“But you are here as the executor of the estate.”
“Yes, but freeing slaves requires the signature of the owner himself, not merely the executor. I think Richard would grant it, but—the time. It would take two months at best to get word back from him, and there is no end of mischief my father can do in that time.”
Jane gnawed at her lower lip, trying to think of things that she could do. She did not want to stay. She did not want to leave Vincent anywhere near that man’s influence. For the next two weeks she would have to do everything she could to protect him. “I do not like it.”
“Nor do I, but with luck we can sway Frank and take the carriage. Otherwise, we will try your method with the Verres. But—if we are to remain for the next two weeks, then I must convince my father that he has won this battle, so I need to talk to him.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No.” Vincent raked his hair into greater disorder. “I will have to argue with him. He will expect it. I would rather you not be there.”
“I have seen you argue with him before.”
“Oh no, Muse.… You have only seen him on good behaviour.” He turned to the mirror and tweaked the dark cloth of his cravat to make the bow uneven.
She considered, very seriously, the possibility of using a Verre Obscurci. The angle of the sun was such that the veranda on that end of the house was fully lit. She could walk down to the windows easily and eavesdrop. But no matter how easy it would be, the fact remained that her husband would feel spied upon, so she had to ask.
“May I watch? Not—” She held up her hand to stop his gathering protest. “Not be in the room with you, but may I stand outside on the veranda using the Verre? Not knowing frightens me more than anything I might witness.”
“It is not.… It is less my father’s treatment of me that I wish to avoid showing you, and more who I become when I am around him.” In the mirror, the man who smiled back at her was cold and bitter and no one she recognised.
“Vincent—”
He sighed and lowered his head. For a long moment she thought he would refuse again, but he nodded, still with his head down. “If it will help you. I only ask … I am not likely to wish to revisit the conversation afterwards.”
“I shall not mention it.”
“Thank you.” He rubbed his forehead, his scowl darkening. “I need to go before I lose my resolve.”
“Of course. Do not wait for me.” Jane bit her lower lip as he nodded his thanks and strode out of the room.
She went quickly to their small case and withdrew a Verre Obscurci from its box within. Jane rose, and then hesitated, looking back at the case. If a servant were to come in while they were both out.… She knelt again and pulled out the box, relocked it, and shoved it deep into the wardrobe.
Shaking her head at her own excessive caution, Jane carried the Verre out onto the veranda. Trying to look as though she were merely taking the air, she walked down the veranda in the shade. On the grounds, gardeners worked at trimming the shrubbery. At the corner, she paused and peered around to make certain that none of them was looking at her, and then she stepped into the sun.
The sun, which made sweat spring from her skin, flowed through the thin inclusions in the glass to render her invisible. She walked past the windows of the white parlour towards the back of the great house. Like the room that Jane and Vincent occupied on the far side of the house, this had louvre-boards upon the windows to allow a breeze. She could just barely see through them.
Lord Verbury’s voice was clear before she saw him. “I expect you to do your duty. What is the point of having you here otherwise?”
“I would gladly leave. Believe me, sir, I have no wish to be here.” Had Vincent not spoken to her in their bedchamber, she would not have known he was agitated. His voice was cold and sneering.
“Of course not. You have always run when something became too difficult. How many times did I have to fetch you back home when you were a child?”
“If you had beaten me less, perhaps I would not have had reason to run.”
“You see that I am racked with guilt for trying to make something of you. Your eldest brother—”
“If he were still alive, then I would be in Vienna with my wife. Instead, out of respect for Richard, I came here to attempt to manage the estate.”
“I have an overseer to manage the estate. I need you for an heir.”
“You have Richard for that.”
“You must acknowledge that he is unlikely to produce one.”
“Richard’s business is his own.”
“You will have to divorce your wife, of course.”
Vincent’s laugh made the sun cold. “I see. Thank you for making your position clear.”
“Fortunately, being barren can be grounds enough among the peerage.”