By the time the meeting wound to a conclusion, Julianna found herself weary. The prospect of returning home to Shelbourne loomed, calamitous. They had been married for three days. The first day had been tumultuous.
The second, she had taken great care to avoid him following their breakfast, and he had obliged her by taking dinner at his club. After busying herself with getting acclimated to the household and better acquainting herself with the domestics, she had been so tired she had dropped into her bed and fallen asleep before he had even returned home.
This morning, they had breakfasted together once more as they had the others, with Shelbourne being attentive and polite. Almost too polite. Although they had settled into a tentative truce, Julianna knew she did not dare trust him. He had already proven himself dangerous to her heart. She could not afford to soften toward him in any fashion.
The Duchess of Longleigh appeared before her suddenly, rescuing Julianna from the gloom of her thoughts.
“Thank you for saving me from hosting the next meeting,” she said,sotto voce, as the rest of the ladies milled about the sumptuous chamber, chatting.
The duchess’s gratitude took her by surprise. “You need not thank me, Your Grace.”
“Please, you must call me Tilly,” the duchess entreated.
She was flaxen-haired and lovely, with an ethereal beauty that was almost disquieting. Julianna’s every interaction with the duchess thus far had led her to believe the duchess was a goodhearted, compassionate woman.
“Tilly, then.” Julianna smiled. “And you must call me Julianna as well.”
“I believe we shall be friends, you and I,” Tilly said. “The two of us are different, are we not? The rest of the ladies are…”
“Hopelessly in love with their husbands?” Julianna guessed, and then regretted her words.
From the Duchess of Longleigh’s prior statements, she knew Tilly was not happy with the duke. But it was nonetheless forward of Julianna to make the statement.
“Do not look so distressed.” Tilly’s smile was sad, a shadow crossing her patrician features. “You have not offended me in the least. Indeed, you stole the words from my mouth.”
Julianna had taken note of the happy marriages of the ladies in their group. It was daunting, to say the least. Particularly since she was trapped in a decidedly unhappy one, with no hope of it ever changing. There was some relief, she supposed, in finding a kindred spirit. After all, the chill between herself and Hellie aside, Julianna could not properly speak to her friend about Hellie’s own brother. It was too awkward.
“Still, I must beg your pardon,” Julianna felt compelled to say. “I have a…history with Lord Shelbourne, of course, which renders me somewhat jaded. I have no wish to pry. It is merely that I inferred from some of your comments at previous meetings that you and Longleigh are not a love match.”
Tilly smiled wryly. “Do you refer to the meeting where I suggested I would happily watch my husband drown in the Serpentine?”
Yes.
Julianna’s cheeks went hot. She cleared her throat. “Of course not.”
“You are a liar, my dear, but it was for my benefit, so I shall forgive you.” She raised a golden brow. “Truly, there is no need to fret over the state of my marriage. It is common knowledge His Grace makes my life a misery.”
Shelbourne did not make Julianna’s life a misery. He just…hurt her heart. Making love with him again had been dangerous. It made her feel too much, made her long for things she knew she could never have.
“I am so very sorry,” she told Tilly, meaning those words wholeheartedly. “Is that the reason you were hesitant to host the next Lady’s Suffrage Society meeting?”
“Longleigh is out of the country now, thank heavens.” Tilly frowned. “But he does not approve of women gaining the Parliamentary franchise. If word were to reach him that I hosted a meeting at our home…”
“I understand, and I am certain Lady Jo would as well.”
“I am ashamed to admit that I fear him to the other ladies. They all have wonderful husbands, whilst I have quite the opposite. I never should have married him, but I was young and foolish and wanted to please my mother and father.” Tilly sighed, offering her a tremulous smile. “One cannot live in the past, however. We cannot change it, and there is no sense in wallowing in the pain. I am happy to have you join our ranks, for at least I will not be alone.”
“One more ally in London would be most welcome,” Julianna told her newfound friend. “Would you care to join me for tea sometime soon?”
“Tomorrow shall do,” Tilly said.
Well, then.
Julianna smiled. “Tomorrow.”
The more distractions keeping her from Shelbourne, the better.
* * *
