Then a voice spoke and he knew that he was not alone after all. And if he could have chosen one occupant of thehouse whom he least wished to encounter at that particularmoment it would have been the very person who spoke.
“I might have known you would be the first to find me,” she said. “Well, here I am. Deliver your speech.”
He could not see her at first. But then one of the partly drawn curtains was pulled aside and she swung her legsdown from the window seat, showing a quite indecorousdisplay of ankle and leg as she did so. He felt instant annoyance.
“Meaning?” he asked her.
“I suppose itisquite a carrot,” she said. Her tone was not at all pleasant To be fair, he guessed that she had been asintent on being solitary as he had been. “A beautiful housebuilt less than a century ago, filled with treasures of art andfurnishings and draperies and decoration. A large andlovely park. Prosperous farms and healthy rents. It wouldbe quite the jewel in your crown, would it not Daniel? Butit comes with me. Inseparable and indivisible. A minor annoyance.”
He should have been amused, he knew, at her presumption. Instead he was unaccountably angry. “Minor?” he said, making an effort to keep his voice controlled and icy.“I might have used another adjective, Julia. Perhaps it is aswell that I believe my crown to be sufficiently studded withgems.”
He was proud of the setdown. She sat and glared at him. Julia had never been able to control her emotions. And yetcontrol was an essential quality in a lady, he believed. Or insomeone bent on quarreling.
“Your choices are not quite as numerous as you might have imagined,” he said. “But then you may find it easier tochoose among four rather than five, Julia. I will not be acontestant.”
She pursed her lips and regarded him through narrowed eyes. “That,” she said, indignation making her voice vibrate, “is one small mercy. Does that mean we will be losing your company, Daniel? I for one will be devastated.”
He was not quite sure why they hated each other so much or when exactly it had started. She had always beenone of the children, deplorably noisy and badly behaved.But that alone would not have aroused hatred in him. Hedid not hate his other younger cousins who had beenequally unruly once upon a time—the boys anyway. However, that was not a problem to be considered at this precisemoment.
“I could help you narrow the field further,” he said. “If you are willing to listen to advice, of course.”
He expected to be told in no uncertain terms where he could go and what he could do when he got there, but shesmiled. Unpleasantly. She set her hands flat on the windowseat on either side of her and leaned forward, all apparenteagerness.
“Oh, by all means, Daniel,” she said. “Advise me.”
She was damned pretty when she was angry, the earl thought. Or when she was not angry for that matter.Thoughprettywas rather a tame word to describe her appeal. It was not just her face or the neatness of her figure.There was something very—well, very attractive aboutJulia. If she behaved more like a lady, he would not havenoticed it. She had no business flaunting her sexuality.
“I would not accept Freddie if I were you,” he said. “He is always in need of funds and would like nothing betterthan to gain possession of these farms and rents. But hewould gamble it all away faster than the rents could comein. Besides, he needs more than one w—” The trouble withsomeone like Julia, he thought as he stopped himself midword, was that she sometimes made a man forget that hewas a gentleman.
She leaned a little farther forward. “The word could not have beenwife,”she said. “I have heard that Freddie can bea little wild, but I do not believe that even he would trybigamy. He needs more than one woman, Daniel? Mycharms would not be enough to hold his interest you believe? How lowering.”
She was toying with him. She was beginning to enjoy herself. His best course would be to leave the room withoutanother word and go find himself another retreat. But hewould be damned before he would leave the last word withJulia.
“And Malcolm is too old for you,” he said curtly.
“Is he?” She raised her eyebrows and smiled at him again. “Nine years is too wide an age gap, you think,Daniel? But there are eight between you and me.”
And eleven between him and Blanche. “Another reason why I will not be offering for you,” he said. “I prefer maturity in women.”
If he had hoped to wither her with the setdown he was to be disappointed. Her smile held. “Are we talking aboutphysical maturity?”she asked. “You prefer ripe fruit?”
He willed himself neither to flush nor to lower his eyes from hers. “You are the only lady I know, Julia,” he said,“who can always be relied upon to be vulgar.”
She chose not to take issue with the insult “It will have to be Gussie, then,” she said. “You cannot have any objection to him, can you, Daniel?”
“Gussie is too young for you,” he said.
“We are the same age.” She stared at him blankly. “In fact he is four months and three days older than I. At onetime we even knew how many hours, but I have forgotten.”
“He needs time to spread his wings,” he said. “He doesnot need the ties of matrimony yet.” He was feeling thoroughly annoyed with himself. Why was he giving her thisadvice, anyway? Sound as it was, it was unlikely that shewould pay it any heed. Besides, why should he be interested in protecting her from a poor marriage? What difference did it make to him? Except that he was his uncle’ssuccessor and he had always been damnably burdened witha sense of duty. But perhaps it was not Julia he was protecting, he thought. Perhaps it was his cousins. He would notwish Julia on his worst enemy. But the sheer unreasonableness of the thought made him frown and increased his irritation.
“Especially with me,” she said. “Gussie does not need to be chained for life to me. That was your meaning, was itnot? Your low opinion of me as a matrimonial prospect isdevastating me, Daniel. That leaves Les. He is three-and-twenty, neither too young nor too old. I would lay odds thathe does not gamble—oh, that was a strange turn ofwords—and I can’t imagine Les needing more than onew—?” She pointedly left the word incomplete. “I believehe would be pleased to own Primrose Park. And he wouldbe kind enough to be pleased to own me too. Yes, Leswould be by far the most sensible choice. Thank you,Daniel. Your advice has been most helpful.”
“Les is too sweet,” he said, “and too slow. He would not suit you at all, Julia.”
She sighed. “Because he would be unable to keep a tight enough hand on my reins?” she said.
For exactly that reason. “If you wish,” he said. “The words are yours.”
