An Eventful Day
Chapter five
If asked to choose one word to describe her life, Juliet would have said uneventful. Oddly enough, though, today was a marked exception. Everything seemed to be happening at once, allowing Juliet no time to make sense of it.
A moment ago, she had been staring past Christopher’s shoulder at her brother’s contorted face, outrage burning in his eyes as he glared at his oldest friend from across the entrance hall.
And now, all of a sudden, the sturdy door at her back seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye, robbing her of every chance to keep her feet under her.
Juliet’s balance shifted instantly, and she felt herself falling backward, her hands reaching out for something—anything!
—to hold on to. Her stomach lurched, and her heart clenched into a tight ball as her lungs drew in a sharp breath.
The world tilted, and she pinched her eyes shut, bracing for the pain and humiliation that would surely come.
And then, equally unexpectedly, the world slowed as strong arms enfolded her, slowing her descent and cushioning her fall.
Juliet’s eyes blinked open, and she looked up into Christopher’s face as he held her cradled in one arm while bracing the other upon the floor.
How he had managed to catch her, Juliet did not know.
However, he half-sat, half-kneeled upon the floor, his eyes wide and his breath coming fast. “Are you all right?” he asked as his gaze swept over her as though searching for injuries.
Juliet wanted to hug him, and without thinking, she reached out a tentative hand to touch his face. “Thank you,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “I…Thank you.”
“Well, well, well,” came Harry’s teasing voice in that moment, “what have we here?” Juliet’s eyes snapped up and she was shocked to find her sisters—all her sisters as well as her cousin, her mother and her grandmother!
—crowded around them, their eyes wide with curious interest. “This looks like fun,” Harry remarked with a wicked grin. “Are we interrupting something?”
Amused chuckles echoed through the room, and Juliet felt her cheeks flush with heat for the…what?…tenth time that day.
Footsteps thundered closer, and Juliet turned her head to see her brother charging toward them, his face no longer contorted with outrage, but with concern instead.
“Are you all right?” Troy demanded, all but shoving Christopher out of the way and pulling her back up onto her feet.
His hands brushed tousled hair from her face before they grasped her by the shoulders.
“Are you hurt?” Troy’s pale blue eyes searched hers as the pulse in his neck thundered wildly.
“I’m all right,” Juliet assured him, trying her best to smile. “Truly. I’m not hurt. Christopher caught me.”
Her brother’s jaw tensed, and he threw a dark glare over his shoulder at his friend before turning back to her. “I’m glad,” he said then and pulled her into his arms.
Juliet leaned into him. As much as he tried to hide that fact from the world, Troy had always been a deeply caring brother. Still, in that moment, Juliet could not help but think that the reason his arm remained draped upon her shoulders was to keep her away from Christopher.
“Troy, would you help a pregnant lady up the stairs?” Louisa asked with an exhausted sigh that sounded a bit too theatrical to be genuine. “My husband seems to be conveniently absent, and I fear I need a little rest.”
Reluctantly, Troy released Juliet and stepped toward Louisa. “Of course,” he mumbled, taking her by the elbow. They slowly moved toward the staircase leading to the upper floor; however, he threw another warning glare over his shoulder at Christopher.
“I cannot help but wonder,” Christina remarked, her right forefinger resting against her lips in thought, “why you fell?” Her eyes moved to Juliet. “Were you leaning against the door?”
All eyes turned to Juliet, and she wished the ground would open and swallow her whole. “I…was.”
“Why?” Harriet asked, frowning; yet that wicked sparkle in her eyes remained. Was she enjoying this?
“Well, I was…” Juliet swallowed, unable to look at her family. This was truly embarrassing! What was she supposed to say? That Christopher had been about to…
Her gaze moved to him, and a corner of his lips curled upward into a lopsided smile. Then he turned to her family. “I suppose she was feeling a bit faint. Fortunately, the door was there to steady her, giving me time to cross the hall and reach her side.”
“That was most fortunate,” their mother exclaimed, brushing a comforting hand down Juliet’s arm before giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “Do you feel better now? Or do you need to lie down?”
“I’m fine, Mother,” Juliet assured her. “I…I don’t know what brought on that dizzy spell.” Still, her gaze moved past her mother’s shoulder to Christopher, and she could barely keep an answering smile from her face as she saw him grinning at her with wicked delight.
Later.
That one word echoed in Juliet’s mind, and she could not help but wonder if Christopher had meant it. Had he truly wanted to kiss her? He had been about to, had he not? Yet…why? Out of a sense of loyalty to their friendship years earlier?
“Now,” Grandma Edie piped up as she hobbled a few steps forward, “I’m certain your husbands are already looking for you.” She made a shooing motion with her left hand as though wishing to scatter a flock of birds. “Off you go. Give an old woman a moment to speak with our guest.”
As Harry and Chris, and Leo and Anne strolled away arm in arm, laughing and chatting, Grandma Edie slipped her arm through Christopher’s, tugging him back into the drawing room.
“It is truly good to see you, young man,” she told him with an affectionate chuckle.
“You must promise me to spend at least a few weeks with us at Whickerton Grove.”
Juliet’s heart stilled in her chest as she looked after them, and she realized that the thought of Christopher leaving again made her feel utterly miserable.
“There is much to be said,” Grandma Edie continued as Christopher moved to close the door on her behest, “before you return to distant shores.” For a moment, his eyes looked into Juliet’s, and she wished she knew why he had left all those years ago.
“Are you all right?” came her mother’s voice, and Juliet flinched, having all but forgotten her presence.
Swallowing, she willed her features back under control. “I’m fine,” she said with a smile she did not feel. “I’m only…” A deep sigh left her lips against her will.
A knowing smile came to her mother’s lips. “You used to be good friends,” she remarked, a watchful look in her eyes. “What happened?”
Juliet shrugged as her eyes filled with tears. “I wish I knew.”
“Then ask him,” her mother urged, wrapping an arm around her daughter. “Nothing is worse than not knowing.”
Juliet nodded, then paused and looked at her mother. “Do you think he will leave again?” It was a foolish question. Of course, he would. For a reason Juliet could not even begin to suspect, Christopher no longer belonged in England. If only she knew why.
Cupping a hand to Juliet’s cheek, her mother looked at her with imploring eyes. “Perhaps he is waiting for a reason to stay. Did you ever think of that?”
Juliet swallowed, uncertain how to interpret her mother’s words.
Long ago, Kit had been her friend, her dearest friend.
Yet over the past few years, somewhere in the hidden recesses of her mind, Juliet had come to realize that friendship was not all she wanted from him.
Indeed, as much as she had trembled with sudden nerves, she had wanted to kiss him today.
Not because she finally wanted her first kiss but because it was him!
Later.
Promise had echoed in that word, and yet it had been no more than the promise of a kiss. Nothing more.
But if she kissed him and he left again? Perhaps it would have been easier if he had simply never returned. Before, she had been blissfully unaware of her affections toward him. Now, however, disappointment and loss lurked on the horizon.
What was she to do?