Chapter 9

CHAPTER9

Julia’s bedchamber was a total mess as she pulled out dress after dress, searching for just the perfect one while her hapless maid, Harriet, looked on with a slight smile.

“My goodness, what is the meaning of this!?”

Even Mary was flabbergasted when she beheld the utter chaos spread out before her. In the midst of it all, Julia was rushing about in her dressing gown while Harriet followed behind her.

“Mary, help me.”

Mary looked at her sister in shock. “With what? Cleaning up?”

“No,” Julia groaned, falling back on her couch. “I need to choose a dress.”

“A… dress?” Mary blinked. “For what?”

“For a teahouse,” Julia muttered miserably, her face in her hands.

For a moment, Mary stood stock still until Julia raised her head and looked at her in concern. “Mary, are you all right?”

Mary shook her head, still appearing to be somewhat in a daze. “You… need help selecting a dress… for a teahouse?” she asked incredulously.

Julia nodded. “I cannot seem to decide whether I should go with the pink or the green one.” She motioned for Harriet to bring out the dresses she was referring to. “I am afraid that the pink one will make my hair look extremely garish and that the green one would be too much in broad daylight.”

They were both perfectly good dresses and very much according to Julia’s preferences in that they were of more vibrant shades than the usual pastel colors that young ladies her age preferred. They were not as vibrant as her ball dresses, however.

“You have never had a problem with choosing the right dress before,” Mary mused with a soft smile. “And you always looked extremely lovely in everything.”

“Well, I am having a veritable problem on my hands now,” Julia groused. “I do not want to seem… too much, you know?”

“Too much what?” Mary asked gently.

“I do not know!” Julia cried, wringing her hands. “All I know is that, sometimes, I tend to be too much.”

Silence fell over the room as Julia struggled to collect herself. She had no idea where her sudden debilitating self-doubt came from—all she knew was that she was suddenly seized with anxiety the moment it was time for her to pick a dress to wear to the teahouse where she would be meeting Andrew.

She did not even know why she was so agitated before meeting him.

“Oh, you poor thing. I suppose I can try to help.” Mary smiled as she stood up and walked over to the dresses strewn over the back of the couch. She paused for a while before holding one up that was a beautiful cornflower blue with a square neckline. “What do you think of this one?” she suggested. “It would bring out the blue in your eyes and set your complexion off perfectly.”

Julia’s eyes widened at the sight of the dress her sister held before her. Her face broke out into a wide smile as she rushed to hug Mary. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!” she cried happily. “Harriet, do help me put it on. Mary, you are my savior!”

Her younger sister only smiled softly. “I am glad I was able to help.”

Julia smiled as her maid helped her put on the dress and fix her hair. After grabbing her reticule, she pressed a hurried kiss to her sister’s cheek. “Mary, you are the best sister in the world!” she told her.

“I am your only sister,” Mary reminded her with a wry smile. “But who are you meeting with, really?”

“Nonetheless, you are simply the best! And I’m just going out with Selina—she has had a craving for sweets lately.”

Julia dashed to the door, feeling bad to have lied to her little sister, but it was better for her if she didn’t know. Their mother would torture her, too, if she knew.

Speaking of which, Lady Powell was standing in the doorway with a stern look on her face. “Going somewhere, my dear?” she asked. “Have you already forgotten that Lord Cosby will be coming over for afternoon tea?”

“Lord Cosby again?” Julia moaned. “Mama, I shall not stay to entertain that dreadful bore. I have somewhere else I need to be. Do convey my sincerest apologies to Miss Ferguson, though.”

With that, she hurried past her mother, smiling as she sailed out of the door and into the glorious sunshine.

Indeed, it seemed like a good day to enjoy the sweets at Pendleton’s.

* * *

Pendleton’s was a popular tea shop in Berkley Square and the one place where a lady could be seen in public with a gentleman without ruining her reputation. It was also a favorite amongst courting couples, and many suitors would bring the objects of their affection there for their excellent selection of sweets.

Andrew had heard from Selina that Julia had a sweet tooth and that the papillottes avec devises at Pendleton’s were her particular favorites. She would be hard-pressed to resist the lure of sugar, he had hoped.

As the minutes slowly trickled by, though, he was beginning to fear that she would never arrive. It would not be unusual for her to do so—she did enjoy frustrating him at every turn.

When the bell rang to signal the arrival of another customer, his head immediately swiveled to the door, only to nearly forget how to breathe as he stood up. He scarcely even noticed the maid who trailed discreetly behind her.

