by Abigail Agar
When Gregory accepted the title of Duke, Fredrick thought it his duty to take on Gregory’s aims, and he went to do the family proud against Napoleon.” The woman’s words glowed with pride for her sons.
Jules remarked, “Fredrick was very brave to go off to fight in his brother’s stead.” Jules wondered if the man’s quiet nature was more from the war and less from his personality.
Mrs Kelley shook her head. “My husband and I had a son before Jules, but he died of fever when very young. I think that’s where his ideas for Julia came from. He so desperately wanted someone to carry on his legacy,” Mrs Kelley said softly.
“Daughters are precious things,” Lady St Claire said. “I longed for one, but I got boys. I think every mother in life has her lot.”
The mothers’ eyes met, and as they reminisced about their children, Jules was almost uncomfortable as her mother told Lady St Claire about Jules’ childhood antics. There was nothing Jules could do without being completely rude, so she resigned herself to bear it.
“What sort of apprenticeship did your husband persuade the child to join?” Lady St Claire asked the question with vested interest.
Mrs Kelley said with a laugh, “Masonry. My husband loved architecture.”
“Masonry?” Lady St Claire repeated in disbelief. “My goodness, your husband was a forward-thinking man. I have never heard of that for a young lady.”
Mrs Kelley smiled, “You’d be surprised how many artisans and tradesmen are actually females. It is a common practice for women to enter the field wearing wolf’s clothing.”
“Oh, my dear,” Lady St Claire said with mirth. “I can see how it would be practical in the short term, but it seems a bit harsh on the women. Living the life of a man does not fulfill all the longings of a woman’s heart, after all.”
Mrs Kelly agreed, “That is what I have been trying to get across to Julia for some time.”
“Sometimes it just takes the right gentleman to make that point for you,” Lady St Claire said with a smile to Mrs Kelley.
Jules wanted nothing more than to melt into the cushions of the chair in which she sat. She would have been much happier to be sent to bed like Georgie and Tally had been. Why could she not still be a child?
***
“She seems nice enough,” Fredrick said as he lit the end of his cigar.
Gregory nodded and drew in a puff of smoke from the cigar he held. He released the smoke slowly as he thought. “Truthfully, I quite expect to get an earful about placing her at my side. She is rather strong-willed that one,” Gregory said.
“Seems to be your preferred set.” Fredrick laughed.
They sat in the drawing room. Gregory behind their father’s desk and Fredrick reclined on a small couch to one side of the room. Fredrick swirled the amber whisky in the tumbler in his hand, while he stoked the fire at the end of his cigar by drawing the air through it.
Gregory leaned back in his chair, his own tumbler of whisky untouched on the desk in front of him. “Perhaps, but truthfully when I first met her, she was quite different,” Gregory said in amusement.
“How so?” Fredrick asked with interest.
The smoke swirled up over Gregory’s head, and he watched it lazily. “Well, she was dressed as a man for one thing,” Gregory said, and then he laughed at the look on Fredrick’s face. “Her father had her apprentice to be a mason,” Gregory explained.
Fredrick took a sip of his whisky. “I see. She cleans up well enough,” the man said with a shake of his head. “I imagine getting wrapped up in all of this has distracted you from your investigation of the fire?”
“A bit, but there was nothing much more to find, to be honest,” Gregory said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I did hear some of the locals talking about the fact that the watermen did not show to try and protect the building, despite it being insured.”
Fredrick set his glass down with a clink on the heavy wooden table beside his chair. “Poorly run insurance bureau?” He asked the question warily.
“Perhaps I should find that out,” Gregory mused. “I never did locate the owner of the factory either. There was a rumour he might have been in the factory when it burned down.”
Fred pursed his lips out. “Dedicated factory owner to be there at that time,” he said. “The newspaper implied the fire started in the early morning hours. I would think he would have been having his morning sip.”
Gregory nodded at his brother. It really did not follow the usual way factory owners ran their business. At that hour, there would have been perhaps a supervising employee, but still, the man was nowhere to be found.
“We might not know of his whereabouts for some time or ever. The remains I saw being removed were burned beyond any recognition. Most of them were being identified by belongings that had survived the heat, more than features,” Gregory said.
There was a haunted look in Fred’s eyes before he averted them. Gregory wished he had chosen his words more properly, but Fred said softly, “I’m glad that at least some of them found their way back to their families. Were there no survivors?”
“None,” Gregory said sadly. He tapped his father’s desk. “I keep running into dead ends. I cannot make much headway without running into a boundary that I dare not cross without drawing too much attention to myself.”
Fredrick mused aloud, “Perhaps your young lady could be of assistance. You said that she knew these people. Perhaps she could make enquiries?”
