Chapter Two
It took two carriages and an open landau to transport everyone from the Augusta Hollidge School for Young Ladies to the celebration of the new assembly rooms. Julia gazed about in admiration as they all descended and prepared to enter en masse.
“Surely all of Shoring is here,” she whispered to Miss Mary Masters, one of her sister’s first students. “Half the countryside, too!”
“For all the good it will do us.” Mary raised a brow at the girl ahead of them. “With Charlotte’s spectacular fairy queen costume? No one will look twice at either of us.”
“She worked so hard on it,” Julia reminded her. “Let her have her moment in the spotlight. Tonight will be her first step to becoming a Leading Lady of Fashion.”
“You are right. I suppose it doesn’t matter, in any case,” Mary said with a sigh. “Shoring is sorely lacking in gentlemen who have a philanthropic or political bent.”
“If any are about, they will be drawn straight to you.” Mary was dressed as a fairy too, but her dainty blue gown featured writing across the fabric and her wings were fashioned to look like an open book.
“I know the idea is to attract the fashionable set, but couldn’t they throw in a man who reads?” Mary asked plaintively.
“There aren’t any theatre enthusiasts in town either, it seems,” Julia commiserated.
She’d fashioned her own costume out of an old frock coat of gold brocade, adding voluminous cuffs and shoulder accents striped with black.
She’d tucked in the waist of the long coat and wore it over a filmy white gown.
Her shining gold mask depicted the two faces of the theatre, comedy and tragedy.
She could switch back and forth as needed, but hoped the former proved more useful tonight.
“So, we will take the opportunity for some practice with men we are not truly interested in,” she said with a grin. “And perhaps a bit of fun?”
“Why not? We can salvage something from this evening.” Mary straightened her wings and pasted on a smile. “Let’s go, then.”
They stepped in behind Lady Charlotte Dunley, moving slowly in her wake as people stopped to exclaim over her hand-fashioned extravaganza of a gown. As they made their way inside, Julia joined everyone in open admiration of the new venue.
Mr. Orwen Chesil, the man behind the scheme to reinvent Shoring, might be a large personality, but he had done a remarkable job here.
Soaring ceilings, beautiful moldings, and decorative wood and plaster marked the ballroom.
An elegant dais at one end held a quartet of musicians.
Potted trees and shrubs were placed to create seating areas and even the illusion of private nooks.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” she breathed. And crowded.
Costumed revelers packed the place. The Duke and Duchess of Belmont—her sister and brother-in-law—were in demand, of course, and the girls from the school attracted nearly as much attention.
They were all kept busy greeting their friends from Shoring and being introduced to new arrivals.
Laughter, greetings, and conversations ebbed and flowed. It was exhilarating and exhausting.
After a while, Julia needed a bit of peace. “I’m going to slip away, but I’ll be back,” she murmured in her sister’s ear.
Merritt ran a concerned gaze over her, then nodded over her shoulder.
“There is an empty grouping of chairs opposite the musicians. It won’t be quiet, but you’ll likely be left to yourself.
” Her mouth quirked. “The chairs are gold brocade. You might blend right in and no one will even know you are there.”
Julia laughed, but she crossed over and sank into her solitary seat with a sigh.
It was a relief to let her gaze drift over the crowd without being a part of it.
Her isolation lasted for several blissful minutes before she realized someone had slipped into the space between the line of potted shrubbery and the plaster-decorated wall.
“What do you think you are doing?” a man demanded harshly from behind the greenery. “Why are you here?”
“Why not?” a woman answered. “I have a mask. I won’t be recognized. Everyone else in this backward spot is here to enjoy themselves tonight. Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because you are supposed to be on the other side of the country! That was the plan! What if he spots you? You are supposed to be playing the dutiful, abandoned wife!”
“I changed the plan,” the woman answered coldly.
“I told you, he will never back down. We must move on to the next idea.” She modulated her tone.
“If it is to work, then I must get with child, and quickly. He won’t cooperate.
But it must look as if he did.” She let out a purr, like a cat.
“And I know you are up to the job, darling.”