Today, Julia had chosen a dress of a lighter hue than the ones she preferred to wear to balls. Nonetheless, it was still a rather vibrant, cheerful sort of blue that strangely did not seem to clash with her hair and served instead to bring out the blue in her eyes. His gaze dropped to the square neckline of the dress where he could glimpse the creamy skin of her bosom.

“Do you like what you see, My Lord?”

Andrew frowned and jerked his gaze back up to her face to find her smiling mischievously at him, her eyes clearly taunting him for his weakness.

“You wish!” he grumbled, pulling a chair out for her. “I was just so surprised to see a young lady courting indecency in broad daylight.”

Julia, surprisingly, chose to say nothing more, but her glance told him all he needed to know—she had caught him on the back foot and was quite entertained by it.

If she is so happy to see me uncomfortable, then maybe she might be more amenable to my proposal.

The staff brought out the cakes and pastries he had ordered prior to her arrival as well as a pot of freshly brewed tea. He watched her from the corner of his eye as he poured a cup for her. Julia wasted no time in sampling a small square of lemon cake, smiling happily as she chewed on it.

Most young ladies he knew would refrain from displaying such unabashed love for food in public, but Lady Julia Lewis had no such qualms, and he found himself quite enjoying the sight of it. There was something about her contented smile that made him want to do more.

Like purchase the entire business so that they could make more of those lemon squares for her…

He shook his head and chastised himself for the direction of his thoughts. He had come here with the sole purpose of collecting a debt, not indulging her sugary proclivities.

He cleared his throat audibly, and she looked at him in irritation.

“You know, I was of the thought at first that you would not show up today,” he told her. “If I had known that you have such a preference for such pastries, I would have left a trail of crumbs for you to follow.”

“Actually, I really contemplated not showing up,” Julia admitted. “And if you did leave a trail of crumbs, I most certainly hope that some vermin would have found their way back to you and kept you company.”

Such a cruel tongue on such a beautiful face.

“Now, about that thing you owe me…” Andrew began.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, yes, you have told me countless times about how much I still owe you. Well then—” She leaned forward, and he fought to keep his gaze from dropping to her chest. “What do you want from me?”

For starters, I want to kiss you and see if your lips taste like that lemon square you had just devoured… and then I want to strip you naked and…

Horrified at the direction of his thoughts, Andrew glared at her instead. “My mother has taken it upon herself to find me a bride by the end of the Season,” he snapped churlishly. “Since you owe me for saving you from Lord Caraway, and you can be quite offensive, I thought you would do an extremely fine job of dispatching the ladies my mother has in mind.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. He had been so angry with himself for his wayward thoughts that he had taken it out on her. If she got up and left right then and there, she would be well justified in doing so.

Instead, she burst out laughing.

Andrew was so relieved that she was not angry at him that he could not find it in himself to be annoyed that she was laughing at his expense.

“So, the great Marquess of Trowbridge needs the help of his own mother to find a bride,” Julia teased. “My, and I thought you were capable enough of doing so on your own.”

“You know how mothers are.” He grimaced. “Their favorite pastime is meddling in the matrimonial affairs of their unmarried offspring.”

“I can relate all too well,” she agreed, shaking her head. “So, how do you intend to go about scaring your potential brides?”

Andrew relaxed under her easy smile. “Well, I must refrain from being too obvious, of course. I must act the perfect gentleman while you may have free reign to do as you wish as long as you achieve the desired outcome.”

“Really? You are asking me to wreak havoc?” Julia raised an eyebrow at him. “But is that not the very thing you keep accusing me of?”

“And you do it so well.” He smiled back at her. “Which makes you perfect for the job.”

“Right. Now you think I am perfect at something.” She smirked. “Who are these ladies, anyway?”

Andrew sipped his tea. “Well, you might have already succeeded with the first one.”

“Who? Oh…” She pursed her lips when she realized just whom he was referring to. “Miss Ferguson.”

“Correct.”

“So…” She grinned. “Have you given it a name already?”

He shrugged. “It certainly was adorable enough for Selina to pick it up. In any case, it is Barrington’s problem now.”

“Poor man.” Julia laughed. “No wonder he did not seem too pleased with me last night.”

“He is rarely pleased with anyone at all,” Andrew pointed out. “You need not read too much into it.”

“Well, you do have a point there…”

They both smiled at each other, the tension between them finally broken. For the first time since they were introduced to each other, they were allies and not on opposing sides.

“Lady Julia, I…”

“Yes?”

“I think—”

Suddenly, they heard the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat. Julia looked up to find her maid looking pointedly at her before averting her gaze towards the windows.

Color flooded her cheeks, and as Andrew sat back, sipping his tea with a smile, he could not help but think that it was a rather pretty sight.

Maybe he should make her blush more often…