Unveiled (Undone by Love Book 3) Read Free

Was her mother so unhappy? She’d been so wrapped up in her own worries, in formulating her own plan, that she hadn’t even recognized her mother’s discontent. She clasped her hands together, her head bowed and her eyes squeezed shut to keep the tears at bay.
    Her mother planted a kiss on the top of her head . “Go, then, Jane. If it means so much to you, go.”
    Jane looked up, her eyes brimming . “Thank you, Mama. I’ll join you in Town by midsummer, I promise.”  
    Three months’ time . She had three months to uncover the family’s deepest, darkest secrets–to learn what fate awaited her if she married. Jane swallowed a painful lump in her throat.
    She only hoped the truth wasn’t worse than her imaginings.
     
    ***
     
    Ashbourne, Derbsyhire
     
    Jane looked up at the yellow stone façade of her cousin’s home with a satisfied smile . It was charming, a lovely, vine-traced manor just down the lane from the reputedly grand Richmond Park. She’d yet to glimpse the impressive estate, but the vast park they’d passed on the drive in from the village was nothing short of magnificent.
    Emily’s husband Cecil guided her up the steps of his home and across the threshold, a smile illuminating his handsome, fair features .
    “Emily, darling, look who I’ve brought you,” he called out .
    Jane heard a squeal of delight followed by the tapping of slippers across a freshly polished floor . In seconds Emily stood before her, round with child, her face flushed a pleasing pink.
    “I can’t believe it –is it really you? Cousin Jane, it’s been so very long!”  The pretty woman, a good head shorter than Jane, threw her arms around her shoulders and embraced her.
    “It’s so good to see you, Emily . Why, we were only girls when we last met.”
    “Yes.” Emily nodded, strawberry-blond curls dancing about her flushed face . “I was no more than sixteen, for it was just after Mama passed away.”
    Jane was taken aback, never having heard anyone speak so openly of her Aunt Susan’s self-afflicted death . The news, only hinted at, of course, and never spoken of plainly in her presence, had shaken Jane to her very core. She could only wonder if Emily worried as she did of sharing the doomed woman’s fate.
    Yet Emily looked happy . Jane attempted to shake away her misgivings about her cousin’s impending motherhood.
    A stout woman with steely gray hair under a white lace cap bustled in, and Emily waved her away with a swish of one delicate hand.
    “Oh, no, Mrs. Smythe. I’ll show Miss Rosemoor to her room. Just see to her maid.”  Emily gestured absently toward Bridgette, who stood a few paces behind her mistress. “Come, Jane.”  She looked up and caught her husband’s dubious look, one blond brow raised in censure.
    “Cecil, dear, I’m perfectly well . I’ve been resting the better part of the day.”
    “If you insist . I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted, then.” He bowed to the women with a smile and disappeared down a narrow hallway.
    “You’ve no idea how pleased I am to have you here . I’ve grown bored, lolling about all day awaiting this babe. I’ve been desperate for some sort of distraction. I do hope you’ll be happy here.” 
    Jane followed her cousin up the stairs and into a cheerful room done in soft shades of pale green and cream . “It’s lovely,” she exclaimed, standing in the doorway and taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Green silk hung in wide windows that overlooked the garden, and delicate, hand-painted furniture was scattered about pleasingly–a tall dresser in one corner, a writing desk beneath a window, and a wardrobe opposite the door. A sprigged coverlet was spread invitingly over a beautifully carved maple bed, and Jane realized at once how exhausted she was from her journey. She reached up to stifle a yawn.
    Emily peered up at her, her brows drawn over soft brown eyes . “Oh, I’m so sorry. How selfish of me. Of course you must be tired from your