A Chance With You by Paula Camille Wong (the snowy day read aloud TXT) 📖

already been settled, nine years ago,”

“Nine years ago? Before you went to war?” She asked in disbelief. “I don’t believe you. SHE is the reason why you are like that, isn’t she?”

His lips were in a firm line, stepping away from her. “The business is none of yours,” He repeated. “Believe what you must. I simply don’t care.” And with that he turned around and made his way toward the library door, his strides stiff and stout.

Jane bit her lip but remained where she was. He was wrong. It is her business. He is her business. No matter how hard she tries to ignore it, it can’t be undone. She is still in love with him.

It was William after all.


Chapter 12

After what seemed like lifetimes later, Jane finally managed to step out of the library and onto the long massive hallway. There were not any signs of William, thank goodness. She bit her lip as she smoothed her gown. She was acting like a child. Where is her mind? She frowned and sighed. She should start acting like the woman she is.
Clearly, William is not the same boy she had known back then, and she not the same girl. He did not feel anything for her back then. And he still doesn’t now.
She sighed and made her way to the dining hall, surprised that Lillian was still there… talking to a handsome stranger.

He looked up from their conversation and smiled, a charming and dashing smile, showing perfectly straight white teeth. Lillian followed his gaze and grinned. “Jane. I would like you to meet Edgar St. Richards, the Earl of Richmond, Edgar this is Lady Jane, Marchioness of Birmingham,”

Edgar St. Richards rose from his chair and bowed in greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Lady Jane,” His fair blonde hair glimmered in the candlelight, marking his features.
Jane bowed and smiled kindly in return. “No Sir Richards, the pleasure is mine.”

“Would you care to join us? There are plenty of chairs around the table for you to sit in,”

“Yes, please join us Jane.” Lillian agreed smiling.

“I would be glad to join you, surely I do. But unfortunately, I already had my fill for the night. I just came to check on Lillian then I must be off to bed. I am rather tired,”

Edgar merely nodded and bowed his head. “That is a shame indeed. I was seeing onward to distinguishing more about you Lady Jane. I guess the mystery will just have to wait until we see each other again,”

“Yes. Of course,” She did not know what he precisely meant. But she shoved it aside and bowed in return, murmuring her farewell before turning around to head back to her room, feeling relieved when she did not catch sight of William again.


“Now tell me about this idea of yours Lady Lillian,” Edgar leaned against the table chair, immediately interested on what she had to say.

“Well… it is not an idea really but just a theory,”

“Go on,” He prompted.

“Well, I am sure you have seen the way my brother was to her. They haven’t been in a most… promising relationship. With my brother being in War and Jane with her family,”

“I understand that they used to be good friends,”

Lillian nodded grimly.

“As long as I have been Will’s friend, I never heard him mention Ms. Jane not even once,”

“Yes well… before he went off to war, he vowed he will put everything behind him, become a new man. He did just that, he placed everything behind him, even Jane,”

He raised a brow. “And how do you know about this,”

She glanced down at her lap and fritted with her corset strings. “You will not believe me and it may not be clear, but William and I were once close.”

Edgar raised a brow. “Once? You are not close now?”

Lillian sighed and lifted a shoulder, shrugging. “That is just it. I do not know. He has been so distant. He used to be so different. So caring, but now it was as if he doesn’t have a care in the world anymore,”

“And you think this is because of Lady Jane’s younger sister… what was her name?”

She huffed and raised her chin, the look of pure disgust in her eyes. “Meredith,” She mumbled lowly.

“Ah yes, now I remember. Meredith was her name. Have you spoken to her?”

“Why would I speak with her? Ever since I was young, she disapproved of me. Thinking that I was a nuisance,”

“Well that is rather harsh,” He said lowly but the look of pure amusement in his eyes. “So what are you planning on doing?”

Too caught up in her thoughts, she blinked and tried to recall his question. “Oh right. Well I was thinking, would you mind assisting me?”

“I would be glad to. But what exactly are you trying to get them to do?”

