Chapter 2 #2
The stranger held her gaze evenly. “Alas, while that’s true, a father has plenty of control over his daughters; so I, and the ton, can only assume that yours has raised you to conduct yourselves in the same poor manner.
Mark my words, whatever your approach to the Season, London’s upper echelons will not be welcoming. ”
“This situation is hardly of our choosing,” Julia replied, meeting his gaze despite the heat rising in her chest. “One might expect a gentleman to show a degree of understanding, rather than impatience.”
“And what about the things that are in your control, hm?” The man looked almost amused now, his wild floppy hair falling to the side as he tilted his head. “For example, getting out of your carriage to stamp your foot and shout in the street after someone politely asks you to move aside.”
“You mistake the matter,” Julia replied coolly. “You have not shown me anything other than ill-will, and I only stepped from my carriage so that I might converse with you properly. I mean to be treated like a lady and…”
“Then act like one,” the man responded. There was a pause.
In the heavy silence, Julia snorted heatedly through her nose.
The man seemed to realize he had been unnecessarily brusque, and Poppy gasped.
It was this sound that drew the gentleman’s attention.
For the first time, he looked past Julia and acknowledged Poppy, who was still seated inside the carriage, looking absolutely mortified by the exchange.
“Pray do not feel obliged to involve your sister,” he said, his tone even.
“One spirited exchange is quite sufficient for the moment.”
Poppy shook her head and cleared her throat. “Please accept our apologies for the mishap with the carriage. Our driver is doing all he can to clear the blockage as soon as possible.”
“Very well. Your apology is accepted. Let me see if my driver is able to help repair this sorry excuse for a cab so we can both be on our way.” The man gestured to his cab driver, significantly better dressed than theirs, with neat leather driving gloves, who promptly disembarked and made his way over to the beleaguered man, who still knelt by the rear wheel, hammering the spoke back into place.
Then the gentleman addressed Julia again.
“Am I a true gentleman now, by your estimation, Miss Norish?”
Julia snorted in a most unladylike manner.
“Hardly. Although I will concede that we both very much appreciate the assistance,” she added as an afterthought, deciding that now the man wasn’t being quite so hostile, it might behoove her to try and undo a little of the damage she’d already done to Poppy’s prospects by making such a spectacle.
Now that the heat of the moment had died down, she suddenly felt very silly and regretful.
“I suggest you return to your vehicle and wait quietly, lest you draw any further attention.” The man’s eyes were dancing with something like amusement, which only made Julia feel further cowed.
She turned on her heel, refusing to meet his eyes, and stepped back up into the carriage, gathering her skirts around her.
She pulled the window shutter closed as soon as she got inside, hiding herself away from the watching eyes.
How she wished she could put this uppity person in his place.
How dare he look down on them because of the misfortune they’d fallen into.
She began to remember why she didn’t like coming to London very often.
It would almost be a relief to say goodbye to all of this, once Poppy was married, and go to become a governess somewhere in the countryside.
Life would be easier without enduring the pressure of high Society.
“What was that, Julia?” Poppy asked, her face pale. “Are you feeling quite well? I’ve never seen you lose control like that.”
“I’ve just had enough, Poppy,” Julia sighed. “I’m exhausted, and I can’t wait to see the end of this damnable carriage.”
“You shouldn’t have riled him up so much,” her sister admonished. “Did you even get his name? He seemed like a rather important person.”
Julia realized that she had not. “No, but he could be the King’s cousin, and I wouldn’t care a whit. Nobody has the right to treat us with such disdain. We’ve done no harm to him.”
“Well, purposefully or not, we have made him late,” Poppy reminded her sheepishly.
“For which we’ve apologized. Twice. There’s really not much more anyone could ask,” Julia argued.
“I may have overreacted, but I’m sure it will be fine.
We’ll just avoid that hateful man if we see him attending any dances.
With any luck, he thinks himself so far above the rest of us that he won’t even deign to show his face, and we’ll never have to talk about him again. ”
Poppy smiled ruefully. “Based on the way our lives have been going lately, do you think that’s likely?”
Julia sighed and flopped back against the seat. “Oh, Poppy, don’t be so pessimistic. Our bad luck has to end sometime, doesn’t it?”
