Page 3 of The Wildcat and the Rogue (The Shifter Season #8)

JANE

I enter my distant cousin's home and nod to the servant at the front door. He doesn't pay any attention to me, nor have many of the others since I got here. I'm not sure how Mama managed to arrange this for me, especially when I didn't tell her that I was planning on coming to London, but I'm grateful for it. The only other option I'd have had was to live in a boarding house and I'm not entirely certain how I would have afforded that.

I make my way into my room, stopping in my tracks at the sight of the large grey-striped cat sitting on my bed. He flicks his tail and watches me with intense eyes that are impossible to avoid.

"You shouldn't be here, Ewan," I say, closing the door and twisting the key in the lock. No one can know he's here. I'm not foolish enough to think that my cousin won't make me leave if he discovers a hint of impropriety attached to my name, and having a man in my room will certainly count as that.

Ewan cocks his head to the side and paws at a bag beside him.

I roll my eyes and turn around, staring at the wall while I wait for him to get dressed. "If you have your clothing, you could have shifted back before I arrived."

"I didn't think you'd appreciate that," he says, his deep voice reverberating around the room.

"Nor do I appreciate you being here at all. I could lose my place if it became known I had a man in my chambers. Are you decent?"

"As I can be," he responds.

I turn back around, trying not to be too distracted by the open neck of his shirt. He must not have brought his full outfit with him. It is logical he's done so when he has to carry his clothing with him in his shifted form. He looks good, but then, he always has.

"What are you doing here, Ewan?" I ask.

"Not insisting on formalities now?" His lips quirk up into a smile.

"I think we're past that."

He raises an eyebrow. "I assumed that you leaving Scotland ended our acquaintance, but if you think otherwise..."

I clear my throat. "There were other more pressing reasons to end our acquaintance ."

"You mean the affair where I liberated Lady Owforth of her necklace? I can assure you that was an accident."

"And I was what? A mere distraction for Lady Owforth to ensure you didn't get caught?"

"The necklace wasn't hers," he insists. "It belonged to another."

"And you were liberating it with the intention of returning it to its owner?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I know you may not believe me, Jane, but that is the truth of the matter," Ewan responds.

I snort without meaning to. "I don't believe you. You're a thief, Ewan. And not a very good one considering the number of times I've almost caught you."

He steps closer, not leaving much space between us in the small room. "Then why have you never reported me?"

I meet his gaze, trying not to be overwhelmed by the intensity I find there. "I'm a realist, Ewan. You are the son of a baron and I'm merely a woman. Unmarried and from a family on the brink of disgrace. Who would have believed me even if I had said anything?"

"I'm sure plenty would," he responds. "Particularly those who dislike me."

I roll my eyes. "We both know they are few in number."

"Are you saying I'm likeable, Jane?"

"I'm saying that you know how to charm people," I respond. "That has no reflection on your actual personality."

"You wound me."

"Quite," I respond. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"I came to apologise," he says.

"I see." I look down, not knowing what to do with the response.

"I'm sorry for what my father did." There's something in his voice that borders on earnestness, only for me to remember that he has the ability to charm anyone he wishes to, and I have no desire to be one of said people.

"I do not know what you're speaking of."

"Of course you don't." From his tone, it's clear he doesn't believe me.

"I left Scotland to get away from you and your family," I say. "I didn't expect you to follow."

"Don't flatter yourself, Jane. I had no idea you were here until we encountered one another at Lady Ferrington's ball."

"So what are you doing here?" I ask, mostly curious.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you that."

"So you're here to steal something." I should have guessed.

"I'm still not at liberty to say."

"Very well." I pause for a moment. "Perhaps we are going about this all wrong."

He raises an eyebrow. "How so?"

I take a deep breath, trying to get hold of my racing thoughts. "You know of my family's reputation, and I know of yours. Perhaps we should make a deal."

He raises an eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"

"One that does not involve you sneaking in through my window uninvited."

"But if I am invited, it is allowed?" His lips quirk up into a knowing smile.

"The window is out of bounds to you."

"Perhaps next time I shall walk in through the front door," he promises.

"You will do no such thing," I say, stepping forward and pressing my finger against his chest. "I have lost enough to your family, I will not lose more."

"I don't intend to take anything from you, Jane." His voice dips low, seeming almost intimate and reminding me of all the other whispered conversations we've shared. We never courted, but we came close. Perhaps if things had gone differently, that is where we would have ended up.

"Then you will agree to my proposal."

"That will depend on what you are going to propose," he responds. "But I am willing to consider it."

"Very well." I clear my throat and think as quickly as I can about what I actually want from him. "In public, we do not know one another. You have heard of my family in Scotland, and I of yours. If anyone asks, we are to say that one another's families have good standing in the society."

"Do you believe that will work?"

"No one seems to know a thing about my family," I say. "So I believe so."

"Even I do not know what happened. Father would not tell me anything about it."

"There is nothing to know." Or more accurately, there is nothing I care to share with him. Though it is clear to me that the two of them are somewhat alike, I suspect Ewan has more honour than his father.

"Indeed."

"Then perhaps I do not need to make a deal at all and I should reveal your profession to others should they ask," I muse.

His lips quirk up into a smile. "There's no need for that."

"Then we have a deal?"

"Very well. I shall agree to your terms. But I have one of my own."

I raise an eyebrow. "I don't believe you're in a position to bargain with me."

"I am in your room."

"Blackmail, Ewan?"

"Is that not what you are doing to me?" he asks, stepping closer and leaving very little space between us. Despite the fact I know I should, I don't step away.

"Fine. What is it that you would like?"

"A dance at each ball we are both in attendance at."

"That somewhat defeats the point of us acting like we do not know one another," I respond.

"Not at all. If our families are both in good standing, and we know of one another, then it would be considered strange if we never showed any interest in interacting . So, I propose a dance at each of the balls. Or does that interfere with your plans while here?"

"I suppose it does not."

"Then we have an accord?"

"Yes," I say, mostly because I want him to agree to my terms. Considering we've danced many times before and he's an excellent partner.

"Good." He smiles at me. "Then I shall vacate your room and leave you to your peace."

"You should."

"Until next time."

"There will be no next time, Ewan," I respond firmly. "Stay away from my window."

"Now you're just giving me a challenge on how else to get into your room," he says. "Perhaps I can pretend to be a cat and visit the household every day."

"You are a cat," I point out. "And you will not do that. Everyone in this house has the ability to shift, they'll be able to tell you're a shifter."

"Then I suppose I'll have to avoid that after all," he says. "Would you turn around?"

I roll my eyes and turn my back to him. Even so, I can hear him get rid of his clothing and put it into the bag. If any of the servants enter the room now, I'll have a lot of explaining to do. Not only will I find myself thrown out of the house, but I'll be ruined unless Ewan marries me, and considering everything back in Scotland, I don't see that being a possibility.

He lets out a loud meow and I turn around in time to see him jumping towards the window with the bag of clothes in his mouth. Despite knowing he has to leave for the sake of both of our reputations, I'm a little saddened that he has to.

I shake my head to rid myself of such foolish notions. There may have been a friendship between us before, and some might say we'd even been on the cusp of courtship, but that was all in the past. Before his father nearly destroyed my family's reputation. All traces of that are long gone, and I must remember that.