responses from her tongue. Flirting didn’t come naturally to her, except when she was with him.
‘I sell this variety to some of the most important men in London.’ Mr Stilton rocked on his heels in pride, his soft chin raised.
‘An excellent angle for marketing it to our clients, at a mark-up, of course,’ Jane suggested to Jasper.
‘Of course.’
Jane fell silent while Jasper spoke to Mr Stilton about how much they would need and a possible date for delivery. She calculated the price, as she had with everything else connected with establishing the club, and it was substantial. If Jasper harboured doubts about the solvency of their venture then she couldn’t fault or chide him for hanging on to part of the hell. Not even her inheritance would be enough to save them if the losses proved too large. She’d seen enough men come to Philip for loans for shops and ventures only to have a fire, flood or sunken ship send them spiralling into insolvency. Even Philip had once come close to losing everything. In the months after they’d lost their parents, while he was caring for her and taking over their father’s business, he’d extended a sizeable loan to a silversmith who’d defaulted. It had almost ruined his entire business. Mr Charton, having been a good friend of their father’s, had stepped in to help stop Philip from being ruined. She’d been a child then, but in her grief she’d caught the strain in Philip’s face and overheard enough conversations to realise the severity of what was going on. Philip had worried with Mr Charton over not being able to provide for Jane or being forced by his losses to leave her with the Chartons and it had terrified her. She’d been a burden he hadn’t needed at a time when everything had been falling on his shoulders and there’d been nothing she could do to help him. She wondered what burden she now placed on Jasper and if this was why he’d hesitated about the wedding yesterday.
Jane stepped a touch closer to Jasper. She’d wrangled him into marrying her. It made her wonder whether he offered wanton kisses, suggestions and compliments because he really wanted to or because, having made his decision after yesterday’s doubts, he must now convince them both it was the right one.
‘Thank you, Mr Stilton, for everything.’ Jasper shook the cheesemonger’s hand, then guided Jane towards the entrance of the shop, his arm solid on hers.
She placed her hand over his as they stepped outside on to the pavement. She was no longer a helpless child, she was a grown woman who would not be a burden to him; she would be a partner in their success. It was how much of a partner he intended to be that she still worried about.
They left the shop and were not three feet from the entrance when Chester Stilton staggered out of a hack, his usually pristine clothes as rumpled as the skin beneath his eyes. With her doubts trailing her, he was one of the last people she wished to encounter and she tugged on Jasper’s arm, hoping to hurry past before he noticed them. They were not fast enough.
‘Miss Rathbone, here to change your mind about my offer?’ Chester called out, forcing her and Jasper to face the man.
‘I see your credit with your tailor has run out.’ She motioned to the patched tear on his lapel.
He reddened with shame at being caught looking less than impeccable. Then he leaned in close to her, his eyes as bloodshot as his breath was foul. ‘Come to sneer at me, spinster?’
‘Mind how you address her,’ Jasper warned from beside her.
Mr Stilton curled one lip at him, revealing his yellow teeth. ‘Who are you?’
‘Jasper Charton.’ Jasper took Jane’s hand. ‘Her fiancé.’
‘Picking up your brother’s leftovers, I see,’ Mr Stilton sneered before turning to Jane. ‘What did you do to get him? Purchase him like you couldn’t purchase his brother?’
Jasper slid in between Jane and the cheesemonger’s son. He stood a good head taller than Chester and leaned so close to him, he was forced to bend back to avoid being nose to nose with Jasper. ‘Speak to her like that again and I’ll see to it your debts are called in. I don’t mean your debt at the tailor, I mean the gambling ones you’ve run up at the Company Gaming Room.’
Jane stifled a squeak of surprise while struggling to hold her look of disdain. Mr Stilton gambles at Jasper’s hell.
Mr Stilton’s lips dropped down over his teeth and the blood drained out of his flushed face. ‘How do you know about those? I’ve never seen you there.’
‘I’m a well-connected man. If you don’t wish to be strung up by your debts, or have your father inadvertently learn of them, you’ll keep your opinions about Miss Rathbone to yourself. Do I make myself clear?’
Mr Stilton flicked a nervous glance at Jane before nodding in agreement.
‘Good, then we’ve settled the matter.’ Jasper straightened, turned to Jane and offered her his arm. She took it, jutting her chin out in defiance of Mr Stilton when they stepped around him. ‘Good day, Mr Stilton.’
Jane didn’t dare speak until they were down the street and well away from the cheesemonger. ‘Why did you threaten him with his club debts?’
His arm beneath her hand stiffened. ‘Because he deserved it for insulting you.’
‘But you risked him finding out about your involvement in the hell. If he had, he’s weasel enough to have used it against you.’
‘I’ve seen him gamble. He isn’t smart enough to make the connection.’ Jasper stopped and faced her. ‘Besides, you’re worth the risk.’
Jane’s back stiffened. She’d waited years for someone to value her like this, someone not related to her by blood or marriage. The fact it was Jasper seemed right, but the old doubts refused to be silenced. ‘No, I’m not.’
He brushed her cheek with his fingers. ‘Despite what you believe, you’re an exceptional woman worthy of respect and admiration. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.’
‘Of course you do.’ People shuffled by on the narrow pavement, silently scolding them for blocking traffic. Jane was barely conscious of their censure as Jasper caressed her cheek with his thumb. He’d been willing to risk having his respectability challenged to defend her, and it was obvious he didn’t regret it. This more than his words—his offer to turn over his affairs at once, or his kisses, spoke to how much he valued her and their coming union.
Mrs Fairley was right. Jane hadn’t made a mistake.
‘In case you’re unfamiliar with what will take place tonight, allow me to explain,’ Mrs Hale offered while Laura did up the buttons on the back of Jane’s wedding dress. With her straight nose and auburn hair tinged with grey, Mrs Hale resembled Laura, except her eyes were pale brown while Laura’s were hazel. ‘When a gentleman and a lady are alone together...’
‘Yes, I’m well aware of what will transpire.’ Jane had eavesdropped on Jasper’s sister enough times when she was younger to learn the full extent of things. However, having an understanding of how the deed worked and experiencing it were two very different things. Jane took such a deep breath, she feared the buttons might pop off their threads. If what was to come with Jasper was anything like his kisses, she wasn’t sure how she’d
