Not, of course, that she would actually require rescuing if the source of her alarm was indeed the abrupt appearance of the Sikh or his queer pet. To be sure, for all his ferocious looks, Jagtar was gallant to the point of being chivalrous when it came to women. As for Kesin, well, he was tame enough . . . unless he was hungry, in which instance he could be bold, especially if presented with the opportunity to steal food, fruit in particular.
Suddenly recalling a recent incident in which the beast had assaulted the housekeeper's bonnet as she had primped for church before the foyer mirror, Gideon quickened his jog to a run. The bonnet in question had been trimmed with artificial cherries, and the loris being an animal was naturally unable to distinguish at a glance real fruit from the artificial fruit that was all the rage for trimming ladies hats and coiffures.
As he rounded a particularly dense hedge, he heard another shriek and a panicked, "Help! Oh, please! Somebody help me," followed by a plea in Jagtar's unmistakable voice as he sought to calm the terrified woman. Since the soothing words were being uttered in his native tongue, a lapse due. no doubt, to the Sikh's own panic in the face of the woman's hysterics, they failed to have their desired effect. A half-dozen more steps and Gideon burst upon the scene.
The woman, who was clearly highborn, judging from her expensive brown silk pelisse and matching bonnet, the latter of which was trimmed with artificial apricots and knocked askew to obscure her features, was poised in a defensive crouch behind a park bench, using it as a barrier to shield herself against Jagtar and Kesin, both of whom looked every bit as terrified of her as she was of them. Indeed, poor Kesin stood frozen directly in front of the bench, where he had no doubt tumbled after what Gideon suspected had been his foiled attempt at apricot larceny, while Jagtar helplessly flailed his arms and gibbered in Hindi, something that the woman seemed to interpret as a threat.
As he watched, she popped up from behind her cover, waving a handful of pebbles menacingly at the Sikh, shouting, "Go away! I shall stone you if you do not leave this instant! I swear I shall!"
Gideon's eyes narrowed as her bonnet shifted with her movement, granting him a glimpse of the ringlets peeking from beneath the brim. They were a distinct color, a rather familiar shade of pale golden red. Surely their owner was not-could not possibly be-
"Lady Julia?" he ejected in querying incredulity.
She froze, her arm now raised and poised to hurl the stones. In the next instant her head whipped around, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping at the sight of him. Staring, as if she could not quite believe her eyes, she choked out, "M-Mr. H-Harwood?"
"Lady Julia?" he responded in an equally stunned tone, wondering what in the world she was doing in Grosvenor Square at such an unfashionably early hour.
Her arm dropped and there was a plink! plonk! plunk! as the pebbles tumbled in a pelting shower from her hand, one of which scattered wide to box Kesin in the nose.
G-r-r-r! Roused from its terrified trance, the creature growled and scampered back to its master, who kneeled to allow it to climb to his shoulder.
"Mr. Harwood?" she repeated, this time more loudly.
Gideon frowned, suddenly noting the redness of her eyes and nose, and the dampness streaking her cheeks. It was apparent that she had been weeping, and for far longer than the brief moments during which she had been frightened by Jagtar and Kesin. His frown deepening in his concern, he urgently
inquired, "What has happened, Lady Julia? Are you hurt?"
"Oh, Mr. Harwood!" She more wailed than uttered the words. Before Gideon quite knew what was happening, she had flung herself at him, her arms hurling around his waist to cling to him. Gripping him as if he were her only salvation, she sobbed, "I have never been so very happy to see anyone in my entire life!"
Gideon stiffened beneath her hugging assault, astounded that the impossibly restrained Lady Julia would behave in such a-well, an unrestrained manner. Then he felt her tremble in a series of shuddering sobs and realized that she had resumed weeping. Instinctively wrapping her in his comforting embrace, he held her close, alternately patting and stroking her heaving back as he soothingly crooned, "There, there now, my lady. You are safe. Nothing shall harm you." To his surprise, he found that he rather liked the feel of her in his arms. For all that she was overly slender for his taste, she felt remarkably soft and feminine molded as she was against his body.
