A Rake for Juliana

by Jessica A Clements

  Henrietta plastered a faux terrified look on her face as if she knew nothing of what had happened. She knew that seeing their master in the manner she had left him would shock most in the household.

  “Have you sent for the magistrate? Or the Runners?”

  “Of course not, Miss.”

  “Then I shall have to send someone.”

  Henrietta sent a footman to herald the Runners, then went into the study to write about the earl’s death to her superiors. All would soon be made right in her world. She would find those papers, hand them over, and make a quick escape to France. That was—if everything were to go as planned. Things could always go strangely awry.

  The meeting between Juliana, Minerva, and the Rakes went as well as could be expected. The Rakes handed the documents over to the sisters to read through and decipher what they could remember.

  Once the meeting was over, Marcus took Juliana’s hand and led her up a secret staircase that took them to their rooms. Marcus wanted no one coming in between him and his need for his wife.

  They made it to the secret door when Marcus caught her up in his arms and carried her into the room. Juliana loved the feel of his strong arms carrying her. They made her feel safe and vulnerable at the same time. She wanted to crawl inside of him, become one with this man…yet again.

  He slowly let her slide down the length of him until her feet touched the floor. He swiftly moved in for a rough yet passionate kiss that sent sparks flying through them both. He unbuttoned the back of her gown with expert fingers, pausing to find the stays that hindered his need for her perky breasts. He tore the gown from her body and took a knife he had hidden in his boot to cut the laces from the offending garment.

  Marcus was a mass of need and couldn’t help but take his lips from hers to catch one of her nipples between his teeth. He laved attention on first one, then the other, watching as she writhed in front of him. He slipped a knee between her legs. He felt her squirm, taking the pleasure that he gave her.

  Juliana moaned from his attentions. Until that moment, she had not felt anything quite like she was experiencing now. Her wedding night had been beautiful, but this was something different. Something more amazing. She writhed against his leg, adding more pleasure, the indescribable feeling of her climax coming upon her. Flashes of white light struck her as the tension hit and the spasms of her inner muscles around Marcus’s fingers lit her orgasm.

  Marcus was undone by just watching his wife in the throes of passion. He was in awe of her. A certain part of his anatomy reminded him that he needed a release of his own. He gently tossed Juliana onto the bed and quickly joined her as his fingers found their way to her sleek warm sheath.

  “Love, I want you so bad. I want you screaming my name. I want them to hear us in the other wing of the house.”

  Juliana was taken aback by his need for her. Her release was still rampaging through her body. She could feel the tension start again as his fingers stroked her and claimed every inch of her body. She knew what it was he wanted. She opened her legs, letting him know that she was ready for him, all of him.

  Marcus gently rolled over her. He thrust into her slick channel. He needed this as much as Juliana did. He could feel each spasm as she sought her release. He felt the final spasm as he plunged into her one more time. He let out a growl as he pumped her full of himself.

  * * *

  The lovers were awakened many hours later by a knock from Aaron. Neither of them knew why they should be receiving a knock on their door, but they put on their dressing gowns and went to see what he needed.

  “What is it, Aaron? Thank goodness you weren’t interrupting anything of a dire nature.”

  “We just got the news that Lord Basil has been murdered and that the duchess’s cousin has gone missing.”

  “What do you mean by ‘missing?’ Didn’t we have someone watching over the house?”

  “Apparently, the Runners found his body in the mews. He had been stabbed in the chest.”

  “Does anyone know where Henrietta disappeared to? She couldn’t have just vanished without a trace. Something does not seem right. Marcus, I feel in my bones that things aren’t what they seem.”

  Juliana focused on what Aaron was saying. She had felt the same way when Henrietta came to be her chaperone. Something was off. But she had never been able to put her finger on it. The bickering between her and her uncle… Juliana’s rambling thoughts ran away with her and she realized that Marcus and Aaron were intently watching her.

  “Could there have been something between my cousin and my uncle?”

  Looking up at Marcus, she asked, “Do we have a Debrett’s in the library?”

  “I think we do. I’m sure my mother has a couple. Let’s go see. What are you thinking?”

  “It seems odd that my uncle pulled a cousin out of thin air when I was sure my father only had Uncle and Mother had no other living relation. Mother was orphaned as a young child. Her parents were killed in a boating accident. On board were also Mother’s brother and young sister. Mother was the only one to survive the incident.”

  “Doesn’t it seem a bit suspicious—all of the accidents in your family and that of the duke’s?” Aaron contemplated out loud.

  Juliana glanced over at Aaron, gaping at the thought. She had not put it together. No one had until Aaron’s words had pierced the silence in the room.

  * * *

  Marcus looked at his friend and then sneaked a glance at his wife, who seemed to be puzzled by the question.

  “Aaron thinks better when he is thinking out loud. Even in school, he did it. It seemed to help him out.”

  “I do the same thing, sometimes. But he does bring up a good point, darling. There have been an unusually high number of mishaps within our two families. Do you think they could be tied to you being in the Rakes?”

