His Impassioned Proposal (The Bridgethorpe Brides) Read Online Free PDF Page B

confess I’m not always certain with you.”
    “No, they aren’t.”
    “You are upset because he didn’t cry off?”
    Jane simply cried louder.
    “Dearest, please have a care for your mother’s pride, and tell me what has you so distressed.”
    “Did you see him, Mama?” She spoke into the pillow, then sat up and blew her nose. “Did you see him at all yesterday?”
    “No, but your father described his injuries to me. Is that what has you so upset?”
    “It hurts me to look upon him.”
    Mama gently grasped her shoulders. “There was no understanding between you two, am I correct? You are free to go to London and finally choose a husband, if it would pain you to be with Stephen.”
    Jane lifted up on one arm and pushed the loose locks of her hair back from her eyes, staring wide-eyed at her mother. “If it would pain me to be with him? Do you truly think me as shallow as that? I hurt for him, that is what I meant. He hides it well, but I see the slightest limp when he walks, and how he tips his head to better hear what I say. Those burns on his face—how they must ache. I hurt for him, Mama.”
    The relief on her mother’s face softened the crease between her faded red brows. “I am glad to hear you say so. Not that I would ever believe anything less of you, mind you. Now, dry your eyes. We have planning to do.”
    Wiping her cheeks, Jane said, “I don’t believe I wish to marry him any longer.”
    “Your father told me Stephen feels he is not ready to be a husband. We must determine what must be done to help him see it’s long past time he allowed you to be his wife.” Mama’s jaw suddenly flapped wordlessly as Jane’s words sank in. “Did I hear you say you don’t wish to marry him?”
    “I don’t know if I do or not. I don’t know him. He has changed in his manner, in his confidence. I couldn’t sleep last night wondering if I have built him up in my dreams to be some sort of perfect beau. If I am in love with a figment, not a person.”
    Sadness filled Mama’s eyes. “I’m sorry to hear this. Are you certain you don’t want to give him time to adjust to life at home before making such a decision?”
    Jane sighed. “I told him I would enjoy his visits as a friend, but that I might decide to take another offer if I found someone who suited.”
    “The poor dear. But surely knowing you love him would give him comfort, and you’ll see the man you remember when he has recovered from his grief.”
    “It would be cruel to make him believe something I cannot promise. Even crueler than I feel abandoning him now when he’s just lost his parents.”  
    Jane’s voice shook as she held back more tears. “I wonder if we’ve changed so much we no longer suit. We were just children when we last spent any time together. When I saw him stumbling drunk in the library last night, I fear I saw the real man he is. He brought back memories of Uncle Bailey.”
    “Stephen has no meanness in him like my sister’s husband does. You cannot fear Stephen would become as cruel as that man.”
    But Jane could, and did. She’d visited her aunt and uncle once when she was eight, and had nightmares for years after. The yelling from her aunt’s bedchamber had nearly drowned out her aunt’s tears. A crash rang out, and the sound of breaking china. Then there was the bruise on her aunt’s cheek the following morning.
    Jane had never returned there.
    A year later, their young son died suddenly. The excuse for his broken neck had been a fall from a horse, but the family didn’t own horses. Jane had never discussed it with her mother, but she was certain her uncle’s anger had been behind the child’s death.
    The Stephen she knew before he’d gone off to battle wouldn’t harm a soul. But battle could change a man. Her uncle had begun to drink after he’d returned from the conflict in the Colonies. Who was to say the same thing wouldn’t happen to Stephen?
    Jane’s stomach turned at the thought of her dear