Chapter Thirty-Two
With just a small carpetbag containing two dresses and a few other essential items, Juliet left her bedroom for what would be the last time. She stared at the door for several moments, drinking in the memories, when a door down the hallway creaked open.
“Juliet?”
Taking a deep breath, Juliet set the bag on the floor and turned to her cousin, who wore a confused expression. “Hello, Annabel,” she said, attempting to keep her voice level. It was not an easy feat. “I am leaving—with Daniel—but I am afraid I cannot take you with me.” The words tore at her heart, but they had to be said.
“But I do not understand,” Annabel said, her voice choked. “I thought Daniel agreed…”
Juliet took Annabel’s hand. “That is not the reason. Our circumstances have changed. However, I promise to write to you, and if you ever need me, I will return as quickly as I can.”
Annabel threw her arms around Juliet. “I will miss you,” she whispered. “But I am happy for you.”
“And I will miss you,” Juliet said, kissing her cousin’s cheek. “Mother will take care of you. You will always be safe here. You do believe me, do you not?”
Annabel nodded. “I do. I have nothing to fear.”
Juliet smiled and picked up the bag. “Now, go back to bed before I change my mind and sell you to a gentleman of the ton.” This made them both giggle, each covering her mouth to stifle the sound.
“Do write to me.”
“I said I would,” Juliet said, feigning annoyance.
Annabel hugged her once more before returning to her room and closing the door behind her.
Juliet stared at the door for several moments before heaving a heavy sigh and making her way down the hallway. How she wished she could take her cousin with her, but what kind of life would one such as Annabel live in a tiny cottage? It had been unfair of Juliet to offer to take the girl, for her cousin had a wondrous life ahead of her; Juliet’s mother would see to that.
At the bottom of the stairs, Forbes stood waiting, his tall imposing figure giving her pause. Would he attempt to stop her from leaving? Cause a scene and wake the entire household in the process?
“Miss Juliet,” he said in his deep baritone. “I will miss you.”
Juliet stared at him in shock. “You know?”
The man nodded. “Do not worry; I will not tell. However, I could not allow you to leave without first saying goodbye.”
Juliet embraced the man. “Thank you, Forbes. I will miss you. I do ask one thing, not for myself but for Mother.”
“Whatever you request, I will do.”
“Please be certain she is happy.”
Forbes smiled. “Rest assured that there is nothing I will not do to see your mother happy,” he said.
He turned to open the door for her, and she stepped out onto the stoop. The future was frightening—as well as full of excitement. From this day forth, life would be much different from the life she had known, and she could not wait to live it.
As she made her way to the stables, the door opened and Daniel exited, leading two horses—one her Penelope—saddled and already laden with several bags. The first light of day broke across the horizon as she gazed at Daniel’s smile.
“Allow me,” he said, taking her carpetbag and tying it behind her saddle. When he turned and gazed down at her, she wondered if she would be able to remain standing. “I love you, Juliet. Are you sure this is what you want?”
She turned and looked up at Scarlett Hall. “This house is so magnificent that I once desired one like it for myself. Now, however, I have come to realize that it was not the many rooms and the size of the place that made it great, but rather the love inside.”
He put his fingers under her chin and turned her to face him. “I couldn’t agree more,” he whispered. “It’s a gift no money could ever buy. Don’t you think it’s a wonderful gift?”
The world seemed to disappear as Juliet stared into the eyes of the man she loved. “Yes,” she replied readily. “Such a wondrous gift.”
She took Penelope’s reins from Daniel, and he helped her mount. As they moved toward the drive, she glanced at the front of the house and was surprised to see a lone figure standing on the stoop, a heavy wrap on her shoulders. She was not the woman who gave birth to her, but Juliet admired and loved her more than anyone would ever understand.
Her mother raised a hand, and Juliet did the same, keeping it raised until the woman, and Scarlett Hall, disappeared from sight.
With a sigh, Juliet rode beside Daniel, off to their new life. Together.
***
They traveled four days, riding through the countryside and speaking of their future and their marriage.
“I am surprised,” Juliet said, attempting to suppress a grin, “that you would wish for four children.”
“Is that too many?” he asked, concern filling his tone. “I suppose you only want two.”
Juliet pretended to think for a moment. “I hope for a dozen,” she said with a firm nod. His jaw dropped, and she added with a laugh, “One for each month of the year.”
He gave her a chuckle. “You, Miss Juliet, are nothing like other ladies.” She raised a brow at him, and his eyes widened. “That is…you’re far more beautiful in every way.”
She smiled. “And you, are the most handsome.” Then she turned up her nose and pursed her lips. “However, you are a pitiful horseman.”
Before allowing him to respond, she heeled Penelope, who launched forward, Daniel shouting with frustration from behind. With tears of happiness in her eyes, she laughed as he raced his horse beside hers.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you,” he chided playfully.
“I have a wonderful idea,” she replied, glancing over at him. “Marry me!” She urged Penelope to go faster.
“I plan on doing just that!” he shouted back at her as his larger and heavier Irish Hunter overtook Penelope.
