The Barrister's Choice

by Kelly Anne Bruce

  "I can only imagine how upsetting it had been to have that awful Mr Townsend leave her alone in the middle of the dance floor. It had to have been humiliating." Julianna was getting angry. "And then she had to endure gossips like Lady Judith and Lady Sarah."

  "I have not seen Lady Judith at many events recently," Miss Diana commented.

  "Yes, well," Lady Amelia said slowly. "That is a completely different story."

  Just then they heard a twitter of laughter across the way. Julianna saw Lady Sarah and several other ladies gathered across the garden. Lady Sarah said something prompting them all to look over at someone that Julianna could not see. A moment later, Lady Eleanor made a comment that caused the ladies to laugh again.

  "They are most unpleasant,” Miss Diana said quietly.

  "You are being rather kind, I think,” Julianna told her. "I cannot abide their cruel remarks and their malicious behaviour."

  "I always try to stay away from them. Lady Judith was the worst out of all of them. I had hoped Lady Sarah would have learned from recent events and make a few changes," Lady Amelia noted sadly. "Clearly not."

  "Lady Sarah would have to actually think about someone other than herself to have learned anything at all," Julianna said with a snort.

  Before either Lady Amelia or Miss Diana could respond, Julianna's mother gasped "Julianna, please remember yourself! You are a lady and should act like one. At all times, my daughter."

  Julianna rolled her eyes at her friends while her mother looked at them apologetically and said, "If you will excuse us ladies there is something we need to tend to."

  Miss Diana tried to hide her smile behind her fan only managing to nod at her.

  "Yes, of course," Lady Amelia said pleasantly.

  "Thank you." Lady Alverston said primly before addressing Julianna, "Come along, dear."

  Julianna gave her friends a puzzled look. She had no idea what matters her mother would want her to attend.

  "Mother, may I enquire as to where we are going?"

  "We are going into the drawing room. It is the time to meet Lord Norsely." Her mother stopped behind one of the hedges and began to fret. She looked at Julianna and frowned, tucking a stray hair behind her ear and retying the ribbons on her dress.

  After a moment Julianna stepped back. "Mother, it is fine. We should be going, we do not want to keep Lord Norsely waiting."

  Her mother’s head snapped up. “Of course, you are quite right." Lady Alverston straightened and smoothed her own dress before she began stepping into the garden once more.

  They strolled into the drawing room where they were swiftly joined by Julianna's father.

  "Julianna, you look beautiful today.”

  She nodded self-consciously. "Thank you, Father." Julianna and her father did not speak often given he was gone quite regularly to London to deal with Parliament business. They had many spirited discussions over various books but it was rare indeed that he would comment on her appearance.

  He and her mother looked at each other for a moment and nodded. "Let us get this done."

  Julianna followed behind her parents feeling increasingly nervous after their odd display.

  Across the drawing room, Julianna saw a man who looked somewhat familiar standing with an older man and woman. Given the resemblance, Julianna could only assume that they were his parents.

  "Good afternoon, Lord Marsfeld, Lady Marsfeld,” her father greeted them. “I would like to introduce my daughter, Lady Julianna."

  "Good afternoon," Lord Marsfeld said smiling at Julianna. "It is a pleasure finally meeting you. This is my wife, Lady Marsfeld and our son, Lord Norsely."

  “Good afternoon. It is an honour to meet you.” Julianna had been introduced to many people and had never felt so apprehensive.

  Lord Norsely stepped forward to give her a quick bow. "Lady Julianna, good afternoon. Would you like to take a stroll in the garden?"

  "Yes, that sounds lovely," she told him taking the arm he offered.

  He nodded at his parents while Julianna gave her parents a polite smile and they left the drawing room. "I apologize for the high theater," he said once they had reached the garden. "My father can be rather dramatic."

  Julianna laughed. "It was not only your parents, Lord Norsely. My parents have been acting strangely as well."

  "I feel as though I should offer an apology for that, but honestly I am much relieved that I am not alone in this."

