Miss Radley's Third Dare

by Heather Boyd

  Mr. Merton ignored her question. “Do yourself a favor and leave my son alone to live the life he was born for, or you will live to regret it.”

  Valentine had his own ideas for his future, and when he had spoken of Oxford, it had been clear that he didn’t want the life his parents expected. Her pride stung her enough to anger on Valentine’s behalf. She knew what it was like to be forced into an ill-fitting role. “I believe I understand you.”

  She understood him, but Mr. Merton had no power to make her obey.

  “Good.” He strode out, slamming the door behind him. The front door slammed too, and in the next moment, Valentine burst into the parlor. “What on earth did he say?”

  Julia swallowed and hid the bribe beneath the folds of her skirt quickly. “That he disapproves of me. That is all.”

  “I am sorry.” He sagged. “I thought he would be this way. I had intended to inform my parents after the fact of our marriage, rather than before, to delay such a conversation.”

  Julia blushed. So he’d gone against his father’s wishes and proposed to someone his family considered unsuitable? Her temper rose. She wanted to throw something, and yet to do so would prove Mr. Merton correct about her unsuitability to join his family. She had to calm herself, and quickly. “Could you give me a moment?”

  Valentine frowned. “Yes, of course. Melanie?”

  “We both need a moment, brother. This won’t take long. Please.”

  “Very well,” Valentine agreed slowly.

  Julia bolted to her feet as soon as the door shut, somewhat relieved that Melanie had stayed. She had lots of questions to answer. “How could he speak to me this way? To anyone?”

  She scowled at the money Mr. Merton had tossed, left behind when she rose. It mocked her. She felt herself finally to be as tainted as everyone suggested. She felt ill. Unclean.

  “Our father has all the subtlety of an axe,” Melanie apologized, her tone matter-of-fact. “Our parents believe happiness and ambition can be achieved through money alone. They will do their best to make your association with Valentine into a sordid affair, too. Father will paint you as a grasping adventuress intent on elevation through cunning.”

  Julia rounded on Melanie. “And you didn’t say a word in my defense?”

  “What would speaking up have accomplished? He’s my father and I’m dependent on his good will to keep a roof over my head. He does not change his mind. Ever.”

  “Then why did you insist on chaperoning me?”

  “I stayed to witness the truth for myself.” Melanie stared at the money. “What are you going to do with it?”

  “I can’t take it.”

  Melanie sighed. “You already have, in his eyes.”

  “I’ll toss it into the street.”

  Melanie patted the cushion beside her. “What will that achieve? A boon for someone else but no resolution.”

  “Well, I shall not keep it.” She threw herself into the space beside Melanie and scowled at the money across from them. “What other women was he referring to?”

  Melanie leaned close, pitching her voice low. “I’m afraid he has done this before. Father was particularly pleased with himself about that and spoke of it one night after he’d been in his cups. There was a girl my brother must have fancied himself in love with years ago, the daughter of a custodian at the university, I think she was. He was young and when my parents discovered her existence, they convinced her to go away. Valentine purchased this house from our father soon after, citing a fondness for our grandparents as the sole reason. He suspects interference in many aspects of his life, but this is the first proof I’ve seen with my own eyes.”

  “Then I cannot give Valentine the money without upsetting him. I cannot tell anyone.”

  “Probably not, but such a confession is likely unavoidable.” Melanie collected the pouch and after sitting again peered inside. Her eyes widened considerably then she pulled the drawstrings tight. “You cannot hide such a sum of money from my brother if you are serious in your intent to become his wife.”

  Julia didn’t know what to do with the money. She should tell Valentine she’d been tricked into taking it but wouldn’t that make her seem dim-witted? “Have you spoken with him yet? With Valentine?”

