Her sisters had tried to reach out, both individually and together, but she had not been in the mood. Currently she was in the mood for very little except a good book and then a night’s sleep that she prayed would clear her spinning mind and let her decide what to do next.
Did she let go of her involvement in the pursuit of Winston Leonard as her family and Ellis so desperately wanted her to do? Or did she just hurtle herself into danger and find a way to break out of their intense rules?
“You are far away, miss,” Mary said as she set the brush down.
Juliana shook her head. “It was a long day,” she admitted.
Mary glanced at her in concern. “Will you need anything else before you take to your bed?”
“No,” Juliana said with a pat on her maid’s hand. “Thank you.”
Mary gave a little nod, then slipped from the chamber, leaving Juliana alone at last. She sighed as she tightened her robe around her waist and stepped from her dressing chamber to her bedchamber. She moved to the bed, happy that her sheets were already turned down and all she had to do was slip into the coolness.
Of course, she would likely stare at the canopy for a few hours. Stewing again.
“That is not the expression of a lady prepared for happy dreams,” came a voice from the darkest corner of her room.
She turned toward it with a gasp, knowing the owner of said voice even before he rose and stepped into the light.
“Ellis,” she whispered, letting her gaze roll over him. Dear Lord, but the man was handsome. She always told herself he couldn’t be as beautiful as she remembered, and he always was.
Tonight, his crisp white shirt was rolled to the elbow, revealing muscular forearms. He was not wearing a cravat and his dark hair was slightly mussed. Perhaps from whatever method he had used to sneak into her chamber.
She blinked as the situation became clearer. He was here. Why was he here?
She hardened herself as she recalled his actions of a few days ago and folded her arms across her chest in a flimsy shield. “What do you want?”
He lifted both eyebrows. “A cold greeting.”
“Do you think you deserve a warmer one?” she asked, lunging toward him even though closer was more dangerous. “You told Rook about…about the Donville Masquerade.”
How she hated that her voice broke. That heat filled her cheeks. He would see that. He would know his power. Not that he already didn’t.
He arched a brow and lifted a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. “If you bring the household running by shouting, we won’t be able to speak.”
She tilted her head. “You arrogant arse. Do you think Iwantto speak to you?” She asked the question, but she had lowered her voice and they both knew it.
“I told Rook about your activities because you are so stubborn that I feared for your safety,” he explained, and for a moment she saw the pure exhaustion in his eyes. “Juliana, Ifearedfor you.”
“Youhumiliatedme,” she corrected softly, trying not to think of the confrontation with her sisters when they’d told her what he’d done. “And by doing so, you made it very, very clear that you don’t want me or my help. So, I repeat my question,why are you here?”
He held her gaze evenly. “You spoke to the Duke of Coningburgh today.”
Her eyes went wide at that statement, made with such certainty and without hesitation. How would he know that? “Rook told you?”
He blinked. Once again, the mask he wore slipped and she saw the true pain at the mention of his cousin. “No,” he said softly. “Rook has made it patently clear I have no place in his life.”
She wrinkled her brow. “Then who?” He hesitated, and her jaw dropped as the only other explanation became clear. “You have people following me?”
He shook his head. “Notyou, angel.”
She turned her face. God, she was such a fool, to think he cared enough to track her movements. Of course he didn’t. None of this had ever been about her.
“Once I was sure you were here with Rook, I knew you would be protected,” he explained. “Or thought I knew. No, I’ve had men on Coningburgh for days. I think he might be the conduit to Leonard.”
She nodded, and for a moment her tangled feelings were forgotten. “That’s whatIsaid to Rook and Harcourt and my sisters, but they refuse to listen. They can only focus on what I did. They only wanted to scold me for endangering myself.”
“Which you did,” he interjected.
