“It was an old family recipe, but I have improved upon it.”
There was an unmistakable pride in her voice. More realization hit him, right in the heart. She was even more impressive than he had supposed, this wife of his.
“And you have been giving the cream to all your friends?” he asked, thinking her rather ingenious.
“Yes.” She sent him a hesitant smile. “I have plans to see it produced on a much larger scale than what it is currently being made. However, the small batches we have been able to produce have made it somewhat sought-after.”
Bloody hell.“You have been selling it? Do you mean to tell me you have a business in New York City?”
He could scarcely credit it. Of course, she was intelligent and daring enough to do anything she wished. Here was yet another part of her that was unknown to him, a mystery. From the sounds of it, she had begun an entire business in New York City, one she intended to expand further. It was impressive.Shewas impressive.
Her tongue slid over her bottom lip. “I have the beginning of a business. Unfortunately, producing my cream in the batches necessary to allow us to sell it beyond New York City required an investor.”
Something inside him curdled.
Died.
“An investor?” Surely now was not the time she was going to tell him she’d had a lover in New York City. He couldn’t bear it. He had taken lovers after her, while they had been apart, and he regretted each one of them now.
He had put all such questions from his mind, but suddenly, unbidden, an image of her laughing with that bastard on the street hit him like a fist to the jaw. It had been the day he had been determined to see her, after his foolish transatlantic voyage, and he had been trapped inside his carriage, watching her with her beau. Watching her laugh with him.
“Me,” she said, chasing the old ghosts.
“You?”
He did not follow.
She smiled. “Yes. With my uncle’s fortune, I will be able to invest in my cream.”
Ah.Now he followed. He was not certain, however, if this belated discovery of her motivation for marrying him should make him feel better or worse.
“You are full of surprises, are you not, Lady Shelbourne?” He stopped touching her then and stepped away. Had to. Distance, common sense, a clear head—that was what he required. “Tell me about this cream of yours whilst we play.”
He reached for two cues and handed her one. Safety there—with a billiards table between them and his hands occupied by the cue, he could not get himself into much trouble.
Or so he hoped.
Chapter 17
Two years earlier
Word arrived this morning that Grandmother is desperately ill. Hellie, Mother, and I are off to Tarlington Court in Buckinghamshire to say our farewells. I write from the train as we make our agonizing passage there, with the hopes she may wait to join the angels until we arrive. Parting with Julianna brought its own torment. I will forever regret the haste with which I took my leave. My only consolation is that when we are able to reunite in London, I shall, with clear conscience and open heart, ask her to be my wife.
~from the journal of Viscount Shelbourne, 1883
Julianna’s time at Farnsworth Hall had passed in a dream.
But now, it was ending in a nightmare.
Hellie and Sidney’s beloved grandmother had suffered a stroke. Word had reached them that morning by telegram. The gathering, once filled with lightheartedness and joy, had become solemn and bleak. It was decided the guests would leave at once, whilst Hellie, Sidney, and their mother would travel on to Buckinghamshire. If the family acted in haste, it had been reported, there could be time enough for goodbyes to be said.
First, however, there was another goodbye which must be said. Julianna had already embraced her tearful friend Hellie. Now, Sidney stood before her in the chamber she had been given with its sweet morning light and view of the lake. After receiving his note, passed to her surreptitiously by a footman, she had dismissed her lady’s maid so they might have a private moment of farewell.
The sadness haunting his handsome face made her heart ache.
“Sidney, I am so sorry,” she said softly, not knowing what to offer, how to comfort him.
“It is the way of life, though I wish it were not.” He caught her in his arms, holding her tight, burying his face in her hair. “We are born and we die. None of us leave this world alive.”
