The hallway beyond the main entertaining rooms was quieter, lit only by a few wall sconces that cast dancing shadows on the papered walls. Portraits of long-dead Alderidges watched him pass with oil-painted eyes. The terrace doors stood ajar at the corridor’s end, spilling moonlight across the polished floor.
The scent of blooming lilac and something sweeter—perhaps the honey fragrance of hawthorn blossoms, or the heady perfume of early wisteria—met him as he stepped outside. But there was something else underneath it, something that made his skin crawl. The metallic taste of fear, sharp and wrong in the crisp spring air.
The terrace was a marvel of stone and wrought iron, filled with hardy plants that thrived in London’s unpredictable climate. Moonlight streamed across the flagstone, painting everything in shades of silver and shadow. Bare branches of climbing roses rustled softly against their supports, and somewhere water trickled from a small fountain designed to look like a natural spring.
But all James could see was Julian.
He had her backed against a marble pedestal that held a particularly prized orchid, its white blooms seeming to glow in the darkness. One hand was braced near her shoulder, his body angled to trap her against the cold stone. He was leaning in too close, his voice a silken threat that carried easily in the humid air.
“I’ve been patient long enough,” Julian whispered, his breath stirring the delicate curls that had escaped her coiffure. “You can’t keep running from what we both know is inevitable. I’ve already sacrificed everything for you—do you think I care about Thomas’s reputation? About the title? I’d burn it all down to have you. You’re mine, Georgiana. You always have been.”
Georgiana’s face was pale as porcelain, her eyes wide with terror that made James’s hands clench into fists. She was pressed as far back against the pedestal as she could manage, her entire body rigid with revulsion.
“Please,” she whispered, so quietly James almost missed it. “Someone will see us. Let me go.”
“No one is coming.” Julian’s free hand reached toward her face.She turned her head sharply to avoid his touch. “They’re all too busy with your sister’s little performance. We finally have time to settle this properly.”
James didn’t think. He moved.
The sound of his footsteps on the terrace’s stone floor made them both turn. Relief flooded Georgiana’s features. Julian’s expression shifted to cold calculation, as if James were nothing more than an inconvenient interruption.
“Step away from her.” James’s voice cut through the night air like a blade.
Julian turned with deliberate slowness, his hand remaining braced against the pedestal, still caging Georgiana. “Lord Ashford. How tediously predictable.” His smile was razor-sharp. “This is a private conversation. You’re not needed here.”
James stepped forward, using his height and breadth to force Julian back. “She said no. That’s all I need to hear.”
“Did she?” Julian’s mask slipped, revealing something predatory underneath. “You don’t know her like I do. She’s always wanted me—the way she used to look at me when Robert wasn’t watching. She’s trembling with need right now.”
Rage coursed through his veins, not because he believed his revolting words, but because he could see Georgiana flinch as if she’d been struck. She was indeed trembling—but with disgust and fear.
James’s fist connected with Julian’s jaw before conscious thought could intervene. The crack echoed across the terrace as Julian staggered backward, crashing into the stone wall. A delicate orchid teetered on its stand before toppling, shattering against the flagstones in a shower of soil and ceramic.
For a moment, the only sounds were Georgiana’s sharp intake of breath and the distant tinkle of the fountain. James stood over Julian, every muscle coiled for further violence, while Julian slowly straightened, dabbing at the blood on his lip with a silk handkerchief.
“You think you’ve won something here?” Julian said softly, his voice deadly calm. “I have nothing left to lose now. My brother’s secrets, her husband’s secrets—I’ll destroy them all if I can’t have her. At least then we’ll be ruined together.”
“Try it.” James reached for Georgiana’s hand. She took it immediately, her fingers ice-cold and trembling.
Julian’s eyes glittered with malicious satisfaction. “Actually, I think I’ll start with her reputation. Did you know about her husband’s little proclivities? How easily a few whispers could destroy what’s left of her standing in Society?”
The threat hung in the air like a poison cloud. James felt Georgiana’s grip tighten on his hand, saw the terror that flashed across her features. Footsteps echoed from the corridor—voices, drawn by the crash. This was a disaster. If the guests found Georgiana in a compromising position, it would destroy everything. Her reputation, Cecily’s prospects, all of it.
Lady Alderidge appeared first, her face a mask of controlled fury at having her perfect evening disrupted. Behind her came a handful of other guests, their eyes bright with curiosity and scandal-hunger.
In that split second, James made a choice that would change everything.
“There’s no cause for concern.” He managed to speak with absolute authority. “Mrs. Fairfax is my fiancée. I was defending her honor from an unwelcome advance.”
The words hung in the sudden silence. James felt his heart hammering against his ribs as gasps rippled through the small crowd. Beside him, Georgiana went very still.
Julian laughed, the sound harsh as breaking glass. “Lies. If that were true, why wouldn’t it be known? She belongs to—”
“She agreed to marry me just tonight,” James interrupted, his voice gentling as he looked at Georgiana. This was the greatest gamble of his life, but seeing her cornered, terrified, had made the choice forhim. “Making me the happiest man alive.”
The silence stretched taut as a bowstring. Georgiana stared up at him, her eyes searching his face as if trying to read his soul. He willed her to see the truth there—that this wasn’t just a lie to save her reputation. That he meant every word.
“Yes,” she said finally, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. “It is I who am made happy. Happier than I ever thought possible.”
