Lady Jane by Norma Lee Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

of Mr. Blodgett’s head with a loud thunk and knocking him to the floor.
    She turned quickly to the door to make her escape and found Mrs. Blodgett standing there, holding her son by the hand, her two daughters gawking curiously around her shoulders.
    “Mrs. Blodgett—I wasn’t—he—” she began breathlessly, but then realized the uselessness of any explanation. She fumbled in her reticule, found the few remaining coins there, and held them out to her mother’s friend. “I’ve found a place and must be off back straight away. I only came for me things and to thank you for your kindness.”
    Mrs. Blodgett’s hand came up automatically to accept the coins. She stared at Jane for a moment impassively.
    “Well—then take care o’ yoursel’, young Jane,” she finally rasped out gruffly, and stepped back from the doorway for Jane to pass, ruthlessly elbowing her snickering daughters backward.
    Jane could summon up only a sketch of a smile. Her mind was still in shock, her whole body shaking with reaction.
    She turned away and walked up the street without looking back, her breath coming in gasps as she tried to subdue the sobs she could feel rising in her throat.
    I must stop this snivellin’ all the time, she thought, for I’ve not all that much to be cryin’ for now. After all, I have a situation now, and I’ve been treated with kindness by everyone for the past few days, and I came to no harm with old Blodgett. The dirty beast, I hope he’s got the headache for a week! I wished I’d ’it ’im harder whilst I was about it!
    This anger acted as a better restorative than her attempt to reason with herself, and her agitation abated and the colour began to return to her cheeks. She reviewed the last few awful moments, and remembered the satisfying feel of the impact of her box against his head. Her head came up and her lips began to twitch. Ha! she thought, guess I gave as good as I got that time. Me mam would ’a been proud of me!

5
    The novelty of actually riding in a carriage cancelled out the terrible discomfort during the first half of Jane’s journey; after that the discomfort made itself more compellingly apparent
    Mrs. Hawks had seen to it that they were in the inn yard thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the London Mail for Maidstone. But Jane hadn’t minded. The stir and bustle of the busy yard, with coaches arriving and departing, passengers milling about, hostlers unhitching teams and leading up fresh ones, provided her with more entertainment than she’d ever experienced. She ran a feminine but inexperienced eye over the various travelling costumes exhibited by the lady passengers, and picked out two that she would like to have had. Her own shabby black pelisse was now covered with a handsome Paisley shawl presented to her by Lady Stanier. Jane had demurred, thinking it much too grand to accept, but Mrs. Hawks told her not to be such a wet goose.
    “Mistress would not have give it had she not meant you to have it, and Lord knows she’s well-supplied with shawls, so you’d not be depriving her in any way. Now you just wrap that about your shoulders and be grateful and think no more about it.”
    Jane did so, and was very grateful for its warmth when she stood waiting in the early morning chill, shivering as much with excitement as with cold, and feeling excessively grand in so fine a garment She was blissfully unaware of the glances cast in her direction, glances of curiosity and speculation on the part of the women, admiration from the men. The women, estimating the cost of the fine Paisley shawl to the last halfpence, wondering where she could have come by it, dressed as she was in a shabby black pelisse and a bonnet that had seen better days, and being such a young girl—and then there were those bruises on the face. The men saw only the sparkling brown eyes, the full red mouth half-open with excitement and curved up in a delicious smile, and the slim figure.
    When the