  "Yes, indeed. I feel the same."

  Julianna was surprised Lord Norsely was much more charming than she had anticipated. Since her parents had first discussed the idea for her introduction to Lord Norsely she had been expecting the worst. Perhaps this party would be more enjoyable than the awkward exchange she had expected.

  They walked along one side of the garden and then he turned leading her into the main part of the garden smiling and nodding at people as they passed.

  "It is always good to be seen," he said lightly. He made a point of looking at her hair and dress and added, "I am pleased that you are as interested in the latest fashion as I am."

  Julianna glanced down at her dress and shrugged inwardly. She had chosen that dress at the modiste merely because she had liked how the white dress looked with the blue ribbons adorning the sleeves and neckline. She had not given much thought to whether or not it met the current fashion trends in London.

  Julianna started to suspect that Lord Norsely was more interested in parading around in front of the other guests as the pinkest of the pink. It was disappointing to think that his charm may be for appearances only. Her hopes for a more interesting party began to fade quickly.

  Chapter Five

  Julianna stopped at the bottom of the stairs when she heard a rustling noise behind her.

  “Good morning,” Lady Amelia whispered from the hall.

  “Good morning,” Julianna whispered back, relieved that she had not been caught sneaking through the house.

  She had awakened early, almost at first light excited about going down to the stables to see the new foals. Julianna hoped that could dispel some of the worry she was feeling about her first meeting of Lord Norsely. She had not slept well as she had continued to think about the man she had met the day before.

  Had she been giddy, or nervously excited she would not have minded losing those hours of sleep but it was quite the opposite. Julianna had tossed and turned with apprehension and an unease that she could not quite name.

  “Come with me to the dining room.” Lady Amelia opened a door across from the drawing room.

  An older woman was just setting a tray on the table.

  “Thank you, Martha.” Lady Amelia gave her a warm smile. “Hope it was not too much trouble.”

  “Oh no! It is a pleasure,” she said with a Scottish accent and nodded at Julianna. “Are ye going down to the stables to see the wee foals again?”

  “Of course,” Lady Amelia said with a laugh. “I am lucky enough to have found a friend to go with me today, though.”

  “Ye like horses, too, do ye?” Martha asked Julianna.

  “Oh yes, I cannot wait to see the foals,” Julianna replied not able to keep from smiling.

  “They are very sweet,” Lady Amelia said. “Are they not?” She asked turning to Martha.

  “Aye, they are at that.” The older woman nodded her head in agreement, pouring tea into two cups. “Sit down and have yer tea and biscuits. Kirk will have only just let the wee foals and their mams out of the stable. Ye have plenty of time.”

  “Thank you,” Lady Amelia told her.

  “There is fresh jam for the biscuits, too.”

  “Thank you,” Julianna said. “It looks perfect.”

  Martha gave them an appreciative smile and left the room.

  Julianna took a biscuit and began to spread jam on it.

  “I saw that you met Lord Norsely yesterday afternoon,” Lady Amelia said quietly.

  “Yes.” Julianna sat for a moment before letting out a sigh. “My par
ents think we will make a good match. Lord and Lady Marsfeld apparently approve as well. Our introduction was quite formal.”

  “I do not doubt that,” Lady Amelia commented as she raised her cup to her lips.

  Julianna wondered if she meant something by that. Then she remembered her thought when she first saw him standing in the drawing room. “I could not get the idea out of my head that Lord Norsely looks quite familiar but I am certain I have not met him before. It is so strange I cannot explain it.”

  “I can.” Lady Amelia set her cup down and leaned forward. “Lord Norsely is Andrew Townsend’s older brother.”

  “Oh!” Julianna shook her head in disbelief. “I cannot believe that I did not know that.”

  “I am quite sure that there will be no mention of Mr Townsend.”

  Julianna frowned. “I would imagine not.”

  “I do not like to speak ill of people but I must admit that I feel that both Mr Townsend and Lady Judith are well deserving of their fate.”

