Chapter 18

CHAPTER18

Several days had passed when Jane was informed by the butler that her father had come calling upon her. She informed Turlington immediately to send her father to the drawing room as well as to inform Leo. Somehow, this was her fist instinctual response. She wanted Leo there. She could not quite say why, but his presence was crucial.

She waited for him in the corridor, just a few steps away from his study. As soon as he appeared, she smiled at him, but it was a nervous smile. She would have expected her mother to have joined her father, but the fact that he was here alone assured her that whatever he wanted to discuss with her the previous time was on his agenda today as well.

“Did he inform you of his visit in advance?” Leo asked.

“No,” she shook her head.

“I don’t want you to think that he isn’t welcome here,” Leo clarified. “Both of your parents will be welcomed with the respect that they deserve.”

Jane nodded, but something didn’t sound right. She did not have the feeling that Leo treated her father in this manner, with the respect Leo claimed that her father deserved. Leo seemed disinterested in conversation with her father, and then, to top it all off, Leo refused to allow them to have a moment alone. No matter how many times she thought about it, she could see no explanation other than the one that Leo was trying to control her.

Only, in itself, that also didn’t make much sense. She could go as she pleased, visit friends if she wanted to, go for a walk in Hyde Park if she fancied. Her every whim was met with a nod of his head. Everything was allowed, only a private moment with her father was not. It sounded preposterous.

“I was actually planning on visiting them one of these days,” she said.

“Would your mother be there as well?” he inquired.

“Of course,” Jane confirmed. “Mother rarely, if ever, goes anywhere without Father. Before, we used to go together sometimes, but now, I fear she is left without any friends.”

“Perhaps then you could take her out to a tea house instead of visiting her there,” he suggested.

She thought about it for a moment then nodded. “That is a lovely idea. She loves tea houses, and we haven’t been to one in ages.”

“There is one on Frith Street,” he continued. “I do believe they have the best scones in all of London.”

“I shall take her there,” Jane beamed. “Thank you for the recommendation.”

“My pleasure,” he smiled, offering her his arm. “Shall we welcome our guest?”

She loved how he, once again, used the term our, symbolizing that their marital unity wasn’t valid only on paper. It made her strangely hopeful, only she had no idea what it was she was hoping for. Another kiss? Most certainly. But anything more than that would be dangerous to obtain, for the very simple reason that she would want more and more and more…

He led her to the drawing room where they greeted her father cordially, much more so than before. Jane realized that the more time she spent away from him, the more she could try and forgive him for his outbursts and see him not as an enraged man but rather a weak man who could not control his most inner urges. Because she also had urges now, the kind that hurt no one but herself, but she was as equally unable to control them as he was. Slowly, she was trying to understand what it meant to be a slave to one’s heart, one’s mind, and one’s desires.

“Your Grace,” the Earl greeted Leo first then his daughter, with a kiss on the cheek which lingered in the air while all they did was press their cheeks against each other. Jane was fine with that.

“To what do we owe the unexpected pleasure of your visit?” Leo inquired politely although he made sure to accentuate the part where the visit was unexpected. The Earl, however, either did not notice or pretended not to.

“Does a father need a reason to see his daughter?” the Earl replied, slightly annoyed. To a casual onlooker, his tone of voice didn’t change, but Jane had heard that slight difference in intonation one too many times. She recognized it instantly.

“Of course not,” Leo smiled. “Shall we fetch some refreshments?” This was a concealed manner of asking if the Earl planned on staying longer or if he were merely passing by and decided to say hello.

“Do not bother yourselves with it,” the Earl said, waving his hand dismissively. “I was hoping to have a quick word with my daughter, something family related.” He eyed Leo as if he were an intruder in his own home instead of it being the other way around. Her father was obviously waiting for Leo to withdraw from the chamber, but that did not happen.

“I am family, am I not?” Leo asked, standing slightly behind Jane and placing his hand possessively on the small of her lower back. She felt it instantly. Her entire body trembled under the tenderness, the possessiveness of his touch. Usually, she would not allow this. But this time, all she could do was move closer to him.

“You are,” the Earl nodded. “But some things are personal. And it is those personal things which I would like to discuss with my daughter if you don’t mind.”

“To be honest, I do mind.”

Jane gasped silently. She had never heard Leo speak in such a manner, so boldly and confidently, as when he stood up to her father. She could still not understand this reluctance to leave them alone, but she could understand now that there was more than mere possessiveness and control.

