by Dee Jones
"Not when the woman is terrified of her own shadow and not when the man is in another room," he told her. "But I'll stay all the same. You go on in and take your bath and I'll wait for you here." Julia sighed. She really didn't want him to leave and was relieved when he agreed not to. She felt safe whenever he was around, even if he was in the next room.
She walked slowly to her washroom, the thought of Daniel waiting for her made her feel courageous and warm all over. She heard a quiet little voice inside her head, warning her against falling in love with this very masculine man, but the voice that screamed from within her heart told her to ignore logic and follow her desires.
She closed the door to her washroom and quickly disrobed. The tub was filled only half way with warm water and scented oil, yet it was enough for her to wash in. She wanted to relax, to just allow the water to engulf her, but the thought of the man in the next room made her dispose of the idea.
Julia quickly washed her hair before piling it up on her head and reaching for the small barrette she kept on her wash table. Her fingers brushed the jewels that decorated the top, flipping it over, causing it to tumble onto the floor. With a silent curse, she leaned over the edge of the tub, ignoring the soft pounding sensation in her head as she tried to find it under the foot of the tub. Water splashed out onto the pink carpet and she again cursed, feeling around the carpet until her fingers brushed the jewels, but she succeeded in pushing it further away. She groaned softly and tried again, leaning a little further out of the tub.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," she complained, stepping out of the tub completely and kneeling on the rug. She reached her hand under the porcelain basin and felt around for her barrette; her long hair falling in wet ringlets across her face, making it impossible for her to see. She brushed an object, cool and long like a handle to a broom, but when she tried to pull it out, it moved away, slithering from her grip.
Julia screamed, jumping away from the tub and nearly falling into the box that held the chamber pot. The water from her hair slid into her eyes and stung the green depths like red-hot pokers, but the sensation did nothing to distract from the terror she felt ripping at her insides.
Daniel heard Julia's scream and ran to the wash closet, throwing open the door. What he saw made the frown he’d been wearing for the past several minutes deepen. Julia stood between the chamber pot and the tub, her hair wet, dripping across her breasts and down her back. She stood before him completely naked, brushing hair from her face and rubbing her eyes. He stood there for several seconds staring. She was more beautiful then he’d ever dreamed and he was quite certain it was a vision he was not likely to forget; but when he realized she wasn’t trying to hide her nakedness, he came back to the events that had brought him bursting through the door.
"What the hell...?" he began, only to have her point to the floor beneath the tub of water.
"Under there," she gasped, pushing her hair away from her face. She didn't seem to notice the fact that she was standing before the man, naked and dripping wet. The only thought on her mind was the object that had slithered through her grip.
Daniel knelt down in front of the tub, his eyes still roving across her exquisite figure in a mixture of concern and desire. He wanted to forget what he was doing and just pull her to him, tasting and teasing the dark triangle of hair that was now at nose level. But instead he forced his eyes off her and back to the task at hand, seeing exactly what it was that had caused her to scream.
“Hand me that towel,” he ordered as she picked up the small towel on the hamper next to her. He tossed the cotton cloth across the reptile, gathering it in his hand as he rose to his feet, keeping the twisting bundle away from her as he pulled her into his strong embrace.
"Calm down," he told her, holding her naked body against his growing arousal. "It won't hurt you."
"I don't give a bloody damn, get it out of here!" she ordered, pushing the man and the towel in his hand, away from her. The door to her bedroom swung open and Jeremy rushed in, seeing Daniel's large frame filling the doorway of his sister's wash closet, his arm around Julia's slender waist and Julia, standing wet and naked in front of him.
"What the hell, do you think you're doing?" he growled, laying a hand on the shoulder of what he assumed was his sister's attacker. Daniel turned and grinned at the younger man, noticing the umbrella he had grasped in his shaking hand.
"I didn't know it was raining?" he said, as Julia reached for her rob, struggling to put it on.
"Did he hurt you?" Jeremy demanded, still uncertain what was going on.
"No Jeremy," she insisted, tying the robe around her waist. "Put that umbrella away." She marched past both men going back into her room and lay down on her bed, desperate to hide her embarrassment and her body from the two men. The room was quickly filling with people as Louise and Thompson rushed in, a pistol in the older man’s firm grip. They stared with concern at Julia, and then looked to Jeremy and Daniel - who still held a squirming towel in his hand.
"Why did you scream?" Louise asked, uncertain of what was going on. Daniel unwrapped the towel enough to display the snake for their inspection. Louise gasped, as did Bridget who had appeared behind the older woman.
"It was in her washroom," he told them, glancing across the room to Julia. "She screamed when she saw it."
"I did not see it," she insisted, pulling her robe tighter around her chest as she tucked her feet up on the mattress. "I felt it and it nearly attacked me."
"It's a garter snake Princess. It wouldn't have hurt you and what was it doing under your tub?"
"How the hell should I know?" She demanded anxiously, watching as Daniel wrapped the repulsive reptile back into the towel. "Maybe he had an overwhelming urge to wash his hair!" Daniel nudged Jeremy on the arm and nodded toward the door.
