Chapter 17 #2
“Third, and perhaps most importantly: we’re a family known for scholarship, propriety, and moral rectitude.
Our reputation is spotless—or it was, before you manufactured this scandal.
That’s exactly the sort of noble polish your merchant family’s fortune requires to be taken seriously by established society. ”
Joan took a step closer to the desk, her eyes never leaving Julian’s face.
“You need us to transform you from a wealthy upstart to a respected peer. That’s why you pursued Victoria so aggressively. That’s why you’re willing to marry me instead. Any Sinclair will do for your purposes.”
For a long moment, silence filled the study.
Then Julian threw his head back and laughed, a genuine sound of surprised delight. He pushed away from the desk and clapped his hands together slowly, mockingly.
“How wonderfully perceptive you are!” he exclaimed. “I knew you were the clever sister, Victoria mentioned as much during our courtship, but this exceeds even my expectations.”
He circled around the desk, moving closer to her. Joan held her ground, refusing to retreat.
“You’ve analyzed the situation with perfect clarity,” Julian continued. “I’m almost impressed. Most young ladies would be weeping and wringing their hands, bemoaning their cruel fate. But you, you’ve approached this like a business transaction. How refreshingly practical.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Joan said coolly. “Because I have conditions for this transaction.”
“Do you now?” Julian’s smile turned predatory, his eyes glinting with something that made Joan’s skin crawl. “And what makes you think you’re in a position to make demands?”
“Because we both want this marriage to succeed,” Joan replied. “You need me cooperative, not resentful. You need me to play the role of devoted wife convincingly enough that society believes it. And I can do that, or I can make both our lives miserable. The choice is yours.”
Julian studied her for a long moment, then gestured magnanimously. “Very well. State your conditions.”
Joan took a breath and began.
“First: you will leave my sister completely alone. No contact whatsoever. No threats, no manipulation, no attempts to use them against me. She is to be entirely off-limits to you.”
“Agreed,” Julian said easily. “I have no further use for Victoria.”
“Second,” Joan continued, “you will find a way to clean up the rumors about Victoria. I want it made publicly clear that it was I who was your lover all along, that you and I had been conducting a secret affair for months before your betrothal to Victoria was announced.”
Julian’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to make you look like the villain?”
“I want my sister’s reputation restored,” Joan said firmly.
“The story should be that Victoria discovered our affair and fled out of heartbreak and betrayal. That she was the wronged party, not the coward who ran from marriage. Society will forgive her for being deceived. They might even sympathize with her.”
“And you don’t care that this makes you look like a scheming seductress?”
“I don’t care what society thinks of me,” Joan said. And she meant it. “I’m marrying you regardless. My reputation is already compromised. But Victoria deserves better. She deserves the chance to make a proper match someday, when enough time has passed.”
Julian considered this, his head tilted thoughtfully. “I suppose that narrative does have merit. It makes me look less like a villain and more like a man who fell prey to forbidden passion. Rather romantic, actually. Yes, I can work with that.”
“Third,” Joan said, “you will use your family’s influence and financial resources to help advance my brother’s position at Court. I want him appointed to a more senior role within the year.”
“Ah, now we come to the truly mercenary demands.” Julian’s smile widened. “What role did you have in mind?”
“That’s for you to determine. Something appropriate to his talents and education. Something with real authority and a substantial income. You have connections in Parliament and access to those who make such appointments. Use them.”
Julian tapped his finger against his lips thoughtfully. “Your brother is competent, I’ll grant you that. And having a Sinclair in my debt would be useful. Very well. I’ll see what can be arranged.”
“In return for all of this,” Joan concluded, “I will marry you without further protest. I will work tirelessly on charitable causes and social functions to rehabilitate your image. I will play the role of the perfect countess, gracious, devoted, impeccably behaved. I will use my family’s connections to integrate you fully into aristocratic society.
And I will never embarrass you publicly or give you cause to regret this alliance. ”
She paused, letting the weight of her offer sink in.
“That is my proposal. Do you accept?”
Julian was quiet for a moment, studying her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. Then he leaned back against his desk again, his arms crossed.
“And what if I don’t agree?” he asked softly, dangerously.
“What if I marry you tomorrow and simply lock you away in one of my country estates? I’d still have the Sinclair name and connections without having to fulfill any of your demands.
I could keep you isolated and powerless, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing you could do about it. ”
Joan smiled, a cold, razor-sharp expression that held no warmth whatsoever.
“Then you’re a fool,” she said flatly. “And you fundamentally misunderstand who I am.”
She took a step closer, her voice dropping but losing none of its steel.
“I, Joan Sinclair, could never be caged. You could lock me in the most remote estate in England, and within a week I would have escaped or found a way to communicate with the outside world. I’ve been surviving impossible situations since I was twelve years old.
I’ve kept my family afloat through poverty, and grief.
