Chapter 16

CHAPTER16

The days that passed had become some sort of languorous torture for Julia.

With the scandal of Lord Tremaine, the whole ton was in an uproar, and it was all anyone would talk about for days. Gentlemen who had invested some sum into the mines in India had taken to running about, trying to recoup their losses, whilst the ladies who had worn those inauthentic jewels had taken to feeling greatly indisposed and confined themselves to their rooms until all talk died down.

There were noticeably fewer people at Hyde Park when they went out for a promenade yesterday, and those that were there were rather subdued.

Even the Viscount of Cosby was surprisingly remiss in his daily calls at Powell Estate. Perhaps he, too, was demanding a refund from the beleaguered Lord Tremaine, who had retired to his country estate in the midst of all the chaos.

That was why when the invitation from the Dowager Marchioness of Trowbridge for an afternoon tea party arrived in the mail, Julia was more than thrilled to receive it.

“Thank heavens for Lady Trowbridge!” she exclaimed. “I thought I was going to go mad from sheer boredom!”

Not only that, she was also going mad trying to figure out just how Andrew managed to do exactly what he implied at the ballroom a few days ago. She would love to see him again—just to hear about how he pulled it off, of course.

Still, her heart fluttered in her chest at the thought of seeing him again in Trowbridge Estate.

“Lady Trowbridge probably feels the same way,” Mary chortled.

“And you girls should probably not be speaking like that about her!” Lady Powell gently chided. “Why do you not put your efforts towards finding a suitable dress to wear for the tea party, then, hmm? Perhaps that would be a better use of your time!”

The two young ladies shared a look before bursting out laughing and hurrying back to their rooms to do as their mother instructed. Julia, in particular, wanted to make sure that she looked exquisite.

Not that I wish to impress him, of course.

Himbeing no other than the Marquess of Trowbridge himself.

Still, the thought of seeing him again in Trowbridge Estate, in his own home, sent a thrill down her spine, and she could not help but smile happily as she trawled through her wardrobe, looking for the perfect dress, while Harriet hovered faithfully at her side.

Thus, Julia found herself in the gardens of Trowbridge Estate on a glorious sunny afternoon, sipping tea and daintily nibbling on scones with a handful of other guests. Selina and her mother apparently seemed to share the same particular preference for taking their tea outdoors amidst the blooming summer flowers.

“Oh, I do hope that our dear Marquess is not thoroughly overwrought over… these recent happenings,” Lady Jenkins tittered with a sly smile over the rim of her teacup.

“Well, why should he be overwrought?” Lady Trowbridge remarked breezily.

“Why, because of what happened with Miss Seymour and her family, of course!”

Julia could barely restrain the scowl on her face at the insinuation that Andrew might be distressed over some young lady or another. She was only able to keep her expressions in check when she felt a slight nudge at her side. A quick look told her that Mary had seen the shift in her attitude towards Lady Jenkins and her chosen topic of conversation.

“Oh, you know how he simply resembles his father in some aspects.” The Dowager Marchioness sighed with a rueful smile. “Why, just last week, I believe he intended to take Miss Wolsey out for a walk in Hyde Park.”

Julia nearly choked on her tea at that subtle insinuation. It was no secret that Lady Jenkins’ daughter and Miss Wolsey were locked somewhat in some sort of rivalry and viewed nearly every aspect of their lives as an arena for competition—be it gloves, hats, and even suitors.

With that strategically placed remark, Lady Trowbridge had effectively silenced those who would associate Andrew with a disgraced family. Lady Jenkins further refrained from making such remarks, and lively feminine chatter could be heard once again.

It was several moments later, when Julia sought to refresh herself in the powder room after a most unfortunate accident with some clotted cream, that she chanced upon the very person that Lady Jenkins had thought to gossip about.

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she spotted his tall, broad-shouldered frame, the afternoon sunlight turning his dark brown hair a deep golden hue.

She tried to turn and hide just behind the corner when she heard him call out her name. Or rather the nickname he had chosen for her.

“Red?”

For a moment, she considered ignoring him and heading back to the gardens with the rest of the party. Suddenly, she felt his warm hand on her upper arm. She stiffened at the contact, and he seemed to notice it, too, for he dropped her arm and quickly apologized.

“I apologize. I did not mean to be so heavy-handed towards you.”

She smiled as casually as she could. “No need to be so formal, My Lord. I was just heading back out to the gardens.”

“Ah… Mother’s tea party?”

She nodded in reply. “I managed to get some cream on my dress,” she explained, gesturing towards the powder room she had just emerged from.

A slow smile curved Andrew’s lips, and she watched as his eyes became darker. She instinctively took a step back, but that only seemed to encourage him to move closer towards her. Her gaze flicked upwards to settle on his mouth, and she felt her own go dry.

Wrong move!

“My Lord,” she murmured, “we… I must go back. We cannot keep doing this.”

“Keep doing what?” His voice was low and rich, tantalizing, wrapping around her consciousness like silken bonds she never wanted to be free of.

“Meeting like this,” she mumbled, her gaze dropping to somewhere on his shoulder.

Andrew laughed softly, the husky sound coursing through her veins until she felt quite intoxicated. “I thought you enjoyed a bit of danger, Red.”

