Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

J ulianna tried to keep up with Beth’s quick steps, both baskets swinging precariously on her arms. “Why were you so cross with Lord Bingham?”

Beth said nothing.

“And what did he mean about all the other fair maidens?” She nearly plowed into her sister when Beth abruptly turned.

“Lord Bingham says your intended has a tendency to fall in and out of love quite quickly. Then again, I am unsure how he is to be the judge as he does not believe love even exists. At least not the kind that is shared between a man and a woman.”

Julianna fought to keep her jaw from dropping at the vehemence billowing off Beth like smoke from a brush fire.

Beth began to pace. Four steps to the left, then eight to the right, a spin, and back to the left. Back and forth, back and forth. “I am uncertain whether we should trust either man, Jule. What if Mr. Kaye is simply waiting to secure your dowry, then leave you in the country while he wastes it in London? Or maybe his plan is something far more nefarious, like speaking soft words of encouragement and kindness in order to make you fall madly in love with him only to walk away and leave you with the scandal?”

Setting the baskets on the frozen ground, Julianna reached out and stilled Beth’s frantic movements.

“He is not Edward, Beth.”

“No, he is Lord Bingham… er… I mean, Mr. Kaye, and he is not to be trusted.”

The slip was not a mistake. Red blotches covered Beth’s skin and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. The snow crunched as Julianna closed the distance, wrapping her arms around her sister in a firm embrace. Beth’s fortitude failed and she collapsed on her shoulder.

Hot tears dripped onto Julianna’s neck, but she did not let go. Beth rarely cried and she would not stop her now. Best to get the pain out before it cankered her soul.

A horse whinnied in the stables and several birds chirped in the bare trees, proof that the rest of the world carried on as usual even when one’s world crumbled. Julianna rubbed Beth’s back as her tears slowed. Finally, when she no longer felt her sister’s labored breaths and her neck began to dry in the freezing air, she released her hold.

“Might I venture that a certain lord has pierced your heavy armor and reached your caged heart?”

Beth shook her head. “Apparently my armor was not thick enough.”

“Nonsense. But perhaps your distrust is a bit too strong.”

“And yours is too weak,” Beth sniffed, “or does not exist.”

The words stung. “That was uncalled for, and completely beneath you, Beth. I am not without reason. I am a woman in my majority, even if you still think I am a child to be fussed over.”

The blotches on Beth’s cheeks flamed brighter as she ducked around Julianna and retrieved one of the baskets. “You are right,. I am sorry, Jule. Your life is your own and I wish you joy with Mr. Kaye, but please stop playing matchmaker. My heart cannot take another piercing.”

“But I do not think Lord Bingham meant?—”

Beth held up her hand. “Stop, Julianna. If I am not to advise you on your life you cannot do so on mine.”

Julianna snapped her mouth shut, her teeth clinking with the action. A weight sunk like a rock in the pit of her stomach. An unseen chasm had opened between them and she did not know how to fix it.

Finally, she nodded.

Silence interspersed with only necessary conversation dominated the rest of their excursion. The two families they visited were happy to receive the gifts and thanked them profusely, even inviting them in to take refreshment, but they both declined.

Usually these sorts of good deeds filled Julianna with joy and energy, but her feet dragged by time they returned to Haverton. It was as if her body had run the thousands of miles her mind had traversed in their short journey.

Beth had obviously formed a much stronger attachment to Lord Bingham than she was willing to admit but considered it too soon to call it love. What did that say of her own tender feelings toward Daniel?

And what of Lord Bingham’s declaration about the inconsistency of his friend’s attachments? Was it possible Daniel would grow tired of her?

She paused on the steps of Haverton House and pushed the thought away. Beth may choose to wallow in gloomy conjectures, but Julianna would not. She could not if she wanted to escape the same dull existence her sister seemed determined to hold onto. Daniel would remain innocent in her mind until someone proved him otherwise.

She had to believe she was the one who had finally captured his heart entirely, because she intended to keep it.

The realization nearly knocked her backwards. She did indeed want to build a life with him. Conviction burned within and she determined to find Daniel right away to give him the answer she had neglected—or more accurately, avoided. But she’d needed time to know her mind, to find the courage to go forward with this impetuous scheme.

Voices filtered out of the front parlor as she and Beth handed their winter wear to the butler. One deep voice in particular caught her attention and Julianna froze. Beth’s gaze met hers. Usually she could read her sister’s expressions like an advertisement, but this time her face was a mask of calm as their father’s loud words floated into the entry.