“What is the meaning of those words!?” the Earl thundered, demanding an explanation. “How dare you speak to me like that?”

“It is you who come to my home, demanding to speak alone to my wife,” Leo reminded him calmly which proved to everyone present that it was actually he who was in control of the situation even though it was the Earl who was on the verge of shouting. “I want you to know that I promised my wife that I will protect her from all harm, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“Are you accusing me of harming my own daughter!?” the Earl hissed, his chest puffing, and Jane knew that this would not end well. She needed to interfere.

She stood in front of Leo and pressed her hands to his chest. She could feel how wild his heartbeat was. She could see the fire in his eyes, the way his nostrils flared. He was ready to fight for her. It was something she could never even have dreamed of.

“It’s all right, Leo,” she whispered to him, and the moment he heard her voice, he calmed down. He lowered his gaze to meet hers. Silently, he asked her if it truly was. She nodded. “Give us a moment.” Her voice lingered in the air around them. It was the only thing that could prevent something horrible from happening. “Please?” she echoed.

Leo swallowed heavily, raking his fingers through his hair. He looked over at the Earl then back at her. “One minute,” he allowed.

“Thank you,” she smiled softly.

She waited until he walked out the door then closed it behind him. Then, her attention turned to her father whose cheeks were flared up with heat. He was furious. She could tell. But he could not do anything about it which made him all the more enraged.

“What the hell was that!?” he demanded in words he usually resorted to in such a state. “Why does he think he needs to protect you from me of all people!? Why, I have been taking care of you all this time!”

It was at this exact moment that Jane finally realized. Her heart was flushed with tenderness for the man who believed that she had been wronged by the very person who was supposed to keep her safe. That was why he didn’t want to allow her to be alone with him. It had nothing to do with control or possessiveness. How silly of her to even think that.

“He saw this,” Jane unbuttoned her sleeve then rolled it up to her elbow. The bruise was a slight green now, a mere reminder of what it was several weeks ago.

“What!?” her father snapped, his voice on the verge of breaking. “Why would you show him that?”

“I didn’t,” she glared back, mustering the courage to stand up to him. “He saw it himself because he refused to look away like everyone else.”

“You should never have showed him that!”

“Why?” she growled back at him, all the pent-up anger finally finding an outlet. “I merely showed him the truth!”

“Now he will think that I cannot control my anger!” her father kept on snarling like a wild, ferocious animal, pacing about the room.

“That is the truth,” Jane reminded him, shaking her head at him incredulously. “You can’t.”

“Watch how you are talking to me, Jane,” her father warned.

“Or else what?” Jane snapped at this point, tired of all the threats. “You will punish me again?” She was shouting now, not caring one bit that someone might hear them. None of that mattered any longer. “You cannot punish me anymore. I do not live in your home by your rules. Not now, not ever again. You will never lay a finger on me again, do you hear!”

The words felt so liberating, as if an enormous burden was lifted off of her back, and she was finally able to breathe properly again. That was how she felt for herself, but she knew that her mother was still carrying this load. And her mother would also bear the brunt of what had transpired here because her father would exercise his power where he still could.

“And if I hear that you ever laid a finger on Mother again, I will tell Leo to talk to the people you were indebted to. He will take back all that money, and they will come knocking on your door again. But this time, you won’t have a daughter to sell off to for the settlement of your debts.”

She could not believe that she just said all those things. It felt as if someone else utilized the power of her speech and said them instead of her because she never believed she had the strength to say them. Now, they were out. He had no power over her anymore. She had someone to protect her, but first, she needed to protect herself.

She waited for him to say something. She wasn’t expecting an apology. She wondered if such people were even capable of heartfelt apologies, such selfish people who only thought of themselves. But no word came from him. Nothing but empty air.

Then, he turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Her heart was still beating like mad moments later. It was all surreal as if it didn’t happen at all, as if she merely imagined it all, and next time she went home, all would be the same. Only, it wouldn’t.

She twitched when the door opened again. She thought it was him, but it was only Leo.

Her husband. Her protector.

“Are you all right?” he asked softly.

She smiled in response. She finally understood everything. He was merely remaining true to the first thing he promised her on her first night here when she felt lost and alone. He was true to it, true to her. She had no idea if that was love, but perhaps, it would be enough.

“Yes,” she finally replied. “I think I haven’t felt this all right in a long time.”