by Mary Balogh
She was making up to Freddie. Quite recklessly. She was going to marry him. Just out of spite. Though perhaps that was a rather conceited idea. Freddie was a marvelously handsome man and had a great deal of charm and skill in his dealings with women. Julia would not have a chance against him if he turned the full force of that charm on her. It was altogether possible that she really was in love with him.
He could kill, the earl thought. And stopped to consider the feeling. Why? Because Freddie was taking advantage of an innocent woman and he himself felt responsible for her? He was not, as she had been at pains to remind him more than once. And Freddie meant honorably. He would marry her. That was the whole point of his pursuit of her. There was no rationality, then, in this murderous mood.
And yet reason could not dispel it. He could kill Freddie, he thought. If Freddie had touched her or persuaded her into a marriage that she would regret then...
The thought could not be pursued. Camilla and Malcolm were coming toward him from the direction of the stables, and he unclenched his fists and smiled. But they were not smiling in return. Camilla looked anxious.
“There is something wrong, Daniel,” she said. “We thought we should speak to you about it.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Freddie’s carriage is gone,” Malcolm said. “And so are Julia and Freddie, of course. But no one else.”
The earl felt instant alarm.
“We overheard them last evening,” Camilla said, “planning a journey to Gloucester for today. Julia wanted to visit Uncle’s solicitor and persuade him to come back early. I think she has decided not to marry any of the cousins.”
“The woman needs throttling,” the earl said through his teeth. His hands were back in fists again.
“But she refused to go alone with Freddie,” Camilla said. “He was going to arrange it so that another couple went with them. They wanted to do it all secretly so that no one would dissuade Julia from doing what she had decided to do.”
“But no one else is missing,” Malcolm said. “All the girls are here and so are Les and Gussie. And all the uncles and aunts, of course. Even Julia’s maid is still here. Camilla checked.”
“God!” the earl said.
“They must have gone alone after all,” Camilla said. “The earliest they can arrive home is this evening. By that time Julia will have been dreadfully compromised. I can’t understand it, Daniel. She seemed quite adamant about not going alone with Freddie. And she seemed equally determined that she was not going to marry him.”
“The trouble with Julia,” the earl said, “is that she will not recognize that rules and conventions apply to her just as much as to anyone else. It doubtless seemed more convenient to her this morning that just the two of them go. To Gloucester, did you say?”
Camilla nodded. “I think we should do something, Daniel,” she said.
“Of course I must do something,” he said. “I am going after them. Perhaps I can cover up for the fact that she has been alone with him all day.”
“I knew you would say that,” she said. “I will come too, Daniel. Don’t say no. Think about it. It would be just as shocking for everyone to see that she has been with two gentlemen all day. You will need me if we are to avert dreadful scandal.”
“We had better leave without delay,” Malcolm said. “We can discuss the story we will tell when we are on the way. And we will hope that we can find them easily when we get to Gloucester so that they will not after all come driving home alone tonight.”
The three of them hurried toward the stables without delaying to go inside to change clothes.
They talked as they traveled in the earl’s carriage, devising a story they might tell to explain the disappearance of five of them in two separate carriages for a whole day, wondering why either Freddie or Julia would behave so irresponsibly. Camilla confessed herself very puzzled over Julia’s behavior since the night before she had seen the full impropriety of traveling alone with Freddie. Malcolm agreed that something did not seem quite right.
“Daniel,” Camilla said eventually, her voice troubled, “Freddie would not have tricked her into coming alone with him, would he? Or forced her?”
The earl closed his eyes. The ghastly suspicion had been growing in his mind too, and yet behaving recklessly and without thought was so typical of Julia.
“Can he be so desperate for Primrose Park?” Malcolm said. “Can his debts be that bad? It seems to be common knowledge that Freddie does play deep and gets himself into trouble on occasion. Would he do this to Julia, though?”
“I find it hard to believe of him,” Camilla said. “He has a reputation for wildness and he has always been up to some mischief during the summers, even since he has grown up. But Freddie is no villain. But then Julia is not so lost to all conduct as to do this. I just don't understand.”
The earl surprised them all suddenly, himself included, by pounding one fist against the door frame and splintering wood.
There were too many emotions chasing themselves about in her head for her to feel as terrified as she knew she should be feeling. Freddie was going to rape her, she told herself. When they reached Gloucester, he was going to take an inn room and keep her there for the night so that she would be thoroughly compromised, and for good measure he was going to rape her.
She should be blubbering with terror. Instead she sat like a marble statue, staring sightlessly from the window of the carriage. It was her own fault. She should never have believed that ridiculous story about Les and Stella walking to the village. She should never have set foot inside the carriage without a female companion right there beside her. She had only herself to blame. And she could not hope to be pursued and overtaken in the nick of time. No one knew they were going to Gloucester. No one would have reason to guess even after they were missed and it was discovered that Freddie's carriage was gone.