She giggled; he had only won the race because she allowed him to do so. Although, she would never admit it.
They slowed their mounts as the road curved, passing several small cottages with sheep dotting the land. Then Juliet saw the most precious of cottages, whitewashed with a heavy thatch roof and door and window frames painted red. Behind it sat a small stable.
“Is that our new home?” she asked, looking at the directions her mother had left for her. “I did not expect it to be so wonderful!”
They dismounted beside a tree, where they tethered the horses, and hand in hand, they walked to the front door. Juliet closed her eyes and brought to mind the story her mother had told her, imagining the woman standing at this door so many years before.
“Juliet?” Daniel asked, his voice filled with concern. “Are you all right?”
She opened her eyes and turned to him. One day she would tell him the story of her birth, but today was not that day. Today, they would be making new memories, not reminiscing on the past. “I am wonderful,” she replied, taking his hand and pulling him to the door. “Come! Let us explore our new home!”
The house was more than they could have ever wanted and more. It had a small kitchen, a sitting room, and two small bedrooms. “It is perfect.”
Daniel was looking around as if in shock. “This house is grand,” he said. “Far better than I thought…” He looked down at her. “It’s perfect.”
“It is,” she replied. “It is a home in which a woman once lived, a woman who had dreams for her daughter.”
“Is that true?” Daniel asked as he glanced around again.
“Yes. She dreamed her daughter would be happy, and her dream, much like my own, has come true.”
***
Mrs. Juliet Haskins, formally Miss Juliet Lambert, was doing amazing things with her life. For one, she was keeping house. How one actually did such a thing was beyond her, for most often she simply moved the furniture from one place to another. She swept and mopped the floors, cooked meals—not wonderfu
l meals to be sure, but at least after two months of marriage she no longer served food so blackened it was inedible—and washed dishes afterward.
Despite her unfamiliarity with the life in which she now found herself, she could not have been happier.
The sound of hoofbeats came to her ear, and she smiled as she watched her husband ride up the drive. Daniel had found work in a stable at a manor not far from their home, and he enjoyed his work as much as he did while at Scarlett Hall, or so he had said. With the wide smile he wore every day when returning home, Juliet had no doubt he spoke the truth.
Daniel dismounted, his cheeks covered in rough stubble and his dark hair falling over his brow. However, it was his handsome smile that she adored above all else.
“I was told a lady lives here,” he said as he walked toward her. “A lady who enjoys adventure and is like no other lady in existence. Is this true?”
“It is true,” Juliet replied with a laugh. “For I am she. And who, may I ask, are you?”
“Some call me a stable boy, but that is only partly true.” He put his hands around her waist and pulled her close. “For I am a man in love with the most beautiful woman in all of England.” He lowered his head and kissed her. The kiss had passion and urgency, and she returned it with the same exuberance as he gave.
When the kiss broke, he kept his hold on her, not allowing her to move away—not that she tried. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “that woman wrote me a letter.”
Juliet frowned. “Letter?”
He smiled, reached into his coat pocket, and produced a folded piece of parchment. He unfolded it and began to read:
My Dearest Daniel,
I know in my heart that, one day, you shall be able to read this letter, and if, for some reason, I am not there with you, know that I am truly proud of you.
Please know that you hold a special place in my heart and that nothing can ever keep us apart.
With love,
Juliet
“You were right, Juliet,” he said, pulling her close once again. “Nothing can keep us apart.”
She placed her arms around his neck. “Nothing,” she agreed. “And it is our love that will always keep us together.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Scarlett Hall June 1806
As their horses came to a stop outside the familiar stable beside Scarlett Hall, Juliet stared up at the grand house. She and Daniel had received the letter of invitation three weeks prior, and she would not miss Hannah’s wedding reception for the world.
The new stable hand, a boy several years younger than Daniel, came to take their horses.
“It has been only two months,” Juliet said as she and Daniel made their way to the house, “but it seems like years.”
“Do you miss it?” Daniel asked, and she did not miss the twinge of concern behind his words.
“I could lie and say that I do not. However, I love our home more.”
Daniel smiled. “I’m glad.”
The door opened, and Nathaniel came bounding down the steps. “Juliet!” he shouted before lifting her from the ground and twirling her around in his arms. “I am so happy to see you!”
Juliet laughed. “As I am you,” she replied. The boy had grown much since she had last seen him. “You remember Daniel?”
Nathaniel nodded. “I do.” He put out his hand, and after some hesitation, Daniel shook it firmly. “It is good to see you again.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Daniel replied quietly.
Nathaniel raised his brows. “You are my brother-in-law. You have no reason to be so formal. My name is Nathanial, not ‘my lord’.”
Daniel’s cheeks reddened, but he nodded. “As you wish, Nathaniel.” He stumbled over the name, but Juliet’s brother did not seem to notice.
When Juliet’s mother joined them, Juliet threw her arms around the woman. “I have missed you so,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes.
