The door opened, and Emmett stepped inside. His eyes met Julius’s and he frowned. “What are you doing in the room I share with my wife?”
Julius leaned back in the chair. “If one decided to look for me, I was sure they’d not find me here.”
Emmett lifted his dark brows. “You’re hiding?”
Julius nodded.
Emmett closed the door behind him and then crossed his arms as he leaned against the door. “From who?” Emmett Starr was a master at brooding. He’d had little reason to smile until Lorena forced her way into his heart. He had dark hair and gray eyes that could freeze one’s blood in the heat of summer.
Julius waved him off. “It doesn’t matter who I’m hiding from. What does matter is that we’ve all been lied to. Maura is getting sent back to Bedlam, and she’s told no one.” Julius narrowed his gaze. “Unless she told Lorena and Lorena told you.” The very thought outraged him.
But Emmett’s expression said it all. He crossed the room and sat across from Julius. “She’s being sent back? When? Why? I can assure you Lorena doesn’t know. Do you think we’d be sitting here playing games if she did? Even I have a mind to try to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
That made sense. Julius was sure that Lorena would have readily formed a plan to ensure her cousin remained free. The only issue was that Maura’s options were limited. She could leave the country, but then no one would ever see her again, so that would never work. “It’s her father,” Julius went on. “He’s returned. He’s a baron now. He’ll send her back if she continues to claim she sees the ghost.” Everyone knew about Maura’s special ghost. She took no pains in hiding it.
“How did you find this out?” Emmett asked.
“Maura told me,” he lied.
Emmett straightened. “Maura told you before she told the Spinsters? Have you two truly grown that close?” Hope flashed in his features.
Julius smiled. “I know that is what all of you are hoping would happen by pairing me with Maura, but it won’t work. We’re too different.”
“Lorena and I are different. Doesn’t mean we don’t care for each other. You obviously care for Maura or you’d not have felt betrayed by her keeping the truth from you.”
“Quite true,” Julius readily agreed. “But you forget one thing. Lorena thinks like the average woman.”
Emmett blinked. “Are we speaking about the same Lady Ashwick? The one who started a Spinsters’ Society that currently only has Maura as its only unwed member? The woman who refuses to knit and would rather spend her time in taverns, who hired a drunk for a butler?”
Julius twitched his lips. “Well… she doesn’t see ghosts at least. And let us not forget the drunk was only pretending to be drunk.” Mr. Sudworth had revealed himself later to be Julius’s estranged cousin Lorenzo, who’d he’d thought to never see again. Lorenzo had returned in disguise to see how Julius had been faring. That anyone cared enough for him to pretend to be a servant touched Julius deeply. Lorenzo would make a fine marquess, should Julius die without an heir.
“Well, there’s an easy solution to this problem,” Emmett said.
Julius took his feet from the table and leaned in, waiting for the answer.
Emmett held his eyes. “You could marry her.”
Julius frowned in thought and felt indignation that the idea didn’t disturb him as much as it should. Marry Maura. “I… can’t.”
“Why not?” Emmett asked. “If she’s married, her father no longer has any control over her. Besides, it makes it more convenient for her to be married to you than anyone else. At least with you, we wouldn’t have to worry about our group growing any larger.”
Julius had struggled to show no enmity when Emmett had mentioned Maura married to another man. A quiet malevolent part of him whispered that she’d return to Bedlam before he allowed another man to wed her. He silenced those thoughts and said, “Don’t tell Lorena, Maura is likely trying to think of her own way to tell her cousin. She should have the right to do so.”
Emmett looked as though he wished to disagree, but in the end said, “I’ll give her a few days, but I don’t enjoy keeping things from Lorena.”
Julius changed the subject. “As to the matter of growing groups, besides Lorenzo, I find the other four men Morris decided to invite to this party very interesting.”
Emmett leaned away and nodded. “As do I.”
There was Anthony Ellis, the Earl of Lawton, who had been paired with Julius during the race. Lord Allen Blackfall was the second son of the Marquess of Rammaker and Morris’s solicitor, so there was less of an issue there. Raymond ‘Ray’ Vance was Hugh’s younger brother, who naturally wished to be wherever his brother went.
And last but not least, Prince Garrett, the Duke of Lavenberg. He was an old rival and the only man present who’d gone to Cambridge instead of Oxford. Morris and Garrett had become close through political maneuvers and when Garrett helped their friend Francis find a way to marry the love of his life, Genie.
The four men were blending in well with the group, as were the women who’d been paired with them.
As if reading his mind, Emmett asked, “Has Anthony told you where he found the ladies he brought to the party? I swear I don’t recognize any of their names.”
Julius laughed. “Emmett… It’s Anthony, so where do you think the ladies came from?” Never was there a more scandalous man than Anthony Ellis.
Emmett glared at Julius. “They’re courtesans, aren’t they?”
Julius nodded slowly. “They play the part of lady brilliantly though, do they not?”
Emmett shot to his feet. “Damn the man! What happens when our wives find out that they’re socializing with ladies of the night?”