At that very moment, there was a rap on the shutter, and Julia pulled it back to see the apologetic whiskered face of their driver.
“Uh, begging your pardon, Miss, but I fear we shan’t be able to fix this today.
Although we’ve been able to attach the wheel, the carriage is not stable enough to ride in.
I shall have to take it to the shop to have it properly replaced. ”
Julia paused, digesting this latest piece of news. “So what does that mean for us?”
The driver shrugged and twisted his mouth. “O’course I’ll give back the money you paid for the trip. Can’t do much more, though. You’ll have to make your own way from here.”
Beyond his face at the window, Julia caught sight of the other driver putting his leather gloves back on and exchanging a word with the stranger, who still lingered with his eyes on their carriage.
Thankfully, it seemed as though the gossiping crowd had dispersed since she shut herself away and ended the public argument; the street behind him was once again populated mainly by passersby browsing in the shops.
The stranger approached the window again as his driver headed back to his carriage. Would he offer them a ride now, perhaps, having learned that they were actually stranded? His hazel eyes carried a strange glint which Julia didn’t like the look of immediately.
“My driver informs me that your carriage is no longer serviceable,” he said, his tone measured. “As I have neither the time nor the inclination to remain here while the matter is resolved, I have instructed my driver to see your luggage delivered to your destination once I have been set down.”
Julia hesitated, her initial irritation faltering in the face of his practical, if ungracious, solution—but before she could decide how to respond, Poppy spoke.
“Thank you very much. It’s a kind offer, and we would be glad to accept it.
” She shot a sharp warning glare at Julia.
“We are headed to the residence of Lady Bendon.”
“I know it,” he replied with a nod. “Now, if you could please vacate this cab and allow the driver to take it off to the junkyard where it belongs, I’ll see to it that your trunks are handled suitably.
” He pointed down the street. “You’ll want to take that road and turn off to the left once you pass the modiste.
It’s not far to Lady Bendon’s residence from there. ”
Julia followed Poppy out of the carriage, burning with humiliation at having to accept this man’s help.
She wished they were in a position to turn him down, but looking at the amount of trunks Poppy had brought, there was absolutely no chance of their getting them to their aunt’s house without incident if they were forced to carry the load themselves.
“Our most sincere thanks.” Poppy curtsied, then elbowed Julia, who copied her sister with gritted teeth.
“Well, I wouldn’t want anyone to think I wasn’t gentlemanly.
” The stranger’s smile was smug like the cat that got the canary.
He tipped his hat, then departed back to his carriage.
The two drivers finished packing the trunks away, and their old carriage finally rattled off the road and out of his way.
He paused at the step and looked back. “I wish you both a pleasant day, ladies. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other while you’re in town. ”
“Wait, what’s your name?” Poppy called, but he had already vanished into the carriage, and they quickly had to step out of the way as the pair of great black horses trotted past. Julia made a mental note of the crest on the side, hoping to identify it later in her aunt’s library.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing that man again, but he seemed to be confident that they would run into each other sooner rather than later.
She sighed and linked arms with her sister. “Well, we’d better get going. Aunt Violet will be wondering what has happened to us.”
At least it is a lovely day.
There were worse things than a walk through Mayfair in the sunshine - and after all the commotion, they were to receive their whole cab fare back.
Meager as it had been, she could save it to secure her transport out of London when this was all said and done.
Perhaps, despite everything, this unexpected incident could turn out to be a blessing after all.
But the fleeting comfort vanished the moment she tried to hold onto it, and the stranger’s words reechoed, unwelcome and unshakable.
Not the tone, which was cool, assured, and faintly condescending. It was the certainty behind them.
He made a name for himself.
As though it was something more than a mere scandal.
Julia tightened her grip on her gloves.
She did not need a stranger to tell her who her father was—or what he had done.
And yet…
There had been confidence in the way he said it. She lifted her chin, dismissing the thought with deliberate resolve.
It did not matter.
He did not matter.
As Julia and Poppy turned the corner and disappeared into the flow of the street, she found, much to her irritation, that the encounter had unsettled her more than she cared to admit.