  Julianna nodded slowly thinking about her first meeting with Lord Norsely. “Yes, I would have to agree with you on that.”

  Lady Amelia tilted her head. “You still seem troubled.”

  “I keep thinking about Lord Norsely. He was very polite, of course.”

  “I am sure that he was, but there is something else bothering you, is there not?”

  “Yes, it is difficult to explain but he seemed more interested in parading around in front of the other guests than with speaking to me.” Julianna looked at Lady Amelia and said, “He spoke very little to me, instead saving much of his conversation for the many people we encountered on the walk through the garden.”

  “That is rather odd,” Lady Amelia thought for a moment. “Although I cannot remember seeing Lord Norsely at any social function since the incident at the Dalverton’s ball. It is quite possible that this is the first time Lord Norsely has attended an event since his recovery.”

  “Oh, I had not thought of that. I would have preferred to speak with him more but I understand that simply attending the party might have been difficult for him.” Julianna could not imagine what the man had endured over the last several weeks. "Perhaps we will have more time to talk and get to know each other on another occasion."

  “It most likely explains the formality of your introduction as well.” Lady Amelia set her cup down and sat back in her chair. “It would not be presumptuous to think that Lord and Lady Marsfeld are hoping to smooth over any gossip that may be lingering from before.”

  "I believe that you are quite right. I suppose I will have to wait and see what happens next." Julianna pushed back from the table not wanting to think about Lord Norsely or Mr Townsend anymore. “Shall we go see the foals now?

  “Yes, of course.” Lady Amelia stood up quickly, a warm smile on her face. “I am so glad you were able to come to the house party. I am quite enjoying having you here.”

  She nodded and smiled back at Lady Amelia. “I am glad as well.”

  Julianna followed her new friend down the hallway to a door that opened out to the garden. They followed a low stone wall along one side until Lady Amelia stopped at an iron gate nearly hidden by a tall hedge and left the garden.

  “Oh look!” Julianna pointed toward the stables as a foal galloped around, gangly legs seeming to fly every which way.

  Lady Amelia laughed. “Martha was right. Kirk let them out at just the right time.”

  Julianna was puzzled. She had not heard the name Kirk before Martha had mentioned it in the dining room but given the conversation, she assumed that he was one of the grooms that worked in the stables. “How would Martha know though?”

  Lady Amelia continued walking towards the stables. “Kirk is the head groom in the stables and Martha knows everything that goes on around here. Oh, and she is Kirk’s wife.”

  “Oh!” Julianna said. “That makes such perfect sense now.”

  They stopped at the fence watching as the foals ran around while the mares grazed lazily in the morning sun. “Aye, Lady Amelia, are ye here again?” An older man with bright blue eyes asked from the nearby doorway.

  “Is that surprising for you, Kirk?”

  “It would be more surprising if ye were not down here,” he said with a gruff laugh. “And did ye drag another lass with ye?”

  “Oh yes,” Lady Amelia replied slipping her arm through Julianna’s. “My friend admires horses as much as I do.”

  He crossed his arms and nodded at Julianna. “And ye came to see the wee foals, too?”

  “I did. They are rather darling.”

  “Aye, that they are, but full of spirit, too.” He pointed across the pen. “The red one nearly fell in the watering trough this morning.”

  “Oh!” Julianna exclaimed and as though the foal knew they were talking about her suddenly twitched her ears and took off running across the pen startling two of the other foals into the running as well.

  “I do not believe Crawford’s mount is anything to worry over,” a voice came from behind them.

  Julianna turned to see two men on horseback presumably returning to the stable.

  “Amelia, are you down here bothering Kirk again?” a blonde man asked her.

  “No, dear brother, I am not,” Lady Amelia said rolling her eyes at Julianna. Of course, she caught the slight smile on her friend’s face as well. “I brought Lady Julianna down to see the foals.”

  “Oh, so you were bothering Lady Julianna, then?” Amelia's brother asked, a sly grin crossing his face.

