Julia felt as if she crawled rather than walked to her bed. She did not believe she had ever been more exhausted in her life. Or more depressed.
They had arrived back when it was already almost dark and had walked into a veritable wall of questions and anxious inquiries as soon as they set foot inside the house.They all smiled and smiled and told the same story, thatCamilla and Malcolm had taken it into their heads quite onthe spur of the moment to drive to Gloucester to find a jeweler and a betrothal ring and had dragged Daniel off withthem to make all proper. And then when they were alreadyin the stables waiting for the carriage to be ready, they hadmet Freddie and Julia, who had decided to go with themsince Julia wished to pay a call on Mr. Prudholm. They hadcompleted the latter errand, but alas there were no suitablerings in Gloucester.
There had been a chorus of protests from cousins and even a few uncles and aunts who were offended at havingbeen left out of such a secretive excursion and a few scoldings for not having left word of where they had gone, buttheir story had not been questioned. Scandal had beenaverted.
Frederick had caught at her wrist when she was coming up to bed. He had been smiling that twisted half smile.
“I don't expect you to forgive me, Jule,” he had said quietly, for her ears only, “but I am dreadfully sorry for what happened. It will haunt me for a long time to come.”
“I hope it does, Freddie,” she had said, looking at his hand rather than at his face. He had a bruise on the left side of his jaw, acquired when he had been standing too close to the carriage door when opening it. She wondered if thatwas what had really happened.
She did not think she would ever be able to forgive him, though he must have a conscience, she thought, or hewould not have found himself unable to go through with hisfinal plan.
Julia burrowed beneath the blankets though the night was warm, and curled up into a ball. She felt hurt and used.Daniel had said nothing to her. He had not even looked ather. His face, when she had glanced at it, had been hard andpale, even when he was smiling for the benefit of the relatives. She would have welcomed even one of his famouspompous scolds rather than the silence. But he, of course,thought her guilty of a dreadful indiscretion—dreadful evenfor her. She had made Camilla and Malcolm promise to say nothing.
Julia burrowed even farther beneath the bedclothes. She had gone all to pieces as soon as she was alone in the carriage with them—body and limbs trembling, teeth chattering, tears flowing. The whole humiliating scene. She hadhuddled in a corner refusing to say a word beyond the repeated assertion that nothing was wrong until Camilla hadcome to sit beside her and cradle her head on her shoulderand rock her just like a hurt child. Julia hated to remember.
Then it had all come pouring out. All the sordid details. All her terror. And then she had become terrified anew.Terrified that they would retell the story back at Primrose Park and Daniel would feel obliged to challenge Freddie toa duel and put a bullet through his brain or somethingdreadful like that. And there would be all the ghastly unpleasantness of Aunt Eunice and Uncle Raymond’s discovering how villianously their son had behaved. She wouldjust die, Julia had thought, if she became the cause of suchdisruption within the family.
And so she had made them promise that they would say not a single word to anyone, least of all to Daniel. After all,she had pointed out when they had seemed unwilling atfirst to promise, Freddie had relented and he had been taking her home again. No real harm had been done.
No real harm had been done. Julia emerged from the suffocating heat of the blankets to rest her head on the pillow again and stare upward at the canopy of the bed. Mr. Prudholm had agreed to come on the following day. The dayafter tomorrow she should be able to leave. She could leaveit all behind her forever and start a new life. Grandpapa,Primrose Park, the family. Daniel.
Daniel. She would be able to forget about him. Everything about him. She would be able to put it all in the past and start again. There was some excitement in the thought. It was always exciting to start a new life. She supposed.
Daniel.
She slid into a deep sleep.
He watched from the window of his bedchamber as she left the house and set off walking in the direction of thelake. It was very early. He had expected to have to waituntil after breakfast to get her alone so that he might have aprivate talk with her. But he had hoped that perhaps shewould be up and out early as she frequently was. Especiallyon this morning he had hoped that she would find herselfunable to sleep.
She would be going swimming, he thought. She probably needed the cool water and the exercise after yesterday’s ordeal. It was amazing that she had held herself together sowell last night. None of the rest of the family could havesuspected that she had been through a worse hell in thecourse of the day than any woman should be required toface during a lifetime. She was a remarkable woman.
She had, of course, gone to pieces for a while in the carriage with Camilla and Malcolm. But only for a while. Then she had pulled herself together and insisted that theypromise to say nothing about what had happened to her.Camilla had been very reluctant to tell him the story untilhe had told her all that Freddie had told him. Freddie musthave wanted some sort of absolution. He had told everything. And of course he would go unpunished beyond that one punch to the jaw since the whole thing must be keptstrictly secret from the rest of the family and battered faceswould require explanation. But then the earl rather suspected that Freddie would punish himself quite adequately.
The earl waited a full ten minutes before going after Julia and even then he did not walk fast. If she had gone for aswim, then he would allow her the privacy in which toenjoy it—for a while anyway. But when he arrived at thelake, it was sparkling and very empty in the early morningsunshine. There was no one on the bank either. He lookedright around the lake, but there was no one. She had gonesomewhere else. He had missed her.
He would have to wait until after breakfast after all, he thought, disappointed.He sat down on the bank for a fewminutes, but he was restless and was soon walking back to the house again. Perhaps he would go for a ride. It wouldpass some time and use some energy. He did not knowwhat made him glance up as he passed a short distancefrom the old oak tree. A rather wistful memory of two afternoons before, perhaps?
She was on the branch he had occupied then, lying full length, face down, her arms folded beneath her head. Hedid not think she was aware of his presence.
“Julia,” he said softly when he had walked up to the base of the tree.
She did not move. “Go away, Daniel,” she said. “Please go away.”
She was in his tree. On his branch.
“Shall I come up or will you come down?” he asked. “We need to talk.”
For a few moments he did not think she would answer him. Then she lifted herself to a sitting position and beganto climb down, without once looking at him. She lookedweary and dejected, quite unlike Julia. His heart ached forher. He did not help her when she reached the lowestbranch. He let her jump down to the ground.
“Well,” she said when she was there, standing in front of him. She did not look up at him or attempt to step back.“Go ahead, Daniel. It was scandalously indiscreet of me. Ican be only thankful that you had the presence of mind tocome after me and that Camilla and Malcolm knew wherewe had gone. Iamthankful. There. How is that for humblepie?”
“I know what happened,” he said quietly. “Freddie told me.”
“Did he?” He watched her swallow. “Did you give him the bruise?”
“Yes,” he said.