  Melanie sighed and rubbed her temple. “I’ve not had a moment to myself since we arrived for socializing with him. Father is very demanding. I’m surprised he didn’t order me to follow him when he left, but Miss Long is offering an ample distraction with her flattery, so…”

  Julia had noticed the way Mr. Merton ordered everyone about. To endure that daily must be a terrible strain. “Then you will need to speak to Valentine today before your father prevents private speech. The company has thrown up an unforeseen obstacle in your brother’s path. The vote is very soon.”

  Melanie expression turned to one of surprise. “He told you of his plans to go into trade and you would still marry him?”

  “How could I deny him his greatest wish when he granted mine in our race? He wants to make clocks for a living.” Julia nodded. She accepted his decision easily. It was what he wanted most and she would be a supportive wife. “But he said our race had greater implications for his application than he had foreseen.”

  Melanie nodded and dropped the pouch on Julia’s lap. “I feared as much. At least marrying you will soothe some ruffled feathers. You will have to set a better example from now on if he is to win back favor.”

  Julia shivered and turned the leather pouch over in her hands. She didn’t want the funds for herself, but she wanted Valentine to have his wishes come true. She would try to improve her reputation for his sake. She held the money out to Melanie. “I’m damned no matter what I do. Would you mind keeping this for me? If an appropriate use comes to light that could aid your brother, then all the better.”

  Melanie’s expression turned skeptical. “Are you sure you mean that? There is a lot of coin in there.”

  “What use have I for money? Money doesn’t buy happiness.”

  “Comfort but not happiness,” Melanie agreed. She slipped the pouch into her reticle and drew the strings tight. “Now, we’d better speak to my brother and then I must return to my father. Valentine will undoubtedly be concerned about the subject of our private talk. What should I say to him?”

  “Nothing as yet. Tell him we spoke of Oxford and Brighton events.” She squeezed Melanie’s hand briefly, glad to have an ally. “He’s missed you and mentioned how much he wished for your opinions.”

  “And I missed him.” Melanie glanced around them. “And home.”

  Melanie stood and approached the door, clutching her overstuffed reticule tight to her side. Julia followed, hoping the increase in bulk wasn’t noticed by anyone. Melanie would have a hard time explaining how and why she carried so many funds on her person.

  Julia gathered her courage, plastered on her bravest face and prepared to convince her betrothed that all was well. But deep down, she was sickened by Mr. Merton’s assumption that money would get rid of her.

  She never backed down from a challenge or dare. She would prove to all that she was a perfectly acceptable choice as Valentine’s wife.

  He rushed forward and took her hands in his as soon as he saw her. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” Behind Valentine, her brother and Mr. George were waiting too. “I merely wanted a private word with your sister. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken.”

  Valentine frowned. “And is everything discussed now?”

  “Yes, but she must speak with you alone.” Julia almost stretched up to kiss his cheek but at the last moment settled for a smile. She had to be more like Melanie from now on. “I will speak to you later, yes?”

  “Come for dinner, Merton,” Linus interrupted. “Bring your sister if she’s of a mind to join us.”

  “I’d be happy to.” Valentine smiled. “What do you think, Melanie?”

  Melanie shook her head. “I should like to join you very much but our father
has engaged me elsewhere this evening. My time is not my own now and I would not be permitted to change my plans.”

  “That is a shame.” Julia sighed, genuinely disappointed to miss a chance to speak with Melanie again. She had been unusually supportive. So different from the past. “Well then, just us three.”

  Valentine nodded but his expression was puzzled. Regardless, Julia took her leave, and when she was at home and alone once more in her locked room, she settled into a fighter’s stance, arms upraised, fists clenched. She’d never been made to feel so cheap before, and only Melanie’s sympathy had revealed how normal that result was when dealing with Mr. Merton Senior.

  She threw out her fist and snapped it back, mimicking a boxer she’d once seen practicing. She didn’t know how Melanie could bear living with parents like that. She threw another punch, and another. Mr. Merton deserved to be taken down a peg or two.

