“I can barely stand the wait,” Odelia declared as she paced.
“Odelia, my dear, Great Grandmother Templeton would have much to say about your lack of decorum just now.”
Odelia looked somewhat sheepish as she sank gracefully into a nearby settee. “I know, Aunty Jules, but I so hate to wait. You do realize, don’t you, that this shall be my first time to go riding at the fashionable hour?”
“I know, Dee, but sit still and allow your cheeks to cool. You do not want to appear impatient at any rate.” Julianna laughed, knowing it would be impossible to get the younger girl to actually quell her impatience. At this point, appearances were the best she could expect.
Julianna herself was unsure how she felt about her upcoming expedition. She had a ridiculous longing to see Luc again, which was utterly mortifying. Nothing good could come of this afternoon, and she was wondering why she had agreed to it.
Odelia wiggled on her seat. In an effort to distract herself, she started a conversation with her aunt. “So you are going riding too, right? With Viscount Beaufort? That’s exciting! I thought you did not wish to be friends with the handsome lord. You told Abigail he was not to be trusted.”
“Therefore it is hardly exciting, is it?” Julianna denied all of her feelings in that statement. “But I must admit it shall be quite lovely to ride in the park this afternoon.”
Odelia agreed. “We shall be the talk of the ton!” Despite her glee, she managed not to be distracted away from her earlier thoughts. “But why are you going with the viscount if you do not wish to? You seem very capable of saying no.”
With a laugh Julianna had to agree with her niece. “’Tis true. I have had much practice with you and your brother, haven’t I?”
Dee’s eyes turned shrewd. “Stop prevaricating, Aunty. You do not have feelings for Lord Ackerley do you?”
“Don’t be silly, Odelia,” she hedged. “It is merely a carriage ride, not a declaration of any sort.”
“But rumor has it the viscount is looking about for a wife, so why would he be taking you to the park at the fashionable hour instead of one of the debutantes?”
Deciding she had had enough of the unanswerable questions, Julianna put an end to the questioning with one of her own. “With reasoning like that, should I be expecting a declaration from Mr. Landon?”
Odelia released a tinkle of laughter, acknowledging her aunt’s reasoning. “I should think not. Poor Mr. Landon wishes to enjoy himself even longer than I do. I believe he sees me as a safe companion since I am not setting my cap at him.”
Chapter Fifteen
After a momentary pause, the ladies heard the knocker sounding. Odelia leapt up from her chair then subsided before the quelling look she received from her aunt.
“You must wait while he is announced, my dear. It is always best to make him wait for at least a couple seconds,” Julianna explained with slightly dry sarcasm.
Then the butler was there announcing that both gentlemen had arrived. Odelia ran from the room with Julianna following at a more sedate pace, ordering her own cheeks to resist the flush rising up.
As Lord Ackerley handed Julianna into the phaeton, he could not help admiring her elegant beauty. “You look lovely this afternoon, my lady.”
Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. “Thank you, my lord. What beautiful horses. Are they a new acquisition?”
Luc laughed at her turn of the subject but allowed her to lead for the moment. “Yes, fairly new. I got them at Tattersall’s a couple of months ago. Very sweet goers, but they get anxious if they don’t get taken out every day. I did not use them yesterday, so I had to take the long way to get here in order to work out their fidgets. They should do well now that they have blown off some of their steam. Has your brother set up much of his stables here while you are all in Town?”
“Unfortunately no. He is not too much of an enthusiast for sports of any sort other than the verbal sparring he seems to enjoy so much. We, of course, have a couple of carriages for our use while we are in Town, but our riding horses were left at home. And of course we have nothing to compare to these two.”
Catching the wistful note in her voice, Luc offered generously, “I have brought up several lovely mounts to my stables here. Just say the word, and you could have the use of one of them.”
“Oh, no, my lord, that is far too generous.” Julianna was firm in her declaration.
“Not really. It will save the grooms from having to exercise them. I may have overestimated how many horses I would need for my personal use. Now they are just eating themselves to fatness since we cannot turn them out to any fields. The grooms do their best, but the poor things could use a proper ride, I assure you. You would actually be doing me a favour.”
Julianna looked sceptical for a moment, but she dearly loved to ride and could not resist the offer. With a shy smile at the viscount she accepted graciously. “Perhaps it is wrong of me, but thank you, I would love to go riding.”
“Excellent. After a couple passes through the park, let us swing by my stables on the way back to your house, and I will introduce you to my head groom. Then whenever you feel like riding you can just have one of your servants bring him a note, and he will have a horse made ready for you.” He thought for a moment then gave her a stern warning. “But promise me you will never ride without a groom. You are no doubt still used to country ways. It would not do for you to go out alone.”
Somewhat taken aback by his tone, her eyes flew to his face, searching for the cause. Seeing only concern for her safety she acquiesced. “I promise, never fear. And thank you so much for your kind offer. I have been wishing I had thought to bring my own sweet Sophie to Town. It would be such fun to ride her in the mornings. There is nothing like a good gallop to blow the cobwebs from your brain after a late night of dancing.”
