“My note?” By God, she hadn’t! Gabriel set his glass down hard on a nearby side table. Liquid splashed over the rim.
Jane’s color heightened. She peeked up at him. “I didn’t steal it,” she said defensively. “It was left on the edge of Mrs. Belden’s desk and I…” She let her words trail off. He studied her through narrowed eyes trying to make sense of that pink color on her cheeks. Was it guilt on the lady’s part? Regret? “And yet, I did steal it, didn’t I?” she whispered, more to herself. “That, and everything else.”
Impatient with that confession which really answered nothing, he tipped her chin up and forced her gaze to his. “I do not understand,” he bit out. “Explain yourself, madam.”
“I am a liar.” She flinched. “An impostor.”
He let his hand fall to his side, momentarily robbed of words and thoughts. An impostor? A chill stole through him. “What are you on about?” he prided himself on the steady deliverance of those coolly spoken words, while disjointed questions spun through his mind.
“I intended to tell you. And then your sis…” She colored. His sister. He narrowed his eyes. What secret did Chloe withhold from him about her mysterious companion? Jane cleared her throat. “That is, I resolved to wait until the right moment to tell you.” She furrowed her brow. “Though in hindsight there never would have been a right opportunity. Not truly.”
Her incessant prattling snapped his patience. “Jane?” he demanded in clipped tones.
“I was not sent by Mrs. Belden as your companion. I stole the missive and presented myself before you in the respective role.” The long column of her throat worked. “But I am not that woman, Gabriel. And you deserve to know that.”
Shock slammed into him; froze him immobile. Surely she jested? And yet by the agonized glimmer in her blue eyes and the sheen of tears she blinked back, these were the only true words she’d spoken. He took a step back, and then shook his head, as he desperately tried to make sense of her admission. “I do not understand.” Gabriel winced, knowing he must sound like the greatest lackwit, gaping at her.
Silence met his confusion.
Despite his intentions to turn her out on the day they’d met, she’d wheedled her way into his thoughts and household. With her deception, she’d involved his sister Chloe. Fury thrummed through him. He took in this interloper into his household, a mere stranger, a woman he’d not known at all. Jane must have seen something terrifying in his eyes, for she took a quick step back. He shot a hand around her wrist, halting her retreat. Gabriel raked an icy stare over her slender frame. “Explain yourself, madam,” he seethed.
Jane pulled free and held her palms up in an entreating manner. “I did,” she said quickly, “at one time work for Mrs. Belden, that is. But then she…” She blushed. “She let me go. I’m really rather deplorable at maintaining employment, which I understand reflects ill, and I could maintain that it was not my fault…” She captured her lower lip between her teeth and worried the plump flesh.
All the while, Gabriel tried to sort up from down. A dull humming filled his ears. This woman had entered his home, slipped into his employ and, despite his early misgivings about her suitability, had refused to leave. He captured her wrist in his hand once more, in a hard, relentless grip. By God, he’d put his sister’s care into this woman’s hands? “Who are you, Mrs. Munroe,” he hissed. Self-loathing filled him for risking his siblings’ well-being once more. “If that is even your name.”
“It is,” she said and flinched.
He lightened his hold but did not release her. How was he to believe the words of a stranger who’d lied her way into his home?
“My name is Jane Munroe,” she said quietly. “I have served as a companion and governess as I said.” He searched her face for the truth of her claims, wanting to believe her—to believe in her. “However, I lost my post at Mrs. Belden’s and discovered your letter.” Her cheeks blazed red. “You required a companion for your sister—” Jane’s words ended on a gasp as he stuck his face close to hers.