Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The carriage trundled through the bustling streets, bumping over the cobblestones with such vigor that at times Julia found herself almost launched out of her seat.
She reached over to fix Poppy’s bonnet, which had fallen slightly askew on the last big bump, and had to steady herself as the wheel rattled again and she almost fell directly into her sister’s lap.
“I don’t remember London being this treacherous a journey last time,” she joked as she sat back down, tucking in her skirts. “Perhaps it’s all your dresses in the back weighing us down.”
Poppy did not laugh. She still looked drawn and tense, eyes trained out of the window, watching people on the busy road as they passed.
She did not even seem to have noticed Julia speaking.
She’d been like that ever since Mr. Brown had come, withdrawn and anxious.
Julia had hoped that getting to London might have invigorated her excitement for the Season again, but she seemed to have only become more nervous the closer they’d come.
The carriage ride they’d been able to afford with their last few shillings had been long and uncomfortable, which probably hadn’t helped.
As they rounded the corner by Hyde Park, just on the edge of Mayfair, there was suddenly a large thump which sent both girls flying, followed by an ungodly screech and the whinnying of the horse.
Julia picked herself up, checked Poppy wasn’t hurt, then stuck her head out of the window to see what was going on.
“Excuse me!” She called. “What happened?”
“Apologies, milady,” called back the cab driver, who had jumped down to calm the horse. “It seems as though we’ve some trouble with the wheel. I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere until I can fix it.”
“How long will that take?” Julia asked, calculating in her head the distance to her aunt’s house. She wasn’t sure if it was walkable. Certainly not with all their luggage, but perhaps the driver could bring it around later on.
“Perhaps half an hour,” answered the driver with a nonchalant shrug. “I’ll need to take it off, repair the broken spoke, and reattach it.”
“Well, if it’s only half an hour, we should probably wait rather than try to walk the rest of the way,” Julia mused. “What do you think, Poppy?”
“I don’t like the thought of leaving our trunks unattended,” Poppy replied distantly. “Who knows what might happen to them if we leave? Anyone could take them off the back of the carriage while the driver’s distracted. Better to stay, I think.”
“Then we’ll wait,” Julia said, though the words felt increasingly uncertain even as she said them.
Poppy shifted beside her. “Everyone is staring.”
Julia did not look, but she could feel it.
The carriage had drawn too much attention. Voices drifted past, low but unmistakably curious, punctuated by the occasional pause as someone lingered a moment too long.
“We cannot remain here,” Poppy murmured. “What if someone recognizes us?”
Julia’s jaw tightened.
She risked a glance through the window and immediately regretted it. A pair of gentlemen had slowed their steps, their attention fixed far too intently on the carriage. One of them said something to the other, and both gave a knowing look.
Her stomach dropped.
“They must not see us,” she said quickly, pulling the curtain more firmly into place. “Keep your head down.”
“But what are we to do?” Poppy whispered.
Julia hesitated.
Waiting was no longer an option.
Not more than three minutes later, a carriage much larger than theirs pulled up behind them. It was a sleek, fancy black cab with a coat of arms on the side, although she did not recognize it from looking.
A man stepped out of the side, tall and wearing a long overcoat and top hat. His leather shoes clacked smartly on the cobblestones as he made his way over to their carriage window. Julia’s hopes jumped as he approached them.
Perhaps he is here to offer us assistance?
How fabulous it would be to finish off the journey in such a grand carriage and arrive at Lady Bendon’s house feeling on top of the world. Could they finally have stumbled upon some good luck?
He arrived at the window and leaned down, taking off his hat.
His thick mane of brown hair grew wildly in all directions, and his hazel eyes shone with reflected sunlight, bringing out an underlying note of green.
He could not be more than thirty and looked extremely well-to-do; probably someone from the peerage.
His face was broad with a strong jaw and defined features.
He was handsome, but in a quiet sort of way.
Julia raised her chin to look as elegant as possible and noticed Poppy doing the same.
“You are obstructing the road.”
His tone was cool, clipped—more accusation than observation.
“I suggest you have your driver move at once. I have no intention of being delayed.”
