A Counterfeit Courtesan: The Shelley Sisters Book 3

by Michaels, Jess

  “We are all deliriously happy for them. It is not often there is not one, but two, love matches in a family, and so close together,” she said with a genuine smile.

  Lady Lydia looked a bit wistful. “That is wonderful.”

  Juliana shifted slightly, darting her gaze to the duke once again. “And how is your family? Are all three of your brothers in Town?”

  Lydia’s cheeks paled a fraction and her smile fluttered as if it were an effort to hold it. “Yes, indeed. My eldest two are busy with their duties and the Season and—”

  “Only the elder two are in Town,” Lord Coningburgh interrupted with a shake of his head. “My daughter is mistaken.”

  Juliana’s heart leapt. He was lying. And not doing a very good job of it, based on the sticky sweat on his brow and the shifting of his weight. He looked…frightened.

  And Lady Lydia appeared confused. She glanced at her father and almost seemed as though she would correct him. Then her lips pursed and she pivoted away from him. Juliana recognized her expression. It was one of a woman who was always left to pick up the pieces. It seemed she and the lady had more in common than she had thought in their brief acquaintance.

  Juliana feigned bored politeness. “So Lord Winston has not joined you? That is a shame. What is it that tempts him away from the pleasures of the Season?”

  Lydia arched an almost challenging brow at her father and he glared at her in response. “Business in the country,” he grunted. “Come now, Lydia. We must be off. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Miss Shelley.”

  “And you, Your Grace,” Juliana said softly. “Lady Lydia.”

  Lydia shot her an apologetic look and then trailed after her father, who had headed across the park at a swift clip. Juliana watched them closely and saw how upset Lydia looked as she spoke to her father in the distance. Saw the duke cast a quick, furtive glance back at Juliana.

  Once again, his fear was palpable. It caused a ripple effect through her body. The Duke of Coningburgh was a powerful man. Everyone knew that. He had maneuvered through the world using his position and his vast wealth to get whatever he wanted. And yet he was afraid of his youngest son. Deeply afraid.

  Which made Juliana sharply aware of how dangerous the situation was. She faced Mary with a shake of her head. “We should go back,” she said.

  Mary wrinkled her brow. “But we’ve only just arrived. Did you not want to walk?”

  “Something has come up and I need to speak to my family,” she explained. “Come along.”

  Mary followed, uncertainty lining her face, as Juliana all but ran back to Harcourt’s. She burst through the door, past the confused-looking butler and down the hall toward the breakfast room. The others were still gathered there, though their meal was almost finished. When she burst through the door, they all pivoted and stared at her in surprise.

  “You’re back early,” Thomasina said. “Is everything all right?”

  Rook pushed to his feet, his gaze narrowing on her. “What happened?”

  She caught her breath. He could read her the same way Ellis could. A fragment left from the street, she supposed, where every tiny nuance had to be evaluated.

  “I just spoke to the Duke of Coningburgh,” she declared.

  The rest of her family jumped up and a cacophony of responses echoed in the room.

  “Juliana, I thought you were going for a walk!” Anne snapped above the rest. “And you go to put yourself in danger again?”

  “I didn’t go to put myself in danger,” Juliana said back with a glare for her sister. “I entered the park and almost immediately saw him with his daughter, Lady Lydia, on the bridge. It was an opportunity I would have been a fool not to pass up. Of course I approached them.”

  Harcourt ran a hand through his hair. “This is exactly why we have all been watching you so closely since your arrival. You have been so reckless, Juliana.”

  She folded her arms. “As if any of you have any ability to discuss recklessness. Don’t you want to know our conversation?”

  Anne stepped forward. “Of course.”

  “He lied to me about Leonard being in town,” Juliana burst out, and waited for them to recognize the importance of that statement.

  Instead, Thomasina rushed forward, her cheeks pale, and caught Juliana’s hands in hers. “You spoke to him directly about Leonard?”

  “Reckless,” Harcourt added.

