After their mother’s scandal she’d abandoned them all, and he… he’d never left Hambleden House again, once she’d gone.
He’ddiedthere.
Lord Barnaby was shaking his head. “I daresay he’s already made up his mind, Miss Templeton.”
“But… but he can’t!” It was an absurd thing to say, because of course, he could. He was an earl. He could do whatever he pleased, even something destined to render the rest of his life as lonely as the start had been.
“Why else would he be so determined to see me wed? One of us must marry and produce an heir, and he’s made up his mind it won’t be him. Cross may not understand love, but he understands duty.” Lord Barnaby’s laugh was bitter. “His father made certain of that.”
“He’s returning to the life that made him so miserable as a child? Willingly?” She seized Lord Barnaby’s coat sleeve. “You mustn’t let him, my lord! You have to talk to him, make him see reason!”
What would become of him, if he remained at Steeple Cross alone? What sort of life could he hope to have, in this cold, empty place?
A short one, and a dreadfully lonely one.
“I’ve tried, but you’ll never find a more obstinate man than Cross, and… Miss Templeton? Where are you going?”
“Why, to talk some sense into your ridiculous cousin, of course!” She had a great deal of experience scolding obstinate sisters, and earl or not, Miles was only one man, and thus no match for a lady of her skills. “Where is he?”
“Still in his study, I’d wager, frowning at the fire and cradling his bottle of port.”
She snatched her skirts up and hurried toward the stairs, the hollow thud of her shoes against the wooden floor echoing in the cavernous space.
Lord Barnaby followed her down the paneled corridor, calling out advice as she rushed down the stairs—something about not paying any mind when Cross behaved like an arrogant aristocrat, and warning her not to mention embroidered waistcoats, of all things, because they put Cross in a temper, and reminding her his cousin was dreadfully mulish, and would do everything he could not to listen to her.
But hewouldlisten to her.
She wouldn’t give him any other choice.
ChapterFourteen
When his study door flew open an hour later, Miles’s first thought was it must be Barnaby. His cousin had been rushing madly through every door he encountered since he was a child, and had never reconciled himself to entering a room with the dignity that befitted a nobleman.
But it wasn’t Barnaby. It was Juliet, panting, her hair coming loose, and a handful of wrinkled skirts clutched in her fist, as if she’d been running.
He leapt to his feet, the edge of his boot knocking against the empty bottle of port he’d left on the floor, sending it rolling across the carpet. “Juliet! What is it?” Was she trying to escape Boggs? “If Lord Boggs has forgotten himself so thoroughly as to—”
“No, I… no. I was in a hurry so I would catch you before you retired for the evening.”
She was rushing about like a pack of hounds were at her heels so she might seehim? That was… not at all remarkable, or even interesting. There was no reason for his heart to attempt a leap from his chest, so he yanked it back down again, like tugging the string of a kite soaring through the sky.
No good ever came of soaring, as it ended, inevitably, withlanding. “You’ve caught me, Miss Templeton. May I offer you some sherry? I’m afraid the carpet has finished off the port.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, no thank you, my lord, I just… I wondered if I might have a quick word with you.”
“Of course.” He gestured her to the chair beside his, but once she was seated, she remained silent, staring at him with a troubled expression until he cleared his throat. “It must be a matter of some importance, as I’ve never known you to be at a loss for words before.”
Her lips twitched. “Well, I’ll own it’s rather unusual.”
“Unheard of, even,” he murmured, teasing her.
“Why, what an unfair exaggeration, Lord Cross. You sound very much like my sisters.”
“Well, youdidsay they were all clever.”
She laughed. “Oh, yes, very clever, but none of us ever learned how to preserve a ladylike silence.”
“Nor should you. A lady of such charm and wit should never be silent.”
