“That’s it, exactly.”
They left the dogs to play in a fenced-in section of the garden and returned to the house for breakfast. Augustus, Philip, and Kitty had already assembled in the dining room, and Juliet felt guilty. “Good morning. I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Stephanie said. “The puppies needed to go out.”
Kitty smiled. “Please be seated and don’t give it another thought. I was thinking about going into Grovebrook today. The only question is whether or not we should ride or take the carriage.” She glanced around the table. “Any thoughts?”
While they were debating the issue, the morning post arrived. As was his habit, Philip sorted through the mail first. Moments later, he held up an envelope. “Miss Gryphon, you’ve received a letter.”
She brightened. “It must be from Cody! I can’t imagine why it took him so long to write.”
The letter was passed down to her, but when she examined the envelope, a frown appeared. “It’s from Papa. Why would he write to me, but not Cody?”
Juliet bit her lip. “It’s probably nothing, but why don’t you have a look? Nobody minds.”
Stephanie flashed a brief smile. “Well, if you’re sure…” She opened the letter and began to peruse the contents.
Juliet’s heart leaped into her throat when Stephanie gasped.
“Papa writes to say Cody’s been hurt!”
A wave of dizziness was followed by a deep chill all the way to Juliet’s soul. “Go on, Stephanie. Please.”
“There was some sort of fight, but Papa doesn’t give any details. He says Cody was knocked unconscious and they aren’t sure if he’ll wake up! He’s at Lady Lovejoy’s home.” As Stephanie rose to her feet, her napkin slid to the floor. “I must go to London without delay.”
Augustus stood. “I’ll escort you.”
Philip rang for a servant. “Pack an overnight bag for Miss Gryphon and for Lord Elbourne, and have the carriage brought around. They’re to depart Constance Hall immediately.”
“Yes, Lord Philip.” The maid curtsied and hastened off.
Kitty gave Stephanie a worried glance. “If you hurry, you should be able to catch the nine o’clock train.”
“Thank you!” Without another word, she ran from the room.
Juliet shot to her feet. “I’m going, too. Kitty, will you take care of Texas and Robin Hood?”
“Of course. Don’t worry about a thing. Philip and I will bring the puppies and the rest of your things to London later today.”
“Bless you.” Juliet bit back tears as she dropped her napkin on the table and fled upstairs to get ready.
As the train sped south, Juliet wished it could sprout wings and fly. In the seat facing her, Augustus held Stephanie’s hand. Her friend’s pretty features were tight with worry, and Juliet was certain hers were as well. Never before had she faced the prospect of a mortal injury to someone she loved, and all sorts of dire thoughts stampeded through her mind like panicked horses.
Stephanie had read and re-read her father’s letter over a dozen times, hoping it contained information she’d overlooked somehow. Even now, she was trying to parse the tersely written sentences to decipher what they meant.
“What sort of fight could Cody have been involved with?” Stephanie shook her head. “It makes no sense.”
“I expect it has something to do with Lord Gryphon.” Juliet’s voice sounded as taut as a violin string, even to her own ears.
Both Augustus and Stephanie peered at her with bewildered expressions.
“How could Zachary be involved?” Stephanie asked.
“A former friend of mine was cast out by her family in disgrace. Her ruination was at your cousin’s hands, and Cody was attempting to convince him to marry her.” Juliet clenched her hands in her lap more tightly, to keep them from shaking. “Unfortunately, Lord Gryphon has fallen into a bad crowd.”
Stephanie gaped. “You knew Cody’s efforts would put him in danger, and yet you let him go anyway? That’s unforgivable!”
“Cody’s not the sort of man who can be told what to do! In point of fact, I discouraged him from the attempt, but he was too decent to agree with me.” Juliet averted her eyes. “Nevertheless, if it makes you feel any better, I hate myself worse than you could possibly imagine.” Try as she might to maintain control, rivulets of moisture slipped down her cheeks. “I should have told Cody I love him, but I never did.”
Augustus cleared his throat. “Don’t give up hope, Juliet. You may still have the opportunity.”
