It was hard to imagine Camilla prattling and laughing. She was sweetly grave and had been even as a girl, evenbefore she had met and become betrothed to her captain.Well, perhaps not quite so grave.
“You must not let it worry you,” Camilla said. “As Mr. Prudholm pointed out, there is no compulsion on you to marry anyone. Unless you are dreadfully attached to Primrose Park, that is. Are you?”
“I am rather,” Julia said. “But in the nature of things a woman expects to leave her home when she grows up.”
“In order to marry,” Camilla said. “Not just because the man of the house has died. Though it happens oftenenough, I suppose. But don’t let any of them harass you,Julia. I don’t think any of them will, though Freddie might.Just don’t allow it. If I can help, do call on me. A femalecompanion at your side will dampen anyone’s ardor, youmay be sure.” She smiled.
“Thank you.” Julia gave her first genuine smile of the evening. “It is all rather embarrassing, you know. Everyoneis going to be watching me for the next month and wondering who will offer for me and whom I will choose. What ifno one offers? That would be a little mortifying.” She giggled rather nervously.
As if to prove one of her points Aunt Millie was nodding and smiling encouragingly at her all through dinner as shehad done every time she had spotted Julia since that afternoon. And everyone was watching her curiously, Juliathought self-consciously looking about her and finding thatalmost no one was. She looked down at her empty plate andwondered how many courses had already been eaten andwhat they had consisted of.
But she need not have worried about the cousins ignoring her, she discovered when dinner was over. Stella and Viola called her to the pianoforte when the ladies adjournedto the drawing room and they took turns playing andsinging. Frederick, Lesley, and Augustus joined them therewhen the men came in from the dining room soon after.Frederick leaned indolently on the pianoforte while Augustus turned pages of the music for Viola and Lesley sangonce with Stella. He had a pleasant tenor voice. The earlwandered out onto the balcony close by the pianoforte, Julia noticed out of the corner of her eye. She was glad hehad not joined them.
But things were not the same as they usually were, she thought crossly after a while. She always enjoyed herself immensely when all the cousins were together. But now noone was behaving quite naturally, including herself. Freddie was lolling against the pianoforte, his dark eyes watching her from beneath lazy eyelids, one lock of dark hairdown across his forehead. Les was smiling at her more thanat any of the others. Gussie was avoiding her eyes and pretending she was not there. Stella and Viola were laughing alittle too merrily and a little too loudly. And Daniel wasstanding silently out on the balcony. What noise she expected him to be making when he was out there alone shedid not stop to ask herself. But she could feel his presencethere almost like a heavy hand pressing against the back ofher neck.
“Warm, Jule?” Frederick asked, smiling lazily at her. “Yes, I am,” she said. “There seems to be no air comingthrough the windows at all.”
“Aunt Millie shut all except the French windows,” Viola said. “You know how terrified she is of drafts.”
“The air will be cool outside, though, Jule,” Frederick said, his voice almost a caress. She looked sharply at himbut he was still standing there being Freddie. “Come on. I’lltake you out for a stroll in the gardens.”
“All right,” she said warily. Normally she would have accepted such an invitation with alacrity and without suspicion despite the fact that she had been aware of Freddie’sreputation for a long time. But this was not a normal situation. However, a beginning had to be made somewhere.“Thank you, Freddie.”
He pushed himself to an upright position with apparent effort. Lesley was frowning down at a piece of music. Thegirls pretended to have heard nothing. Augustus turnedaway to gaze nonchalantly at a picture on the wall.
“That is the best idea anyone has had all evening, Freddie,” another voice said. “It is delightfully cool outside. I shall join you and Julia if I may. Stella, would you care tocome too?”
He must have been standing out on the balcony with his ear pinned to the curtain, Julia thought indignantly, looking at the very handsome form of the earl and noting with satisfaction that he must be all of two inches shorter than Freddie and his hair at least two shades lighter. And he did nothave that interesting lock of hair across the forehead or thedark bedroom eyes that Freddie could use to such effect. Ofcourse, he did have blue eyes, and he did have the aristocratic nose. But even so...
“I’ll come too,” Viola said. “Les?”
Frederick chuckled when the six of them had left the drawing room and he was leading the way downstairs, Juliaon his arm. “I can guarantee you one thing, Jule,” he said.“You are going to be better chaperoned during the comingmonth than you have ever been in your life. How are yougoing to like that, eh?”
She could hear the earl talking to Stella just behind them. What she would really like to do was turn and resume theafternoon's quarrel with him. She knew what he was about. He did not want to have anything to do with her himself,but he was going to make very sure that she had no chancewith any of the other cousins either. He just could not bearthe thought of her becoming one of the family. And hewould die before he would see one of them become ownerof Primrose Park. He would prefer to see it pass to Grandpapa’s chosen charity.
Well, they would see about that, she thought.
“I always thought chaperons a foolish idea,” she said. “Especially when one is at one’s own home with one’s ownfamily. I don't think we should tolerate having chaperonsabout us, Freddie.”
Which was a very bold and probably a very rash thing to say to Freddie of all people, she thought as he slanted her agrin.
5
That was an invitation if ever he had heard one, Frederick thought. A not very proper invitation from a lady who had been brought up to behave properly. But onecould always expect the unexpected from Jule, bless herheart.
It had been rather like a blessing from heaven, that will. Not so much the five hundred pounds, which was a negligible sum, but the prospect of owning Primrose Park. And thecompetition could only whet his appetite, for gaming, gambling on the outcome of what was not at all certain, was thebreath of life to Frederick.
If the stakes were high and if he had a good chance of winning and if he could not afford to lose—then a game became irresistible. This game was irresistible. Primrose Parkwas the prize. Winning Julia was something that could bedone, if he exercised care. And he certainly could not afford to lose. He was in dun territory and only one stepahead of his creditors. His best way out of the mess—marrying a wealthy wife—had seemed not an option, given hisreputation. Until his uncle had presented him with thechance of marrying Julia, that was.
And she had just issued an open invitation.
“How about a stroll to the lake and back?” he suggested when they were all out on the terrace and had gathered in agroup. “I believe the air is warm enough.”
There were murmurs of assent and they all set off along the terrace, past the rose arbor, down the sloping lawn, andin among the trees. Except that now, outside the house,Frederick maneuvered matters so that he and Julia broughtup the rear. And eventually, before everyone else reachedthe lake, they were not even doing that. It was the simplestthing in the world to dodge behind a tree, holding Julia bythe arm, move off to one side with her at a steady trot,dodge behind a few more trees, and consider that the two ofthem had well and truly lost the others. It was almost dark.In a matter of minutes it would be fully so.
Julia was laughing softly. “Oh, well done, Freddie,” she said. “I always did believe that chaperons were made to belost. You did it almost too easily.”
“What was Dan up to?” he asked, stopping to lean back against a tree. He folded his arms across his chest and liftedone booted foot to set flat against the trunk. “Protectingyour reputation, Jule? Or protecting his own interests?”