  Juliana shook her sister’s hands away and backed up. “I didn’t just go to him and say, ‘Please tell me where your criminal son is because I want revenge after he scarred my face.’ I’m not so much a fool as you all seem to believe.”

  That settled the room a fraction and Anne drew a long breath. “What did you say?”

  “He offered felicitations on the marriages of my sisters,” she said. “And that allowed me the opportunity to ask after his sons. And if you would stop screeching at me over my supposed irresponsibility, you would understand what I discovered. He lied and said Leonard wasn’t in Town.”

  Rook had been very quiet during the exchange, but now he stepped forward. “He might not know the truth, Juliana.”

  “He did,” she insisted, frustration at not being heard rising up in her. “Lady Lydia at first tried to say all three of her brothers were in London, but he interrupted and contradicted her, then he all but fled the park. He looked afraid.”

  “Then he is more intelligent than you are,” Harcourt snapped. “God’s teeth, Juliana. Coningburgh has separated himself from Leonard for years, protecting him but hardly associating with him. The lie could be as simple as not wanting to face embarrassment.”

  “Or it could be for some other reason,” she gasped. “You will not even consider it? Or that Leonard’s family could be a quick conduit to finding him and handling this mess?”

  Rook stepped closer again. She could see he was more open to what she was suggesting, but when he took her hand, there was pity in his eyes. She tried to jerk away from it, but he held fast.

  “I know you want to resolve this issue,” he said softly. “I cannot blame you, for you have perhaps suffered most from consequences of actions that were not your own. Harcourt and I are not ignoring your instincts, Juliana. But truly, you cannot involve yourself in this. You’ve gone through enough.”

  She did manage to pull herself free of him then and glared at those in the room. “I am not made of glass,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “Stop treating me as though I were.”

  With that, she pivoted on her heel and stalked to the door.

  “Wait,” Thomasina called after her. “Where are you going?”

  “Back to my prison cell,” Juliana said as she exited the room, and was pleased the tears in her eyes didn’t thicken her voice. “It seems to be the only place you think I belong anymore.”

  Chapter 15

  Ellis threw the papers in his hand on his desk in frustration and downed the remainder of the whisky in his glass in one burning swig. Days and days of trying to find Leonard had produced nothing. His entire network was silent. It didn’t seem the bastard had left London, but he also hadn’t come out again since that night at the Donville Masquerade. Rivers hadn’t seen him. No one had seen him.

  It was infuriating. Ellis had almost had the murderer. Winston Leonard had been five feet away, looking right at him. A well-placed pistol shot in the alley and he could have taken care of this problem. Except…

  Well, he’d chosen to protect Juliana instead.

  He didn’t regret that part. He didn’t regret anything except that she had made no effort to contact him since he’d told Rook the truth about her whereabouts. That silence spoke volumes about what that betrayal had caused. What her feelings were about the subject.

  Ellis knew she was staying with her sisters now. That was something, at least. Rook would keep an eye on her. He would keep her safe, and that allowed Ellis to focus on matters at hand, as he should have from the very beginning.

  Not that he was doing a very good job of
that. He had dreamed of Juliana every single damned night since the last one he’d been with her.

  “The woman is a menace,” he muttered beneath his breath as she pushed the papers on his desk around as if he would possibly find the answers he sought by doing so.

  The door to his study opened and Golden Mitchell entered the room without knocking. “Boss,” he said as he stepped up to the sideboard and poured himself a drink.

  “Make yourself at home,” Ellis grumbled, more irritated with himself than Golden.

  Golden shot him a glance and then inclined his head. “Will do.”

  “What’s your report?” Ellis said on a sigh as he returned to his seat. Golden had been following the Duke of Coningburgh the last few days. Ellis had no hope Golden’s report would offer any leads. None of the others had. He was beginning to lose hope. And gain fear.

  He knew Winston Leonard wasn’t hiding because his pursuit of vengeance and pain was through. He was only making plans. Ones that might involve injury to Ellis’s cousin, to his brother…

  “Toff went to the park today with his daughter,” Golden said, and drew Ellis’s attention back to him.