"Come on sport," he said, with amusement. "Let's get rid of your sister's friend." Daniel stepped to Julia's bed and gently kissed her forehead. "Your mother will stay with you while your brother and I dispose of your visitor."
"He's not my visitor or my friend, Browning!" she snapped, anger flushing her pale face. Daniel and Jeremy left the room, following Thompson down the hall.
Once they were out of earshot of the women, Jeremy turned to the man next to him and tried to pull up to his full height of five foot, ten inches.
"I owe you an apology Daniel," he said, softly. "I thought you were trying to..."
"I know what you thought and believe me Jeremy, I nearly did," Daniel chuckled lightly. "Damn snake anyway."
"How do you suppose that thing got into Julia's washroom?" Jeremy continued, as they continued walking.
"I was wondering the same thing. It's not unusual for a snake to come near a house even come in an open door, but to climb up a winding flight of stairs, crawl into a room and close the door behind it? I wouldn't want to set a bet on those odds."
"What are you getting at, Daniel?"
"Look, I know there’s more going on here than Julia’s admitting to. I know she didn’t hit herself on the head and that pillow beside her last night was not a cushion for her to rest on. There’s no way in hell she would have put a snake in her own bathroom, either." They stepped into the back yard and released the three-foot reptile, which eagerly slithered away, disappearing between two nearby bushes. The silence welled up around the two men threatening to rob the breath from their very lungs. It wasn't impossible to envision somebody trying to scare a woman, especially with a childish prank like a snake, but to deliberately go to the length assaulting and possibly trying to kill her was another subject altogether. One - at present - that was in need of a much closer investigation.
Chapter Seven
Julia lounged in her room for the rest of the morning after Daniel had left, trying to put the past twenty-four hours into prospective. When she arrived in Kentucky, she thought it was going to be a short simple visit, see her father, confront her mother for exaggerating, ride her favorite childhood mare and then bid her family farewel
l before going home to Boston. Now, she could barely remember her own name, much less how to spell Boston.
She had been forced into accepting her father's legacy by her own promise to a dying man. Turner Stables was her problem now and there was nothing she could do about it. The past few weeks had been far less than a pleasant reunion. She had watched her father turn to a frail old man old man before her very eyes; weak and barely able to hold himself up in his wheelchair. She had learned more about horses then she ever knew possible, and she had been attacked and nearly killed, then practically eaten by a python! Okay, she admitted in silent honesty, it hadn't been a python, but it was huge and it was a snake and she detested reptiles of any size.
The only good thing that had come out of all of this was her meeting Daniel Browning. He was by far, more than an average man; powerhouse specimen of male sexuality, handsome beyond description and the best kisser she had ever known. But there was more to him than that; she felt she could trust him, someone she could really call a friend, an ally in all of this mess and chaos. He had been there to protect her and comfort her during the worse moments of her life. She just couldn’t imagine what her life would have been like, had he not been here when she arrived.
Daniel Browning had managed to arouse her as she never knew possible; the stirring of emotions he brought to life within her were new and intriguing. She could barely think beyond him; his wicked, seductive smile, the alluring gleam in his blue-green eyes; together they made her feel weak and strong all in the same instant. She really didn’t care anymore that he was an employee; he had managed to make himself a part of the family with very little effort.
He was always there, laughing and talking, ordering the stable hands to do their jobs with a firm yet gentle hand; keeping everyone spirits up during some pretty depressing times. But when it came to her, it seemed all he had to do was wiggle his finger and she would fall into his arms; and what arms they were, too. Strong, secure, slightly dangerous, everything she had longed for when she and Heather would dream together as children.
Afternoon arrived much as it did every day, with lunch served in the dining room and tea on the veranda. Louise advised Jeremy and Julia that Harold Leonard, their father’s attorney would arrive after supper. It was the last thing either wanted to hear, much less face. Jeremy’s attitude toward the reading of Victor’s will had not changed since he first arrived home. He was certain he had not been left anything more than some trivial household items, and he didn’t really care about any of it. The bitterness of years gone by still wore heavy in the young man’s heart and as the afternoon progressed, so did his silence.
Julia walked the confines of the house for what seemed like hours, waiting for the eventful night to end. The staff were especially quiet today and the anticipation hung like a thick cloud in the large mansion. Nobody was certain if they would have a job come morning or if they were to suddenly find themselves homeless and on the road to somewhere less hospitable. Knowing that so many lives depended on her agreement to her father’s conditions, Julia felt the weight of her acceptance grow; there was no way of backing out now.
Shortly before supper, Julia finally decided to seek out the privacy of the small terrace outside the sitting room, and began thinking about the night before. She couldn’t understand how a person could slip into a room full of people and out again without being detected. Someone had to have seen something that didn’t appear to be normal; and if there had been a woman hanging around like her aunt had said, then why didn’t someone speak with her, find out who she was or why she was there.
