“How is your leg, dear?” her mother asked, watching her slow progression across the room. “I nearly had an apoplexy when Lady Cassandra’s footman came to fetch your spectacles.”

“It was just a small tumble from a horse. My pride was hurt much more than my ankle.”

A worry line creased her mother’s brow. “Oh, Jane, please don’t tell me you were racing gentlemen on horseback. That’s hardly the behavior one looks for in a wife and—”

It was typical of her mother to be more worried about her daughter’s reputation than her health. “No, Mama. I was racing another lady on horseback. I would have won, too, if the saddle hadn’t given way.”

Her mother put her hands on her hips and clucked her tongue. “Where was Mrs. Bunbury when this was going on?”

Jane nearly winced. “Mrs. Bunbury was there. She approved. It was all in good fun.”

“I’d like to meet Mrs. Bunbury at the first opportunity.”

“And so you shall,” Jane replied. “She’s, uh, gone off to the village just now, to fetch some supplies for the poultice she’s been using on my ankle. Lucy swears by it.” Must remember to ask Lucy to make me a poultice.

Her mother wrinkled up her nose. “The Morelands don’t have the necessary ingredients for a poultice?”

“Er, not this poultice. I believe it requires eye of newt or something like that.”

Jane’s mother shook her head again. “There you go again with that wild imagination. Gentlemen are rarely interested in ladies who are humorous.”

“That’s a shame,” Jane mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, dear?”

“Come downstairs with me, Mama. I’ll lean on you so I may greet Papa. Perhaps I can coax him out of the study.”

“We should get you a cane,” her mother replied.

“No, thank you. I’m not old enough for a cane, and I refuse to succumb to such accoutrements before it’s time.”

Jane’s mother rolled her eyes. Hmm. Perhaps that’s where she got it. The thought made Jane smile. But thankfully, Hortense agreed without any more questions about the poultice, the cane, or Mrs. Bunbury, and the two made their way downstairs.

As they slowly progressed along the corridor, Jane relaxed a bit. Goodness. This concentrating on her mother and the Mrs. Bunbury plot bit was good for her. She hadn’t thought about Upton in entire minutes.

*   *   *

Garrett had spent most of the afternoon greeting various acquaintances as they arrived. In addition to Garrett’s mother, Rafferty Cavendish, one of the top spies for the War Office, was greeted by Cassandra and Julian as if he were their brother. Rafe had been with Donald Swift when he’d died. The younger man had taken it hard. He blamed himself, but everyone knew he couldn’t have saved Donald. The fact that Rafe was still alive was a miracle in itself.