  Ellis rolled his eyes. “Please don’t give me a report on silk gowns or I shall sack you.”

  Golden chuckled. “No silk. But they were met by someone you might have an interest in.”

  Ellis jumped up. “Leonard?”

  “Naw, he’s still below ground.” Golden arched a brow. “How about that little chit you like so much? Juliana Shelley.”

  Ellis’s lips parted at the shock of that statement. “Juliana met with Coningburgh?” he repeated.

  Golden shrugged. “Might have been a chance meeting. Didn’t last long. But that pretty little thing was certainly interested in the pair long after they left.”

  “Was she with my cousin or her sisters?” Ellis asked. “Or the earl?”

  “By herself. Well, almost.” Golden took another swig of his drink. “There was a guard on her. Not one of Rook’s, one of Harcourt’s.” Ellis could tell Golden was disgusted by that piece of information. “Oh, and that comely maid of hers. They marched right over to the duke soon as they saw him. Miss Shelley might be your better spy, Handsome.”

  Ellis ran a hand through his hair. Golden was repeating, almost verbatim, the suggestion Juliana had made herself a few days before. But he hadn’t wanted to involve her in the danger. He’d thought Rook would protect her, so he’d betrayed her.

  And yet here she was, running around with only some fop’s inept guard and a lady’s maid. Directly speaking to a man whose interest Ellis hadn’t fully determined.

  The Duke of Coningburgh was both protector and victim of the dangerous man he’d sired. He’d helped Winston Leonard out of many a jam over the years, helping to create the untouchable veneer that shone over that bastard.

  But he’d also been attacked and fleeced by the man. And had occasionally lamented his son in public spheres.

  Was Coningburgh helping Leonard now? Well, Ellis didn’t have the kind of connections that made finding that answer easier. He rubbed a hand over his temple. “Is she still with Rook at Harcourt’s?”

  Golden nodded. “Coningburgh went home and she walked back to Harcourt’s estate. Hasn’t left according to the man I put on the house.” He opened his mouth and then shut it again.

  Ellis arched a brow at the hesitance. “What?”

  Golden held up his hands. “Don’t know. Just haven’t ever seen you so flummoxed by a chit before, that’s all. Not sure I won’t step in it.”

  “Fucking step in it,” Ellis grunted. “What?”

  “I wonder what she said to him, that’s all,” Golden said. “His face was dour as he got in the carriage. His daughter was angry. She sparked a reaction, that’s all. Makes me wonder how.”

  Ellis chuckled despite the dire situation. “Just by being her lovely, wonderful, utterly frustrating self, I would wager.”

  Both of Golden’s eyebrows lifted, and he said, “Should I put someone on her? Once she moved to Rook’s protection I took them off, but—”

  “No,” Ellis interrupted. “If you put someone on her, Rook will catch on. I’ll go myself and speak to her.”

  “And how will you keep Rook from knowing you’re there?” Golden asked.

  Ellis shrugged. “I just have to give the dogs a bone.”

  Golden wrinkled his brow at the reference he didn’t understand. Then he said, “Anything else?”

  “Just keep on Coningburgh,” Ellis said with a sigh. “He seems to be all we have right now.”

  “Will do.” Golden slugged the remaining liquor back in one shot and then cracked the glass down on the tabletop with a satisfied ahhhh before he exited the room with a false salute.

  Leaving Ellis to ponder the fact he had just agreed to go interrogate Juliana Shelley. And he wasn’t sure if that would end in tears or something far more pleasurable. It all depended on how much control he could muster.

  * * *

  Juliana sat at her dressing table, staring at herself in the mirror as Mary stroked the brush through her hair. Since her excursion to the park and unexpected encounter with the Duke of Coningburgh, she had locked herself in her chamber, stewing. Then reading. Then stewing again.

  Her sisters had tried to reach out, both individually and together, but she had not been in the mood. Currently she was in the mood for very little except a good book and then a night’s sleep that she prayed would clear her spinning mind and let her decide what to do next.