Beth ran her hands over the front of her dress and straightened her posture before leaving Julianna to unglue her own feet from the floor. When Daniel’s softer tones filled her ears, her unruly appendages finally obeyed.

“And why should I believe my daughter would choose you over Mr. Caleb Waverly?”

The volume at which her father asked the question exceeded polite conversation, but unlike Daniel, Julianna knew this came from loss of hearing after the war rather than outrage. However, her father’s stiff posture and pointed gaze made even her question her own knowledge.

“Because I did choose him,” she managed to say evenly before Daniel responded.

Daniel’s eyes found hers and his shoulders relaxed. She pulled her gaze away from the warmth there to meet her father’s glare. Recognition dawned and his ire quickly retreated. He rose and swiftly crossed to her and Beth.

Their papa was not a demonstrative man, but he did not neglect them either. Kissing them each on the cheek, he asked after their health. They gave positive reports, but doubt showed in the set of his shoulders and the bend of his head as he hovered over them.

Like a large wall trying to buffer them from the wind, he leaned in, blocking them from seeing anyone else. “Are you certain you are well?” he asked quietly.

Beth nodded, but Julianna’s gaze flitted to the fingers she could barely see beyond her father’s elbow, the ones she’d memorized over the last few weeks. Daniel’s hand flexed and relaxed several times. Did he worry that her father would hurt her? Such an idea was ludicrous.

Then again, Daniel would only know of her father’s character through Uncle Waverly’s unsavory view.

“We are fine, Papa,” Julianna finally said. “I see you have been introduced to my intended.”

“Can we speak privately?” he whispered, but it was not quiet enough. Grasping her arm, he pulled her toward the door.

Daniel’s green eyes widened and his hand settled on a fist as he took several steps after her, but she shook her head. While his protectiveness was well meant, she was in no danger from her father. Daniel halted, his body wavering forward with the sudden motion, but he did not follow, only stared after her in concern.

In the hall she stopped. “What is this all about, Papa?”

“I should like to ask you the same thing. You have only been gone a little over a fortnight and already I have received two concerning and entirely different reports, Mr. Caleb Waverly’s visit being one of those. I have to admit myself relieved after he so rudely presented himself on my doorstep that you had not accepted him, but what can you know of Mr. Kaye? You are barely acquainted.”

She grabbed his arm. “So you did not give Caleb your blessing?”

“Of course not. The man is far too brash and has been since childhood.”

Julianna let out a huge sigh, her shoulders sagging in relief. “I knew you would never give your consent without speaking to me first. Beth was right. It was all a lie.”

Her father’s gray bushy eyebrows inched together. “I do not follow.”

When she explained Caleb’s claim her father began to fume like an overheated teakettle. “That boy needs a few years on the battlefield to beat some respect into him. I should have him brought up on charges for trying to force your hand. Was this your uncle’s idea? I should have known better than to trust you to his negligent care.”

She placed a gentle hand on his sleeve, hoping to quiet his booming voice that echoed through the house. “No, Papa. Uncle Waverly has been keeping me safe from Caleb’s advances. Well, he and Mr. Kaye.”

Her father’s bluster seemed to fade, then he glanced behind her and compressed his lips. Julianna turned to see her uncle glaring, his back ramrod straight and his arms crossed over his broad chest.

“Glad to know you have so much faith in me, Haynes. Especially after I dragged your sorry body off the battlefield. Your gratitude is overwhelming.”

“Why should I have faith in an impetuous man who seduced my sister-in-law to run off to Scotland and cause scandal in my wife’s family? For all I know you could have been encouraging my daughters to do the same.”

“How can you hold onto a decades-long grudge when not even your wife held it against us? Never mind, do not answer that, for you can have no good reason. Why are you here, Haynes? You were not invited.”

“I am here to collect my daughters. After having your no-account nephew ask for Julianna’s hand in such a rude, demanding manner and then being written to by some other fellow who for all I know could be a fortune hunter after her dowry, I decided my girls were no longer safe here with you.”

Uncle Waverly let out an indignant snort. “Of course you would think such a thing. I will have you know that while Mr. Key—pardon me, Kaye, may not be deep in the pockets, Bingham has assured me his estate is solvent and his father is respected. And with the improvements they have made in addition to prudent investments, I would not be surprised if his holdings surpassed yours within the next few years. But that is not the problem is it, Haynes? Can’t let go and let the girls live normal lives, can you? It’s all about tight-fisted control, isn’t it? Do you plan to hold onto them so tight that you suffocate the will to live out of them too?”