Do you honestly think I couldn’t outwit whatever guards you posted? ”
Julian’s smirk had faded entirely now.
She leaned forward slightly, her eyes boring into his.
“You could kiss your reputation goodbye if you imprisoned a new wife. The scandal would be catastrophic. Far worse than a pregnant mistress. You would be branded a monster, a tyrant, an abuser of innocent women.”
Julian stared at her, and for the first time, Joan saw something like respect in his eyes. Perhaps even a hint of fear.
Then he laughed, but it sounded forced, uncertain.
“Beauty, there’s no need to be so serious!” He held up his hands in mock surrender, his usual swagger returning but not quite reaching his eyes. “You make excellent points. Very excellent points. I promise, I will do my part. We’ll have a mutually beneficial arrangement, just as you’ve outlined.”
His promises mean nothing, Joan thought coldly. A man like Julian has no honor, no integrity. But at least he knows I’m not helpless. At least he understands I can and will fight back.
“Then we have an understanding,” Joan said. She turned toward the door, her business concluded.
“Joan, wait.”
Julian’s voice stopped her. She turned to find him moving quickly around the desk, closing the distance between them. Before she could react, he caught her hand in his.
His grip was firm, not quite painful, but possessive. Controlling.
“You know,” he said, his voice taking on a different quality, lower, more intimate, more unsettling, “on closer inspection, you’re actually more of a refined beauty than Victoria ever was.”
Joan tried to pull her hand away, but his grip tightened.
“Victoria was pretty, certainly,” Julian continued, his eyes roaming over Joan’s face with disturbing intensity. “Lovely in that fresh, innocent way young girls have. But you, you have something more interesting. More mature. More… knowing.”
His thumb stroked across her knuckles in a gesture that was clearly meant to be seductive but only made Joan’s skin crawl.
“You were absolutely right about my initial interest in Victoria,” he said.
“The moment I met her at that garden party, I assessed exactly what her family connections could do for my position. She was perfect for my purposes, beautiful enough to be displayed, connected enough to be useful, and naive enough to be easily controlled.”
He pulled her slightly closer, and Joan had to force herself not to recoil visibly.
“But you’ll do just as well,” Julian said. “Perhaps even better. Victoria would have required constant management, all those tears and sensibilities. But you, you understand how the world works. You’re practical. We can have a very… productive partnership.”
Animal, Joan thought with fury. Disgusting, soulless animal who sees people as nothing but tools for his ambition.
Julian’s free hand came up to touch her face, his fingers trailing along her jaw. Joan went rigid, every muscle in her body screaming at her to pull away, to slap him, to flee.
But she forced herself to remain still. To not give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear or disgust.
“Since we’re getting married tomorrow anyway,” Julian murmured, his face far too close to hers now, “why don’t you warm my bed tonight? We could… consummate our arrangement a bit early. Get to know each other better.”
His eyes raked over her body with undisguised lust.
“Or are you as tediously reserved as your sister proved to be? She was remarkably prudish for a woman who presented herself as worldly. I do hope you’ll be more accommodating.”
Something inside Joan snapped.
The calculating composure she’d maintained throughout this entire encounter shattered like glass.
“Let. Me. Go.”
Her voice came out deadly, vibrating with barely controlled fury.
The transformation was so complete, so shocking, that Julian actually took an involuntary step backward. His hand dropped from her face, and his grip on her hand loosened.
Joan wrenched her hand free and stepped back, putting distance between them. Her chest heaved with the effort of controlling her breathing. Her hands trembled, not with fear now, but with the overwhelming urge to strike him.
Julian recovered quickly, his usual smirk returning, but Joan had seen the flash of uncertainty in his eyes. He’d underestimated her. Mistaken her self-control for weakness.
He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“My, my,” Julian said, attempting to sound amused. “Such spirit. I do appreciate a woman with fire. It makes things so much more… interesting.”
Joan didn’t respond. She turned on her heel and walked toward the door.
“I’ll still have you in my bed after our wedding, you know!” Julian called after her, his voice echoing down the corridor as she reached the door. “It’s your duty as a wife! You can play the ice maiden all you like now, but tomorrow night…”
His laughter followed her as she strode down the hallway, past the disapproving butler, down the ornate staircase, through the ostentatious entrance hall.
Joan maintained her dignity and composure until she was safely in the carriage and the door had closed behind her.
Only then did she allow herself to react.
Her hands were shaking so violently she had to clasp them together in her lap. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. Nausea rolled through her stomach in waves.
“Damian’s residence,” she called up to the driver, her voice surprisingly steady despite the chaos inside her.
As the carriage rolled away from Julian’s mansion, Joan stared straight ahead, her jaw clenched, her hands still trembling in her lap.
One more day, she thought. Just survive one more day. Then it’s done. Then Victoria is safe. Then the family is secure.