“I told you, that part can be managed. It’s not so much trouble to falsify the thing. All you need is a trustworthy maid and a midwife willing to take a hefty payment.”
“All I need is for you to listen to me,” the woman hissed.
“Don’t I have enough on my plate? Your part is not the worrisome bit. Your husband will be the challenge in this. It must be managed correctly and look natural. Even if nothing else works out, you will have your widow’s portion. We could live on that sum, quite decently.”
“I’ve no wish to live on a paltry widow’s portion,” the woman said with a sneer in her voice. “If we just gird our loins and brazen it all out, I can keep my position—and you can keep yours.”
A pause, then her companion gave a massive sigh. “I just wish the deed was behind us and he was dead already.”
Julia gasped. Out loud. She couldn’t help it—it was such a shocking thing to hear.
“What was that?” the gentleman asked sharply.
“Is there someone in those chairs?” the woman whispered.
Julia stood. A rustling sounded amongst the shrubs but she didn’t wait to see if someone came through. She hurried away, not stopping until she was across the room and partially hidden by the expanse of Charlotte’s skirts.
“Are you quite well?” her sister asked quietly.
Julia nodded but kept peeking back at the empty chairs. No one sat there and she spotted no one emerging from behind the greenery. Several couples lingered near, but none of them looked guilty or furtive in their movements.
She hadn’t imagined that exchange. She knew she had not. Her gaze darted from one group of guests to another. Who were the people who could speak so easily of such terrible things?
The question wrecked her evening. Her nerves were a jittery mess. She could not stop examining everyone around her, trying to match them with those voices, with such wicked plans. The attempt wholly consumed her until the one thing occurred—likely the only thing—that could shake her loose.
Mr. Chesil was speaking to her sister. Julia listened with half an ear as he told Merritt he’d met some new visitors to Shoring.
“A duke, no less! Now we can claim two in our little town, at least temporarily. An embarrassment of riches! And he’s eager to meet with you, as he’s brought a couple of prospective students with him,” he continued as Julia stared about her.
“I should love to introduce you,” Mr. Chesil was saying.
“They came specifically to see the school.” He began to search the crowd as diligently as Julia was. “Oh, yes. There they are.”
Julia did not look when he beckoned someone in the crowd. The woman she’d heard was no schoolgirl.
“Your grace, may I present Lady Edith Reed, and her sister, Lady Hildegard?”
The names penetrated Julia’s fervor. Her mouth dropped. She spun on her heel. It couldn’t be.
It was! Edie? And Hildie? And beyond…
“Sax!” she gasped.
*
He had sensed the moment coming. He’d felt the portent of it in the wind earlier, the crackle and promise of their meeting again. And then, suddenly, she was there and it broke over him like a thunderstorm.
Julia.
She hadn’t known it was coming. It struck her with all the surprise of a rogue wave. She looked astonished, then brilliantly happy—for a single moment—and then she remembered. He saw it hit her. Another wave, but this time of fury, disappointment, and fear.
It broke his heart, for he still felt quite the same about her as he had for years.
As if every moment of laughter, fun, shared secrets, and mutual passion assailed him at once.
He saw the grubby girl in their castle built of sticks.
The shy excitement in her face when she twirled in her first grown-up gown.
Her gaze glazed over with desire as they leaned into their favorite oak and kissed with abandon.
He felt it all. He’d thought then that he would die for her.
Kill for her. But unfortunately, he hadn’t been willing to abandon his family for her—and now, here they all were, in this hell of a mess.
“Julia,” he said, striving for calm. “How well you look.” It was true.
She looked beautiful in her costume. Still the same gorgeous, heart-shaped face.
Those brown eyes lit with gold sunbursts.
But was she a tad taller? Yes, and the smallest bit rounder in all the most perfect places.
But his words also lied, for she looked suddenly pale and small, staring at him.
Not at all like the fierce, blazing spirit encapsulated in a small, perfect package that he remembered.
“Merritt,” he said, giving her sister a warm look, with a nod for the man at her side, who must be the Duke of Belmont.
His sisters were not so constrained. Edie threw her arms around the duchess as Hilde gripped Julia’s hands.