“I have no doubt that is just what she proposes to do, but I am not keen on allowing her that risk. The guards are looking for her after all,” Gregory said resolutely.
Fred shrugged. “The guards are looking for a young man, not a comely young woman,” he said to Gregory.
“No,” Gregory said firmly
Fredrick rolled his eyes and grinned at his brother. “I do think that you are truly taken with the young lady,” he teased.
“She is only staying here to give her a way to stay close to the investigation. I promised that I would talk to Sir Stanley about her fellow guildmates’ plight in jail after the guards raided a meeting they were all attending.” Gregory sighed.
Fred scoffed, “That old braggart is just a big sack of wind.”
“Yes, but he has also made his career out of defending the defenseless,” Gregory countered. “He might be stiffer than the starch in his collar, but his pride never lets him settle for less than victory.”
There was a shake of Fredrick’s head before he replied, “Better you than me, Gregory.”
“You could make some enquiries of that friend of yours that works down by the shipyard. I have it on good authority that the insurance firm has a building there,” Gregory said solicitously.
Fred groaned, “I knew that eventually you were going to rope me into this.”
“You roped yourself into it old man,” Gregory replied with a smile. “After all, you are the one who keeps bringing up the fire and how curious it is.”
With a wave of his hand, Fredrick dismissed Gregory. “You know very well that I do not travel as well as I used to, Brother,” Fred said with a deep sadness.
“The excuse wears thin. There are victories to be had and wrongs to be righted. After all, I would think a War Hero would have more iron in his belly,” Gregory said with vigour at his brother who looked at Gregory with little enthusiasm.
Fredrick sighed, “I’ll send word to him to come here. That’s the most I offer.”
“That is plenty,” Gregory assured the man.
***
Jules made her way down the floral lined hallway. The flowers were even painted onto the walls. She was beginning to wish that perhaps she had chosen to just stay on her own, perhaps she would do so after her mother was safely away. Jules sighed and walked downstairs warily.
Sherry, the maid, stepped lightly into the greeting hall at the base of the stairs. “Oh, pardon me, Miss,” Sherry exclaimed softly. “I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s okay, I didn
’t really wish to be seen,” Jules said with a light laugh.
Sherry nodded sagely, “Yes. Master Gregory does that as well. I never see him leave the house either.” Sherry gave Jules a wink of conspiracy before she carried on walking through the room as if the conversation had never taken place.
Jules smiled and shook her head. So, the Duke must be an old hand at roaming about the city in disguise then, Jules mused to herself. She dared not even think about what a nobleman might need that sort of privacy to get away with.
Jules turned and made her way through the bottom rooms. There were two sitting rooms of some sort. Then she went through a dining hall that connected to the kitchens.
Off the dining hall was a terrace made of a stone that resembled marbled granite. Jules admired the masonry that had gone into its construction before she took the steps down two at a time.
The terrace opened onto a garden filled with roses, fruit trees, and some sort of other flower that Jules did not recognize. The unknown flower’s scent washed over Jules. It smelled of honey and sunlight. Jules smiled at the flower.
“It’s orange blossom,” a voice informed her. Jules spun to see the Duke standing at the top of the steps. “Mother adores the smell from them at this time of the year. She often holds dinner parties here in the late evening so that people can enjoy the smell as they eat and dance,” he said with a smile.
Jules nodded. “I agree with her,” she said softly. “It is a truly delicious smell.”
“I would like to apologize for ambushing you with the whole betrothal scandal,” Gregory said softly as he stepped over to where she stood. “I knew that you would need to move freely, and it was the only way I could ensure that you would be unhindered.”
Jules frowned. “I just don’t understand why you would take such a risk. I mean, you could be ostracized for it or worse and I … well, there could be consequences,” Jules said with a shake of her head.
The night wind blew across the flowers. It really was rather odd for them to be alone, Jules realized. She pushed the thought out of her head. They were not truly betrothed, and they did not have a courtship of any kind.
“I can, of course, call the whole thing off, but I assure you that I have taken matters into my hands as far as ensuring the family is safe from any backlash from it,” Gregory said. He cleared his throat. “I probably should go before it is discovered that we are out here without a chaperone,” he stated with regret. “I will see you in the morning for breakfast.”
Jules said, “Wait.” When Gregory turned to look at her, Jules took note of how the moonlight gave him an otherworldly look with his pale eyes and hair echoing back the faint light. “I just wanted to thank you. Are you planning on telling me what scheme you have going to protect your family and get my friends out of jail?”
“Certainly, but it can wait until the morning,” Gregory assured her before he turned and made his way back through the doorway into the family home.
Jules was learning that there was little need to get frustrated with the man. The Duke simply was not going to do anything before he was ready, no matter how irritating it made him. Jules sighed up at the moon and then returned to the house to find her bed.
