Chapter Seventeen

The next morning dawned eerily gray as if Mother Nature had cast a pall upon the house party. Gone was the beautiful weather of the prior days; instead, the clouds hung low and heavy, promising rain. Those guests interested in grouse and hare were off hunting. Ian caught wind that polite excuses had been made for Lord and Lady Sommerfeld and there were whispers that the party might be cut short.

Unable to sleep the night before, Ian had lain awake until he was finally claimed by the arms of a restless unconsciousness, held there until after the hunting and shooting parties had already left for the fields, the earl among them.

He was unsure if it was to his benefit that he now had to wait to speak to the earl until after the hunt was finished. Either the younger man’s bloodlust would have been slaked, or his appetite might only have been whetted.

As Ian sipped tea in the breakfast room, his solitary state affording him the freedom to stand at the tall windows to watch the clouds roll in over the hills, he caught a glimpse of deep pink skirts out of the corner of his eye. He recognized Juliette’s gait and scent anywhere.

Torn between wanting desperately to speak to her and knowing full well he was better off silent, the decision was made for him when Juliette refused to look him in the eye, let alone acknowledge his presence. It was probably for the best, though that did not stop him from watching her and noting the shadows blemishing the delicate skin beneath her puffy eyes. She appeared as miserable as he felt inside and it ate away at Ian’s soul like acid.

He watched from his position by the window as she claimed a chair and proceeded to push her food across her plate, not taking a single bite. After several minutes of this, Ian claimed a seat down the table and across from her, giving her space even though it killed him.

Ian signaled for more tea and the footman ducked from the room to collect a fresh pot. No sooner had the door swung shut than Juliette whispered, “I’ve fallen in love with you.” Ian nearly dropped his fork. His eyes flew to her, but she had not looked up. He might have believed himself mistaken had she not continued to speak. “I know you told me not to, but I couldn’t help it when you’re so bloody wonderful—when you give me your childhood books, tease me in foreign tongues, and your greatest aspirations are purely selfless. You want nothing more than to bring better medical care to the far-flung corners of the kingdom so no other families will suffer what you have. How could I not fall in love with you, Ian?” Her shoulders heaved with a shaky sigh. “Of course, it is against my better judgment and I’ve lain awake trying to decide whether or not to say something. But there you have it. The truth is in the open now. You may believe me to be nothing more than a silly girl with fantastical dreams, but I assure you this is no infatuation built upon a few flirtatious glances.” She finally met his eyes and what he saw there struck him like a physical blow. She placed her hand to her chest when she spoke again. “I know what is in my heart, and it aches for the brilliant, wonderful man you are.”

The pain Ian experienced in his heart was so great that he was forced to close his eyes as her words reverberated through him.

Even sitting this near to her was like a balm to his spirit, hearing those words from her lips was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and he was terrified to admit just how much he savored them. Ian knew deep down, however, that Juliette did not fully realize the implications of what she was saying, of what a life with him would entail, of what she would have to give up if she really did choose him.

Ian took a deep, bracing breath. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, however, the silence was shattered by the barking and baying of hounds outside the window as if they were heralding the arrival of Doomsday.

Ian stood, his heart pounding as the time of reckoning grew nearer. His fingers itched to touch Juliette, but it was not to be.

The earl and his comrades stormed into the house, reeking of horseflesh, gunpowder, and blood, a collective joyful guffaw of death-fueled hormones. Ian risked a glance at Juliette one last time, but it was a grave miscalculation. She read his intentions in his eyes and, just as he began to move, she threw her napkin across her untouched plate of food and made to head him off to the doorway. Unfortunately, despite the difference in the length of their strides, she beat him. Short of tackling her, Ian was forced to allow her to greet her brother first. She stood ahead of him as if to block him—as futile attempt as any he’d ever seen because he was a good head taller than she.

