But Juliette didn’t believe that. She needed to see him, to know if he was all right. The housekeeper gave her a cool cloth, and she wiped her face, hoping to calm the roiling fear.
“Could I get some toast to eat?” she asked. “Nothing but bread, please.”
The housekeeper’s face narrowed. “You’re looking a wee bit peaked, Lady Falsham.” A slight smile perked at her mouth. “I won’t be lying. I do like calling you that. Dr. Fraser’s a fine man, and now that he’s a viscount… why, it’s simply perfect.” Her gaze drifted lower. “If your stomach is tossin’ in the morning, I suspect it won’t be long before ye have a wee bairn to look after. So soon after your wedding bodes for many children.” She patted Juliette’s hand. “Is it possible, do ye think?”
She gave no answer. Unfortunately, it was looking more and more likely. Right now she wanted to lie back on the bed and curl up into a ball. But if it was true and she was expecting a child, then lying down was the last thing she needed. She had to find Paul.
“If you’ll help me to dress, I’ll eat the toast when you’ve prepared it, before I go to find my husband.”
“I’ll see to it, my lady.” Mrs. Larson helped her to don a gown over the light blue chemise and corset she’d chosen. The frock was a new one that Paul had bought for her, white with tiny blue flowers upon it. The high waist and scooped neckline clung to her body, while a blue satin ribbon was her sash. She pulled on her gloves and finished dressing, although several times, she had to stop and take deep breaths to force back the dizziness.
But when she went down to the breakfast table, she saw Cain Sinclair speaking to her mother. The grim look on the man’s face confirmed her worst fears. “Where is he?” she demanded, hurrying forward.
“Strathland’s men ambushed him last night. My brother Jonah saw them leaving and came to tell me.”
“Is he alive?” she demanded. A roaring filled her ears, and she gripped the edge of a chair. “Tell me he’s not dead.” She couldn’t even grasp the thought, it was so terrible. Though she’d only been wedded to Paul a short time, she’d loved him far longer than that. He couldn’t die. Not like this.
The stoic expression on Cain’s face was not reassuring. Her knees grew weak, and she sank into the chair, her hands shaking. “Tell me.”
“I don’t know what’s happened, but we’re going to find out. Stay here, Lady Falsham.” His eyes burned into hers. “Don’t interfere until we can bring him back.”
She stared at him, wondering how she could possibly wait behind these walls while he went to save her husband. And then what? Strathland had crossed beyond reason and into madness. Both of them would lash out at the other until one of them was dead.
It had to end.
If Paul killed Strathland, he would be brought up on murder charges. An earl outranked a viscount, and the consequences would be severe. But she couldn’t live this way any longer, running away from the man who had taken so much from her. The earl had stolen her innocence and had given her nothing but heartache. She would not allow him to harm Paul. If anyone needed to face Strathland, it was her.
“I’m not staying here,” she told Cain. “I’m going with you. I’ve a need for my own vengeance.” She hardly cared that she was risking her own life. This was about taking it back again.
“No, you won’t leave,” Cain argued. “He’ll only use you against Fraser.”
He wasn’t going to listen to her. It was easier to feign her agreement than to waste time on words that meant nothing. Instead, she gave what truths she could. “Go and help Paul, then,” she said. “I won’t interfere with that.”
And she wouldn’t. She had her own purpose for paying a call upon Strathland. She trusted Mr. Sinclair to free her husband. This time, she intended to see to it that the earl understood the truth—that he no longer held any power over her or her family.
When he’d gone, her father stepped in front of her. “I know that look on your face, Juliette.”
She said nothing, waiting for him to tell her all the reasons why it was wrong for her to leave. Likely, he’d try to lock her in her room, as if she was still a little girl.
“Paul is my husband,” she insisted. “He’s the man I love, and I’ll not stand by and do nothing.”
“I won’t ask you to stand aside.”
His words startled her, and he gestured for her to sit at the table. “But I have spent many years planning battle strategies. I wonder if you might allow a father’s help in your own war.”
From across the room, she caught Beatrice staring at the pair of them, her face softening. Her mother came to stand by her husband, and she touched a hand to his shoulder. “Henry, thank you.”
He cleared his throat. “I know I’ve not been there for you, while you were growing up. I missed many things. Seeing you transform from a girl into a woman. And now a wife.”
“I don’t understand why Strathland won’t just leave us in peace,” she said. “Why he won’t give up.”
“There are some men who cannot accept defeat. They’ll destroy everything in the hopes of acquiring what they desire most.”
Her mother sat across from both of them. “I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t approve of your marriage, when I first learned of it. I didn’t believe Charlotte when she told me of Dr. Fraser’s title, either.”
Beatrice took a breath and added, “But I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I believe that you both deserve to be happy.”
Henry exchanged a look with his wife and nodded. “I agree with you that Strathland should leave all of us in peace. And I think I know a way to make that happen. Without killing him,” he added. “The last thing we need right now is a murder trial.”