“They used to be best of friends. Jane loved William, and I do think she still does. The way she had looked at him. I remember clearly. William, on the other hand is ready to settle down. It is time for him to, at the least. He is six and twenty. Jane would be perfect,”

Edgar regarded her with a grin. “So you are to play matchmaker?”

Lillian smiled. “Yes, if you put it that way,”

“But aren’t you forgetting something?”

She met his gaze. “Forgetting about what?”
“Lisa,”

Ah, the mistress. Yes, well she had forgotten about her. “To tell the truth, I do not know.” She whispered frowning. “That particular idea had not ran through my mind yet,”

He chuckled. “Then we just need to keep him from going to her,”

She met his gaze and smiled. “Yes. You are right.”

“I will stop him while you stop Lady Jane from leaving,”
That gave Lillian a pause. “Leaving?”

“She’s packing,” He replied, his voice low.

“Packing?!” Lillian half asked and half yelled at the same time, she rose from her chair almost immediately, making her way to the dining hall entrance but then paused. “How would you know about that? This was your very first encounter with her; I did not recall hearing her say she is leaving,”

Edgar shrugged and gave her his gorgeous smile, even though it did not affect her at the least bit. “I am known to others other than a scoundrel you know,” He said winking. “I have a talent of reading people,”

“Maybe that’s why they gave the title of a scoundrel in the first place,” She mumbled lowly immediately making her way to the hall and toward Jane’s room.

“Touché’,” Lillian heard Edgar call out after her, which made her laugh but continued making her way to Jane’s chambers.


Jane sighed and sat her baggage on top of the bed. In a few minutes, the footmen will come and fetch it for her then use the borrowed carriage to head back to her own estate. She figured she wasted her time here enough. It’s best for her to go. After all, her sisters will be glad for her to return. She was sure Stephenie and George would also.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She rose from the bed and walked toward the mahogany door, turning the copper knob, surprised to see Lillian standing by the doorway, seeming to be out of breath. She was wearing the same dress as she saw her last time, a few minutes ago to be exact.

“Don’t go,” She whispered bracing her hand on the doorway.

Then she immediately knew what Lillian was speaking about. “I have to Lily. My sisters… I mean my family will be missing me. I cannot afford to waste my time here any longer. I have nothing to accomplish here you see,”

“Nothing to accomplish?” She asked sadly. “You mean you do not think to rekindle our friendship?”

Jane blinked and shook her head quickly. “No! No. That’s not it at all. We are already friends, even before we met again. Ever since you were a young girl, we were already friends. We will always be friends. No matter how many years in the future,”

She made her way inside the room to close the door behind her, taking Jane’s hand in her own. “Let’s be honest about ourselves here Jane. This isn’t about your family. You and I both know they can be able to take care of themselves… what’s really the matter?” Even though Lillian knew perfectly well what her response will be, she wanted to hear it from her own lips.

Jane frowned and met Lillian’s gaze debating if she should share her personal thoughts with her. The look in her eyes was almost desperate, but knowing. She sighed and nodded, pulling her to sit on the bed. “I cannot stay where I am unwanted.”

“But you are wanted you see. I want you here,”

Her lips formed into a chilling smile. “Not the lord of the manor,”

“But William wants you here. It’s just he is too stubborn to admit it to himself,”

“You call that stubborn? No. I believe he showed me my place back at the dining hall. And that is clearly at the bottom of his shoe,” Jane replied coldly.

“You have to give him a chance… you do not understand Jane. Can’t you see? You’re the only one that can heal him from his scarred heart,”

“I am not going to heal what my foolish sister did. I am not her replacement,” Jane’s voice was emotionless, almost haunted and pained by the way Lillian accused her of. But she just couldn’t seem to hold back, her anger getting the best of her. “He fell in love with Meredith, not me. I wasn’t good enough. I don’t have the luscious curves she has. I don’t have her clueless mind; I don’t have her beautiful blue eyes. I don’t have what he saw in her......... do