“Ethan!” Juliette said a little too loudly, a squeak to her voice underscoring the anxiety he knew she felt. The earl smiled in greeting, excused himself from his companions. All the men made deferential bows in her direction before carrying their excited chatter down the hallway where refreshments had been laid out in the parlor. He looked every part of the earl with his bright red hunting coat, gold piping and buttons, buff buckskin breeches, and immaculately shined black Hessians. He’d removed his riding gloves and smacked them gently against his opposite palm.

“Good morning, sister.” The earl’s eyes caught sight of Ian over Juliette’s shoulder. Though his ice-blue gaze did not warm, he did incline his head in recognition. Ian bowed stiffly.

“How was the hunt?” Juliette asked, drawing her brother’s attention back to her.

“We bagged sacks of game for supper this evening. I expect Cookie will be quite pleased. And what can I do for you, Dr. McCullom?” inquired Hopesend, more interested in why Ian was with his sister than any banal niceties. “Is anything else required for Lady Sommerfeld’s care and recuperation?”

“No, but I was hoping I might perhaps request a few minutes of your time, my lord.”

The earl’s dark brows briefly knit together before he inclined his head and gestured for Ian to follow. Ian inhaled one last deep breath before stepping around Juliette and following Hopesend down the hallway.

∞∞∞

Juliette’s heart raced like a panicked rabbit as she watched her brother lead Ian across the hallway to his study. Indecision froze her for just a moment before she balled her fists and braced herself to follow, slipping into the room just before her brother could fully shut the door.

Ian shot her a pointed look but said nothing.

Ethan’s brow furrowed and he asked if there was something she needed.

Her answer was pathetic, but it was all her frantic mind could produce. “I feel that I should be present for this conversation. I know it concerns me.”

Her brother froze in the center of the room, glancing back and forth between Juliette and Ian. The confusion upon his face was made more remarkable by the fact that Juliette didn’t think she could recall another time he’d looked just so.

“What is going on?” Ethan’s voice was low with foreboding.

“Very well,” Ian cleared his throat and began. “First, I would like to thank you for your hospitality this past week.” Ethan raised one brow and then the other when Ian continued. “Please accept my sincerest apologies for what I am about to say. You deserve to know the truth of it rather than hearing it second-hand.” The pregnant silence was so heavy it made the air in the room difficult to breathe, more so when Ian flicked his eyes at Juliette before looking her brother dead-on when he spoke the next sentence. “Lady Juliette and I shared relations.”

Juliette cringed when Ethan’s wild eyes flew to her. “What?” he demanded incredulously. “How?” The first sparks of anger began to flare in his eyes as the weight of the admission take root. Instinctively, Juliette stepped forward and opened her mouth to speak, fully prepared to accept the entirety of the blame for the situation, as well as the brunt of her brother’s rage. Ian cut her off with a small gesture of his hand at his hip and spoke instead.

“I understand your anger, my lord, and I plan to leave immediately.”

“You’re damned right you will,” Ethan growled. The tremor and wildfire rising to her brother’s face served only to underscore Ian’s calmness. She knew him well enough to recognize the tightly coiled control in Ian’s broad shoulders.

“I care for her…quite deeply, as a matter of fact.” Juliette’s heart tripped at his words, hope just beginning to blossom in her breast. “I would offer for Lady Juliette’s hand if I thought it might make things right—”

“Make it right?” Ethan snarled and went on to confirm exactly what Juliette had feared. “As if I would ever allow her, a lady, to marry you, a Scottish physician with no name and an even less reputable background.” Juliette barely resisted placing a hand on Ian’s arm when she noticed how tightly his fists were clenched. Her brother’s reaction effectively stole any joy she might have felt at Ian’s admission that he had feelings for her. “I know exactly the dirt-poor hovel from whence you came, McCullom; you’re a fool if you think I would allow anyone around my sister without having first been investigated. It would seem your baser heathen nature could hide itself no longer when faced with such temptation.”

“That is unfair, Ethan.” Juliette faced her brother squarely, unwilling to allow him to berate Ian further, especially not when she’d been so much at fault for the situation. “You are wounded and lashing out because of it.” She froze when Ian’s hand closed over her wrist, suffusing her with bolstering warmth and, simultaneously, causing her brother to fly into a rage.

