“And, um, well, I suppose we shouldreallywait till tonight, when everyone will be present, but I fear I simply cannot,” Louisa continued.
“Wait for what?” her father asked.
Louisa cast another loving glance at her husband, who chuckled softly and appeared to give her a nod of approval. She slid her hand into his and regarded everyone once more. “Maxwell and I have an announcement to make.”
*
“Uncle Josiah.”
Julian, who had been deep in thought, lifted his head and regarded his brother. “Do you like the sound of it?”
“Yes, I believe I do.” Josiah frowned into his glass of cognac. “I’ve never been an uncle before. Maybe ‘Uncle Joe’ would be more appropriate. Easier, at least.”
Julian smiled. “I’m very happy for them. I confess I had some doubts about Harlow at first, but no longer.”
“I liked him immediately.” Josiah took a sip and licked his lips. “He’s not a man to be messed with, but he’s a decent fellow at heart and obviously besotted with Louisa.”
“Louisa was besotted from the start,” Julian replied, his gaze drawn to the mantel clock as it struck the midnight hour. With the long journey to Highfield looming a few hours hence, everyone else had retired for the night. Julian, however, wasn’t quite ready to surrender his busy mind to the stillness of the bedchamber, where sleep would undoubtedly be elusive.
Nursing a near-empty glass of fine French cognac, he presently sat beside Josiah in the lantern-lit billiard room. Well-sated, perhaps not quite sober, he returned to his ruminations. He’d already revisited his afternoon interlude with Miss Fairfax umpteen times. Of course, nothing about it ever changed. Nothing ever could. Now, in an effort to ease a persistent sense of despondency, his focus shifted to the north, specifically to Highfield Hall and his on-going responsibilities as heir apparent. He sank deep into his thoughts again and drifted amongst them for a while, until Josiah’s voice intruded once more. “Does she have a name?”
Julian blinked. “Who?”
“Whoever is responsible for the witless expression on your face.” Josiah cradled his glass and swirled the contents as he spoke. “You’vebeen staring at the hearthrug for the last five minutes.”
“Have I?” Julian gave his head a slight shake. “No, she doesn’t have a name. As a matter of fact, it’s not a woman, but something far less baffling. Try barley, malt, and livestock yields, not to mention tenants and rents. In other words, the various complexities of estate management.”
“Then may the Lord have mercy.” Josiah crossed himself and took a generous swig of cognac before continuing. “At times like this, I’m reminded how blessed I am to be a lowly Northcott spare. Please take good care of yourself, Jules, because there’s no way in hell I could ever step into your shoes and assume responsibility for Highfield. I’d sooner hang myself.”
“We do have a very competent steward, Joe, so it’s actually quite—wait.” Julian frowned. “Did you just call me witless?”
Josiah tutted. “Not precisely. I said you had a witless expression, which you did. Totally gormless, in fact.”
Julian failed to suppress a chuckle. “Bugger off. But if Ihadbeen thinking about a woman just now, her name would be Annabelle.” A sigh escaped. “Annabelle Fairfax.”
Josiah had just taken another sip of his drink and all but choked on it. “Bloody hell, you’ve kept that quiet.” He frowned. “Fairfax, you say? Not a name I immediately recognize. Whose offspring is she?”
“No one we know. She is a physician’s daughter, and I only met her this afternoon.” A slight, bitter-sweet ache tightened his gut. “After I left you.”
“Met her where? I thought you were going straight home.”
“I was.” Julian downed the remainder of his drink and stared at the hearthrug again. “But since I knocked the dear lady on her derriere, I felt obliged to see her safely to her front door, and on foot besides, because she refused the offer of a cab. We ended up spending a half-hour or so together. Not alone, I might add. The young lady was chaperoned by a disobliging dragon named…um,” he frowned and searched his mind, “Hattie, I believe.”
“After you knocked the dear lady on her derriere?” Josiah scratched his chin. “Er, a bit bloody drastic, don’t you think? Couldn’t you have just tipped your hat and introduced yourself?”
“I did, once I’d set her back on her feet. It was an accident, Joe. And, actually, she bumped into me.”
“Did she indeed. Tell me more. What is she like?”
“She’s rather lovely.”
“Detail, Julian, I’d like detail. Paint me a picture.”
Julian snorted. “That’s your forte, not mine.”
“Just try. It’s really not too difficult.” Josiah got to his feet and waved his glass as he headed toward the sideboard. “Want another?”
“Thank you, no,” Julian replied. “And not too difficult for the artists among us, perhaps, but all right, I’ll try. First, she had the most beautiful grayish-blue eyes, edged in black. Truly remarkable. Oh, and a sweet little freckle.” He prodded a spot above his brow. “Right here. Her hair… her hair is the color of… oh, I don’t know. It’s darker than mine and has little hints of copper in it.”