Her father pushed past her, heat from his anger puffing against her cheek. “I should call you out for that.”

“Anytime, anywhere.” Uncle Waverly came toe to toe with her father. “I love those girls, and I refuse to watch you treat them like dolls to be placed in wood crates for safekeeping. They are living breathing people, Haynes, with feelings and lives to live.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

Uncle Waverly’s voice rose with her father’s. “Then let them decide their own paths! Julianna has found a fine man. In truth, I do not know many finer. Give her your blessing and step out of her way.”

The stricken look that crossed her father’s weathered features was familiar. It appeared every time he came across a painting of their mother. The loss and sorrow written in the lines on his face pained her. Fear was what kept him from letting go. Fear and his deep love for them.

Her father stepped back, wiping the strained expression from his face and replacing it with contempt. A hand slipped into hers and she turned in surprise to see Daniel. He did not look at her, but kept his gaze trained on the two men who still appeared ready to go to battle.

Almost simultaneously both her uncle and father heaved out a sigh and dropped their defensive stances.

“Fine,” her father said. “But I still intend on questioning the boy.”

“I look forward to it,” Daniel said, drawing everyone’s attention.

Her father’s gaze followed down her arm to where she and Daniel’s hands were interconnected and his lips puckered as if he’d sucked on a lemon. She knew he hated change, knew he struggled to let go, but how could he ask her to remain standing still when the world went on around them? Even his life continued on.

The knowledge was just what she needed to turn the tables. “How is the Widow Westwood, Papa?”

His brows inched toward his hairline, then a small smile pulled at his lips. Straight shoulders relaxed as he clasped his hands behind his back, a satisfied expression washing over his face. Victory erupted in her chest. Not a word had been spoken, but with one mention of his changing life, he’d conceded defeat. At least his stance had.

“I am to be congratulated. She has agreed to be my wife.”

A strangled cry came from the doorway behind them and Julianna spun. Beth was pale and stricken, then she turned and fled.

Julianna wrenched her hand free of Daniel’s and rushed after her.

“Beth,” she called, but her sister was too fast. Beth rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom, locking the door before Julianna could reach it.

Julianna pressed her lips against the crack between the pieces of wood. “Please let me in, Beth.”

No answer came, only muffled sobbing. She knocked, but to no avail.

Aunt Waverly’s gentle arm encircled her waist. “Best to let her cry it out, dear. She will talk when she is ready. Your father’s announcement came as a big shock.”

“You heard him?”

“Who could not? The man talks as if the house were filled with cannon fire. Even your uncle was shaking the place with his angry words.”

“I am so sorry, Aunt. I seem to be causing you no end of trouble.”

Aunt Waverly patted her arm. “Nonsense. It is all the men around you that are the problem. They have brought no end of drama to this house of late, and yet they think we women are the hysterical, irrational ones.”

Julianna chuckled. “It is quite the paradox.”

“It is. Do not mind what any of them say, my dear. Your father and uncle, and even my nephew have little bearing on your future, but a very concerned young man downstairs does. And if I have not missed my mark, he wishes to speak with you and ascertain if you are well. Which, might I add, makes this poor old heart happy. It is not every day that I plan a match that works out as well as yours.”

“Plan?” Julianna pulled out of her grasp and stared at her aunt’s smug face. “You did not.”

“I did. Why else do you think I invited you all here?”

“But Uncle Waverly?—”

“Has been a party to my schemes the whole time.”

“The musicale?”

“His idea, naturally. What other way could we bring a little excitement to our ordinary lives? There would either be love or war, both of which provide loads of entertainment for a pair of old people like us.”

An uncontrollable giggle bubbled up before Julianna could stop it. So many things had gone wrong, but the picture of her aunt and uncle scheming like criminals to find them matches behind their father’s back was so comical that she could not help but laugh. It was a relief, really, after so much stress.

Aunt Waverly chuckled as well. “Now, go relieve Mr. Kaye’s suffering, for I am certain your father has been pummeling him with questions since you left.”

“Do you really think I will be allowed a word in edgewise before my father determines whether he is worthy?”

“You are right. In that case, let us prepare for battle. It seems we have a knight in shining armor to save.”