"Safe?" She sniffled and tipped her head back to gaze up at him with damp-eyed gratitude, her crooked bonnet slipping off to dangle over one shoulder by its ribbon chin ties. Lady Julia most definitely was not the sort of woman who looked pretty when she wept. Indeed, not only were her eyes and nose red, her fair complexion was blotchy and she sniffled uncontrollably.
Gideon smiled faintly at the sight of her, deciding that he far preferred this blotchy, disheveled Lady Julia to the pale, perfect one. This one, at least, seemed human . . . and young . . . and vulnerable . . . and almost lost in her distress. Struck by a startling rush of protective tenderness, he smoothed a fiery tendril of hair that was stuck to her wet cheek, gently confirming, "Yes. Safe."
She sniffled several times, staring soberly at his face as she absorbed his reassurance. Then she drew in a deep, sobbing breath and expelled in a quivering rush, "It was dreadful! I have never been so frightened in my life. First the horrid beast attacked me and then I was accosted by that-that"-she hiccupped and nodded at Jagtar, who stood at a distance soothing his terrified pet-"that fiend!" Another sniffle, this one loud and watery. "I simply shudder to think what might have happened to me had you not come to my rescue."
"I can assure you that you were never in the least bit of danger," he replied, her latest sniffle cuing him to retrieve his handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket.
Two more sniffles. "How can you"- sob!-"be so very certain?"
"Because the fiend is my manservant and the horrid beast is his pet."
She grew very still in his arms as she digested that tidbit of news, then sniffled again and said in a small voice, "Oh. I-I see."
Though he was surprisingly reluctant to do so, Gideon forced himself to release her, saying in a light, almost teasing voice, "At the risk of being deemed ungentlemanly for confessing to such a thing, I cannot help observing that you have a rather dire need for this." He presented his handkerchief with a grand flourish.
She smiled, a quick, spontaneous smile touched by an unexpected hint of humor, a smile that by all rights of God and man should not have made her look beautiful for her splotchy face and red eyes, but nonetheless did. "In this particular instance, I daresay that we can make an exception to the rule." Nodding once in thanks, she turned away, as she had no doubt been taught to do when dictated by necessity to tend to bodily needs while in company, and proceeded to blow her nose several times. Her nasal passages thus cleared, she pivoted back to face him, her expression sheepish.
"Better?" he inquired with a smile. How could he not smile when she looked so charmingly abashed?
"Yes. Thank you." She began to hold out his now-sodden handkerchief, intent on returning it, then pulled it back again, blushing as she murmured, "Er-I shall have this laundered and returned to you tomorrow, if that is agreeable?"
He shrugged. "Anytime will be fine. As it so happens, I have more than one handkerchief to my name."
She stuffed the object in question into her reticule, her lips curving into a half smile at his response.
"Yes. I daresay that you do, though a gentleman should know better than to boast of such wealth." By her tone it was apparent that she had just attempted a jest.
Gideon chuckled his appreciation of her effort. "A thousand pardons, my lady. I see that I must redouble my efforts to mend my ways if I am ever to be counted a gentleman."
"As must I, if I am to remain worthy of being called a lady." She sighed and shook her head, her smile fading. "I fear that I owe your manservant rather more than a thousand pardons." Another sigh and headshake. "Poor man. I had no call to shriek at him as I
did. He did nothing to warrant such rudeness, not really. His wicked pet, on the other hand-" She broke off with a wry face.
Again Gideon chuckled. When she left off her airs, she was delightful. Was this the Lady Julia the ton saw and admired? Finding himself unexpectedly admiring her as well, he replied, "Would it, perhaps, ease your mind if I were to tell you that you are not the first person to find their appearances alarming?" At her nod, he nodded back. "Well, it is true. You might also find it comforting to hear that in spite of their frightening looks, they are usually quite tame."