  That question had Marcus looking at her, dumbfounded. Neither of the men had thought about it. It all seemed to make sense—at least to their overstimulated brains. It also explained what was happening up in Scotland. It explained quite a few things, such as the deaths of their parents. Marcus was the only one of the Rakes who still had a parent.

  He turned to Juliana and saw the laughter behind her eyes when she witnessed the shocked look on the men’s faces brought another question to Juliana’s mind. “Do you think whoever is doing this is behind the deaths of the older Rakes?”

  It was another direct hit. The men couldn’t believe that she would be so insightful. Marcus realized he shouldn’t be surprised as his wife was a constant source of surprising insight.

  “She does have a point, Aaron. What if the same organization was behind the current murders and those of our predecessors? It would make a great deal of sense. Has Whitehall looked into the links between the murders?”

  “I am unsure, but I have contacts that could bring me up to date on any investigation that Whitehall may be conducting. But, I have heard nothing on the matter,” said Aaron as he contemplated the new developments.

  “If I could make another suggestion—why haven’t you left for Scotland yet, my lord? Isn’t your fiancée the daughter of a former Rake?” asked Juliana with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

  “You do have a very good point, my lady. Once I find Jacob and your sister, I will be on my way.” Aaron sketched a bow to both Graces and went in search of his friends.

  “Now that business is out of the way. Why don’t we do some investigating ourselves? With both of our minds wrapped around this dilemma, we should be able to connect the murders to whoever is doing them. What do we know right now?”

  “We know that each of the most recent murders, the countess and my uncle, were probably done by the same person. Since we don’t have the official report, we can’t really say for sure. We also know that the same person did not murder them as they did our parents. The recent ones, unlike the older ones, were too sloppy…too methodical. The older were creative and brutal, perfectly planned.”

 
“We have a possible link between a rival spy network known as the Order and your cousin. Could your uncle have been that link?”

  “I am not sure. Uncle was secretive, for the most part. Cousin and Uncle did not get on very well. They were constantly bickering. Over what, I don’t know.” Juliana shrugged.

  “Could your amnesia be a result of an ill-timed murder attempt?”

  “Darling, I don’t remember anything about that time in my life. I wish I did. If I try to remember anything, pain erupts throughout my head. I don’t want to try that, Marcus. Please don’t make me.”

  Marcus hugged her to him. “Darling, I wouldn’t force such a thing on you. I hope you know that. I would only ask that you let me know if you do remember anything.”

  Juliana looked into her husband’s eyes and saw that he was being sincere. She loved that he wore his emotions on his sleeve, even if it was just with her. The closeness she had with him was special, and she knew the bond between them would never falter.

  “Marcus, maybe you have something. I still won’t force myself to remember anything. Maybe what we need will soon come forward in my mind. I did remember the code, did I not?”

  * * *

  Marcus looked down into his wife’s eyes. He could see the pain and torment in their depths. He knew he couldn’t force anything on her, let alone get her to remember anything from three years ago. She hadn’t even known about her twin sister. His mind riffled through some questions that needed answers, but most of them could no longer be answered because Lord Basil was now dearly departed from this Earth.

  He was unconvinced that he had nothing to do with the current murders, let alone the older ones. Henrietta’s disappearance disturbed him. What was her role in all of this? She could be the contact within the Order. But, realistically, it didn’t seem possible. The possibility was there, nonetheless.

  He broke his train of thought to gaze down at his wife, who had been staring at him, wondering what was going on in his mind. He knew that about her even though their relationship had been a short one so far.

  “I was just thinking about all of the possible connections in this case. There are quite a bit of them. Your uncle must have known about many of these mishaps. He knew about your twin, and I would be surprised if your cousin didn’t know about her, as well. Your cousin is too young to have done any of the older murders, but she could be our culprit in the newer ones. I just need the files that Aaron is going to give us once he finds his way to and from Scotland. I could always try to pull the weight of my title at Whitehall, and maybe I could get to the files, myself.”

  “We can’t leave the estate, darling, or I would have suggested that sooner,” Juliana said softly.

  “I could send Jacob to get it with a letter I’ve written.”

  “Something tells me, love, that Minerva won’t like that much,” Juliana said with a slight grin.

  Minerva was sitting in a chaise lounge in the massive library when she heard voices whispering faintly from behind a row of bookshelves. She wasn’t one to drop what she was doing to find out what was going on, but she did not recognize the voices. This seemed odd to her since the house was under lockdown and heavily guarded. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but one of the men needed to know as soon as she could tell them.

  She stood from her seat and tiptoed her way to the door. She couldn’t see who was hiding amongst the books, but she could now tell that there was a female and a male. She opened the door, hoping that she wasn’t alerting the other occupants of her departure.

  She walked out into the main hall, looking for Jacob. The house was too big, she told herself. Were it slightly smaller, she would’ve been able to search him out with ease. Damn her sister for marrying a duke! She decided to visit the study first. Men were always found in the study.

  She opened the door to the study and found her sister and two other men. (She’d noticed Aaron’s departure from the library window).

