“I have my ways.” Alonzo returned to his seat on the sofa. “Your cousin, the duke, is a reasonable man.”
“You made a donation to his gallery.”
“I am a fellow patron of the arts.”
Graham snickered and swallowed down his wine. “You are a sly bastard, is what you are. A thousand pounds to get a woman where you want her.”
“Funds well spent, I’d say.”
“The red-haired vixen, you were correct in assuming I’d take an interest in her.”
“Lady Willa?”
“The very one.” Graham wandered over to the sofa and helped himself to more wine.
“I am rather fond of Willa and her mother. I would take it as an affront if you toyed with her.”
“How long have you been in her acquaintance?”
“Ten days.”
That earned Alonzo another snort. “Very well, you have my word. I will not ruin her, though I’d like to.”
Alonzo nodded in approval. “Wanting and doing are very different, my friend.” There were many things he fantasized about doing to Lady Julia—sinful acts that would force her to the edge of passion and make her beg him for more. “Lady Julia is in for the biggest surprise of her life.”
*
Their carriage pulledup to Marsh House by midafternoon. The Duke of Stanhope’s estate, just south of London, was a sprawling property with an ancient castle, manicured lawns, a fully stocked lake for trout fishing, and a forest fit for the Regent to hunt in. The cobblestone, circular drive was filled with servants welcoming newly arrived guests.
“I still cannot believe we were invited to the duke’s party,” Lady Willa said.
“Attending the countess’s musicale has propelled you both back into fashionable Society,” Lady Bradbury said with gratitude.
“I have no use…”
“Julia,” Lady Bradbury scolded gently.
“I will keep an open mind and endeavor to act as the lady my father and mother raised me to be. Though mindless gossip will be hard to stomach.”
“We will be inspiration for that gossip,” Willa blurted.
“Daughter!” her mother said. “The same expectations I have of Lady Julia, are now upon you, too. For it was your father’s dying wish that I make the perfect match for you. And though we live a humble life compared to what we were once accustomed, your dear father had the foresight to set aside a generous dowry for you.”
That information caused Willa to fall silent. Julia scooped her hand up, giving her a reassuring smile. Why her mother would choose to share this blessed news now, she did not know. Perhaps Lady Bradbury hoped her daughter would meet someone who could make her happy, for in the end, that is all one could ask for. Even Julia, who abhorred the idea of wedlock, would be accepting of a man she could grow to love if he made her laugh. For once youth faded, what did a man and woman have left to share?
The footman lowered the steps of the carriage and opened the door, offering his hand to Julia first. She alighted, taking in the general splendor of the duke’s home. Her father’s country estate, located in Kent, offered many of the same luxurious surroundings, but this old castle with its two towers and gray-stone exterior captured her attention in a way only books seemed to do.
Her father’s carriage and pair of Turkmen horses would return to London once their baggage was unloaded. Two ladies’ maids had also traveled with them. After they were greeted by the duke’s sister and her two daughters, Lady Julia was shown to her chamber. Willa and her mother would stay in a room down the hallway.
Her chamber had a small balcony overlooking a private garden and was charmingly decorated with a mahogany, four-poster bed, writing desk, wardrobe, and a sitting area complete with a hearth and comfortable chairs. Hamlin would stay in a sleeping compartment located off the sitting area.
The heat of the day had made her tired, so she gladly settled down for a short nap, not expected downstairs for dinner until seven o’clock. The highlight of the ten days she would spend here was the masked ball on Friday. She had had little time to choose an appropriate costume, but her ever-reliable modiste always held in reserve a selection of exquisite gowns for her best clients. And for the first time in quite a while, Julia had relied on her position as a duke’s daughter to get what she needed for herself and Willa.
There was no shame in it, now that she thought about it. If she didn’t obey her father’s command and find a suitable husband, and waited for him to choose one for her, she would end up in a loveless union expected to breed like a thoroughbred, nothing more.
She waited patiently as Hamlin brushed out her long hair, bringing it to a smooth shine. One of Julia’s best features was her hair.
“Were you able to gain access to a guest list?” she asked Hamlin.