Julius stood and shrugged. He wasn’t married, so he had no clue why Emmett thought he’d care for the Spinsters’ opinions. The women Anthony brought were quite beautiful, but he felt no desire toward any of them.
The door was thrown open and Julius’s surprise turned into a full grin when Maura stormed into the room. She was far more tempting than he’d imagined she would be when enraged. Her color was heightened. Her snarling lips seemed fuller, her eyes wild and vivid.
His felt himself begin to swell and regretted that he’d not hidden in his own rooms. Had they been alone, he’d have swept her onto his bed and—
“Where is it!” She held out her hand. “Give it back. You had no right.” She narrowed her gaze, daring him to fight her.
Emmett asked, “What’s going on?”
With a stroke of genius, Julius placed his hand at Maura’s side and shuffled her out of the room. “Nothing to worry over. We’ll take our discussion elsewhere.”
Maura put up a fight, but her resistance was futile.
“Julius,” she hissed. “Give me the note. I won’t even ask if you read it. How dare you.”
He ushered her into his room and locked the door behind him.
She spun around, and her eyes went to his bed before turning toward him. “We don’t need to be here in order for you to give me what you’ve stolen.” She lifted her hand again.
He walked toward her and held out the note, only to snatch it out of reach when she went for it.
She huffed, seeming flustered.
“Did you plan to say goodbye or were you planning to simply disappear in the night without a word?” He’d tried to keep his anger out of his voice but knew he’d failed when she’d stiffened.
“That note was not for you.”
He walked past her and moved to the small sideboard. “All the same, I would like an answer.” He poured a glass of brandy as he waited for her response. When nothing came, he turned around, glass in hand.
Maura looked small as she stood in the center of his room. Her face showed uncertainty and her fingers fussed with the lace collar of her dress. Julius had never seen anything more provocative in his life.
“I… only received that note today.”
He drained his cup and the liquid went
down without a burn. He and brandy were old friends, and it would take more than a glass to cool him. Putting the glass down, he crossed his arms and repositioned his feet. “You’ve known about your father’s return to England for some time though, haven’t you?”
“Don’t tell Lorena,” she said in a rush.
“I have no intention of telling your cousin,” Julius said. “We know how she’ll react. She’ll plot and plan and, eventually, we’ll all be in a tangled mess of scandal and danger.” He shook his head. “But you must have some sort of solution to the problem.” He needed to know that she did.
Maura closed her eyes and sighed. “I can’t lie.”
“Of course, you can. I do it all the time.”
Her gaze found his again and narrowed. “Well, I’m not like you.” She looked around the room and then moved to his wardrobe. Her fingers paused on the handle and then she opened it.
He walked over as her slim fingers moved through his clothes. “What are you doing?”
She didn’t bother to look at him. “You went through my things. It’s only fair I go through yours.”
He allowed himself to survey her every line and curve. While she wasn’t the most endowed woman, it didn’t mean she lacked femininity. She still seemed soft in the right places.
“Tell me about this villainous father of yours.”
She closed the wardrobe and gave him a pointed look. “He’s not a villain.”
Maura had struggled to come to that understanding during her years at Bedlam. Her father wasn’t a bad man; he simply feared for her. His eyes had pleaded for her to lie, to say Albion didn’t visit her some nights, asking questions about the past, begging her to solve the riddle of his death.
The riddle. The questions. They were parts of the story she didn’t go into great detail about. Not even with Frank. Too many people were involved. Too many lives could be affected.
She was startled when Julius appeared before her. She hadn’t seen him move.
“The man locked you away for ten years.”
“For my own safety,” she said. “And he likely thought Albion couldn’t reach me there—"
“Albion?” Julius asked, frowning with a look of distaste. “Is he your… ghost?”
She nodded once and looked down. Julius was the very last man she wanted to discuss this with. He, like everyone else, didn’t believe her. They thought it all in her mind, and she was tired of trying to reason with people.
“My father loves me, Julius. He’s doing what he thinks best.” Even if it will break my heart.
“Maura.” He touched her shoulder softly, the weight of his hand light. “You can’t let him do this to you.”
“My note. Please.”
He sighed and handed it to her.
She placed it back in her skirt pocket and had just looked up when Julius grabbed both her shoulders. She tried to move away. “Oh, no. I’ll not fall for your hug again. I’ve nothing else to steal.”
His expression became salacious as his hold tightened further. “Nothing to steal? I think otherwise.” His fingers moved to her lower back and slowly pulled her to him.
She swallowed as her hands met the hard planes of his chest. “I… I know what you’re doing.”
“Hm?” His hot breath fanned her throat. “What am I doing?”
Her body tightened, and she had to force herself to detangle her fingers from his shirt. He’d not put his jacket back on after the race and she could smell nature and musk clinging to him. It made her body weak and her skin sensitive. “You’re playing a game.”
“What game?” He ran his nose around the curve of her ear.
Maura clenched the muscles between her legs. “If you think yourself capable of distracting me, you’re wrong. The women will win by week’s end.” She was very glad her voice held a strength she didn’t feel at the moment.
