She shivered as she sat back in her seat. “Oh, I do not belong here.”
Caroline jerked her gaze to Julia and then her expression grew firm. “But youwill. I’m not going to give you some silly story that you’re too clever to believe where it will all be easy to fit into this world after such a long time gone from it.”
“I appreciate that,” Julia whispered. “It wouldn’t help.”
“No. But I will tell you that you’ll keep your head up. You’ll never let them see that you’re troubled by anything said to youeither to your face or loud enough behind your back that it was meant to be heard. And if you need shoring up, or someone to land a sharply pointed barb on your behalf, I’m here.”
Julia took Caroline’s hands and squeezed, love swelling up in her for her dear aunt. “You’ve had a great deal of practice lately, I suppose, standing up for Evie after she became countess.”
“Yes, there have been some unkindnesses,” Caroline admitted. “But the bright glow of Evie and Vaughn’s love seems to have silenced most of that. It’s impossible to bring your sister down from her joy and it’s not fun for the jackals if they can’t do that.”
Caroline hadn’t directly brought up Julia’s lack of connection to Laurence, of course, but she couldn’t help but feel it. She wouldn’t have the protective bubble of her husband’s naked adoration like Evie did. Her road would very likely be even harder.
“It might be a struggle for both of us in the end,” Julia said with a sigh. “Laurence told me the only family member attending the wedding will be his cousin, Alexander Castleton.”
“The Earl of Heathfield and his family have always been terrible snobs,” Caroline said with a sniff. “That any one of them would deign to come to this is a good sign, actually.”
“I’m not sure about that assessment,” Julia said, thinking of the party the night before. Of how focused Alexander’s dark eyes had been on her and how frank he’d been in his dismissal. “He doesn’t like me any more than anyone else in that family does. I see it every time he stares at me from across a room. And I worry he might be here on a mission of disruption. What do you…what do you know about him, auntie?”
“Very little, I’m afraid,” Caroline said. “He does move in some of my own circles, but we’ve rarely crossed paths in any meaningful way. He’s always seemed to be a serious sort of person, bent on making his own way in the world. His attentionappears to be on other pursuits rather than making himself known to thehaut ton.”
“What sort of pursuits?” Julia pressed. “Perhaps if I understand him better, I can find a way to connect and let him see I’m not the mercenary he apparently thinks I am.”
Caroline huffed out her breath in frustration, but pondered the question. “Well, the future is something I’ve heard him speak about.”
“Do you mean his investments with Grayson Danvers?”
Caroline lifted her brows. “Yes, it seems you’re already halfway there. Fascinating man, that one. And his wife is just a dream. As kind as she is beautiful.”
“The courtesans were all devastated when Danvers found his true love match,” Julia mused. “He was always considered a top catch amongst our—theirranks. Not that he was ever that interested in being caught.”
“Until he found the right one,” Caroline mused, and their eyes met. Once again, there was that pesky topic of men head over heels for their wives.
“Is there anything else about Mr. Castleton?”
Caroline seemed to search her memory further. “I once saw him at a reading of Walter Scott’s poems put on by Lady Lena’s Salon. He seemed engrossed by the presentation.”
“Oh, I’ve always liked Scott, so there’s something in common, at least.” Julia sighed. “He’s a studious sort, it seems. Perhaps I can put him off his dislike of me by talking about those things.”
“Yes. It shouldn’t be difficult, clever as you are.” Caroline straightened up as the carriage began to slow. “It seems we’re arriving. Are you ready to see your new home?”
Julia wasn’t. In fact, what she wanted to do the moment the carriage door opened was to gather up her skirts and flee back down the road never to be seen again.
But she didn’t say or do that. She merely nodded and tried to make her stomach stop turning with worry, fear and dread. Those weren’t the emotions brides were meant to feel and by God, she was a bride and she’d act like one.
Having ridden down to Castleton Grange with Laurence earlier in the day, Alexander had had a great deal of time to observe his cousin as he took one large step closer to marriage. They’d spoken about the wedding, but only in a surface way. Any time he’d tried to broach the topic of Julia, Laurence veered away. It might have been because his cousin had to suspect that Alexander might be representing the side of their grandfather. After all, he’d been tasked that role many times in his life, along with that of shielding his cousin from any consequences of foolish decisions.
But that didn’t seem to be the issue. Laurence simply seemed to have no interest in discussing the woman who would be his wife. Even now as the two of them awaited her arrival to the estate, Laurence seemed no more affected than he would be for the coming of a stranger. There was no pacing or glancing at the clock or wondering out loud if the ladies were well as the afternoon began to fade into early evening.
Alexander strode across the parlor where they were situated and poured himself a drink. When he turned back, he said, “You must be looking forward to seeing Miss Comerford even if you hide it well.”
Laurence blinked as if he’d forgotten they were waiting for her and then shrugged. “I suppose so. There’s much to do to prepare for the wedding and I’d rather not have to make all those dreary decisions.”
“You aren’t simply buzzing to see her?”
“We only parted last night. You read too much poetry, cousin,” Laurence said, and pushed from the settee to fetch his own drink. “Besides, I would likely be more excited to see her if she hadn’t put a ridiculous rule on the engagement.”
Alexander tilted his head. Now, this was interesting. Was it about money or position or something that would prove Heathfield’s assertion that Julia was only in this for money and power? “Rule?”