The viscount agreed wholeheartedly and resolved to ride with her at the earliest opportunity. He allowed a few moments of silence while she looked around at the beauty of the park and the bustle of others before pursuing the line of questioning for which he had brought her out that day.
“So, Julianna, what has been troubling you?”
Julianna was startled by his abrupt question and blushed rosily. Despite trying to prepare, she hadn’t really expected him to pursue his questions from the previous evening thinking it was merely an idle, passing thought.
“Whatever do you mean, my lord?” She was determined to remain formal with the viscount.
“Come on, Julianna,” he chided. “We are as private as you said you wanted to be. Surely you can drop the formalities. We were once very dear friends. Can’t you call me Luc?”
“That was a long time ago,” she replied with stiff lips.
“Not so very long,” Luc answered with a warm, soft voice causing Julianna to turn her eyes to his face searchingly. “Tell me what’s troubling you. Is it the children?”
Julianna could no longer resist. She nodded in affirmation. Biting her lip to keep it from trembling, she took a deep breath before beginning.
“It isn’t so much Odelia, although I cannot help worrying about her, too. A girl’s first Season is full of so many possible pitfalls. But she seems to be handling herself quite maturely despite her penchant for giggling at everything.”
The viscount chuckled at her description causing a tremulous smile to touch Julianna’s lips before she continued.
“I actually worry more about Fletcher. My brother is so caught up in his politics that he leaves everything at home in my hands. That was mostly all right when they were small. It no doubt would have been better for him to be more involved, but I could handle frogs and dogs and whatever little boy pranks he got up to. Now Fletcher is pretty much a man, and I have no experience with that.” Julianna laughed with self-deprecation still wondering how she came to be confiding in Luc about this.
Luc could barely stand to watch her wring her hands with anxiety. “Ne t’enquiete pas, ma petite,” he said while reaching out and cla
sping her cold hands.
Julianna was almost undone by his softly murmured words. It somehow sounded so much more intimate when said in another language. ‘Don’t worry’ is so innocuous when said normally. Then the endearment – ‘little one’. But he had made it all the more personal by saying ‘my little one.’ She felt altogether flustered by the combination and felt like further unburdening herself in this unfamiliar environment of warm acceptance.
Clutching his hand tightly in both of hers, Julianna felt unexpected tears welling in her eyes. Looking at the viscount with her beautiful blue eyes swimming in unshed tears, she exclaimed, “Oh, Luc, I should not be burdening you with all of this, but I just do not know what to do about Fletcher. I worry that he’s going to fall in love with some completely inappropriate young lady like maybe Lady Abigail Fielding. And he has started to stay out until dawn or even later doing who knows what because he is not with us.”
“But what is it about this that is troubling you? He seems to be a reasonably steady young man, and these sound like the usual antics young men like himself get up to at his age.” Luc hated to see her in distress and struggled to understand wherein her worries lay. Julianna was not usually the sort to give in to fits of mawkishness. Except that one time, of course.
“Perhaps it is usual antics, but unless a mature gentleman explains certain things to him or even takes him about a bit, I am afraid he shall easily get in over his head. I know, Luc, I am probably being silly. But it seems just last week he was a little boy. Now he is getting into things that I cannot clean up after him, and it weighs on me. The worst thing about it is that his father, the earl, seems to pay even less attention to him now than he did when he truly was a little boy, and I feel it should be the opposite. Now is when he needs a bit of fatherly attention.”
A single tear finally broke over her lashes, sliding down her cheek unchecked, and Luc was undone.
“Let me see about him. Perhaps I can steer him through the quagmire of his young manhood.”
Julianna offered a tight smile and shook her head. “I don’t think so, Lucius Ackerley. From what I have seen and heard, you are a rake. I do not think I want my sweet young nephew being steered by the likes of you.”
Startled by the vehemence in her tone, Luc stared at her in surprise; this was the second time she had said something similar. “What have you seen and heard about me?”
Blushing to the roots of her hair, Julianna again shook her head. “Never mind that. Thank you for your offer, but I really don’t see how you could help with Fletcher. You aren’t even a relative.”
Deciding for the moment to set aside his offence, he stuck to the subject at hand. “At the very least I could engage him in conversation and pry a little.” This offer finally brought a sweet smile back to Julianna’s lips and Luc was gratified. “Then I could see what he has gotten himself into and determine whether or not you have reason to be concerned.”
Julianna cocked her head in question. “That is such a thoughtful suggestion, Luc. Although I expect prying will be a bit of a challenge for you as a man. Why are you bothering with my worries at all?”
Now it was Luc’s turn to blush a little. Not having a coherent answer for her, he merely shrugged and replied flippantly. “A gentleman never allows a lady to worry overmuch.”
Unconvinced but grateful nonetheless, Julianna accepted his offer. “When will you talk to him? And do you promise to tell me whatever you might find out, even if a gentleman is not supposed to allow a lady to worry?”
Laughing at her sarcasm, the viscount agreed. “I think your niece mentioned you would be at the Westfields' grand event tomorrow evening. I will endeavour to strike up a conversation with him there. If you promise to go riding with me the next morning, I will tell you whatever I managed to find out.”
