“Not to worry, Upton. I wouldn’t expect better behavior from a friend of yours.” She smiled at him sweetly. Neither of the gentlemen could possibly miss the emphasis she’d placed on the word “friend.”

Owen whistled. “Point one, Miss Lowndes.”

“She’s not a friend of mine,” Upton growled. “She’s just—”

Jane kept her smile pinned to her face. “I’m sorry. I was under the impression she was invited here expressly because she mentioned her friendship with you. Was I mistaken?”

Upton scrubbed a hand across his face. “That’s true, but—”

“Point two, Miss Lowndes,” Owen added.

Upton leaned forward and gave Owen a condemning glare.

Upton began again. “She’s more of a longtime acquaintance than a friend and—”

“So a lady you’ve known for over ten years, a lady with whose husband you served in the war, is only an acquaintance? My. I shudder to think how you’d describe me then. I’ve only known you for four years and that is because of my friendship with your cousin. What am I? A stranger?”

Owen winced. “Point three, Miss Lowndes.”

Upton clenched his jaw and turned sharply toward Owen. “Must you?”

“Yes, I must,” Owen replied with a laugh. “This is highly entertaining, watching Miss Lowndes hand you your arse. Please do continue.”

Despite his vulgarity, Jane smiled and nodded at Owen. In this particular instance, Owen was entirely correct. Nice chap, Owen Monroe.

Upton turned back to Jane. “I merely wanted to offer my apologies if anything Mrs. Langford said offended you.”

Jane folded her hands in her lap. Now he was apologizing on behalf of his mistress? Speaking of vulgar. “It did offend me, Upton, but then, her mere presence offends me. However, I’d prefer it if the apology came from the lady herself and something tells me that is not about to happen.” Jane glimpsed Mrs. Langford sauntering toward them. “Ah, look, here she comes. Right on cue. While it’s been a pleasure arguing with you as usual, Upton, I am not about to sit here and listen to any more of her ignorant vitriol. Nor am I inclined to watch her pretend to trip and fall into your arms again. Therefore, I am off to the library, where I can find much better company than Mrs. Langford in the inanimate objects.”

“Game, set, match to Miss Lowndes,” Owen said.

Jane nodded to him. “Good evening, Lord Owen.” She stood, smoothed her skirts, and marched away.

“Jane, don’t go.” Upton’s voice held a vulnerable quality she’d never heard before. The tone stopped her. The use of her Christian name stopped her. She turned slowly to face Upton again. Owen’s brows had shot up. Apparently, Upton’s use of her Christian name had surprised him too.

“Yes?” she said, doing her best to keep her face blank.