  Julia straightened. “There may be no way to fight a man who believes he knows what’s right for his son, but I will prove to him I’m no detriment to Valentine’s life.”

  Eight

  “What was that all about?” Valentine asked of Melanie after the Radley’s had abruptly taken their leave. Something unpleasant had just happened and he didn’t like being left in the dark or lied to.

  “A female discussion,” she murmured.

  Melanie paled even further and he checked his frustration. She wasn’t well, and looked it. “When did you sleep properly last?”

  She shrugged and cast a nervous glance at George. “I don’t remember. Might we talk in private, Valentine?”

  Melanie often suffered nightmares, a terror she wouldn’t name. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, the dreams had returned, and frequently. “Very well. Go to my study.” He turned to his friend. “I’ll be with you in a moment, George, unless you’d prefer not to wait.”

  George’s attention remained on Melanie as she slipped away. “I’ll wait.”

  Valentine followed his sister into his study and closed the door. “What did you say to her? Did you upset her?”

  “Father had already done his work very well on that score.” She gripped her reticule tightly. “Julia needed reassurance.”

  He couldn’t help but be surprised by her claim. Julia was almost overconfident most of the time. “Reassurance from you?”

  Melanie nodded. “As you know, our father is rather abrupt when he speaks to others, especially to women he hasn’t a high opinion of. He made certain insinuations against her that were most unpleasant to listen to. She took them to heart initially.”

  Valentine gritted his teeth. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Don’t bother.” Melanie shook her head swiftly. “Julia isn’t about to fall to pieces because he doesn’t care for the alliance and told her so. She’s not made of feathers or paper; she’s not so easily destroyed.”

  “She was upset.”

  Melanie shrugged. “She’s had a shock. In the past, most censure has been subtle.”

  Valentine raked his fingers through his hair. “And Father couldn’t be subtle.”

  “No. She will survive his disapproval quite well, brother. She is as strong of character as I’ve ever complained of. But her heart is large enough to put it behind her if given enough time.” Melanie met his gaze. “Now, forgive me for being in a rush but Julia mentioned you were having some other difficulties and wanted to talk to me. Something to do with the company?”

  He gestured her toward a chair. “I have found out that the company requires their members to be married or on the brink of it.”

  “To make clocks?” Her eyes widened as she sank down. “High-handed indeed to leave it till the last moment to bring it up.”

  “An unwritten rule, it seems. There is more. Even if I am now to be married, some noses are out of joint on account of the race with Julia. It seems no matter what I do, my ambitions might come to naught.”

  “I did try to warn you that others would not approve. However, I believed you’d receive nothing more than a warning and that would be that. Men usually can get away with so much more than a woman.”

  He sighed. “It meant so much to her.”

  The corner of Melanie’s mouth lifted in a smile. “You indulged her.”

  “And I will keep indulging her. We raced on foot two nights ago when we both couldn’t sleep. She beat me again, but not by very much.”

  Melanie scowled. “So, your known race is but the first adventure you will share? That will not go over well if word gets out.”

  “If I am to keep her happy, then most assuredly it must be so. I do not mind. She is strong, physically strong, and more than a little determined to avoid the label of wilting wallflower. It’s refreshing, actually. She’s not the least bit delicate, like our cousin.”

  He could be himself with her and not have to worry she would faint from shock.

  Melanie bit her lip and moved away to the window. “She will turn heads. You both will.”

  “After the past months of listening to whispers and innuendo, I suspect that will always be the case.”

  Melanie nodded and drew the curtain aside and peered into the rear yard, where the gardens were. She sighed softly. “An unconventional match will be difficult for many to accept. You will have to win the town over, and how that affects your standing, and the eventual success of your shop, becomes terribly uncertain.”

  “I know.”

  “Difficult but not impossible.” Melanie turned slowly, nodding to herself. “The work of a lifetime. You must acknowledge the right people, make sure to curry favor with those who matter.”

