Even so, she gripped her hands together to stop them from shaking.
“Tell him I am not at home,” Juliette responded.
All around her lay piles of clothing and a single trunk. She’d decided not to pack everything for her return to Scotland, since she had no need of court gowns or dresses for balls. Amelia would make better use of them. For tomorrow morning, she was leaving for Scotland with Paul.
“Forgive me, Miss Andrews, but he was most insistent. He bade me give you this, if you refused.” The butler held out a small note.
Why couldn’t Lord Strathland understand that she would never change her mind? No matter what he said or did, she would die before allowing him to court her. With a sigh, Juliette accepted the note and broke the seal. The six words, written in clear black ink, stood out on the paper as if they were marked in blood.
We need to discuss our son.
The room spun, and the color drained from her face. “Leave me,” she ordered the butler. The man bowed, and as soon as he left the room, Juliette ran to the chamber pot and sank to her knees, retching. Her body shook with tremors so hard, she couldn’t bring herself to stand.
He knows. Oh God, oh God, he knows.
She rested her cheek upon the carpet, wanting to curl up into a ball and avoid facing him. She’d been afraid of this for so long, of endangering Matthew. If she refused to see Lord Strathland, he would believe that the boy was indeed his. He’d well and truly cornered her now.
She got to her knees and held on to the bedpost as she rose to her feet.Be strong,her mind ordered.Deny the truth and force him to go. If she convinced the earl that Matthew was not hers, then Strathland had no ammunition at all.
Slowly, she went to her dressing table and began to brush her hair, pinning back any stray locks. She pinched her cheeks for color and took slow, steady breaths.
You can do this,she told herself.You must lie for the sake of your son.
She could only pray that her words would be convincing.
“You’ve been keeping secrets, haven’t you, Miss Andrews?” Lord Strathland stood from his chair when she entered. Juliette nodded to the butler, who stood at the doorway just as she’d ordered him to. Although this was going to be a difficult conversation, she would never be alone with Lord Strathland. Had her aunt and uncle been present, she would have begged them to stay.
“The note you sent me was a lie,” she said, tossing it onto the hearth. “I have no son, and neither do you.”
Not if I can help it.
It took an effort to keep her tone even, for inwardly, she was shaking. “I was holding my aunt’s son,” Juliette continued. “She would not take kindly to your calling him a bastard.”
“I thought you might deny it,” he said smoothly. “The true question is what you would do to protect his future.”
There it was—the threat she’d been expecting. Lord Strathland was a petulant man who apparently did not understand the wordnoin any form.
“Why will you not leave me alone?” she demanded. “I’ve told you, time and again, that I want nothing to do with you. Ever.” There had to be madness within him, to think that he could coerce her to be with him again.
“Your father is going to give you Ballaloch for your dowry. And it will then come into my possession.”
“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “It’s not mine and never will be.”
“It’s a useless piece of land now, with hardly anything there at all. You will ask them for it.”
She said nothing about how her family had rebuilt the house, not knowing if he was even aware of that. “I want you to leave.”
“I’m certain you do.” He crossed the room and stood before her. “But I wanted you to know how you can keep the child safe. How to buy my silence, so that I’ll never threaten him.”
“I don’t need to buy your silence for a lie.”
“All I have to do is plant a few rumors.” Strathland rested his hand upon the fireplace mantel. “I can tell them of your shame and how I compromised you. Of how you bore the child in secret.”
“It’s not true,” she insisted.
“No man will ever have you, after I tell them of how you seduced me. My words alone could ruin not only your reputation and your sisters’… but also the boy’s. They will question what they’ve heard. And when they dig for answers, how difficult do you think it will be to find the truth?”
Juliette struck him across the face, her hand leaving an imprint against his skin. The butler entered the room, and Strathland lowered his voice. “I hope you fight me like that again, when I next share your bed.” He sent her a sly smile. “Wed me, and I’ll leave the boy in peace. You can give me other sons.”
