Almost a Princess Read Online Free Page A

hand. Jane Mayberry was assiduously polishing a silver tray. The dog rose at Caspar’s entrance, but this time there were no bared fangs, only a bark of welcome.
    “Your dog is very intelligent,” said Case as he handed her the letter.
    “That’s a matter of opinion.” She pointed to her dog, who then sank to the floor and gazed at her with soulful eyes.
    “Till four o’clock then,” said Case.
    “Four o’clock,” she replied.
    He bowed. She curtsied. The moment he left the room, however, his smile faded. Whatever had put that maggot into Lady Octavia’s mind? And what role did she think he had planned for Jane Mayberry, his mistress or his wife? Either way, the idea was laughable.

Chapter 2
    As soon as Lord Castleton left the house, Lady Octavia went to the pantry to talk to Jane. She wasn’t a busybody, she told herself. It was just that she wanted to put Jane on her guard. Lord Castleton had that look about him, not smitten, or obsessed, or love-struck, or anything so exaggerated or vulgar.
Arrested
was the word she wanted. Jane had made quite an impression on the earl, but he wouldn’t let it rest there. He would be back for more.
    In her opinion, men like Castleton were truly dangerous, not because they were predators, but because they had a way with women. Even sensible, level-headed girls like Jane had been known to succumb to the flattering attentions of experienced men of the world. And Lord Castleton was definitely a man of the world.
    Of all the young women who volunteered at the library, Jane was the one she was closest to, or as close as Jane would allow. They’d met about four years ago, when Jane arrived at the library looking for a place to stay, having heard that the library occasionally leased rooms to single women in the upstairs floors. She wasn’t looking for charity, Jane said. She could pay her way. And it wouldn’t be for long. She had acquired a dog and hoped to find a place in the country close to town. Meantime, would the dog be a problem?
    Of course the dog was a problem! Lady Octavia had opened her mouth to utter the polite words of rejection and surprised herself by saying the opposite. There was something about Jane Mayberry and her dog that was hard to resist. On reflection, she decided that these two were battle-scarred and it would be unfeeling to turn them away.
    In the beginning, Jane kept pretty much to herself, but as she began to spend more time in the library, she became more and more involved. She wrote pamphlets and speeches and made herself indispensable, but she never stayed in town for long. She’d found that little place in the country and that was the life she loved.
    It wasn’t, however, the life Lady Octavia wanted for her protégée. Jane was too much on her own. She suspected that an unhappy love affair had turned Jane into a confirmed spinster, but Jane never explained her circumstances, except to say that she’d spent most of her life in Scotland and had had to earn her own living after her father died.
    Lady Octavia understood Jane’s desire to bury herself in the country only too well, or she thought she did. She herself had suffered through two disastrous marriages and had been released from them only when her respective husbands had had the grace to make her a widow. She’d cut herself off from society as well, but when Mr. Burrel, her banker, who had become her best friend, asked her to marry him, she’d known it was the right thing to do. And the last twenty years had been the happiest of her life.
    She wanted to tell Jane that not all men were rogues, that hearts could mend, and one day she might well meet a man who would be right for her.
    But that man would not be Lord Castleton.
    As was her way, she didn’t waste words on small talk when she found Jane in the pantry. “Well, Jane,” she said, “what do you think of Lady Sophy’s nephew?”
    Jane replaced a silver tray in its rack before answering. “He’s everything his aunt said he