Chapter Four

The following morning after breakfast Loki found Jane out in the garden reading on one of the benches. He knew she must have heard him approach, but she paid him no mind until he sat down right beside her.

"Hello, Loki," she said dryly as she turned a page in her book.

"Hello, Jane. Enjoying the beautiful day?"

She closed her book and turned to face him. "Let's get this over with. You wish to lecture me on what you thought was bad behavior and I believe you have no argument."

Loki gazed down at his little spitfire and had to squelch the smile that he felt coming on. He always knew that when Jane got older she was going to be a force to contend with. "And you believe I have no argument because of what I was doing with Lady Sigyn."

"Exactly. It's unfair that you get to do whatever you want because you're a man and I cannot because I am a woman. That is everything that is wrong with society today. You can do what you want but I can't."

"You better not have done what I was doing with Lady Sigyn and that has nothing to do with the fact that you're a woman," Loki warned her.

"I know, I know, because I'm your sister and I should be locked up in a tower," she said with a roll of her eyes and sat back against the bench. "I've heard it all before, and mostly from Thor since my come out."

"I want to know exactly what the nature of your relationship is with Lord Steve Rogers."

Jane sighed heavily as if this was a horrendous imposition. "Lord Steve is a friend. That's all. We were…practicing on each other."

Loki gritted his teeth. "And just how far did you go with the practicing?"

"Not as far as you went with Lady Sigyn."

"Jane…"

"We kissed a few times, that's all. He is interested in someone else and…so am I."

Loki's entire body tensed. "Who?"

"He's interested in—"

"I don't give a fig about him, Jane. You. Who are you interested in?"

She turned to face him. "Do you promise not to tell Mother and Thor?"

"Christ, is it that bad?"

"No. It's Lord Erik Lehnsherr."

"Absolutely not!" Loki blurted out and shook his head emphatically. "He's a philanderer, notoriously bankrupt, and he cavorts with whores. No."

"You've been away for how long, Loki? How would you know all this?"

"I hear things. News travels fast, Jane. And I ran into him in Italy. He had a questionable rash."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're lying."

"I am not." He was.

Jane leaned in close to him and peered up into his face. She was so close Loki could feel her breath on his face and see the green specks in her eyes. She smelled like honeysuckle. He felt himself lean in towards her and she sat back abruptly, jarring him out of whatever spell he'd temporarily felt himself under. "I still think you're lying," she said.

"Has he paid you any special attention?"

Jane frowned and kicked at the ground. "Not really, no."

"What do you mean by 'not really'?"

"He bumped into me and said 'I apologize, Lady Jane', and then continued on." She sighed dreamily and Loki rolled his eyes.

"And Thor and Mother do now know of your infatuation for him?"

"No. You promised you wouldn't tell, Loki," she said, sounding partly stern and partly nervous.

"I won't tell. But only if you cease kissing Lord Steve."

She shrugged. "Done."

"Jane, have you considered that Lord Steve may feel more for you than he is willing to admit? Does he know of your infatuation with Lord Erik?"

"Yes. He thinks the same as you about him."

Well then. That was quite telling wasn't it? "You are not that naïve, Jane."

She fell silent then and Loki knew for certain that she wasn't. She was quite aware of Lord Steve's feelings for her. "Jane—"

"It's not that I wish to hurt him, Loki," she explained. "I had a feeling he wasn't completely honest when he told me about his feelings for Lady Margaret Carter, but I thought when I told him about mine for Lord Erik it would discourage him."

"I would say kissing him probably encouraged him, Jane."

"I know and I feel awful. I just…this is going to sound terrible…"

"Just say it," Loki said and braced himself.

"I just really wanted the practice should I have occasion to kiss Lord Erik."

"You are absolutely right, Jane. That is terrible!" Loki admonished her. "You've been leading that boy on and you've been risking your reputation—"

"Don't even start, Loki. You are no innocent."

He turned to face her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jane, look at me. I understand that you think what I did with Lady Sigyn was wrong and you're right in a way – it was. Lady Sigyn and I have a history—"

"I know all about your history with Lady Sigyn," Jane said bitterly.

"How do you know about that?" He didn't like the idea of Jane knowing about his tawdry affair with Lady Sigyn. It meant that Jane was old enough to know such things. Perhaps even engage in them.

"I hear things too. People talk, Loki."

"Yes, they do. That is why I do not want you to be kissing Lord Steve where people can see you – and before you even ask no, you are to cease kissing him altogether."

Jane made a face and looked away from him.

"Listen to me, sweetheart," he said gently and nudged her to look at him. She looked up at him, looking a bit contrite. "Lady Sigyn has a reputation, and not a very good one. I know I've not helped form it, but she's not my sister. You are. Your reputation is important to me. I do not want any sort of scandal to befall you, Jane. You would ruin yourself and your family with it. Do you want that?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No, I don't." Now she sounded downright melancholy.

"And that's why I also don't want you anywhere near Lord Erik. The man is a cad. Just exchanging a few polite words with him could land you into trouble."

"You two look serious," Thor said as he approached the pair. "What are we chatting about?"

Jane jumped up went over to Thor. "Thor, something needs to be done about Loki."

Thor chuckled. "Oh?"

"He's in danger of becoming a bit of a curmudgeon. I thought all the traveling would bring him back to us in better spirits. Instead he's a bit stiff and unyielding."

"Jane," Loki said warningly.

Seeming to understand that if she continued on this path of teasing Loki she would find herself in big trouble, Jane turned and flashed Loki a wide smile that made her look positive angelic. Loki fell for it for all of a second. He knew all about charming someone to your side – he did it all the time. No doubt the brat had learned it from him. She came over and kissed his cheek sweetly. "If you tell anyone about Lord Steve and Lord Erik I'll tell Mother about Lady Sigyn," Jane whispered in his ear and then, clutching her book before her demurely, she nodded and smiled to Thor as she passed by him and headed back to the house.

That little minx, Loki thought as he watched her go.

"So, what is it you've become such a curmudgeon about, brother?"

Loki shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. "Jane exaggerates. I was just doing my brotherly duty and giving her my speech about guarding her reputation. A little late, I know, and I'm sure you've done it already as has Mother, but I thought I would pitch in."

"She is a headstrong girl," Thor said with a sigh. "I swear she hears me, but pretends she does not."

Loki chuckled. "And here I thought she'd turn out to be sweet."

Thor smiled and nodded to him. "What say you join me for a drink at the club? I'll get you in, you'll become a member, and whenever you have a need to be around men after being around women all day…"

"We are outnumbered aren't we?" Loki surmised.

"Even the cat is a girl."

Loki chuckled and nodded. "Say, does Lord Erik Lehnsherr visit your club?"

Thor cocked his head to the side and looked at Loki curiously. "He does. Why?"

"Well, I ran into him in Italy and we shared a bit of conversation. I thought now that I'm back I'd say hello." And make sure Jane isn't even a passing thought in his pea brain, Loki thought.