Tears filled Stephanie’s eyes. “I-I shouldn’t have spoken to you in anger just now. I’m worried about my brother. None of this is your fault, so please don’t hate yourself.”
Although Juliet gave her a tremulous smile, her self-loathing increased that much more. Why had she shown Violet’s letter to Cody in the first place? She should have just sent money to the girl and let it go at that. In the next moment, a feeling of shame swept over her. Could she really have lived with herself by ignoring Violet’s desperate plight so completely? In truth, she’d shared that letter with Cody because deep down she’d known he had the integrity to do something about it when she didn’t. He’d made her a better person by his actions, but at what cost? Juliet prayed she would be able to tell Cody how she truly felt. Furthermore, if he still wanted her, she would go with him to the ends of the earth.
A deep voice called his name. “Quit loafing and open your eyes, Cody. I haven’t got all day to wait for you to wake up.”
Cody wished his cousin would go away and let him return to his bower of blackness, but unfortunately, the man kept talking.
“You must think yourself quite lordly, to have everyone at your beck and call in this manner. I’m beginning to think you the most selfish creature ever born.”
With an enormous effort, Cody lifted one swollen lid and gave Zachary what he hoped was a baleful glare. “Hold your tongue.” He was surprised he could even form words, since his lips didn’t seem to want to function properly.
His cousin hastened to his bedside. “Oh, good, I’ve annoyed you into regaining consciousness. It’s fortunate for you, I daresay, since I was preparing all manner of insults. I was going to play the Minister’s Cat of Abuse. Frankly, I could have gone on with it for some time. I’ve learned all manner of foul epithets in the slums.”
Cody focused on Zachary’s clean-shaven face. “You’ve lost your beard.”
“And picked up a few bruises. I look positively rakish with my new black eye, and I think I may have broken my nose.”
As Cody peered at Zachary’s visage, the man’s nose did appear to be swollen. The noise emanating from Cody’s throat was meant to be a chuckle. “Good. You won’t look like me anymore.”
“It is you who resembles me.” Zachary laughed. “I’ll go fetch your father. He and Lady Lovejoy have been out of their minds with worry.”
“Wait.” Cody paused, trying to muster the energy to speak. “What happened last night? I don’t remember anything.”
“It was the night before, actually. Mr. Wickham’s thugs had been sent to kill me, only they mistook you for me. Angus alerted me to trouble and then I jumped into the fray. Fortunately, Angus followed up with a lead pipe and chased off your assailants. He helped me get you into a cab, and I brought you to Lady Lovejoy’s. She’s been quite hospitable, and let me have a bath. Actually, I think she required it as a condition of my residency.” He glanced down at his gentlemanly attire. “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow your clothes.”
“Not at all. I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my life.”
Zachary shook his head and guilt twisted his bruised and swollen features. “You owe me nothing, Cody. It never occurred to me you’d be in any danger, and I tender my most sincere apology.” He took a deep breath. “Now, excuse me while I summon your father. I had an accidental moment of moral clarity just now, and I didn’t enjoy it.” His cousin punctuated his sentence with an
exaggerated shudder.
Ordinarily, Cody would have laughed, but he was in far too much pain. After Zachary disappeared, he retreated back into darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
Dangerous
IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON when Juliet, Stephanie, and Augustus arrived at Lady Lovejoy’s home. The two girls rushed inside while Augustus paid the cab driver. Stephanie grabbed the butler as he came to meet them in the entryway. “Yeats, is my brother all right?”
“Er…I believe he’s sleeping, Miss Gryphon, but more than that I can’t say.”
Augustus entered the home and gave his hat and traveling cloak to the butler. “Would you be so kind as to have our bags brought in?”
“Right away, Lord Elbourne.”
Zachary descended the stairs just then, and Stephanie peered at him in shock. Juliet was also taken aback, but for a different reason. The man’s ordinarily handsome features were battered, his eye sported a purple circle, and his nose was swollen. A laceration covered the knuckles on his right hand, and from the way he was moving, she surmised his muscles were sore.