That night she dreamed of music and candles. There were masks and soft voices. There was Gregory in a fine grey suit with long tails.
He held her close, and as his lips approached hers, Jules bolted upright awakened by the dream. Jules sighed and shook her head. She mumbled, “I am most certainly not taking an infatuation with the man.”
Jules got a drink of water out of the pitcher by her bed and held it to her forehead. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered.
***
The next morning, bright and early, Jules gathered with her family as they prepared to leave for the country. “I wish you’d come with us,” Mrs Kelley said sorrowfully. She clung to Jules’ shoulders as she hugged her daughter to her.
Jules gently pushed her mother away and wiped a tear from her own cheek. “There’s no need to make this a drama fit for the actors on the stage, Mother. I’ll join you as soon as I can,” she swore.
“I trust that you will. Just be safe, Jules,” her mother said softly.
Jules nodded. When she turned to the tearful little girls beside Mrs Kelley, Jules could not stop a few of her own tears from streaming down her face. “And you two,” Jules said sternly as she wiped away their tears. “You need to help Ma and be good girls. I will see you very soon.”
Tally threw herself into Jules’ arms followed by a distraught Georgie. It broke Jules’ heart, but they would be safe with their mother, and Jules had things to do. After a moment, Jules tenderly disentangled the little girls’ arms from around her neck. She gave them a brave smile and was proud to see the two girls muster up courageous smiles of their own.
Mrs Kelley came over and ushered the girls towards the carriage that awaited them. “Come girls. It’s a long ride to where we are going,” she said softly. When the girls were loaded up into the wagon, Mrs Kelley climbed in as well. She leaned out the window and called to Jules, “Be safe.”
Jules lifted her hand as she did not trust herself to speak just then. She stood there watching the carriage take her family away. Jules reminded herself that she had chosen to stay and that there was no need to sulk about it. She had work to do.
***
As she made her way upstairs, Fredrick called from the bottom floor, “A word?”
Jules turned and descended the stairs. “Lord St Claire,” she said as she did not know the man’s military rank. When she reached the bottom, she asked, “Is everything well?”
“Yes, well, it’s about my brother actually,” Fredrick said with a smile. “He has gone out to talk to that barrister that he spoke to you about. He would like it very much if you did not go out on your own while he is gone.”
Jules smiled. “I’m happy to hear that he has not forgotten his promise. I would never entertain the idea of leaving, Lord St Claire. Causing His Grace strife and worry is always the furthest thing from my mind.”
There was something about the way that the young lady held herself when she said what she did that made Fredrick very much think that she intended to cause a great deal of strife and mischief.
“I do implore you that if you decide you must be out, to take a carriage. I will even accompany you if I must,” Fredrick said with a bit of trepidation.
“I imagine getting out into the city is hard for you,” Jules said softly. “I do not mean your injury, and I certainly mean no disrespect. I have known many who were missing limbs that were not slowed down in the slightest by it.”
Fredrick frowned. “Then what did you mean by your words?” He was not offended, just deeply curious.
“I meant that when a person comes up against an evil that they can’t comprehend that it is hard to step back out into the civilized world and rationalize that such horrors should exist,” Jules said thoughtfully. “I felt that way when I worked in a sweatshop as a child for a short time.”
Fredrick looked at his feet. “Gregory had said that you were from modest means,” Fredrick spoke quietly. “I had not thought it was that lowly.”
Fear rose in Jules that she had said too much and endangered whatever plan that the Duke had set in motion to keep his and her family insulated from scandal. “I misspoke,” Jules said hastily.
Fredrick waved off the concern he saw in the woman’s countenance. “Fret not over secrets,” Fredrick said hastily. “My brother and I tell each other almost everything. You will not run afoul of his plans.”
“Oh,” Jules said with relief. “I really can’t go ask around dressed as I am. I could, however, go dressed as a common woman.”
Fredrick thought about it. “It might be best if you did. If we are seen, it might not lead directly back to the House of Thornton,” Fredrick mused.
Jules decided that she liked the Duke’s brother right then and there. “You and your brother have an odd love of dressing
like commoners,” Jules said with a smile. She paused and frowned. “Are you sure that you can stand it?”
Fredrick gave the young lady a gallant grin. “I think if you can risk the cells or worse, then I can most certainly rise to the occasion,” he assured her.
“Well, what are you two conspiring about?” the Duke said as he stepped inside the front door.
Jules blushed and mumbled, “Nothing.”
“We were actually conspiring to go out as commoners and ask all sorts of unsavoury questions of unscrupulous characters,” Fredrick said with a grin at his brother.
The Duke’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and the man laughed. “You were about to take a jaunt out into the world, were you?”