  “Do either one of you men know who may have gotten into this monstrosity that you call a house? There are two people in the library hiding amongst the books who don’t belong here. I know not if they are still there or if I alerted them to my presence when I left, but someone needs to go look for them…now!”

  Minerva noticed when Jacob realized the truth. She watched in fascination as he shot to his feet and raced to the library, which happened to be just a couple of doors down. She listened to the clicking of women’s shoes, most of which came from her, and the heavy stomping of her friend as he reached for the door.

  Anxious to find out what was behind the door, he was torn between racing in and waiting for his friend to offer him backup. Letting the logical part of his brain lead him, he waited impatiently for Marcus to join him.

  “I think the ladies should remain in the hall. Who knows what we are up against or what kind of weapons these intruders may have on their person?” Jacob spoke as he reached for the door.

  Marcus nodded his head and said, “Minerva and Juliana, please go back to the study where I know you are both safe. I have a feeling that these intruders are here looking for you or something you may have brought with you.”

  Minerva nodded at her sister and slowly strode toward the study. She watched her sister glance back at Marcus and Jacob as they nodded in agreement. With a clear understanding of the plan, she stood back as Jacob opened the door. It seemed a bit anticlimactic when they all peered into the large room. No one was there. No whispering voices. No visible evidence that anyone had been hiding in the room in the first place.

  She knew what they would think.

  “There is no one here. Maybe Minerva was allowing her imagination to get the best of her.”

  “I doubt it, Jacob. She is as unlikely to have imagined what she heard as Juliana is to have done the same.”

  “You have known Juliana for how long? How can you know that?”

  Marcus regarded his friend, noting the serious look in his face and eyes. Jacob was a skeptic when it came to love.

  “My friend, it is easy to know these things about the twins because of who their father and mother were. They were brought up to know their role, and they knew how they should play it. They don’t know how to act any differently. That’s how I know that when Minerva said there were people in the house, I knew she was telling the truth.”

  “I know you know I’m speaking the truth. You love that woman, but you have no idea how to react to such an overwhelming emotion.”

  “You are wrong, Marcus. I’m not in love with Lady Minerva. She is a beautiful and very bright young lady, but I have no desire to join you in married bliss.”

  “Jacob, you may end up eating your words before too long. Juliana and I have witnessed how you look at Minerva. Mark my words; you will wind up at the altar before too long.”

  “Go to hell!” Jacob replied as he dashed out of the library and into the main hall. He could hear a shout of laughter from his friend as he climbed the stairs to his room.

  * * *

  Juliana and her sister were tucked away inside the study when Marcus’s laughter echoed through the house. Juliana shot up from her seat as Marcus pushed his way into the room. She noticed that her sister had done the same thing.

  “What did you find?” asked Juliana as soon as she could get over the gleam in her husband’s eyes.

  “Absolutely nothing. There was no sign of anyone there—or any sound. Unless there is some sort of secret entry into the library that I don’t know about, there was no way anyone could get in or out of the library without someone seeing or hearing them.”

  Minerva looked sheepishly at her brother-in-law. “I swear I heard voices whispering from behind the first row of bookshelves. I didn’t imagine them. They were there. As far as I know, one was a woman and the other was a man. As to their appearance, I don’t know. I didn’t get a look at them.”

  “I believe you, but Jacob does not. I tried to speak with him about it, but he stormed off before I was able to get to my po
int.”

  “Where did he storm off to?” asked Minerva, hoping she could talk with Jacob before anything else went awry.

  “He is, I believe, calming down in his rooms. I would highly suggest not going to him yet,” Marcus said with a wink.

  “And why is that, Your Grace?”

  “Because I know the man. Let him have a crack at his own conscience before you sneak up on him.”

  “Very well, then. I shall do as you request, but I will go to him. Neither of you will stop me from doing so, I hope.”

  “No, we won’t. We will stay out of your way,” Marcus said as he winked at Juliana.

  With that, Juliana and Marcus watched as Minerva walked out of the study and climbed the stairs to her rooms.

  * * *

  Jacob cooled his temper minutes after he stormed into his rooms. How dare Marcus think that he was “in love?” It made no sense. Sure, he was skeptical, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t understand what the emotion was. He had been in love once or maybe twice in his life. In his own way, he had loved his mistresses. It was just another form of lust. That’s what he had been taught at a young age.

  He had fallen in with some bad men when he was in his formative years. He had joined them at the brothels and clubs that men of a certain caliber went to. He wasn’t fond of gambling, but the women—that’s where he excelled. His first mistress was a whore by the name of Izzy Montgomery. She had bright red hair and large blue eyes that seemed to take up most of her round face. He, at the age of fifteen, learned the art of pleasing women—loving them and their bodies. He was an apt student and soon moved on from Izzy’s tutelage.

  Now, though, he was unsure of what was ahead of him. His feelings for Minerva were stronger than what he felt for any of his mistresses. Yet, what could he offer her? His life was constantly at risk because of his line of work. But then, so was hers. They shared an occupation, a duty to their country.