Chapter Fourteen
He grabbed at the arm, and gave himself enough relief where he could call out for help.
Jude elbowed the man in the stomach, sending his attacker falling backwards.
There were two others who approached from his left, one holding a knife.
He kept his eyes trained on the knife to ensure he blocked if the man should charge at him.
One man attempted to restrain him while the other went for his pockets. Jude hadn’t even brought a watch with him when he left, so they’d be disappointed to learn that his pockets were empty.
“We know you have blunt on you. Hand it over,” one voice growled at him.
Footsteps racing from the direction of Juliana’s mews sounded in the distance.
“I have nothing on me,” Jude said, hoping they would believe him and the situation wouldn’t escalate.
“Liar,” the man holding the knife ground out and lunged towards Jude, slicing through his coat and into his forearm.
Jude fell back, clutching his arm. The man came after him again, and Jude saw the gleam of the blade coming towards him again, and dodged just in time to barely avoid the blade impaling the side of his stomach.
“What are you doing there?” new voices called out.
“Run.” The man with the knife shouted, and the three blackguards dashed away into the night.
Two grooms raced to Jude. “Come with us, my lord. We will get that cut tended to.”
“I am sure it is quite all right,” he said.
“Please, my lord,” one groom said, “you must have this wound tended right away to reduce the risk of infection.”
The men led him towards Juliana’s house. He would let them tend to his arm and then he would leave as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to know if she took on a new arrangement. It would hurt far worse than a hundred cuts from the blackguard’s blade.
They reached the servant’s door leading into the kitchen.
“Sit here, my lord,” one man directed.
He did as the man said and sat at the small table in the kitchen. One man lit a couple of candles while the other gathered supplies and returned.
“You will need to remove your coats, my lord. We need to ensure it is properly cleaned. Perhaps we should summon the doctor.”
“Oh my, what has happened?” The sweetest female voice came from the doorway, followed by her hastened steps until she was standing before Jude. “Jude, who did this?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I was attacked while I was on my way home. Your men here came to my aid.”
He finally looked up, and his heart pounded against his chest at the sight of her. She wore the dressing robe he had peeled from her body for the past several nights, and her hair was in its usual plait over her left shoulder.
“What are you doing up at this hour?” he asked, with a tone that he regretted as soon as it escaped his lips.
“I couldn’t sleep and came for warm milk.” She shifted her focus to her grooms. “Please fetch the doctor and the magistrate. I will tend Lord Sandon’s cut until the doctor arrives.”
“There is no need for all of that,” Jude said. “I am fine.”
She didn’t look at him and continued giving directions to her men. “Hurry. I will have the cut cleaned and bandaged before you return. I will also need you both to recount what you witnessed for the magistrate.”
“Juliana, truly, it isn’t necessary.” He attempted to stand up, but she pushed his shoulders back down.
“I say it is,” she commanded. “I won’t lose another person I care about because of a tragedy not of their own making, and who knows what infection the blade of that blackguard could cause you.”
He noted her voice caught on the last few words, and determined he wouldn’t fight her on the matter. Besides, she was correct about the concern for infection.
“You must remove your coats and shirt,” she said, looking over the supplies that one of her men had brought over to the table.
He did as she directed and set the garments on the back of the chair next to him. She dipped a cloth into the bowl of water and then began to clean his wound. He jumped from the pain of the cloth pressed to him. The cut was larger and deeper than he initially realized during the melee.
“What were you doing out so late on your own?” she asked, dipping the cloth in the water again and wringing it out.
“Just out for a walk,” he said.
“I see. It’s none of my business who you spend your evenings with, anyway.”
He noted the hurt in her voice at the words. She dabbed at his cut again.
“Are you trying to ask me something?” He believed he’d like to ask her for the same information she sought from him.
“I just said it was none of my business. I am certain you will take up with your previous partners now that our arrangement is done. Or perhaps someone new.”
She didn’t look at him when she spoke, keeping her eyes trained on his wound. Her touch was much gentler than her words would imply. He was inclined to find it unlikely that she had considered entertaining any other gentleman this evening, which gave him quite a bit of relief.
He opened his mouth to speak and closed it again, trying to find the words and courage to say what was on his heart.