Julia frowned. Not a brave hero here to save the day, then. “Our apologies, my good sir, but we have had a stroke of misfortune, and the wheel is broken. Until it’s repaired, we can’t move anywhere.”
The man made a face, appraising the state of their cab. “What on earth made you hire this rickety contraption in the first place? It looks as though it’s about to fall apart at any moment. Anyone with sense would know it can’t handle these cobbles.”
Any other time, Julia would have felt guilty about holding up the traffic, but after everything that had happened, she found she had no patience left to spare for this irritating, unhelpful man, or the appointment he had to be at so urgently.
“What on earth made you leave so late for your important meeting? Surely if you had to be there so urgently, you could have left sooner and made more time to account for unexpected obstacles.”
He looked taken aback, as though he wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a contrarian manner. Then the hard lines of his face folded into a thunderous frown. “It’s no business of yours. The issue here is with public safety; you are causing a hazard to other road users.”
“I’ll tell you once again, sir, that none of this was premeditated.
” Julia opened her eyes wide and emphasized every word in a very condescending manner.
She’d had enough of this rude man. After everything else, this was the last thing they needed.
All thoughts of making a good impression flew out of her head as, despite Poppy’s small noise of protest, she stepped out of the carriage and down onto the street, where a small crowd of murmuring onlookers had already begun to form.
Upon standing in front of him, she realized she was a lot shorter than the man, who towered at least a foot over her, but she wasn’t deterred. He gestured at the broken wheel.
“This is precisely the sort of negligence one expects from people who have no business occupying the road in the first place,” he said, his gaze sweeping over the carriage with undisguised disdain.
“If your driver is incapable of managing so simple a matter, perhaps you should reconsider venturing out at all.”
“This is not a matter my sister or I can remedy,” Julia replied, her voice tightening despite her effort to remain composed. “If you find the situation so intolerable, I suggest you take your concerns elsewhere.”
The man gazed down at her with a hard stare, but Julia didn’t quail.
Perhaps she should have; he was obviously a few rungs above them on the social ladder, and something about his poise and posture seemed to demand respect.
But the combination of events over the past month and the disastrous, uncomfortable journey had really taken its toll on her mood.
And although she knew it was petty to be picking a fight with a stranger, much less one who was so obviously an influential person, her good sense had abandoned her and left sheer frustration in its place.
For once, she just didn’t want to be the responsible one anymore.
“I suggest you watch your tone when speaking to me,” the stranger said stiffly. “Two young ladies, clearly new to London, out and about without an escort of any kind, making trouble in broad daylight - what is your family name? Who is your father?”
Julia’s face burned with a mix of anger and shame.
“Lord Norish.” She heard the gathered crowd gasp audibly and clenched her fists, trying hard not to look over at the whispering masses.
One girl, not much younger than Poppy, giggled loudly at the front of the group and was quickly shushed by her mother.
Something in the stranger’s eyes flickered dangerously at her admission, and for a moment, Julia was genuinely afraid. Then he snorted contemptuously, and his mouth turned up with a derisive sneer. “I have no desire to be entangled with the consequences of your father’s actions,” he stated flatly.
Julia narrowed her eyes. “What do you know of my father?”
“He is the worst of men,” the stranger hissed angrily. “A leech, a liar, a turncoat. He would sell out anyone if it would make him a shilling. Lord Norish has brought nothing but shame to anyone who has been na?ve enough to do business with him.”
Julia was taken aback by his vehemence; even she and Poppy did not feel so strongly. “I know my father has done wrong-”
“Wrong?” He cut her off with a sharp bark of dry laughter. “Your father has left half of London baying for his blood, Miss Norish. The ton will not soon forget the amount of debt he owes, nor so easily allot his family a place amongst them while the man himself remains in hiding.”
“Do you, like them, judge us by his actions?” Julia lifted her head.
The man did not reply at first. Then he responded slowly. “I do not concern myself with idle gossip,” he said evenly. “But I take a very dim view of men who leave ruin in their wake.”
“But why do you shame my sister and me for his misdeeds, simply because we bear his name?” she pressed. “It’s not as though a daughter has any control over her father, after all.”