Logan straightened away from the door and faced Fitz. “I can see what a bloody mess I’ve made, but marriage to a lady I don’t know, and a move to England, hundreds of miles away from Scotland, Fitz? There has to be another way.”
Fitz’s face went hard. “There is. If you won’t marry her, then I will.”
Logan shook his head. “She won’t have you.”
“What the devil does that mean? Of course, she’ll have…” Fitz’s eyes narrowed. “You told her about the child, didn’t you?”
Logan flinched at the fury in his brother’s eyes. “Yes. I don’t know Lady Juliana well, but anyone can see she’s not the sort of lady who’d take you away from your child.”
She didn’t have anything but frowns and scowls for Logan, but he’d seen the way Lady Juliana’s face lit up when Fitz walked into the library tonight. He’d seen the joy, love, and fear in her eyes when she’d spoken of her niece, Grace.
They were the two people in the world most dear to her. She’d come all the way to Scotland for them, over hundreds of miles of rough roads. She’d risked her well-being, her reputation, and her safety for them. She might go as far as Scotland to protect her niece, but the one thing she wouldn’t do was sacrifice one of them for the other. She wouldn’t compromise Fitz’s or his unborn child’s happiness. Not even for Grace’s sake.
“You’d better go to her.” Logan tipped his head toward the closed library door. “She’s…distressed.”
“Yes, she would be, but you’ve got just whatyouwanted, didn’t you, Logan? I hope you’re pleased with yourself.” Fitz didn’t wait for an answer, but wrenched open the library door and went inside.
Logan waited for it to close behind Fitz before he turned and made his way down the hall to the stairs. He was halfway up before the words echoing in his head made it to his lips. “It’s not what I wanted.” His quiet voice sounded loud in the silence. “This isn’t what I wanted at all.”
* * * *
Juliana hadn’t moved since Logan Blair left the room.
When Fitz found her, she was staring down at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The fire crackled in the grate, the cheerful snap and hiss of the flames mocking the frozen silence of the room.
She was thinking of Grace, of how Grace had wept and clung to her skirts when Juliana left her with Lord Pierce in Buckinghamshire. Grace adored both Hugh and Isla, but nothing—nothing—could console her for the loss of her Aunt Juliana. For as long as Grace could remember, Juliana was the first person she saw when she woke, and the last one to kiss her goodnight before she fell asleep.
Until the moment Juliana learned about Fitzwilliam’s child, she’d thought there wasn’t a thing in the world she wouldn’t do for her niece. Now she knew better.
She felt for Fitzwilliam’s unborn child all the same love and tenderness she did for Grace.
Juliana stirred, and raised her gaze to Fitz’s. “Is there a child, Fitzwilliam?”
Fitz dragged his hands down his face. “Lina,” he began, sounding wearier than she’d ever heard him. “Just listen to me—”
“Is there a child?”
Fitz’s head bowed, and his hands dropped limply to his sides. “Yes,” he whispered. “There’s a child.”
She nodded. “It’s gotten so late, hasn’t it? I don’t suppose I can leave tomorrow, but you’ll ride to Inverness and fetch Stokes for me, won’t you? We can leave from Castle Kinross together, the day after.”
Fitz went to her. “Please don’t leave like this, Lina. If you’ll only give me a few days to think, I may be able to find a way—”
“No.” Juliana turned her face away. “You should have told me the truth at once, Fitzwilliam. How can you think I’d trade your child’s future for Grace’s? Your happiness for hers? I never could, so there’s nothing more to be done.”
Juliana rose to her feet, but Fitz grabbed her hand. “Wait, Lina. I have an idea—something that might make Logan reconsider.”
Juliana shook her head. “Mr. Blair may be a thief and a liar, but he’s no fool. He might have agreed to marry me to keep you from having to, but he knows I’ll never consider a marriage between us now. I no longer have any power to persuade him.”
Fitz was staring into the fire, his brows drawn together. “What if I could give you that power?”
Juliana paused, a flicker of hope in her breast. “You think there’s something else Mr. Blair may want enough to make him agree to the marriage?”
“I know one thing he wants more than anything, and it’s in my power to give it to him. He won’t like how I’ll go about it. At least, not at first, but at the moment I don’t much care whether he likes it or not.” A faint smile rose to Fitz’s lips. “If I can manage to work it out the way I want, it will be to everyone’s benefit.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, Fitzwilliam. Perhaps your brother is right, and a marriage between us is pure madness. I’m afraid I’m so desperate to have the thing done I can’t tell anymore.”
He squeezed her hands. “It’s not ideal, a marriage between you. I don’t deny it. But Logan is…well, I imagine you have a poor opinion of him, given what you’ve learned about him so far. I don’t blame you for it. I’m furious at him myself. But there’s a great deal more honor in Logan than you might suppose. I hadn’t been at Castle Kinross more than a week before I realized that.”
