Chapter 28
I must speak with her.
Julian sat up straight in his chair, looking around the small study where he had spent the night. He had not meant to spend the night in the study, but he had fallen asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness until it was far too late to go and speak with her.
He needed to hear the truth from her lips. He loved her dearly and wanted to be with her, but if she loved another man, he was not willing to keep her in a marriage against her will. Despite everything that had happened, he still wanted what was best for her.
Placing his hands on the armrest of the leather chair behind the desk, he pushed himself up with a plan to freshen up before going in search of Lily.
The door to the study suddenly opened as his mother came in with a worried frown. “Julian, there you are. I was beginning to worry when you were not in your chambers. Have you seen Lily this morning?”
“No, I was just about to change before going to find her. Why? Have you not seen her? Is she not still in her chambers?” He glanced to the left, where the sun was just beginning to rise over the hills in the distance.
His mother shook her head. “I am afraid not. I was worried about the two of you after you both left the ball so early. I wanted to go and check on her, but her chambers are empty, and her bed is unmade.
Has she run away already?
The breath in his lungs stilled as he stared at his mother.
Coming forward, she met his gaze with a deep sense of concern. “You must go and find her at once, Julian. Whatever has happened between the two of you, I am certain that you can work it out. Two of you love each other. I just know it, even if you are unwilling to admit it.”
A soft smile played around Julian’s lips as she sighed. How could he tell his mother that he did love Lily, but there was every possibility that she did not love him back? At least not in the way that he longed to be with her.
“I will go looking for her at once. Perhaps she has gone into the village for a walk.” He swallowed hard when he saw the relief in his mother’s eyes.
Another small piece inside of him broke when he realized just how much his family had come to care for her as well.
There would be more than one heart broken if she had decided to leave.
“Very well, I shall leave you to it then, but please let me know once you have found her. I need to know that everything between the two of you is as it should be.” She gave him a final, sad smile before turning and leaving the study.
Julian stood still for a moment, staring at nothing in particular.
She had not been gone for very long, and his life already felt emptier.
It was as if she had consumed a part of himand he no longer felt whole when she was not around.
He was not certain what he would do if she had decided to leave him.
His feelings for her far outranked those he had felt for Anne.
He had not wanted to fight for Anne, but Lily was someone else entirely.
He was about to leave his desk and freshen up again when Eleanor suddenly appeared in the doorway clutching a roll of parchment to her chest. “Julian, may I have a word with you?” she asked softly, closing the door behind her without waiting for a reply.
Feeling his body stiffen, Julian clenched his jaw, not knowing what to expect.
She came toward the table with the scroll in hand, holding it out to him as she spoke. “Lily asked me to give this to you this morning. She said she is sorry, but she could not face you again knowing that she had lied to you.”
Doubt instantly crept into his mind again despite knowing how many lies Eleanor had told.
Have I been wrong?
He held her gaze for a long pause before taking the rolled-up parchment and untying the black ribbon.
“It is a decree of annulment. She no longer wants to stay married,” Eleanor blurted out.
His hands froze with the parchment between them as she looked up in shock. He did not want to believe her.
It cannot be.
He looked down again just as his breath returned and opened the roll of parchment.
The words written in official lettering were clearer than day. An official decree of annulment that needed to be signed.
“I know this must have come as a shock to you, but I did try to warn you at the ball, Julian. Lily was never what she seemed…” Her words trailed off on a sad note as if she were feeling sorry for him.
His fingers shook lightly as she read the words, hardly taking anything in that Eleanor was saying. The world seemed to be fading around him as she took a deep breath. He had only just gotten the papers, and already, it seemed as if he could not picture his life without her.
But if this is what she wants…
Tearing his eyes away from the parchment, he looked up at Eleanor, who seemed poised to say more.
“Julian, I…”
“Please leave me be for now. I must think,” he cut her off sharply and dismissed he with a wave of his hand.
Waiting until he was alone in the study again, Julian dropped the decree on his desk and sat back, running his hand over his stubbled chin. He wanted to fight for her, but if this was what she had wanted, then there was nothing he could do besides set her free.
He would sign the papers if that was what she truly wanted.
***
Hours had passed since Julian had cleaned up, had breakfast, and gone for a ride. He had needed some time to think things through before signing away the woman he loved. It all seemed much clearer to him as he entered the study, but he stopped.
“Just where have you been?!” Juliette suddenly rounded on him, coming toward him with a furious look in her eyes. “I have been looking high and low for both you and Lily for hours!” Her face was flushing with anger.