  He’d been doing that all his life. “Will Father make trouble for us?”

  Melanie nodded. “He’s already started. Dinner last night was with the Prescotts and he expressed concern over your choice of friends. He claimed even Walter George to be a bad influence, which as we both know is an utterly ridiculous suggestion to make. Mrs. Prescott and I never had a chance to converse alone but we shared a look, and I believe her unconvinced by father’s complaints so far.”

  “So now that I’ve announced our marriage, and he so clearly disapproves, he will likely start slandering the Radleys as a means of tarnishing the match.” Valentine gritted his teeth a moment at how bad it could get. His father would try to turn the whole town against them to get his way, just so he would see a future in Oxford as a better choice. That was why Valentine had kept his plans to himself from the beginning.

  What Father had forgotten was how greatly Melanie’s opinion mattered to the elder townsfolk. Since she’d already accepted his decision to marry Julia, they might turn things around yet. “Can you help Julia? Discourage the worst assumptions Father provokes?”

  “While I am here, I will do what I can. We—Father, Teresa and I—have been invited to dine with the Lowes tonight and I will see how the wind blows with Mrs. Lowe. That particular lady speaks her mind no matter who is around,” Melanie warned. “Tomorrow, if you would collect me at eleven o’clock, I should like to make some calls. Better not to have Father or Teresa with us for them.”

  “Why not Teresa? And what is the matter with her?”

  Melanie frowned and returned to her chair. Her expression was troubled. “I suspect Father chose to return to Brighton on the strength of Teresa’s last letter to our parents. I never did mention the race to him in the end, or express my view that you should have married Julia because of it. I gave what you said to me last a great deal of thought. I am too judgmental. I am far too much like our mother. I have no right to criticize anyone and I apologize for embarrassing you.”

  Valentine gripped her hand tight. “I missed you.”

  “But the way Father spoke to Teresa last night hinted they shared an aversion to your plans to go into trade. Her letters to Mother must have contained some hint of it. His decision to come here was sudden and he was furious when he announced his intention to visit to me. I was interrogated for most of the journey here, particularly about Mr. and
Mrs. Faradays’ characters.” She swallowed.

  “He also knew about the scandal with Julia, particularly a midnight meeting, although he didn’t mention her by name. None of your correspondence to me even hinted you had changed your mind about her so when I learned of it, I was surprised, and very pleased.”

  “Teresa wouldn’t go to Father behind my back.” He shook his head, unable to believe such a situation. “She wouldn’t intentionally hurt Julia.”

  “Are you really so naïve?” Melanie frowned, her expression deeply worried. “She is certainly in Mother and Father’s pocket. The only other source close to you, who might know of any secret meeting late at night, would have been your nearest neighbors. I doubt any of your friends would have interfered. It’s not in their natures to thwart a romantic pursuit in favor of propriety. Think hard, brother, what is to gain if the match does not go ahead, your dreams ended.”

  Valentine cursed under his breath. His friends were anything but prudes when it came to affairs of the heart. They all knew how he felt about Oxford. “Father wins and he thinks I have no choice but to return to Oxford in disgrace.”

  And he had distanced himself from Julia until very recently, so no one should have imagined a private meeting could take place. But Julia had shared their meeting with Sir Peter Watson and wife. He couldn’t credit either one with writing to his father after all the shenanigans that pair had got up to before their marriage.

  Had Teresa been watching him and writing to his parents behind his back? She had written several letters earlier in the week to Oxford. He’d never thought to wonder what she might be writing about. “I thought I had been careful enough not to taint her reputation any more than I had.”

  “Clearly not enough, if someone wrote and warned them. You do realize they are still currying favor with the chancellor.”

  Valentine gaped then snapped his mouth shut. “I’m not going to marry that man’s daughter. Not. Ever,” he ground out.

  “Father believes you will see his side eventually. He has ever been ambitious for himself, as well as for you.”