  Julianna spoke up. “No, not at all. I asked Lady Amelia to bring me here to the stables.” Lady Amelia gave her hand a quick squeeze.

  Lady Amelia’s brother slid off his horse. “I do not think we have been introduced.”

  “Timothy, this is Lady Julianna Merchant. Lady Julianna, this is my brother, Mr Timothy Sedgwick.”

  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Sedgwick” Julianna said.

  “I hope you are enjoying the party.” Timothy gave her a warm smile before leaning closer to whisper loudly, “Thank you for befriending my sister, she is so in need of new friends.”

  Julianna ignored Lady Amelia’s shocked gasp to ask. “She is? What happened to her old friends?”

  Mr Sedgwick seemed surprised that she was playing along. The second man had gotten off his horse and joined them at the fence. Mr Sedgwick then said, “Her old friends? I am not sure there were many to begin with but I assume they grew tired of her silliness.”

  Lady Amelia stamped her foot but Julianna was ready with a retort of her own. “Oh? I was sure it must be because you had scared them all off.”

  Mr Sedgwick’s mouth dropped open as Lady Amelia clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, too right!”

  Julianna hid her smile as she turned to her friend and patted her hand sympathetically. “Do not worry I promise to stand by you no matter how mortifying your brother may become.”

  “Do you hear her, Repington?” Mr Sedgwick asked the other man. “She does not even know me, yet she mocks me.”

  His friend looked at Julianna for a moment before saying, “It seems as though she is a good judge of character.”

  Timothy looked up at the sky as if looking for strength from the divine muttering, “Attacks from every quarter.” He turned to the man he called Repington. “You wound me, my good man.”

  “Dear brother, it seems as though you have been thoroughly found out.”

  “Yes, it appears so.” Mr Sedgwick agreed with a smile and then suddenly seemed to remember his manners. “My apologies, Amelia, Lady Julianna, this is Mr Hugh Repington.”

  “Good morning,” Lady Amelia said readily.

  “I am pleased to meet you,” Julianna replied and then looked behind him at the beautiful black horse he had been riding.

  “Good morning,” Mr Repington nodded at them both.

  From the front of the house there was a loud cracking sound and suddenly Mr Repington’s horse reared back, his front legs flailing in the air. />
  “Watch out!” Mr Repington cried out.

  Chapter Six

  Hugh watched in horror as his horse reared back, its hooves slashing at the air above where they stood. Before he could even act, Lady Julianna had turned toward the horse, whether it was out of shock or fear he could not say.

  He wanted to cry out for her to stay away but he dared not upset the horse further. Moving slowly, he hoped to pull the young lady away swiftly and carefully before she got hurt. As he got closer though he realized that she was talking softly to the horse. Just at the point that he was sure she would be injured the horse's front legs settled back to the ground. Its ears still flicked back with its eyes wide.

  "Shush, now. All right now, there you go," she was saying in a soft, soothing voice.

  Hugh stopped dead in his tracks as he saw her pluck the reins deftly from where they hung across the saddle and gently tie them to a cross piece on the fence.

  "There now. All better," she stroked the beast on the shoulder the tension visibly leaving it until eventually the horse calmly stood looking down at its dark-haired tamer.

  “Well, that was exciting." She turned around and said with a smile.

  "Exciting?" he asked, much too loudly. Hugh had no idea why but he was suddenly furious with her. "What do you think you were doing? You could have been killed!"

  Unbelievably, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Perhaps, but the horse was scared and my only thought was to calm him down. I suppose I acted out of instinct."

  “Your only thought was to calm the horse,” he repeated, not quite believing what she was saying. “You should have been scared to death. Why were you not scared?”

  “Oh, horses do not scare me,” she said easily turning back to the large horse. “I ride nearly every morning when I am home at Alverston.”

  “You enjoy riding horses?” Hugh realized that he must sound like a complete idiot as he seemed to be repeating everything that she said. It was not often that he met a young lady that was not either scared of horses or thought they were much too untidy, or more so, enjoyed riding beyond the occasional outing at house parties and the like.