“For a moment, I thought you were Cody!” Stephanie exclaimed.
“You must be Stephanie.” He managed to bow, although it brought a wince to his face. “I’m Zachary Gryphon, your cousin.” His gaze flickered toward Juliet. “Miss Beaucroft.”
She executed the briefest of curtsies. “Lord Gryphon.”
Stephanie’s eyes narrowed as she peered at him. “Was it you who hurt my brother?”
“Not directly, but I admit, I inadvertently put him in harm’s way. His assailants believed they were exacting revenge on me, you see.”
Augustus didn’t bother to bow, but merely gave him a level stare. The two men regarded one another with mutual disdain.
“I can’t say I’m glad to see you, Elbourne.”
“Likewise.”
Juliet’s patience was at an end. “Take us to Cody, please.”
Zachary’s lips tightened and he jerked his head toward the stairs. “Come along and I’ll show you to his bedchamber. The physician just left, and Uncle Horatio and Lady Lovejoy are visiting with him now.”
As they ascended the stairs, Juliet couldn’t hold back the question that had been burning into her soul since she first heard Cody was injured.
“Lord Gryphon, h-how is he?”
Zachary waited until they’d all reached the landing before he replied. “Cody was beaten badly. I had a dickens of a time getting him to wake up at all, but we had only one lucid conversation before he slipped away again. The doctor advised us he’s fortunate to be alive.”
Stephanie gasped and clung to Augustus’s arm. Tears stung Juliet’s eyes anew, and she had to touch the wall to steady herself.
Zachary showed them to the wing of the house reserved for gentlemen, and gestured toward an open door on the left hand side. “He’s in there, but don’t expect much. As I mentioned, he’s asleep almost all the time.”
Juliet and Stephanie hastened toward the door, just as Lord Horatio and Lady Lovejoy emerged. The older man gave a sigh of relief when he saw his daughter.
“Thank heavens you’ve come.” As he enfolded her in his arms, she burst into tears.
Juliet gave the countess a worried glance. “May I see Cody, please?”
“Why, of course, dear. As Mr. Gryphon’s fiancée, you’ve a perfect right to be by his side.”
Evidently, Cody hadn’t yet informed Lady Lovejoy the engagement was a ruse, but Juliet didn’t bother to correct the misunderstanding. “Thank you.”
The countess touched her arm. “Brace yourself.”
Juliet rushed into Cody’s room, and her eyes riveted to the figure lying prone on the bed. Although the heavy velvet curtains over the windows had been partially drawn, enough late afternoon sun seeped through the opening to make lamps unnecessary. As she crept closer, the extent of Cody’s injuries made her want to weep. His lips were swollen and split, and his battered face was covered with black and purple bruises. A knot was visible on one temple, and a cut on his eyebrow was encrusted with dried blood. The white coverlet on the bed had been turned down to his waist, revealing bandages wrapped around his ribs. Lacerations and purple shadows covered the knuckles on his hands, and a smattering of black smudges marred the skin on both arms.
Her horror was so great, Juliet didn’t even notice when Lord Horatio, Augustus, and Stephanie joined her in the room. Cody’s sister came to stand on the opposite side of the bed, and as she stared at him, a moan was torn from her throat.
“My poor brother!”
“The doctor said he has several badly sprained fingers and some broken ribs,” Horatio said. “Cody managed to sip a little water when last he woke, and we gave him a few drops of laudanum then. He’s been sleeping peacefully since.”
From the doorway, Lady Lovejoy spoke. “There’s nothing you can do for him right now. I’ll have a servant show you to your rooms, and perhaps we can all have tea.”
Juliet scarcely heard when Augustus mentioned he’d be leaving for The Aerie after tea, to welcome Philip and Kitty when they arrived that evening. When the countess finally called her name, she glanced up. Everyone else had already filed out of the room, and she was the only one remaining.
“May I stay here, Lady Lovejoy?” She pointed to a chair. “I just want to sit with Cody awhile longer.”
“Of course, dear. I’ll have your things taken to your room and a maid will bring you tea.”