It was Freddie. That was what made the whole thing so totally unbearable. She supposed it would be unbearable whoever had taken it into his head to kidnap and rape her. But it was definitely worse knowing it was Freddie. Freddie! Her playmate from childhood on. Her partner in mischief on innumerable occasions. She had always liked him. More—she had always had a deep affection for him. He had seemed like a real cousin. During the summer months of her life he had sometimes seemed more like a brother.
If she could have any choice under such ghastly circumstances, she would choose to be riding now with a stranger, with an evil and sinister stranger, one she could hate without qualms.
It was deeply distressing to hate Freddie in all earnest. And perhaps to be tied to him in hatred for the rest of her life. For despite what she had said to him earlier, she was not sure that she would be able to hold firm against marrying him once he had had her virtue. She could only imagine what she would feel like afterward. She could not know with any certainty since what was going to happen was quite outside her experience. But she feared that after all she might feel constrained to marry him.
She shuddered inwardly at the thought. She would never be able to like Freddie after tonight. Or to feel affection for him.
She supposed he would take her back to Primrose Park the next day, provided she had promised to marry him. He would doubtless make up some story about what had kept them in Gloucester overnight but would pacify the relatives by announcing that he was doing the honorable thing and marrying her. They would all be satisfied.
Daniel would be there. He would look at her with contempt and loathing. Daniel! Her hands began to twist themselves in her lap, but she stilled them. She would not give Freddie the satisfaction of knowing that she was upset in any way.
Daniel. She swallowed and heard a gurgle in her throat.
They rode around and around the streets of Gloucester when they arrived there for what seemed to be hours and probably was. Frederick started talking again.
“I feel like the very devil, Jule,” he said. “Don’t make me do this. Just say you will marry me.”
“You are the very devil, Freddie,” she said, looking steadily back at him. “I am only sorry that it is so. And as for the rest, you are wasting your breath.”
“You know that you are going to have to marry me after today,” he said. “Why not just forget about your stubbornness and save us both some distress?”
“Will it distress you to rape me?” she asked. “Good.”
He was silent again for a while. And then he touched his knuckles to her cheek and smiled at her and tried to use his charm on her. She leaned away from his hand and looked at him stonily.
“Let me make one thing clear to you, Freddie,” she said. “You are not going to persuade me or coax me into anything no matter how long and skillfully you try. I will fight you every inch of the way. You will not be quite unscathed at the end of this night, I believe. I have no doubt that you will overpower me in the end. Indeed you are big enough and strong enough to do so without getting badly hurt yourself, I daresay. But you are going to have to fight for whatever you get. That is all I have to say.”
“Jule,” he said, “you would enjoy it. You could be happy with me. You will be happy with me.”
“I could be happy in hell with the devil too,” she said, “except that I happen not to like the thought of roasting for the small matter of an eternity.”
“You are making altogether too much of this,” he said, smiling again and using his bedroom eyes on her.
She turned her head to look out of the window again and they lapsed into another lengthy silence. Almost she could wish that he would put an end to the delay and have his coachman take them to some inn. What was going to happen was inevitable. It would be almost a relief to have it over with. Though she would fight him like a vixen. She had not lied about that.
“Jule.” She turned her head to look at him. His elbow was resting on the windowsill, his hand spread over his closed eyes. “I can’t do this, you know.”
She said nothing. She did not realize that she was holding her breath.
“I can’t do it,” he said again, removing his hand and looking across at her, his eyes mocking. She guessed that they mocked himself rather than her. “I thought I could. I thought 1 was desperate enough. But I can’t.”
She hardly dared hope.
“Lord God,” he said, “what have I come to? How low is it possible to sink, Jule?”
“Pretty low, Freddie,” she said. “But I think there are perhaps limits for someone who is basically decent.”
“Basically decent” he said. “Me?”
“Yes, you, Freddie,” she said, and hope surged like fresh blood through all her veins. “But you have sunk pretty low today. I am not sure I will ever be able to forgive you.”
“I don’t think I would expect you to.” His smile was twisted. “But I am going to have to offer for you anyway, Jule, after we get back to Primrose Park and the storm has broken over our heads. You are going to have to marry me.”
“I am expected to behave with impropriety,” she said. “This will only seem a little worse than my usual type of escapade. I will not marry you, Freddie.”
He sighed. “We will be fortunate to get back by nightfall,” he said. “Should we find out Prudholm so that at least it will seem that we had a reason for coming here?”
“Yes, please,” she said, turning back to the window. “I want him to come to Primrose Park as soon as possible so that all the business concerning Grandpapa’s will can be finished and I can be on my way to my uncle’s.”
“Jule,” he said, his voice quiet and almost pleading.
But she did not respond. Soon, if she held her breath and did not hope too hard, they would be on their way back to Primrose Park. She did not care how late they arrived there. She would be safe again. At home again.
For the first time since they had left home that morning she felt like crying. She fought the tears with dogged determination.
The problem was what to do when they reached Gloucester. Should they find Prudholm’s chambers first of all to find out if Julia and Freddie really had been there? Or would they merely be wasting more time doing that? Lord, those two had had a head start of at least two hours, perhaps longer. Should they immediately start searching all the inns in Gloucester? How many inns were there anyway? Just one or two or a dozen or more? None of them were familiar with Gloucester.
