“No,” he insisted.
“Seriously,” she said. “Please do not give me all that king and country nonsense.”
“I meant every word,” he said evenly.
“Then you didn’t make love to his wife?” She held her breath, hoping he said no just as assuredly.
“Yes, in a manner, but not so she could become with child. I promise you it’s the truth.”
In a manner!Julia didn’t need to hear the details.
“Thank you for dinner. I had best be returning home before my sister starts to worry.”
He gave her a long look as if he would say more, but really, what else could he say? She knew what he was, and still, she’d willingly taken every step along the path to where she now stood. Yet at that moment, she realized her obsession had to end. What if she were to becomeenceintedespite his practiced methods?
After a moment, he turned to his butler, who had remained in the foyer, practically melded into the wall plaster during the entireimbroglio.
“Miss Sudbury’s mantle, Mr. Greer, and please make sure a hackney is out front.”
“Yes, sir.”
After a last glance at him before she left, Julia added, “You ought to apply a poultice to your eye.”
“A poultice of what, Doctor Sudbury?” He gave her a crooked smile, as if this were no more serious than playing ducks and drakes or a game of bagatelle.
Jasper’s problems were his own, mostly self-inflicted ones at that, and he would have to deal with them by himself.
“Having never been around such behavior before, sir, I haven’t a clue.” She let him drape her mantle around her shoulders before stepping out into the cold night.
***
HUMMING TO HERSELF, Julia let her sister’s maid dress her hair for an upcoming dinner party. She could hardly recall to whose home she was going. Sarah was coming, and they each would be assigned partners. Regardless, she was determined to get another bauble tonight because soon the nobility would vacate Town, taking many of their extraneous sparklers with them. When the wealthy attended country parties over the Twelvetide, they would be as festooned as they were in London.
It had been a week since “the incident,” as she thought of the dinner at Jasper’s home on Grosvenor Square. Having been prepared for whatever might follow their meal — except for what actually happened — she’d expected to be walking around as an experienced woman at last.
Instead, she couldn’t dismiss the notion of him blithely having anaffaire de coeurwith Lady Neville, even if hiscoeurhadn’t played much part compared to other parts of his body. If Lord Neville hadn’t shown up, she might not still be an innocent, yet in many ways, the angry cuckold had been the final straw in removing the shadow of innocence from her eyes. Jasper’s irresponsibility and true nature had been thrust in her face, as surely as Lord Neville’s fist into Jasper’s eye.
That was just as well, she supposed, tapping on Sarah’s door to indicate she was ready. What life would it be for a woman who became the consort of a rakehell?
A disastrous one!
Nor had she heard a single solitary word from him since he’d put her in a carriage and kissed her hand. True, his gaze had lingered on hers, until she could feel the pulse beating in her throat, but he hadn’t pressed a last kiss upon her lips.
“Come in,” Sarah called.
“You look beautiful,” Julia said. It took a moment to realize Sarah was standing in the middle of her room, wearing only her undergarments.
“Let me get my mantle, then,” Sarah quipped, “and we’ll be on our way.”
“Sorry. That was stupid of me,” Julia needed to stop musing upon the earl. “But your hair does look pretty.” It had been put up by her maid with a feather-and-pearls aigrette on one side, looking rather jaunty and confident.
Why hadn’t he at least sent her a note?She’d looked every day for a missive with his black seal. Every day, she’d been disappointed and tried to quell the unwanted sadness. Expecting something uncharacteristic from a rogue like Lord Marshfield and then being disillusioned when he didn’t play the part was unfair. What’s more, it was a sentiment bound to cause her heartache.
She ought to simply enjoy the strange and sometimes thrilling friendship they shared, without expectation.
“Silver and plum or jade and cream?” Sarah asked.
“Jade and cream,” Julia said.
