Chapter Twenty
Leaving.Her stomach plummeted.
Juliet followed the scarlet-coated soldier to her cousin’s office, irked by his haughty summons when she wanted to be alone in her room. How could her heart still be beating when surely it must be shattered to pieces?
Had Joshua left without saying farewell? Had he walked out of her life? To not see him ever again? She wiped her eyes, willing away a fresh wave of tears.
What did her cousin want and at a time like this? Where was Mary?
The door opened, and her jaw dropped. “Edmund!” She darted around the soldier and fell into her cousin’s arms. “Is it truly you? I’m not dreaming?” She held him in a death-grip, refusing to let go and he swung her around.
“Fit as I’ll ever be, Juliet. I’ve missed you.”
His father harrumphed and nodded to the soldiers to leave. “Put Juliet down, Edmund. Such display of emotion is improper. You both forget your places.”
Edmund pushed her at arm’s length. “You are the last person I expected to see here. How are you here?”
“A long story but you are here and there will be time to share. You look wonderful. The years have been kind to you, Edmund.”
The only relative who was ever considerate of her frowned. Conflicting shadows flashed across his face. She pressed her hand to her chest. A glimpse of that haunted look she’d seen in him as a child. What plagued her dearest, sweetest cousin?
“I see you have filled out from the scraggly, skinny boy I knew. If my sum is correct, you are at eight and twenty years. You are truly handsome and I’m sure, capable of causing any girl’s heart to flutter.” Juliet laughed and pulled him down on a chair next to hers. He’d grown tall and filled out his tailored breeches and frockcoat, so out of place on the frontier.
She raised her gaze up to his face and, looking at him, an odd familiarity struck her. How much he looked like someone she knew. How similar…almost identical…he bore an uncanny resemblance to Two Eagles.
“And you have grown into a fine young lady. We have so much to catch up on.”
She could not take her eyes away from his face. The same angle to the jaw, high cheekbones, dark hair, dark eyes, alert. From head to toe, she examined him. Same broad shoulders, same build. Edmund’s skin was lighter, his clothes English. Dressed in a breechclout the differences might be nonexistent.
Were their similarities a freak of nature? Was it possible that a cookie-cutter version of two people living on opposite ends of the world existed?
She shook her head, stopping her bizarre thoughts. No. It could not be. Impossible. Her mind was playing tricks.
“Edmund has recently graduated from Oxford as a barrister. I wanted him to remain home and begin his practice. You can imagine my surprise when I received his letter from Montreal and he was on his way,” said Colonel Faulkner, his censorial tone severe.
“For some godforsaken reason, Father, I wanted to see this new world that beckoned me and kept you away from me for so many years. If I remember correctly, you’ve been home for only two weeks of my life.”
The colonel clapped his hand on his son’s shoulder. “It is good having you here, Edmund.”
Juliet’s heart swelled. It was the first time she’d seen the taciturn Colonel Faulkner show any kind of affection. He loved his son.
“You will have to suffer my company,” Edmund said, looking to his father and smiling.
“Never will I suffer your company, Edmund.” His voice hoarse, the colonel straightened his coat and returned to his chair behind his desk. “I’ve important dispatches to prepare to send on the ship you arrived on. We will have dinner this evening.”
“Like true soldiers, we are dismissed,” laughed Edmund rising and taking Juliet’s hand. “Dear cousin, I will enjoy your company.”
They moved inside the fort, passing the kitchens with meats roasting on a spit and the scent of warm bread drifting from the ovens. Sentries changed guards from their boxes atop the parapets. Curious onlookers took their fill of the two unusual newcomers.
“They are looking at you, Juliet. You were lovely as a child, but have grown into a stunning woman.”
Juliet glanced at him again shocked by the similarities to her Indian friend. They strolled along a boardwalk to where Mary stood. She wanted her friend’s opinion. “I want you to meet someone.”
Mary turned and gasped. “Where did you get those clothes?”
Edmund glanced to Juliet, questions in his eyes.
“This is my cousin, Edmund, and this is Mary. You two never had the opportunity to make acquaintance in England.”