Sitting in a chair on the veranda, Julia began to feel the anxiety of the day weighing down on her. She had no idea what her brother would say or do when he learned she was named as co-owner of the stables; that meant he had to be the one to inherit the other half. Jeremy had no intention of returning home and therefore had no reason to want the land, their father knew that. But she made a promise to him; this land was all he knew, it was all they had and it was a good, successful business. Turner Stables was world known for their quality horseflesh. Even President Rutherford was a customer of theirs.
The sound of feet shuffling softly against the concrete ground caused Julia to turn with a start. She was half expecting to find the intruder from the previous day sneaking up on her again. Instead she found Daniel walking slowly toward her, the expression on his face was intense and serious.
“What’s the matter?” she asked with a frown as he sat in the chair opposite her.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Is everything alright?”
“Yes,” he said quickly. “I was just worried about where you were.”
“Ah, my noble knight comes to the rescue of the innocent maiden,” she said with a soft blush, lowering her eyes from his intense gaze. “I’ll let you get away with that excuse for now.”
“Wasn’t an excuse,” he assured her with a warm smile. “Simply the truth.”
The warm breeze blew around the small enclosure, bringing with it the scent of the farm, the freshly turned soil for the fields and the aroma of supper cooking through the open door in the back of the house. It was quiet and pleasant and very relaxing, though she didn’t want to experience it. She actually found herself hoping Daniel would discover a need to hold her again; kiss her like he had upstairs that morning.
“Who is Harold? I thought you were father’s lawyer?” she asked a few minutes later, hoping to distract her raging, perverted thoughts.
“I was, but I turned his case over to my partner about three years ago,” Daniel answered, shifting slightly in his seat. His nerves were beginning to get the better of him and he was fighting the urge to disclose what he knew of the will before Harold arrived.
“So you’re not an employee?” The tone of her voice was one of surprise and delight, though he could not understand why it would matter to her.
“No, I’m not. I agreed to help your father after he sold me Roustabout, my stallion. This place reminds me England.”
“Tell me about your home. Do you have family still there?”
“Yes, two sisters and a brother, along with my mum. My Uncle William took over the family business after my father died and I moved here.”
“Why did you move all the way to Kentucky?”
“Harold is an old friend; his father used to work for mine as his accountant. We developed a friendship that was strong enough that when he moved here after graduating Oxford, I followed. He had a difficult time during the Civil War, but soon as it was finished, he had more work than he could handle. He asked me to join him and I did.”
“What did you do in England? Did you work for your uncle?”
“No, I had a good thriving practice of my own; Harold and I went to Oxford together and both graduated with our law degrees, but he made Kentucky sound inviting so I sold my share of the practice to my partners and moved across the Atlantic. I have never regretted it.”
“Don’t you miss your family?”
“Yes, quite a bit, especially since my sister, Martha just had her first child. We are a very close family and I hear from them weekly as well as writing each their own letters. I plan on returning for holiday next spring to see my youngest sister married off and to spend time visiting the family.”
“What about your mother; does she still live at home?”
“Yes, she lives there with my sister and my uncle. He is a very good man and taking care of my family is his top priority. He never married and has no children of his own, so mine is a good substitute for him. I think he rather fancies my mum; I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to get married when my sister Anastasia is gone.”
“Your Uncle William, he’s your father’s brother?”
“Yes. My grandparents only had two sons, he and my father who was the eldest. The ranch was left to my father and my uncle became a magistrate for London. After my dad died, he took over the ranch.�
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“What kind of ranch is it?” Julia felt a need to know as much about this man as she could, though she assured herself it was simply polite conversation.
“It’s a horse ranch, similar to what you have here, but nearly twice the size. My father was a Marquis and his family has raised the finest horses in all of Britain for over a hundred years. Noblemen and royalty from all over Europe purchase our horses.”
“So you’re royalty?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Yes, from birth. Does that bother you?”
“No, I suppose not. American’s don’t hanker up to royals the way they do across the ocean. But with your background, that means you know more about what goes on around here than I do?”
“Yes, on several levels. When your father hired me as his solicitor, we developed an instant friendship. I offered my services and he accepted. I didn’t feel right about retaining him as a client, so I passed him on to Harold.”
“Do you still practice law, or do you just hang out here all the time?”
“You are a curious one, aren’t you?” he teased her with a half grin. “Yes I still practice, though I’ve not been able to help much lately with all that has been happening here and your father being so ill, I wanted to do what I could to make things easier on him and your mum.”
“I know they appreciated all your hard work; my father couldn’t stop praising you when he was trying to brief me on the activities of the ranch. He kept saying that I should trust you; you were here for me to lean on.”
“And you can trust me; you know that, don’t you?”
“I know it now, but at the time I didn’t really want much to do with you. You were an employee and nothing more.”
“But I’m not an employee. Does that mean I can hope for something more rather than nothing?” Julia blushed a deep scarlet and was about to comment on how only the future could tell what happened, when Jeremy joined them.
“Mom said to come eat before Harold arrives.” Daniel watched Julia standing, walking past him, his eyes never leaving her beautiful face as she stopped by the door to the sitting room and smiled back to him, nodding her head for him to follow.