She seemed to consider his claim for a moment before accepting it with a faint smile and a nod. "If they are indeed as tame as you say, then I must beg an introduction. A lady cannot speak to a gentleman unless she is properly introduced to him, you know; therefore I cannot apologize to your servant unless introductions are made. And since I wish to begin mending my ways immediately . . ." She finished with a meaningful lift of her delicate eyebrows.
He sketched an abbreviated bow and offered her his arm. "Your servant, as always, my lady."
After placing her bonnet back on her head and making the necessary adjustments to right it, she took his arm, countering, "Spoken like a true gentleman, Mr. Harwood."
"I am glad to hear that I am making such rapid improvement. At this rate, I may actually qualify as a gentleman in, oh, I would estimate about ten years time, given my woeful lack of socially acceptable manners," he bantered.
Rather than laugh and banter back, as he expected her to do, she remained silent, gazing at the ground as they walked several steps. When she finally looked up again, her face was serious. "I am afraid that I owe you an apology as well, sir."
His eyebrows rose in his surprise. "Indeed?"
Nodding, she came to a halt. "I-I was wrong to make you think that your manners are in any way lacking. On the whole, they are excellent. They quite put to shame those of many of the ton's finest gentlemen. Though I know that it by no means excuses my disgraceful behavior, I can only plead distress over the bargain as justification of my actions. I do hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me, for I truly am sorry."
It was Gideon's turn to be struck silent, taken aback not only by her apology, but by the humility with which it was uttered. At length, he replied, "I will forgive you only if you pardon me in return. I fear that I have not been so very gentlemanly in the way I have baited you during this past month." And he was indeed guilty of doing so, pricking and twitting her at every turn in an attempt to fracture her cool facade.
She glanced at him quickly, visibly surprised by his words. Then she laughed and saucily volleyed, "But of course I forgive you, sir. How can I not forgive the man who so gallantly dashed to my rescue?" Her pardon thus granted, they walked the rest of the distance to where the Sikh and his pet stood, Lady Julia smiling in a way that stunned Gideon with the radiance it lent her face. How in the world could he have ever thought her plain?
Now stopping before Jagtar and Kesin, Gideon promptly put his manners to use in making the requested introductions, which her ladyship acknowledged with a charm that clearly enchanted Jagtar. When she had tendered her apology, the graciousness of her words and the sincerity of her voice further winning Gideon's heart, she turned her attention to Kesin. Tipping her head in wonder as she gazed at the exotic little primate, she exclaimed, "Such an odd creature! What sort of beast is it?"
"It is called a sharmindi-billi, my lady," Jagtar replied in a respectful voice, dipping his head in deference to her station.
Her brow furrowed as she tested the words on her tongue. "Sharmindi-billi." She darted the Sikh a querying look, mutely inquiring if she had pronounced the name correctly. When he smiled and nodded, she looked thrilled by her success.
"The English name for the creatures is slow loris," Gideon supplied, thinking how engaging she was in her almost childlike curiosity. "They are often used by snake charmers in India to draw crowds in marketplaces, rather in the same fashion the street conjurer we saw at the balloon ascension used his monkey to lure an audience. In fact, that is how Kesin earned his keep until Jagtar took a fancy to him and purchased him from his owner." Gideon grinned just remembering the fierceness of the bargaining battle. In the end the Sikh had paid an exorbitant price for the animal, far more than its market value, but worth twice the price for the entertainment it provided them.
"Then its name is Kesin?" she inquired, laughing as the animal mirrored her move by tipping its nubby-eared head to solemnly return her gaze. "I must say that that is a very fitting name indeed in that it is as queer as its owner."
Gideon, too, laughed, enjoying her delight in the beast. "It means long-haired beggar in Jagtar's native tongue, and you are correct in that it is most appropriate. Why, one would think that Kesin is never fed from the way he constantly begs for treats."
She continued her examination of the loris in captivated silence for several moments, tipping her head this way and that as she did so, her movements comically imitated by the object of her scrutiny. At length, she shyly asked, "Do you suppose that he would allow me to pet him? My sisters, Maria in particular, adore animals, and they will be ever so disappointed if I do not touch him and report the texture of his fur."
