She drew her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. “Then let me fight with you.”
Juliette Fraser sat with her aunt Charlotte and her three sisters, Amelia, Victoria, and Margaret. Despite being around her dearest family, she felt a sense of fear drawing around her like a cloak. During the past hour, she had spilled out her darkest secrets, secrets that Charlotte already knew, but her sisters did not.
She was almost afraid to look at them, worried that they would be ashamed of her. But she could no longer keep them from knowing the truth about Matthew. Not now, when he needed her.
Margaret was the first to speak. Her face drawn with worry, but she spoke softly. “I think I always suspected it. You loved Matthew more than a cousin, and whenever we visitedCharlotte, he was always in your arms.” Then her tone shifted. “Had I known what Strathland did to you, I would have shot him myself.”
Victoria said nothing but reached out and squeezed Juliette’s hand.
Amelia appeared stunned into speechlessness. Juliette had never before seen her sister so taken aback. Finally, she spoke. “I cannot believe you kept this from us, all these years.” Her emotions were bright, her eyes gleaming with tears. “How could you bear this burden alone?”
“Because it meant keeping Matthew’s inheritance safe. There was no other choice.” Juliette leaned back in her chair, releasing Victoria’s hand. “Now the gossip is circulating, and I have to protect my son. For that reason, I have asked Sarah Carlisle to pay a call on us today.”
“Why on earth would we want anything to do with that woman?” Margaret interrupted. “After all that her brother did to you—”
“I was not the only victim,” Juliette said. “Matthew said she is destitute and any stories she might have spread were out of desperation. I want to see her for myself and discover how we can force the gossip to die down.”
“Are you certain she is the source of it?” Victoria ventured. “Could there be someone else who holds a grudge against Matthew?”
Juliette shrugged. “I cannot say. But for now, we can meet with her and find out what may be done. She should be arriving at any moment.”
Amelia’s expression held steel. “If she was the source of the gossip, she deserves whatever ruin she lives in. I’ll not lift a finger to help her.”
In answer, Juliette held out the note she had received from Matthew. “Look at this.” Though she understood Amelia’shatred toward the Earl of Strathland and his sister, she did not hold Sarah to blame for the attack. Rather, she pitied the woman for having to live with such a brother.
Amelia took the letter and read it, but her annoyance didn’t diminish. “Why would Matthew want to help a woman who tried to ruin him?”
“Because she was the victim of gossip, and his father was caught with her—though I don’t think they did anything wrong. But the scandal ruined her chances of marriage. Matthew believes if we set her up with a good husband, she will let the matter go. Though he did say that she was rather…angry and reluctant.”
“I cannot imagine a woman like Sarah Carlisle would let it go,” Amelia said, handing back the letter. A footman arrived at that moment, and she shrugged. “But if she’s already here, I suppose we can hear what she has to say.”
The servant inclined his head in silent admission that their guest had arrived. As he departed to show her in, Juliette turned to Amelia. “Let me speak to her first.”
After a moment, Sarah Carlisle appeared in the entrance. She was dressed in gray, and her hair was coiled atop her head. Time had carved ridges of unhappiness on her face. At first, she didn’t seem at all eager to join them, but Juliette stood. “Please come in.”
The woman eyed them all as if she were entering a pit of vipers. But she took the chair Juliette offered. Silence descended and for a moment, it seemed that the woman wanted to flee their presence.
Juliette took a moment to calm herself. Sarah had changed over the years, and bitterness had stolen her looks. But the question was whether the woman still possessed a heart.
“Will you have a cup of tea?” she offered.
Sarah hesitated. “That depends on whether you’ve put poison in it.” Her posture remained ramrod straight, and Juliette didn’t stop her smile this time.
“We’re not that terrible, Miss Carlisle.”
At that, the woman shook her head. “I have no idea why I even came here. I know that you loathe and despise me.”
“Because you’re trying to destroy our cousin’s inheritance,” Amelia snapped.
Juliette pushed back a groan, knowing there was no stopping her sister now. Once Amelia decided someone was an enemy, she would not reverse her course.
But Sarah turned to face the animosity. “Don’t you mean your nephew?”
Amelia’s glare turned heated. “My sister asked me not to interfere, and for her sake, I will not. But were it up to me, I would have nothing to do with you.”
At that, Juliette stood between the women. She guided Amelia to sit back and sent her a warning look. To Sarah, she said, “I have only just told my sisters about Matthew’s birth.”
Miss Carlisle met her gaze, and she eyed the door. “Shall I go, then? It seems that my presence here is a waste of time.”