“Not more than I have missed you,” her mother replied. She took a step back and placed her hand in Juliet’s. “You look happy.” She wiped the tears from Juliet’s cheeks and laughed. “Are you happy?”
“I am,” Juliet replied, and she could not have been more truthful. When she turned to her husband, she was surprised to see him looking at the ground.
Her mother stood before him. “It is good to see you, as well,” she said and then surprised Juliet by embracing him. “Please, both of you, come in.”
They followed her mother into the house and glanced around the foyer. “Where are my sisters?”
“In the garden,” her mother replied. “Daniel, would you like to join Nathaniel in the drawing room for some tea? James and John are there, as well.”
“That would be nice, my lady,” he replied with a bow.
Her mother chuckled. “I thought my son set matters straight about your formality of speech. If you are able to address to a baron by his Christian name, would it not be better if you refer to your mother-in-law as Mother? If you are comfortable with doing so, of course.”
Daniel smiled. “I would like that…Mother.” He was now a bright red to his ears.
“Come, Daniel,” Nathaniel said with the impatience of youth. “We can discuss interesting things. Such as horses.”
With a smile, Daniel followed Nathaniel down the hall.
Juliet turned to her mother. “Have you told the others about…me?” Her mother shook her head. “Then, I wish to be the one to explain, if I may.”
“Very well, if that is what you wish. However, I believe they will love you regardless.”
Juliet nodded and made her way to the garden. Her heart was overcome with joy as she watched her sisters beneath the large tree.
Isabel’s white dress fluttered around her, her face and posture as noble as ever, appearing the grand duchess that she was. Hannah laughed in her blue muslin, her smile wider than Juliet had ever seen it. Gone was the timid wallflower, now replaced by a woman in love.
Then Juliet’s eyes fell on her Annabel, her favorite, in a yellow dress and a hat with a matching yellow ribbon, who sat doubled over with laughter at something one of the others had said. They were Juliet’s family, yet she had to explain to them that she was not a true Lambert, which terrified her more than anything she had ever confronted in her life. It scared her even more than when she confronted Robert Mullens, a man who was her father but not.
“Juliet!” Annabel sprang from the ground and rushed to her. Before Juliet could respond, the others were racing toward her, as well, and she was greeted with embraces from each woman.
“Hannah, you are married!” Juliet said with a shake of her head. “I did not believe you ever would.”
Hannah laughed. “Nor did I,” she replied. “However, I found love and simply had no choice in the matter.” She gave Juliet a wide grin. “I understand that you have, as well.”
Juliet nodded. “We are in love, and it is wonderful.” She turned to their cousin. “Now we only have Annabel left to find someone special.” This brought about nods of agreement. Then Juliet took a deep breath. “We made a bond here beneath this tree, and now I wish to share a secret.” Her heart pounded harder than it ever had in the past.
“Of course,” Isabel said, her face filled with concern. “Our secrets are safe here.”
“Let us sit.” Once everyone was seated in a circle, Juliet collected every ounce of courage and said, “In the past, I told stories that stretched the truth.” When Isabel’s eyebrow raised, she added, “Oh, very well, some were outright fabrications. However, I swear that what I have to tell you now is the truth.” She took a steadying breath. “It began here in Scarlet Hall nearly nineteen years ago, a lady’s maid became with child…”
She did not know for how long she spoke, but she told them everything. Of her mother and father. Of how the woman she had known as her mother had come to taking on a child that was not her own. Of how she confronted Robert that day in his shop and her reasons for doing so. The only piece she ke
pt from them was their mother’s part in Juliet’s leaving with Daniel, for she had a promise to keep, even if it meant keeping it from her sisters.
When she finished, she stared at a blade of grass that she had knotted together with another, uncertain if she felt shame or relief. It would all depend on her sisters’ reaction to her story. “And now you know the truth. That I am not truly your sister, for I do not share your blood. I am sorry to have broken our bond.”
Hannah snorted. “That could never happen,” she said with a derisive sniff. “You are my sister.”
“And you are mine,” Annabel said. “Nothing will ever change that.”
Juliet sniffled and turned to Isabel, and saw a single tear roll down her sister’s cheek. “Isabel?” she whispered, fearing the worst. Isabel was strong and wise, and if she believed Juliet was no longer her sister, it would crush her.
“Juliet is right in her fear,” Isabel said. “For sisters are bound by both spirit and blood.”
Juliet nodded and her heart sank. She had been rejected, the one thing she feared more than anything. However, she did not blame Isabel, for what her sister said was true. She was not one of their sisters.
Isabel removed a pin from her bodice, grabbed Juliet’s hand and held it open with the palm up. “This is going to sting.” She ran the point of the pin across the palms of each of Juliet’s hands and a thin line of blood appeared.
One by one, each woman took the pin and cut their palms, including Isabel, and when they finished, the took the hands of the women on either side, forming a circle.
“The bond we made before is now made stronger,” Isabel said. “We are now all sisters bound together in blood and spirit, and nothing can break that bond.”
Juliet did nothing to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks as she nodded her agreement. Then they gave each other an embrace.
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