She cleared her throat. “I may take you up on the offer of the house,” she said. “At least for a while. But I’ve no intention of treading over the charity of those I love. No, I’ll find some other way if I choose not to connect with another protector.”
She thought for a moment of the last night she’d been out with Laurence. They’d encountered his cousin who had spoken about his investments. It was a shame that doing such a thing was so hard for women. But perhaps she could find some way to do so with the idea of creating a sum large enough to maintain herself comfortably down the road.
“When will you end it?” Evie asked.
Julia shrugged. “I’m uncertain. The viscount is joining me for our regular weekly supper later tonight. I thought I might broach the subject then. And I’ll try to soften it as much as possible. After all, there are no hard feelings. In fact, quite the opposite. Sometimes it seems there are no feelings at all.”
Evie shook her head. “Sometimes that’s better and sometimes it’s worse.”
Julia sighed. “I’m being very foolish.”
“You’re not,” Arabella said firmly. “Even in a transactional connection with a protector, there must be some kind of warmth of bond or it all fizzles out. If it isn’t passion, than at least some shared interest that doesn’t leave one staring across a dining table in awkward silence.”
“Have you been hiding in the curtains during our suppers?” Julia asked with a weak laugh.
Neither of her sisters joined her in that. Once again, there was pity in their expressions and once again she wished she could duck away from it, hide so it wouldn’t touch her. Instead, she straightened her back and returned to sit with them.
“Well, that’s enough ofthatnonsense. Let’s talk about anything at all rather than this. I need a respite from pondering Laurence Castleton.”
“I do have something to discuss,” Evie said. “Have you two noticed Aunt Caroline has been a little…odd…lately?”
“Yes,” Arabella said. “She’s been a bit secretive. Not that I don’t think she’s owed her privacy. I simply wonder what it’s about.”
Julia pursed her lips. She’d recently seen her aunt in a place she most definitely didn’t belong, but she’d decided to keep it to herself. Caroline didn’t seem in danger, and there was no point in pushing about it. At least not yet.
The sisters turned their attention to the topic of their aunt and wondering what her secrets could be, as well as other matters. But Julia couldn’t help but keep turning her mind back to Laurence and the relationship she would end in a few hours.
Hopefully without too much fuss or drama as a result.
“The viscount has arrived, Miss Comerford,” Julia’s butler, Stevens, announced a few hours later. She glanced at the clock on the mantel with a slight frown. He was half an hour late, which was an irritant.
“Very good,” she said, erasing the annoyance from her expression. “Please bring him in.”
When the servant had gone to fetch her lover, Julia glanced at herself in the mirror. She had changed after the departure of her sisters, of course. A plain afternoon gown had been replaced by Laurence’s favorite green silk, a gown with a low cut that left little to the imagination. She wore a necklace he’d bought for her, and had rouged her pale cheeks. Armor, Arabella had always called the costume. Right now Julia wished it felt more like it.
“Lord Castleton,” Stevens said, and Julia smiled as the viscount entered the room.
“Laurence,” she said, and went to him.
He bussed her cheek and then looked her up and down. “Well, don’t you look a treat. That green has always suited you. Matches your eyes.”
Julia didn’t correct him. Her eyes were dark blue. They’d never looked green in her life, but this was exactly the issue, wasn’t it? This man wasn’t even connected to her enough to know the color of her eyes when he was looking right at her. That should make things easier.
At least in theory. Still, she wasn’t unaware that when a woman ended a relationship with a man, she was in the most danger from him. How many courtesans had been harmed or worse when parting ways? She would tread very carefully.
“Let me get you brandy, Laurence. Or would you prefer whisky? Arabella’s old friend just delivered a case from his…well, less than savory means. But it should be delightful.”
“I’ll have the whisky,” he said, and crossed to sit on the settee. He draped an arm across the back and watched her as she poured the drinks. “I’m endlessly shocked that Windham doesn’t force your sister to end that connection now that they’re married. Wasn’t the smuggler once a lover of hers?”
Julia brought a pretty Glencairn crystal glass of the liquor to him and sat beside him. “Silas is unique. He has no jealousy toward Arabella’s past, nor does he keep her from maintaining whatever friendships she desires. I suppose he is fully aware of her intense ardor for him and knows she would never stray, nor would he.”
“Hmm.” The answer was noncommittal and even though she knew many men of thetonwere confused by the concept of true love and fidelity, the incredulous expression on his face rankled a fraction.
There was an awkward silence between them for a moment and she cleared her throat. “You were going to your club thisafternoon, weren’t you? Meeting with some friends? How did it go?”
“Very well. I saw my cousin there, as well. Alexander was hobnobbing with Gray Danford and the Duke of Sheffield. I suppose they were talking about their investments, but they were kind enough to cease when I approached.”
“You’ve no need to think about investments, I suppose,” she said. “You are so comfortable as you are.” She shifted. “I do wonder…do you know if Mr. Danford would be willing to take money from…from a woman for his endeavors?”