“Ethan, no!” she screeched in shock. In the blink of an eye, her brother charged Ian. She didn’t recognize the person grappling with the man she loved, not the bloodthirst in his dark eyes, the crimson tint to his cheeks, the disheveled appearance. She thanked God Ian was taller and broader than her brother because there otherwise would likely have been a murder.

“How dare you lay a hand on her?” Ethan roared, shoving Ian backward. “How dare you take advantage of a woman who is your better? No doubt you saw an easy target with her na?veté.”

Ian was holding himself in check, standing his ground when other men would have sprawled on the floor. She didn’t know how much longer Ian would be able to do so, however.

A single strong shove nearly sent Ethan sprawling, but he made up for it with his words. He spewed vile curses upon Ian’s head, inciting all manner of blasphemy and calling him names which made her ears fairly burn.

As her brother continued to rave, she quickly became aware that their once private conversation had likely drawn quite a bit of attention from the staff and guests. Even if the words couldn’t be heard, the shouts and thud of toppled chairs would be unmistakable.

Ethan whirled on Juliette, his eyes unnervingly dark and soulless. “I spent years protecting you and this is how you repay me, sister?” Ethan spoke through gritted teeth. “By sneaking behind my back, undermining me, and effectively destroying all the work I’ve done in setting you up as a precious jewel of the ton ?”

“Enough!” Ian’s clear, booming voice drew an intangible line between the siblings. Juliette’s heart thudded painfully in her chest, but she wasn’t afraid; especially not with Ian there. “You did an exemplary job of locking her away from the world, not protecting her,” Ian said dangerously as he stepped toe-to-toe with Ethan, taking advantage of his height and added weight. The rolling lilt to his voice deepened as he continued. “And you’re foolish to expect anything less from a woman as intelligent as she when you starve her for true life. Juliette has a remarkable mind and a thirst to experience the world. It is nothing but a mark of your youthful hubris that you believed locking someone like your sister away would keep her safe.

“No, it does not excuse what transpired, but maybe it will teach you that all the control in the world would never truly stop someone as determined as she. Accounting for everything but the human spirit is a tragic mistake.”

Ethan’s jaw worked so hard that Juliette was afraid he might crack all his molars. “Get. Out.” Ethan’s growl brooked no further conversation. A tense moment passed between them before Ian seemed certain she would be unharmed in his absence, and then he inclined his head and turned to leave.

In his wake, Ethan silently seethed, chest heaving, eyes unfocused on the carpet between them. Never had she witnessed her twin in such a state. She hated his reaction, loathed the things he’d said to Ian, but he was still her beloved brother.

“Ethan,” she whispered his name, but there was no indication he’d heard her. “Ethan,” she said a little more loudly. “If you will only allow me to explain—” Her words stopped abruptly when he held up a hand to silence her. She bit her lower lip as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, still breathing heavily, but more evenly than before.

“I need to sort this out…to decide what to do with you.” He met her eyes and, for the first time since this horrible encounter had begun, she saw something else there. Pain. Betrayal. And she knew he would never look at her again as he used to. An irreparable alteration had been made to their bond. A twinge of guilt began to build behind her sternum, but she refused to cave into it. Juliette was past thinking about how her behavior might be viewed by her brother. She was many years beyond the point where she was a shy sapling of a girl, bending to every gusty blow of whim and influence from the small bubble around her. Ian had shown her that there was so much more to the world, life, to her than she had ever believed possible.

Ethan broke their gaze and rushed past her, the dust from his riding boots trailing in his wake as he bellowed for his gloves and crop, for his horse to be brought back ‘round from the stables.

Several guests had been milling about outside the office and, while it had been easy for Ethan to blow past them, several curious eyes peered into the study to stare aghast at her. None approached her.

Her cheeks burned, but not for herself…for the fact that Ian had been forced to traverse this wicked garden of leering gazes on his own.

Juliette left standing alone in the study to wonder at the mess she’d made was nothing in comparison to the disaster she had visited upon Ian.