by Abigail Agar
“What is all this about me hearing of His Grace courting me?” Jules asked with a suspicious look at her mother.
Mrs Kelley said, “Well, he came to me and explained that he planned to tell people that you and he were betrothed.”
“What?” Jules’ mouth dropped open.
Mrs Kelley flipped her hand dismissively at her daughter. “You are overreacting again, darling. Besides all that, what’s so bad about being betrothed to a Duke?”
“For starters, I’m not a noble. It can lead to some very bad things,” Jules said pointedly.
Mrs Kelley nodded. “I concede that there is a certain prejudice against it in some circles, but it does happen,” she said reasonably.
“Yes, but … this doesn’t make any sense,” Jules said as she shook her head. “Why can’t I just stay here as one of the servants?”
“You would have to ask His Grace,” Mrs Kelley said simply.
Jules narrowed her eyes and replied, “Believe me, I will.”
The look in Jules’ eyes left no room for doubt that she would indeed be talking to the Duke. Mrs Kelley sighed at her daughter and shook her head. “Try not to get us all thrown in the jails, would you?” Mrs Kelley said with more bite than Jules had ever heard in her mother’s voice.
The tone of her mother’s voice was enough to make Jules pause, but the very thought of the man going behind her back made her blood boil. He had not even had the decency to tell her of his plans. They had been alone in the foyer. He very well could have spoken to Jules then. Jules fumed silently as her mother watched her with disapproving eyes.
Chapter 3
Dinner with the St Claire clan was a quiet affair. Lady St Claire asked an abundance of questions on things that kept Jules’ mother quite occupied.
Duke St Claire and his brother spoke to each other of affairs that somewhat held Jules’ interest, but she did not want to disrupt the conversation. Georgette and Tally were on their best behaviour to Jules’ surprise.
“Do you have any ambitions?” Lady St Claire asked. It took Jules a moment before she realized that the woman was talking to her.
Jules did not know quite how to answer that question. She had plenty of things she hoped to accomplish, but none of them seemed especially welcome over food and drink. Jules opened her mouth but found Duke St Claire already answering for her. He said, “She’s aiming to overthrow the King and put his head on a pike.”
Lady St Claire rolled her eyes at her son. “I asked the young lady, Gregory,” she reminded him.
Jules glanced around at her mother who just gave her a very slight shrug. Jules smiled at the blonde noblewoman and said, “I’m not sure.”
“She talks very commonly,” Lady St Claire whispered. “Did your family have you tutored, or did you go to school abroad?”
Jules shook her head. “I actually apprenticed with an artisan,” Jules said softly.
Lady St Claire gasped, “Really? And your mother and father approved of this?”
“Yes,” Jules said honestly. “Well, my mother wasn’t thrilled, but it actually was my father’s idea.”
The look of incredulity left Lady St Claire’s face. “That explains it all. Men have such strange notions of childrearing,” Lady St Claire said as she gave Mrs Kelley a commiserating look.
Mrs Kelley smiled back at the woman. “My husband was a good man, but he did have some odd notions at times,” she agreed.
Jules met Duke St Claire’s eyes for a moment, and she caught the twinkle of merriment in them. “You do wish to have children, do you not?” Lady St Claire’s question made Jules tear her eyes away from the Duke.
“I suppose. Honestly, I had all but given up on the notion,” Jules said with sincerity.
Lady St Claire nodded her understanding. “I was quite young when I met my Duke. He was very dashing. I never really expected to catch his eye, but here we are.”
“Yes, here we are,” Jules said as she narrowed her eyes over at the current Duke St Claire. The man just raised his glass to her jovially.
***
After the meal, the women retired to a sitting room while the men walked outside. “I noticed when your son went to leave that he has an injury,” Mrs Kelley said softly. “Was he in the war?”
“Yes,” Lady St Claire said. “He took Gregory’s place. You see, Gregory was set to go off and fight evil in the wars, but then his father died. “Gregory had to stay and make sure the family’s place was secure.
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 imag
ine 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.