My Captive Duchess (The Reeves of Reeves Hall #1)

Chapter 28

Broek

W e drive back in the carriage to Reeves Hall in tense silence. Poor little Chloe is tired and irritable after today’s adventures. Jane pacifies her with gentle words and caresses. All the while I watch them, deeply perturbed. Earlier, I had thought Jane was about to betray me, like she did when she ran away. Why, then, did she lie to Mr Oakley? Why did she not beg him for help to escape from the ogre that was holding her captive? I cannot quite reconcile that behaviour with the cunning escape she had attempted earlier.

I long to hold her, but instead I flee to my control room as soon as we are inside the house. The aching pain in my chest which conflagrated on learning of Jane’s deceit has not quite abated. As I enter the control room and take a seat in front of my console, I rub my chest, trying to ease the constriction I am feeling. Why did Jane not speak out when she could? Why did she not ask the solicitor to escort her away from here in his carriage? She had wanted to leave. She had made a brave bid to escape. Yet now she has come back with me willingly. Has she changed her mind?

I fire up the console and go through the latest data, taking in the information with half a mind, the other half thinking of Jane. After I took her on the couch in the parlour, I was so sure that she was mine. It was inconceivable that she should give her body and soul to me in such passion, and then leave. That damned duchess is messing with my mind. And my heart .

How could she have left? I was set to offer her marriage and all the freedoms she had craved. Instead, she got on a horse with her daughter and galloped away. I stand, unable to concentrate a minute longer on the data in front of me. It is time for dinner, in any case.

I arrive in the dining room to find my family congregated around the table, and Jane sitting quietly, her eyes cast down. Throughout the meal, she avoids my pained gaze. Conversation is stilted. My siblings are uncomfortable. They had grown easy in Jane’s company, but her mad dash to escape has changed things. Their hackles are up and so are their suspicions. I know how they feel. And they don’t even know the half of it, for I have not yet recounted the events with Mr Oakley today.

At the first opportunity, Jane excuses herself. Once the door shuts behind her, my siblings turn their gaze to me. I am not in any mood for conversation, but quickly, I fill them in on the latest developments. “It is as I thought,” nods Simor when I finish. “You do understand now, Broek, that Jane is not a threat to us. She will not talk of what we do here to outsiders.”

I sense he is right, but still I have doubts. “Yet at the first opportunity, she fled,” I say flatly.

“Well, of course she did,” laughs Liora. “It is what any sensible person would do. How long do you think she was going to accept being a prisoner in this house, Broek?”

I look away, annoyed and frustrated. “I was going to set her free just as soon as she married me,” I reply gruffly. “Why could she not have waited a little longer?” Why did she leave me?

Liora sighs sympathetically but does not reply.

“She is not Tarla,” Simor says, bravely mentioning the name that must not be spoken.

“I know,” I grunt, rising to my feet. It is time to have a reckoning with the duchess. Without another word, I leave the dining room and hurry up the stairs to my chamber. I will wait until we are settled in bed, then speak to Jane via our communications link. It is sometimes easier for us to speak our minds that way, I have found.

I enter my chamber and sit on the bed to remove my shoes. As I do so, I catch sight of something on my dresser. Abruptly, I stand and fetch the item—a folded sheet of paper addressed to me in Jane’s hand. When did she leave this here? Just now, or before?

With impatient hands, I break the seal and unfold the sheet, then read the contents.

Dear Broek,

Today, I am breaking free from my captivity at Reeves Hall. Please understand, I cannot be free to love you when I am a captive. Do not think this as a betrayal of your trust. After all, Broek, you have left me no choice other than to escape. My repeated assurances to you that I would not reveal your family’s secrets were not enough for you to set me free. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to earn your trust is to prove my word to you.

I will never betray you, Broek. I shall not go far, but seek the nearest suitable accommodation. Should anyone enquire about your family, I shall speak of your generosity, express my gratitude for your help to me, but I shall not disclose any other detail about what goes on at Reeves Hall. Perhaps then, you will begin to accept my word.

But I must go, Broek. It is the hardest thing to do, especially after what happened between us today. But I am weary of having to stay hidden in this house while you all go out to church, and having a guard escort me each time I wish to walk outside. I cannot live like this. And though you say I will be free to do these things once we marry, that is not the right way to go about things. If and when I marry you, Broek, I want to do it out of choice, not necessity. I wish to face you at the church altar and promise myself to you from a position of freedom, not captivity. I think from this you must realise how much I have grown to care for you.

I do not wish this bid for freedom to be the end of our story, Broek, but to be a new beginning—the breaking of the impasse. If you still want me, come and find me. I shall await your next move. And Broek, if I am to marry you, then I must be courted and receive a proper proposal.

Yours,

Jane

I re-read the letter, my mind in turmoil. As for the ache in my chest, Great Yol, it feels like my heart is about to explode. I glance across the room to the door that separates me from Jane. The washroom indicator light is on. She is taking a bath, as she likes to do every evening.

With a sudden burst of energy, I stand and begin to tear off my clothes. The infernal cravat goes flying in the air, landing I know not where. My shirt soon follows suit. Then I am ripping at my trousers and yanking them down my legs. Drawers and stockings are next. Once I am fully bare, I march to the washroom, open the door and enter.