Looking over her shoulder, Julian noticed Arabella and Benedict with equally worried faces, but it was Juliette who continued to scold him as she hurried past and closed the door.
“I cannot believe that you have not found her yet! I am assuming that you were out looking for her, were you not?” She turned back to him with a stern glare and placed her hands on her hips.
Julian felt another ache in his chest as she looked at his sister. “Juliette, there is something that you must know…” He began but lost his nerve. How could he possibly tell her that Lily had run away with the man whom she truly loved?
“No, there is something that you must know,” Juliette said sternly and gestured for him to take a seat behind his desk.
Benedict and Arabella exchanged worried glances but said nothing at all as Julian took his seat, weary from the ride and everything that had happened.
Juliette barely waited for him to be seated before blurting it all out. “You have been such a fool, Julian, and I know I should not say such things, but it is true. This entire matter with Lily, Miss Everet, and even Mr. King is all a big lie!”
“Mr. King?” Julian asked with a frown. Through all of the confusion that had happened, he had forgotten to ask what the man’s name had been.
“Yes, Oliver King! The man whom Miss Everet said Lily is in love with, but it is not true, you see. She is in love with you. I heard everything that was said between Lily and Miss Everet last night when I went to powder my nose. None of it is true!” She paused for a moment to consider.
“Well, Lily did want to tell you about Mr. King from what I could gather, but the rest of it is not true!” She stopped breathlessly.
Sitting up straighter in his chair, Julian gestured for her to take a seat as well. “Start at the beginning of the conversation and tell me everything that you heard,” he said sternly.
Taking a deep breath, Juliette composed herself before telling Julian everything he had heard.
She started with Eleanor’s confession of contacting Mr. King and ended with the threats of ruining them all if Lily did not sign the papers and leave with Oliver.
“I wanted to tell you last night, Julian, but you were not in your chambers, and this house is so big,” she said tearfully and shook her head.
Coming to his feet, Julian walked around the desk and knelt in front of his sister, taking her hands in his. “This is not your fault, Juliette. You have done well in telling me what you heard. Are you certain that Miss Everet confessed to orchestrating this entire scheme?”
Juliette nodded and blinked back her tears. “Yes, she wanted to get revenge on Lily for taking you away from her. She even said that she did not care if you never chose her as long as Lily was out of the picture.”
Anger began to build in his chest as Julian let go of her hands and came to his feet. “Will you go and fetch Miss Everet?” he said coolly, attempting to keep his temper in check.
If everything that his sister had said was true, it meant that Lily had been coerced to leave, and the documents were not legally binding even if they were real, which he strongly doubted that they were.
Juliette nodded before coming to her feet beside him and regaining the fire in her eyes. “I will bring her straight here.” She hurried away, closing the study door behind her.
Julian turned to Arabella and Benedict, who still had not said a word. “Did the two of you know anything about this?”
They both shook their heads, but it was Arabella who stepped forward with a tearful look in her eyes.
“I think she wanted to tell me last night at the ball, but I was so caught up in the proposal that I hardly gave her a chance to speak. But I know Lily, Julian, and she was not happy after seeing Mr. King. She looked as if she had been on the verge of tears. I foolishly thought that they were tears of happiness, but I can see now that she had been in distress.”
“She had not wanted to see him.” Julian thought out loud.
Arabella shook her head. “No, she never wanted to see him ever again. She told me as much when she first started receiving his letters threatening her. If you read those letters, you will understand that none of this has come from Lily.”
Julian had begun to feel a little dizzy by the time the study door opened again.
He turned on his heel at once and addressed Eleanor directly.
“Is any of this true? I am going to give you one chance to redeem yourself and speak the truth. After that, I shall never speak to you again.” His anger began to flare as she glared at her.
“Julian… I never…” She began to stutter, but her words were cut short by Juliette, who suddenly appeared with a maid in tow.
“Julian, you must come at once! My maid has just informed me that Lily’s chambers have been cleaned and her clothes are gone, along with some of her jewelry and other belongings.” Juliette’s eyes were wild with fear.
Glaring at Eleanor, Julian stepped past her and headed in the direction of the door as he spoke to her in passing, “I do not have time for more lies. I will deal with you later.”
Whipping around, Eleanor raised her voice. “Where are you going?”
Stopping with his back turned to the rest of the room, Julian spoke coolly in a determined voice. “To London to find my wife.”’