she should want. After two seasons in London, she's tir...
Jessica blinked. Who? What was the woman talking about? Her gaze dropped to the little boy who had come up to take his mother's hand, and a gasp escaped her as she met eyes that were perfect replicas of Jacob's. Not just the eyes, the boy looked like a miniature version of her husband.
The other woman must have noticed her reaction, because she hesitated. "I... Did he not tell you?"
Shaking her head, Jessica took a step back. It was rude, and it wasn't the child's fault, but she had to leave. She could not do this right now.
"I'm sorry," she choked out before she turned on her heel and hurried her steps back home. She heard the tapping of Rain's heels behind her as her sister followed.
"Jessica!"
"Not now, Rain!" She wasn't ready to talk. Not to anyone. He'd lied to her about everything. He was obviously the father of Lady Hearn's child. Maybe he'd thought he wasn't, that she'd been with more men, but that boy looked exactly like him.
Her mind repeated the same line with each step she took. He lied. He lied. He lied.
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Jacob took the steps up to his door two at a time, excited yet apprehensive about the knowledge that it was time to confess everything to Jessica. He'd spoken to his man of business at length today, working out the best course of action if he took Charles in as his ward. Now he just had to convince his wife this was the best thing, even if he wasn't quite sure how. It wasn't the easiest sell. He could only hope she would believe him when he said he wasn't the child's father. Any sane person would doubt his words when seeing the looks of that boy. He could only pray that Jessica would still believe him.
The house felt oddly quiet and empty as he entered and he frowned, a bad feeling settling between his shoulder blades. Needing to see his wife, he continued to the upstairs parlour where she was most likely to be in the late afternoon, but when he entered the room, he only found her sister. Rain looked up from the book she was reading and immediately put it away. He noticed she was wearing a jacket and his frown deepened.
"Are you leaving?"
She nodded, her face unusually sombre.
The ominous feeling settled in deeper and he swallowed. "Where's Jessica?"
"She's gone."
"What do you mean? Gone where?"
"Home. To Nathaniel's house."
He took a deep breath, hoping against hope she meant the London residence. "Freemantle Hall?"
"No, our country house. She's gone to Davenhall." Rain's short, calm responses to his questions grated on his nerves.
"Why?" he asked, fearing the worst.
Finally, a spark of anger in her eyes. A perfectly calm Rain was much too eerie, and he much preferred this. "She ran into your 'lovechild' in the park."