Julia pursed her lips. “Not like this.”

She could hardly hear her voice over her thunderous heartbeat.

“I know you want me,” he told her.

“Says who?” she snapped although she still refused to look at him.

He ignored her unoriginal question. “And as surprising as it is, I want you, too.”

Julia frowned as she looked up at him. “Now… that is very presumptuous of you, My Lord.”

He just smiled as he brushed a lock of red hair from her face. “I have a proposal in mind—one that should take care of both of our problems.”

She knew she should not be hearing him out. In fact, she should have pushed him away when he started to back her against the wall. But the feeling of his body so close to hers was enough to ignite her senses and set fire to her logic.

“One night,” he continued. “You. Me. Us.”

“There is no us.”

“You know better than to deny it,” he murmured. “This should solve our problems quite nicely. Just one night, Red, and we never have to think about it anymore.”

A most tempting offer, indeed, for Julia was keenly suffering from an intense, nearly unbearable attraction to him.

“Just one night?” she ventured. “And you will never touch me again?”

“Is that what you desire?”

She honestly did not know what it was she truly wanted at this point. Not when he was scrambling all logical thought left in her head with his sheer proximity.

“It does not matter what I want,” she replied, looking away from him. “What matters is doing what is right. Once we eliminate the four other young ladies on your mother’s list, we will not need to suffer each other any longer.”

Julia had been most serious, but Andrew merely rolled his eyes and held up three fingers. “Two. There are only two more young ladies left.”

She frowned. “What do you mean—oh.”

She was on the list. How could she forget? The hilarity of it was not lost on her, even as she felt the sting that he never actually considered her part of his list but had already ruled her out even before he had roped her into his schemes.

“Can you imagine?” She burst out laughing instead and shook her head. “Well, the Dowager Marchioness is not the only one who wishes to marry her children off. So does my mother. Consider yourself fortunate that you have been given the latitude to choose from five young ladies.”

“The Viscount?”

She nodded. “Apparently, my pool of candidates is rather poor. Either I marry Lord Cosby, or I find someone else better whom both my parents would approve of.” She shrugged and laughed bitterly. “At this point, the easiest way I could think of getting away from all of this is if we are courting…”

Julia stopped and looked up at him. How could she not have thought of that before?

If she and Andrew appeared to be courting, her mother would definitely stop trying to foist Lord Cosby on her. After all, Andrew was a marquess, and his fortune was far more substantial than that of the Viscount.

They could pretend to be courting, and by the end of the Season, they could easily convince everyone that they had a huge argument that led to the end of their courtship.

Problem solved.

If she could convince him, it would probably solve his dilemma of fending off the other three still left on his mother’s list. All she had to do was persuade him…

“That would never work.”

* * *

It was a brilliant idea, really, and Andrew had to applaud her for it.

If they pretended to be courting, then not only would Lady Powell stop trying to push Julia towards Lord Cosby, but his own mother would also cease trying to foist all those marriageable young misses on him.

The only problem was that there was too much tension between them for them to be able to simply pretend.

“Why not?” Julia challenged. “I happen to think it is a very good plan!”

“Look at us, Julia!” he groaned. “We can hardly keep our hands off each other in public when we both know we should. What makes you think that this tension between us would not become untenable if we pretend to be enamored with each other?”

He saw color flood her cheeks and realization dawn in her beautiful blue eyes. Heaven help him, but he could hardly keep his hands off her already.

“One night,” he rasped. “Let us have one night together, and if it cures us of this madness, then… perhaps we can go on with your plan.”

Julia looked so delightfully confused for a moment, her smooth brow scrunching up into a frown before she realized what he was proposing.

“Just one night?”

Andrew had no idea how he was going to survive one night with her, but it was the only solution he could think of. “Just one night,” he told her solemnly.

“Can it be tonight?”

He looked at her in shock. “I beg your pardon?”

“This one night you wish for us to have,” she reiterated. “Can it be tonight?”

Was she, perhaps, as eager as he was to get rid of this fierce attraction between them? Or did she simply want to be able to get away from the Viscount so badly?

In any case, Andrew currently had no plans for the night. If he did have them, he would have cleared them out immediately.

“Fine. Tonight, then.”

The smile that curved her lips reminded him of a satisfied little fox, and for a moment, he was tempted to kiss her senseless. To press his lips to hers as he drank in all her sighs and moans.

Tonight,he reminded himself.

“I shall send you a carriage,” he told her. “All you have to do is sneak out of Powell Estate, and I shall be waiting for you outside at midnight. Are you sure you can manage that?”

Her eyes lit up, and she raised her chin confidently. “Of course, I can! This is hardly the first time I have done something like this!”

What does she mean by that? Has she snuck out with someone else before?

The thought twisted his insides, and he began to feel angry although he could not exactly say why. All he knew was that Julia Lewis possessed the uncanny ability to make him laugh and feel desire and anger in the space of a few breaths.

“Fine. Since you are so confident in your abilities, be there at midnight!” he snapped at her then turned around and left her there, standing by the wall, before she managed to twist him up into more knots than she already had.

This woman was going to be the death of him!