Mr. Chesil, surprised, but satisfied his job was done, allowed himself to be pulled away.
“Hilde!” Julia stared at his sister in wonder. “Look at you! So strong and hale!”
“I am, isn’t it wonderful?” Hilde basked in Julia’s surprise. “Father was able to find me a place in Dr. Russell’s program so that I could take the sea cure. Fifteen months, I was there, but you see the results.” Her grin faded. “I was just so glad Father saw me healthy before he passed.”
Sax saw the effort that Julia made to not look in his direction.
He knew why, too. Julia knew the truth that his sisters did not.
His father had agreed to send Hilde to Brighton only if Sax agreed to leave Julia behind and marry the wealthy bride he’d selected.
It wasn’t the only bribe or threat his father had thrown at him, but in the end, it had been the one that worked.
Staring at Hilde, Julia seemed unable to speak.
Merritt stepped in to fill the silence. “We were very sorry indeed to hear of your father’s passing. Such a tragedy.”
“Your letter was very kind and so appreciated,” Edie told her. “And we were so excited when we heard you two were the founders of the school Sax wished us to attend.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Sax urged. “I sent a note requesting an appointment, Your Grace, to discuss enrolling the girls with you. I don’t mean to presume upon our old acquaintance, but I thought we would inquire.”
“Please. Just Merritt, if you will. We were all too close, once, to stand on formality now.” She gave a little laugh.
“And in any case, I would just have to Your Grace you in return. Who could have thought, back in those days when we ran wild in Suffolk, that you would end up a duke, and I a duchess?”
Sax shook his head. “No one could have predicted the title would make its way to our branch of the tree.”
“The Vicar Duke,” Hilde said. “That’s what they called Father. No one thought the title would ever come to him.”
“Don’t repeat it,” Edie told her. “You know he hated it.”
Sax rolled his eyes and continued. “But it can come as no surprise to anyone that you caught a discerning man’s eye, Merritt.”
“You are right about that,” the Duke of Belmont said, raising his wife’s hand to his lips. “But have you brought your own duchess with you?”
His sisters stilled.
Julia caught her breath, looking distressed.
“Ah, no. My wife remains at home in Suffolk.”
“It’s a long trip from Suffolk just to make inquiries,” Belmont remarked.
“Yes, well, we were overdue for some new sights, in any case,” Sax said easily. “We’ve made a tour of it.”
The duchess asked about their travels. Sax listened as his sisters answered with enthusiasm, but he was also drinking in Julia’s silent presence. There. That was what had been missing. Just standing this close to her felt like a balm to his soul.
Clearly, she did not feel the same way. The color had leached out of her.
“Is it true that the heroine of Mr. Harry Linwood’s new play is based on you, Julia?” asked Hilde, in awe.
A quick glance his way and the lift of her chin. “It is,” Julia said softly. “The playwright stayed with us last summer, while he was writing it.”
“And have you truly built a theatre right into a cliff?”
“We did not,” Merritt replied. “We bought it already complete. But we did use it to put on a wonderful community-led production last fall. Julia was a marvel in organizing and leading the effort. It could not have gone off without her.”
“How wonderful,” Sax murmured. “I recall how much you loved anything associated with the theatre.” He laughed, turning to his sisters.
“You would scarcely believe the legion of tales we wrote for the stage, or how we bribed and cajoled everyone to attend.” He chuckled again.
“Somehow I always ended up playing the fool.”
Hilde looked surprised. “I’m surprised Father approved.”
Julia spoke before he could. “He very often did not. Nor our father, either.”
Merritt chuckled. “Most everyone just watched us with resigned amusement.”
Julia’s chin lifted again. “Take that as a first lesson, girls. Things often look incredibly dire when you are young, but despite unexpected titles, disapproval, resignation, and amusement, things worked out for the best, didn’t they?
” She squeezed Hilde’s hand. “Now, if you will excuse me, I promised Colonel Gillows a dance.”
It was a dismissal, and a kinder one than Sax deserved. He watched her go and knew she was wrong. The image of her walking away was the very representation of everything wrong with his life.