Julianna searched Lucius’ face while he struggled to keep any emotions other than benign interest from his countenance. “I still wonder why you would go to any bother for us, but I find that I am desperate.” Realizing that could be construed as churlish, she continued with full honesty. “But in all reality, I think you would be better at perceiving his intentions than his father would be, so I shall accept your offer. Thank you for trying. And thank you for making me tell you about it. Strangely enough, I feel a little relieved just from confiding in someone.”
After a moment of silence fraught with emotional tension, Julianna turned the subject to one far less personal. Realizing she was still clutching his hand, she cleared her throat with slight embarrassment and let go of his hand rather hastily and asked, “Have you been to any entertainments hosted by the Countess of Westfield?”
“A few. She is an accomplished hostess. When they were newly married she struggled a little, I think, but she seems to have really found her footing amongst the ton. She is now considered one of the leading ladies of Society much to her amusement.”
“They seemed to be quite pleasant. I look forward to the event. Odelia’s grandparents seemed to have an interesting opinion about it, but I am sure they are mistaken.”
Luc raised an eyebrow in question at her statement causing Julianna to explain. “Fletcher, Odelia, Hartford, and I visited the Ashwoods a couple of days ago. They are rather high in the instep, if you aren’t well acquainted with them. They said they could never attend an entertainment hosted by the Westfields since the earl and his wife are far too lax in their standards and allow even those of less noble birth to attend their larger gatherings. It would have been funny if it were not so sad.”
The viscount had to agree. “I have a very slight acquaintance with Ashwoods. I think they were friends with my parents when they were alive. I would have to agree with your assessment of them – they did seem to be terribly proud and unbending the few occasions I have spent any amount of time with them. In a way, I suppose you can be glad they have not spent much time with Odelia and Fletcher since it would have been a stifling environment for them as children.”
“That is certainly looking on the bright side.” Julianna laughed. “There were many times that I wished Lucretia’s family had paid more attention to her children, but you are quite right, that is not a quality she would have wanted them to adopt.”
“Of course, with your own parents being gone, no doubt you would have been happy for some adult supervision to help you with them after their mother died.” Luc had not given any thought to what troubles she had faced at the time and was just now realizing what a challenge it would have been for her.
With a sigh and a small smile, Julianna acknowledged the truth of his comments. “The dowager duchess was no longer speaking to me, and Hartford was nearly prostrate with grief. I was all the children had, and I deeply longed for someone to guide me.” Realizing she was indulging in a serious bout of self-pity that was far from attractive, she tried to turn the subject to something more positive. “It wasn’t all bad, though. Children adapt remarkably well. And what truly saved us was the housekeeper. Mrs. Parks has been the housekeeper at Somerton most of my life, and she had witnessed how my mother raised Hart and me. Whenever I was in doubt on anything I would turn to her to talk things through.”
“Those two were certainly lucky to have you,” the viscount commented with admiration clearly evident in his voice.
Julianna shook her head in denial. “It was more like I was lucky to have them. It was a rather dark time in my life, and I have to tell you it is pretty much impossible to be depressed for long when in the presence of lively youngsters.”
Not wanting to continue conversing in this vein, Julianna again turned the subject. “We somehow got off the topic. Now tell me what should Odelia and I expect tomorrow evening when we attend the Westfields’ entertainment?”
Realizing what she was about and admiring her all the more, Luc allowed the change of subject. “Well, I have to admit, the Ashwoods are correct. When the earl and his wife have an evening of the arts, as they like to call it, they do invite quite a variety of company. No one terribly lo
w class or unacceptable, of course, but not the usuals you would find at Almack’s, let us say. They enjoy hearing multiple sides to any story, so they invite some with strong opinions outside the perfectly accepted realm. For example, you could come across a few suffragists as well as various political writers from some of the papers. There will be musicians of all sorts, too, I am sure.”
“It sounds like it shall be a truly fascinating evening. Dee often complains about not being allowed to go away to school, so it will be an interesting education for her.”
Luc was pleased that she was not turning up her pert little nose at the prospect of rubbing elbows with those less fortunate than herself. He was looking forward to introducing her to his brother and hoped she would be able to accept him with equal aplomb.
Julianna gave a little bounce on the seat beside him. Turning to him with a grin she demanded, “All right, my lord, enough strutting about the park, let us go introduce me to your horses.”
Luc found her irresistible and grinned right back at her as he deftly turned his phaeton around and guided them skilfully out of the park towards the mews behind his elegant townhouse.
“Jeeves, this is Lady Julianna Montgomery. She will be making herself comfortable here in our stables. She will be taking out some of the horses for exercise periodically. Would you be so good as to show her around for a couple of minutes? She would like to see which horses might be to her taste.”
Jeeves stared intently at his master for a couple of seconds but he was well enough trained not to reveal the shock he was feeling at that moment. He recovered quickly.
“It would be my earnest pleasure to show you around our humble quarters, milady,” he declared with a flourishing bow.
Offering the crook of his elbow, Jeeves took Julianna over to a series of stalls. “Pardon me for saying so, milady, but you must take care when you ride out on any of Beaufort’s mounts. The viscount isn’t known for choosing sedate horses to ride.”
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