“You’re very kind.”
Once the older woman had disappeared, Juliet shoved the chair a little closer to the bed and positioned it so she could catch every movement Cody might make. Before she sat, she bent over his face, wishing there was some unbruised part of his visage upon which to deposit a gentle kiss. Thwarted, she pressed her lips to one of his uncovered shoulders before draping her soft, light shawl over his upper body to ward off any chill. After removing her hat, she settled into the chair and gazed at Cody’s profile. She meant to be there when he woke up.
Over the next three days, Juliet could be induced to leave only long enough to change her clothes and wash her face. Otherwise, she ate very little and slept sitting up in the chair next to Cody’s bed. Philip and Kitty stopped by to deliver Stephanie’s puppy and to check on Cody’s progress, but there was little to tell. He was unconscious most of the time, and when he stirred, he was barely able to sip some water before dozing off.
Stephanie had another chair brought in so she could also keep a vigil. While the former Texian attempted to embroider a screen—to please Lady Lovejoy, she claimed—she kept Juliet apprised of the news.
“Zachary went off to Little Brambleton this morning, to elope with his amour,” she said. “The silly man insisted on waiting to leave until the swelling of his nose had receded to his satisfaction.”
“Your brother must have persuaded him to marry Violet, then.” Juliet glanced at Cody’s profile. His bruises had begun to change color and take on more of a yellowish tortoiseshell look. “I doubt if anyone else could have managed it.”
“There’s also another engagement to announce.”
Juliet stared at Stephanie, startled. “Are you and Augustus to wed?”
“Alas, it’s not our engagement. Not yet, anyway.” She giggled. “To my surprise, Lady Lovejoy and Papa are to be married.”
“Really? How do you feel about that?”
“I confess, it took me a little while to get used to the idea. But I think the countess must love Papa a great deal. She told me that years ago, she’d preferred Papa over Lord Lovejoy. Unfortunately, her parents wished her to marry an earl.”
“I’ve heard much the same story from my grandmother about her marriage. It’s a common tale, I fear.”
“The countess sacrificed the love of her life to make her parents happy, so her relationship with Papa now strikes me as rather touching. I just wonder if she’ll be giving up any of her social status after they wed.”
Juliet’s gaze flicker
ed to Cody’s face before returning to Stephanie. “A woman in love is willing to give up a great many things—for the right man.” She paused. “I might as well tell you now; Cody asked me once before if I would be willing to go with him to Texas. At the time, I refused, but I’ve since changed my mind. If he’ll have me, I want to go with him when he leaves England.”
Cody fidgeted then, and murmured something Juliet couldn’t hear. Instantly, she and Stephanie were by his bedside.
“What is it, Cody?” Juliet asked. “Would you like some water?”
He shook his head ever so slightly. “I said, it’s too late. You and me. Texas. Too late.”
Juliet straightened. “I-I understand.” But Cody had already drifted off again.
Bitter disappointment welled up within her, like dark red blood from a deep cut, and she suddenly felt as if she’d fallen into a hill of ants. The great revelation she’d had about her feelings for Cody had been for nothing, it seemed. Cody’s fancy for her had passed, if indeed it had ever genuinely existed, and she’d made a complete and utter fool of herself.
She glanced at Stephanie. “I believe I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
The Texian looked aghast. “Oh, Juliet, I’m certain Cody didn’t mean it! Surely it’s the laudanum talking.”
“He hasn’t had any laudanum today.”
“Perhaps we misunderstood him, then.”
“You heard what he said as well as I did.” Juliet edged toward the door. “He doesn’t want me after all.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Please, stay with him. I really must go, but I’ll pray for Cody’s speedy recovery.”
Distraught, she fled to her room and rang for a maid to pack her things. She planned to take a cab to The Aerie to spend the night. First thing tomorrow morning, she and Robin Hood would go home to her parents, where she belonged.
As Juliet entered the drawing room at The Aerie, Robin Hood came scampering over. Kitty put down her knitting and hastened to give her a warm welcome.
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