He inhaled deeply, as though trying to drag her soul away through her very pores. Then he straightened, and she thought he looked more like a drunkard than when he’d taken his brandy.
They became as still as the stone walls as they watched one another for a long moment. The raw tension bit at her flesh, making her ache in unimaginable ways.
Then Julius let her go and took a step back. “Did you finish your session with Frank?”
She shook her head, glad they were speaking of anything other than the sensual currents in the air. “I didn’t speak to Frank at all. Instead, I went looking for you, hoping you hadn’t shouted my news from the top of the balcony.”
He lifted a brow. “I told Emmett.”
She gasped. “Then you might as well have told Lorena. He’ll not keep this from her.”
“He will. He swore it to me and the brothers always keep their word.”
She lifted a brow. “Oh, do they? You just told me you lie.”
“Not about my oaths.” His look became serious. “He was quite upset, as I imagine the rest of the house will be when they find out. We need to find a way to ensure you’ll not be returned to Bedlam.”
She could think of a few ways, but not any she’d dare mention. Still, it felt wonderful to have someone else know. To know someone cared enough to try and fight for her freedom. She dearly did love her friends. “I should go get ready for dinner.”
“Tomorrow.” He followed her to the door and opened it for her. “Tell Frank about the note. Perhaps, he’ll have some advice on the matter. He’s a doctor, after all. Perhaps, he can recommend that your father not act in haste.”
Maura’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that. Do you think it will work?”
He shrugged. “It might work. I believe it to be worth a try.”
For the first time in days, she felt hopeful. She took a breath and suddenly air came easily to her lungs. “Julius, you’re quite brilliant when you wish to be.”
He smiled and then looked down the hall. “Don’t speak too loudly. People are coming. I shall resume my role as the lecherous rogue and do all manner of naughty things to you.” When he reached for her, Maura ducked away with a laugh.
“You lascivious libertine!”
“That’s better.” He grinned and dropped his head back against the doorframe.
She glanced down the hall. There was movement, but the laughter disappeared into a room and the door closed. She turned to him again. She didn’t know what to say and suddenly she didn’t want to leave either. She looked away.
“You should get ready for dinner, as should I,” he said at last.
“Yes.” She smiled at him. “I should do that.”
He lifted a brow. “Or, I could help you. You’d be surprised at what I know about ladies’ garments.”
She laughed again. “That would not surprise me in the least.”
His voice changed, serious once more. “What would surprise you?”
Her eyes rounded, startled. His questions surprised her, though she didn’t think that would count as an answer. She blinked and thought about all the silly things she could say. She’d be surprised if a dog began to talk or if man learned to fly and fire didn’t burn. But instead, she found herself saying, “This country party ending without all manner of chaos ensuing before its final day.”
He threw his head back and laughed. When his gaze returned to her, he said, “I was expecting you to say you’d be surprised if pigs flew or something just as irritating.”
That shocked her again. How had he known that she’d immediately thought to say something to throw the conversation off? There were moments when she did it purposefully, but there were times when the strangest things came to her head.
He lowered his brows sternly. “You were going to say something irritating, weren’t you?”
She worked to make sure her face gave none of her inner thoughts away, though she now wondered just how well Julius could read her.
He leaned forward. His eyes never left hers, and she could feel him examining her as he never had before. “I believe… I’m starting to understand yo
u, Maura, which either means you’re not as mad as you make yourself to be, or I’m losing my sanity.”
She took a step back. “I should ready for dinner.” She was down the hall before she heard his door close.
* * *
chapter 7
* * *
Lorenzo reached into the silk bag and produced a small sheet of paper. “The word is butterfly.”
The women laughed as the men groaned.
“Who created these words?” one of the men in the corner shouted. “I demand a new list.”
Maura bit her lip to suppress a fit of giggles. The group was playing a word game and so far, the game was tied. The rules were simple. A word was pulled from the bag and either a male or a female would have to create a poem that rhymed with the pulled word on every stanza. To make the game fair, the words had been created by the servants and they would also judge whose poem was the most enjoyable. Of course, there was always a chance that the servants could choose Morris’s team, since he was their employer, but so far, that had not been the case.
It was the men’s turn.
Maura’s laughter died as Anthony Ellis stood. With a swagger that managed to quiet the room, he took his place in the center of the music room and grinned. Those blue eyes that nearly made him look otherworldly swept the room before turning toward the five servants who stood off the side. He bowed to them. Three maids and two footmen. Every maids’ face split into a smile and their expressions held clear longing.
From her corner of the room, Maura could see everything. Leisurely, she studied the Earl of Lawton. He alone set fashion standards in England, which made him the best-dressed man in nearly every situation.
Anthony smirked as he began.
“Oh, to catch a butterfly.
She spreads pink wings when I came nigh
Whose beauty made me swoon and sigh
Soft kisses and strokes I did apply...”
There was a moan in the room and Maura prayed it didn’t come from her as she bit her fingers into couch’s arm.
“Her pleasant fragrance did magnify
Maura’s Special Spinster’s Society (The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 3
