“Such as Mr. Furley from your dinner party?” she asked, keeping her tone light. Truthfully, Julia couldn’t imagine being interested in anyone so simple after having dallied with the complex Earl of Marshfield.
“Furley would have been an awful match for you,” Jasper declared. “And with his mother being part of the package, a large part, I cannot imagine any woman—”
“Then you didn’t see the papers?” she interrupted. “For I read recently, he has in fact made an engagement.”
“Is that so?” Jasper appeared surprised. “My sympathies go out to the unfortunate young lady.”
She might have chuckled if she wasn’t preoccupied by one sobering thought.
“Have you done it yet?”
“It?” he asked, genuinely perplexed.
“With the viscountess. Bedded her, I mean?”
Both his eyebrows rose that time, probably at the boldness of her question.
“No,” he said quietly.
“Why?” she fired back, hoping he would say he couldn’t go through with it regardless of how that would thrust her and Sarah back into the threat of blackmail.
He shrugged. “Luckily, she was out when next I went to her house. Her husband was there. I wanted to punch him for not being able to satisfy his own wife. But, of course, I’ve already done that.”
So, he was truly ready to perform the service.
“It’s really all Lord Chandron’s fault,” Julia muttered, causing Jasper to send her a withering stare.
“I know it’s mine,” she corrected. “I am aware of that. But I don’t suppose you’ve come up with a plan to discourage her.”
“No, I don’t suppose I have,” he said and sipped his wine.
“I cannot let her threaten Sarah.”
“As I told you,” he reminded her, his expression hardening, “I will not let that happen. I can pride myself I am still the coveted prize she seeks, and she’ll leave you and your sister alone.”
That brought a wry smile to her lips. “A dubious honor, but yes, I believe you are.”
Ultimately, he would go through with the deed. And she would try not to even feel sorry for him.
At that moment, their hostess, brought over a perfectly bland young man to be her dining partner. With a bow, and a quick touch of his cravat pin as a salute, the earl retreated, taking all the evening’s excitement with him as he returned to Lady Arabella’s side.
When the three-hour dinner concluded with a gorgeous display of pastillage flowers strewn along the length of the table and poached pears with custard in crystal bowls for their dessert, Julia was more than ready to go home. She’d been unable to disappear for even a second under Jasper’s watchful gaze.
Worse than that, he’d managed to unnerve her throughout the many courses, even from the far end of the table with his direct stares and slightly inappropriate smile. The man could heat her body at twenty paces. She left before he did, not caring a whit for his dinner partner, since by his inattentiveness to Lady Arabella, he didn’t care a whit for her either.
Jasper had a woman on his arm whom in all likelihood he intended to tup for mere sport, or on a whim change his mind. It was by all accounts perfectly normal for him. Julia didn’t like it, but she liked even less how she couldn’t stop torturing herself with thoughts of Jasper undressing and lying with Lady Chandron.
HerJasper.With that horrid woman!He would touch her, perhaps kiss her.Good God! Would he kiss Lady Chandron?
She was still thinking of him while futilely struggling with sleep. At some point, he would settle between the viscountess’s thighs and take her to the height of pleasure.
Julia wanted that for herself.Who wouldn’t?
The following evening, Sarah’s butler entered the drawing room without his usual calm demeanor. He was fairly fizzing when he handed them a single newsprint sheet from theTimes, part of their special evening edition with news that was already blanketing Mayfair and beyond:
A dreadful accident has occurred at Meux's Brewery, about 6 o’clock this evening. Due to a compromise, one of the vats in Banbury Street, St. Giles, said to hold over thirty-five hundred barrels of beer, burst without warning. A wave of liquid flowed down St. Georges Street. Loss of life is still being determined, but amounts so far to six.
Thus, it was with wondering glances, she and Sarah went into the dining room and talked of nothing but the bizarre notion of being at home and suddenly drowning in a veritable river of strong beer.