And what if they were not there at all? What if Freddie had taken her farther, stopped at a country inn instead? Or what if he had not taken the Gloucester road at all? The earl felt rather like vomiting at the very real possibility and hoped that neither of his two companions would voice his own doubts. But Freddie had no reason to believe that anyone suspected his destination. He would have no reason for changing it merely to throw pursuers off the scent.
Lord, if Freddie really had abducted Julia in the hope of forcing her to marry him, the pursuit might be hours too late. The earl sat looking impassively out of his window. He did not know quite what he would do if that were the case. He did not know and he did not care to think about it. He would act from instinct when the time came, he supposed. When? Not if? He suppressed a shudder.
Then just when they were all feeling anxiety because they were nearing Gloucester and had come to no satisfactory agreement on how they would proceed, the carriage slowed and the earl’s coachman shouted down to him that another carriage was approaching that looked remarkably like Mr. Sullivan’s. And now that it had drawn even closer, he could see that Carl was driving it. Carl, the earl assumed, was Freddie’s coachman.
He did not wait for his own carriage to come to a complete stop. He opened the door and vaulted out into the roadway and stood in the path of the other carriage, which was already drawing to a halt. He leapt without thought at the door of the carriage and dragged it open. And found himself glaring into the set, pale face of Julia. She was staring back at him with wide eyes. He looked beyond her to Freddie, whose face was expressionless.
Suddenly anxiety and fear and even terror disappeared. Or rather, were converted to a different emotion—white-hot rage.
“Get out!” he almost whispered. He was vaguely aware of Malcolm jumping into the road behind him and helping Camilla down. Then he made his words redundant by reaching inside, taking Julia by the waist, and lifting her out none too gently, setting her down on the road in front of him. “There had damned well better be a good explanation for this.”
Frederick stepped down behind her. “There is,” he said. “Jule wanted to summon Prudholm back to Primrose Park early and I accompanied her. Now we are on the way home, the task accomplished. The man is coming tomorrow.”
The earl drew a slow breath, not taking his eyes off Julia. She was still very pale. She looked stubbornly back at him.
“It is true, then?” he said. “That really is what today has been all about? And you came alone together?” He injected as much ice into his tone as he could. It was not difficult. It was an icy fury that he felt.
Her eyes held his for a few moments and then slipped to his chin. She raised them back to his nose, but then she let them fall all the way to his boots. She said nothing. Altogether she was most unlike Julia.
“Don’t go blaming Jule for anything,” Frederick said. “I persuaded her that it would be better not to bring anyone else. No harm has been done, Dan. We should still be home before dark if we do not stand about in the roadway conversing like this.”
“Camilla,” the earl said, moving his gaze to Frederick, who was looking quite as pale as Julia, “take Julia back to my carriage, if you please, and start on the way home. Malcolm, you will accompany the ladies? And explain to Julia what story we are to tell when we get back to Primrose Park?”
He was surprised that she did not argue or make any resistance. He expected her at least to make a token protest against his trying to tell her what to do. She stepped around him, her eyes still lowered, and disappeared from his sight.
He waited for a few minutes until his carriage had turned in the roadw
ay and was moving off in the direction from which they had come, watching Freddie the whole time. His cousin remained pale and expressionless, as unlike Freddie as Julia had been unlike Julia. They were not just two people caught out in a minor indiscretion. Freddie and Julia of all people would have brazened that out. There was a great deal more to it than that. The earl felt himself grow cold.
“We will talk about this on the way back,” he said, stepping closer. “If you have touched her, Freddie, I will be hardput to it not to kill you.”
“I have not,” Frederick said.
“But you have compromised her unpardonably,” the earl said, “or would have done so if we had not arrived to somehow patch things up. There is a story we are all going to tell when we get back. All of us. You included, Freddie.”
Frederick nodded.
“We had better not delay longer, then,” the earl said.
Frederick half smiled. “You might as well do it, Dan,” he said. “It will clear the air a little before we have to travel together in this carriage.”
“You are right,” the earl said, and he felled Frederick with one hard right to the jaw. There was no fight, though the coachman looked on with hopeful interest. Frederick was not even unconscious. He got to his feet after a mere few seconds, his legs only slightly unsteady, and gave his cousin the same half smile.
“Feel better?” he asked, turning toward the carriage.
“No,” the earl said curtly.
“A pity,” Frederick said, “Neither do I.”
17
Julia felt as if she crawled rather than walked to her bed. She did not believe she had ever been more exhausted in her life. Or more depressed.
They had arrived back when it was already almost dark and had walked into a veritable wall of questions and anxious inquiries as soon as they set foot inside the house. They all smiled and smiled and told the same story, that Camilla and Malcolm had taken it into their heads quite on the spur of the moment to drive to Gloucester to find a jeweler and a betrothal ring and had dragged Daniel off with them to make all proper. And then when they were already in the stables waiting for the carriage to be ready, they had met Freddie and Julia, who had decided to go with them since Julia wished to pay a call on Mr. Prudholm. They had completed the latter errand, but alas there were no suitable rings in Gloucester.