Several silent moments passed between them, and she finally met his gaze. The candlelight danced across her face and he noticed the tear running down her cheek. His free hand cupped her face, wiping it away with his thumb.
“Juliana, I was not out with anyone, old or new, I assure you. I couldn’t sleep and thought a walk in the night air might help. That is all. I had a few drinks with Matt in my study earlier and went to bed.”
She finally met his eyes, her brow furrowed. “Did you have a bad dream?”
He contemplated his response, his hands shaking. “Yes.”
She set the cloth down before seating herself on one of his knees and wrapping her arms around his neck. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t already feel better within her embrace.
“Jude. You’re trembling.” She hugged his neck tighter. “You don’t need to bear this burden alone. I know something awful happened to you.”
He closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck. The scent of lilacs on her skin comforting him.
“I’ve never spoken of it before,” he whispered.
She pulled back from him and nudged his chin to meet her eyes, which he closed for a few moments before opening them again.
“Then do so with me,” she pleaded.
He opened his mouth to speak, and then voices sounded in the hallway. Juliana jumped off of his lap and resumed tending to his wound.
The groom and the doctor entered the kitchen with Juliana’s butler, Drummond, fast on their heels.
“I hear we have a knife wound,” the doctor said, approaching Jude and setting his bag on the table.
The man shifted his focus to Juliana. “Could you light another candle and set it here? I must ensure I can see the wound.”
She did as he asked and set the candle beside the medical bag. The doctor shifted Jude’s arm closer to the now two lit candles on the table.
“Drummond, will you watch for the magistrate? He should arrive any moment.”
“Of course, my lady,” Drummond replied.
The man hurried off, and Jude focused on the doctor. The man pulled a liquid from his bag and poured some of it on a clean cloth before dabbing the wound with it. It stung, causing Jude to wince and suck in a breath of air.
“You are very lucky, my lord. The wound isn’t too deep and won’t require any stitches. You will just need to ensure that it remains clean. I will leave a solution for your valet to use to clean it twice a day until it has healed. If it turns red or swollen, summon me immediately.”
“Understood,” Jude said. “Thank you, sir.”
The doctor left a vial on the table for Jude and nodded to each of them before taking his leave, passing Drummond and the magistrate on his way out of the kitchen.
Jude answered all the magistrate’s questions, and the man looked at his coat and wound. Then Juliana’s grooms also gave their account of events.
“There isn’t much to go on to figure out who did this,” the magistrate said, “but an attack in Mayfair isn’t very common, so we will keep an eye on things. Hopefully, nothing like this occurs again. I might suggest not walking alone in the middle of the night, my lord, even in Mayfair.”
“Agreed, sir,” Jude replied. “It wasn’t my best idea, it seems.”
“I shall take my leave, but please let me know if you think of anything else that could be useful.”
Drummond escorted the man out. The grooms started to leave, but Jude stopped them. “Thank you both for coming to my aid. I will send a reward for both of you.”
“That isn’t necessary, my lord. Just glad nothing worse occurred,” one man said.
“I still appreciate it and will send the reward. You have earned it,” Jude insisted.
The men bowed and set off out the same door they brought Jude through, to return to the mews.
“I must send for Carter. I need a fresh shirt and jacket,” Jude said, waving towards his garments. His breath caught when Juliana turned towards him, still just as lovely with her gaze focused on his.
“That can wait,” she said, holding out her hand. “Come with me.”
Against his better judgment, he grabbed it.
Her touch was too intense for him to continue to ignore.
He let her pull him from his seat and followed her through the kitchens, to the staircase, and all the way to her bedchamber.
Anyone in her household could have encountered him naked from the waist up.
His heart thumped harder with each step they took together.
Once they were inside, she closed the door behind them and locked it. He supposed Drummond would know they had disappeared together, but since he already knew that Jude had snuck out of the house after an overnight stay, there wasn’t much more they could do to scandalize the poor man.
Juliana turned to face him, still leaning against the door. There was a low fire in the room, the embers casting shadows on the walls. Between the fire and the moon shining through the open drapes, he could see clearly enough to see her face, and she never looked more beautiful.