  Did she let go of her involvement in the pursuit of Winston Leonard as her family and Ellis so desperately wanted her to do? Or did she just hurtle herself into danger and find a way to break out of their intense rules?

  “You are far away, miss,” Mary said as she set the brush down.

  Juliana shook her head. “It was a long day,” she admitted.

  Mary glanced at her in concern. “Will you need anything else before you take to your bed?”

  “No,” Juliana said with a pat on her maid’s hand. “Thank you.”

  Mary gave a little nod, then slipped from the chamber, leaving Juliana alone at last. She sighed as she tightened her robe around her waist and stepped from her dressing chamber to her bedchamber. She moved to the bed, happy that her sheets were already turned down and all she had to do was slip into the coolness.

  Of course, she would likely stare at the canopy for a few hours. Stewing again.

  “That is not the expression of a lady prepared for happy dreams,” came a voice from the darkest corner of her room.

  She turned toward it with a gasp, knowing the owner of said voice even before he rose and stepped into the light.

  “Ellis,” she whispered, letting her gaze roll over him. Dear Lord, but the man was handsome. She always told herself he couldn’t be as beautiful as she remembered, and he always was.

  Tonight, his crisp white shirt was rolled to the elbow, revealing muscular forearms. He was not wearing a cravat and his dark hair was slightly mussed. Perhaps from whatever method he had used to sneak into her chamber.

  She blinked as the situation became clearer. He was here. Why was he here?

  She hardened herself as she recalled his actions of a few days ago and folded her arms across her chest in a flimsy shield. “What do you want?”

  He lifted both eyebrows. “A cold greeting.”

  “Do you think you deserve a warmer one?” she asked, lunging toward him even though closer was more dangerous. “You told Rook about…about the Donville Masquerade.”

  How she hated that her voice broke. That heat filled her cheeks. He would see that. He would know his power. Not that he already didn’t.

  He arched a brow and lifted a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. “If you bring the household running by shouting, we won’t be able to speak.”

  She tilted her head. “You arrogant arse. Do you think I want to speak to you?” She asked the question, but she had lowered her voice and they both kn
ew it.

  “I told Rook about your activities because you are so stubborn that I feared for your safety,” he explained, and for a moment she saw the pure exhaustion in his eyes. “Juliana, I feared for you.”

  “You humiliated me,” she corrected softly, trying not to think of the confrontation with her sisters when they’d told her what he’d done. “And by doing so, you made it very, very clear that you don’t want me or my help. So, I repeat my question, why are you here?”

  He held her gaze evenly. “You spoke to the Duke of Coningburgh today.”

  Her eyes went wide at that statement, made with such certainty and without hesitation. How would he know that? “Rook told you?”

  He blinked. Once again, the mask he wore slipped and she saw the true pain at the mention of his cousin. “No,” he said softly. “Rook has made it patently clear I have no place in his life.”

  She wrinkled her brow. “Then who?” He hesitated, and her jaw dropped as the only other explanation became clear. “You have people following me?”

  He shook his head. “Not you, angel.”

  She turned her face. God, she was such a fool, to think he cared enough to track her movements. Of course he didn’t. None of this had ever been about her.

  “Once I was sure you were here with Rook, I knew you would be protected,” he explained. “Or thought I knew. No, I’ve had men on Coningburgh for days. I think he might be the conduit to Leonard.”

  She nodded, and for a moment her tangled feelings were forgotten. “That’s what I said to Rook and Harcourt and my sisters, but they refuse to listen. They can only focus on what I did. They only wanted to scold me for endangering myself.”

  “Which you did,” he interjected.

  She glared at him. “I saw the man in a public park and I have a passing acquaintance with his daughter, as we are of an age. It wasn’t untoward for me to greet them. Nor to ask after their family. In fact, it would have been rude not to do so.”

  The corner of his lip quirked up and the dimple in his cheek made itself known. “That’s how you did it. Clever girl.”