It was on the tip of Gideon's tongue to propose that Jagtar introduce Kesin to the children, the pleasure of Julia's company making him momentarily forget that he had abandoned their courtship. Remembering in the next instant, he swallowed the offer, suffering a sharp pang of regret as he replied, "As I mentioned earlier, he is quite tame. However, since he has had as much of a fright as you this morning, he might be a bit uneasy with the notion of being handled by a stranger. Perhaps-"
Struck by sudden inspiration, he glanced around the ground, searching for the grapes he had dropped when she had flung herself into his arms. Now spying them and seeing that they were only slightly worse for their unceremonious tumble, he retrieved them, amending, "He will no doubt be more than happy to oblige you if you present him with a peace offering." He held up the grapes, eliciting a whistle from Kesin. "The little thief cannot resist fruit, which is most probably why he attacked you." At her look of incomprehension, he explained, "The apricots on your bonnet look very real, and Kesin has developed a special fondness for apricots since coming to England. My guess is that he spied them and sought to steal one."
"I daresay that he would have been most disappointed had he succeeded in his crime," she said with a laugh, taking the grapes. Now dangling them temptingly before the loris, she coaxed him in a soothing voice to accept them. It took only a moment for him to snatch them and begin greedily devouring them.
Again her head tipped in her wonder, her expression spellbound as she watched the animal eat. "Just look at his hands," she marveled in an awed tone. "Why, they look almost human."
"I can assure you that the presumptuous beast quite fancies himself to be human from the way the entire household dotes on him," Gideon responded wryly.
His companions laughed at his joke, the Sikh with reservation and Lady Julia with unbridled gaiety.
Gideon grinned at their amusement. "Now, I believe that you wish to pet him?"
"Mmm, yes," she murmured, her fascinated gaze still fixed on Kesin, who was emitting little grunts as he stuffed yet another grape into his mouth. "Just let me remove my gloves." She diverted her attention long enough to draw off her tan kid gloves and tuck them into her reticule. Raising her now-bare hand to commence with petting, she said in a loud whisper, "How ... I mean, where should I. . . ?" She glanced helplessly at Gideon, searching for instruction on how to proceed.
"Like this." He laid his hand over hers, ushering it to the top of the animal's head where he guided it to stroke down its back. As he did so, he could not help noticing how delicate her hand felt, or how neatly it fit beneath the curve of his palm. When Kesin remained calm, placidly feasting on his treat, he drew his hand from hers, nodding for her to repeat the action on her own.
Without further encoura
gement, she did so, stroking the creature almost gingerly at first, growing more confident with each caress. By now the redness and blotchiness had all but disappeared from her face, leaving in their place a pair of sparkling eyes and silken cheeks flushed with becoming color. At length, she murmured, "Such thick, lovely fur . . . and so soft. Oh! I cannot wait to tell Jemima and Maria about Kesin. I simply must see if I can find a book with a picture and a description of slow lorises. I just know that they will be every bit as enchanted as I am by the creatures."
"You seem to love your sisters a great deal," he observed, not missing the raw affection in her voice every time she spoke of them.
"More than anything on this earth. There is nothing that I would not do or sacrifice for them," she fiercely declared. "And I love my brother just as much. Little Bertie is just over a year old and is ever so precious."
Gideon stared at her in stunned silence, caught off guard by the unfettered fervor of her response. Then again, after the way she had flown to her sisters' defense at his criticism of them during their exchange in the garden, it should hardly come as a surprise to learn of the depth of her devotion to them. Now realizing how very callous his remarks had been and wishing to in some way make amends for wounding her feelings, he said, "Perhaps you would do me the honor of allowing me to present your siblings with a book on the subject of India's creatures? I have a particularly fine volume with numerous color plates and
descriptions, slow lorises numbering among them."
She could not have looked more amazed, or thrilled, by his offer. "You would do that?" she inquired in a breathless rush.
He nodded. "It will be my pleasure. I shall send it around tomorrow, if that is convenient?"
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