She stiffened. “I don’t need your reassurance.” She closed her dress—what remained of her dress, anyway. “What Ineedis a sewing basket, thanks to you.” She stood up. “Cheese and chocolate are still on the dresser, if you’re hungry.”
“Julia—”
“Rest, Rayne. It’s been a long journey.” She placed her hand resolutely on the door handle. “And tomorrow you must deliver me to Edmund Alistair Clarke.”
…
She disappeared through the door to the corridor.
He swung his feet over the side of the bed and then paused. He couldn’t go chasing her through the house naked, now, could he?
Even at Periwinkle Gate, such a thing wasn’t done. And he couldn’t dress quickly enough to catch her, either. She’d dumpedallof his clothes in the tub.
He brushed aside the upper bedclothes and yanked the sheet off her bed. He wrapped it around his waist and then stalked through the door.
“Julia!”
No answer. He tried the other direction.
“Julia!”
Nothing at all.
He retreated back into the chamber and through the water closet, into his own room. There, he rang the servants’ bell.
Whathad just happened?
From the moment they’d stepped out of the traveling chariot, the whole world had gone mad. He’d lost his mind.Clearly.
Correction.
He hadn’t lost anything.She’dfinally pushed him over the edge. And the wreckage was so scattered nothing made sense anymore. He culled for fragments he understood.
He’d been angry, because everyone here believed he and Julia were eloping. He’d surmised Julia and Farring had made some sort of pact to force him to cancel his plans, and, from that, he’d decided that Edmund Alistair Clarke did not, in fact, exist. Then, Julia had barged in on him naked and stared at his cock. And from there, everything had truly gone to hell.
Or heaven.
Depending on which moment he chose to remember.
But how—and why—had they ended up here? She’d said something he’d only vaguely heard over his lust—Farring tricked us both.
A light rap sounded against the door. “You rang, my lord?”
He recognized the voice of James—Theo’s valet—and opened the door. As usual, James was elaborately dressed in clothes suited to the prior century.
“Lord Rayne.” He made an elaborate bow.
“Hello, King.”
He granted a regal nod. “It’s been some time since you graced our court.”
“It has, hasn’t it?”
“We are happy to see you looking so… so…”
Rayne rubbed his stubble. “Feral?”
“Canadian,” James replied.
