“Thank you, Aaron. Same time tomorrow?” Tony was surprised his voice was as calm as it was.
“If you’d like, sir.” Aaron looked over at Juliet and smiled. “Will you be here tomorrow as well, Miss Juliet?”
“I’ve not decided yet.” She glanced back at Tony, a puzzled look on her face. “I’ll just go say good-bye to Pen and your mother.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Aaron said to Tony after Juliet had left them.
Tony wasn’t sorry for the interruption. One more moment and he would have been kissing her. And kissing Juliet Townsend was the last thing he needed to be thinking about. “You weren’t interrupting anything.” He began walking to the edge of the garden.
Aaron walked beside him, not taking his eyes off Juliet’s retreating back. “She’s quite pretty.”
“Who?”
“Miss Townsend. Do you think you could make sure she comes along tomorrow?”
“We’ll see.”
Secretly, he wanted Juliet at the Lodge, along with plenty of witnesses, in case Mr. Bartleby came calling. There was something about the man that grated on his nerves. He had an air of entitlement that made Tony instantly hate him.
Tony had seen the same type of man in the gaming hells and at the card tables. Sharks come to feed on the unwary. He had played the games long enough to recognize them. Bartleby had that look.
He found Juliet already by the cart, talking softly to Miss Williams. Juliet was reassuring her, judging from the look on their faces. Tony understood Miss Williams’s fear. Bartleby would take what he wanted and thumb his nose at any broken laws. Penelope Williams was a lovely young woman, and he’d already threatened her once.
Penelope had been terrified when she came looking for them in the fields earlier. He and Aaron had already started back to the house for a bit of lunch when she caught up with them and breathlessly explained the situation. Tony had suffered a panic that he’d not experienced before. According to Miss Williams, Juliet had been in danger.
He’d slowed before rounding the corner of the house. He hadn’t wanted to alert Bartleby of his presence. He’d seen the way the man had treated Juliet before, seen her revulsion. She was definitely much safer at the Lodge. Tony would have a word with Nathaniel about him.
“I’ll send a note about tomorrow,” Tony heard Juliet say to Penelope.
“Don’t, Miss Juliet. He might come back.” Miss Williams’s voice was just a whisper.
“Don’t worry about him,” Juliet said confidently.
The little fool was purposefully putting herself in Bartleby’s way for some reason, perhaps to prove this crazy idea of hers that the man was a thief. Tony took Juliet’s hand and helped her into the cart.
“Please give our thanks to your family for the ham,” Mrs. Williams said, coming into the park from the house to bid them farewell.
“I will,” Juliet said with a smile.
Tony climbed into the cart and placed the now empty basket between them. He took the reins and motioned the horses to start. As the cart pulled away, he said, “Perhaps you can tell me what you were discussing with Miss Williams?”
Juliet didn’t look at him. Instead she folded her hands in her lap, the only sign of her nervousness her fingers working at the dirt on them. “There’s nothing to say. Thank you for stepping in with Mr. Bartleby, though it wasn’t necessary.”
“So I noticed.” He slowed the horses to a stop once they were out of sight of the Williams house.
“Why are we stopping? Won’t we be late for tea?”
Tony jumped down and led the horse and cart farther off the road. He wanted a private conversation with Juliet Townsend. “It’s time for a chat.”
He held out his hand for her to take. Juliet’s eyes widened as she took in where they were, off the main road, with no one nearby. “Surely you aren’t going to pull the same tactics as Bartleby.”
Tony winced. How could she believe that of him? “You know me better than that.”
Juliet remained in the cart with a stubborn expression on her face, refusing to take his hand. “There’s nothing for us to discuss.”
He held out his hand, feigning a patience he did not feel. “I know a pond where you can wash the dirt from your hands.”
Juliet finally relented, placing her hand in his and allowing him to help her from the cart. They followed an overgrown path to a small pond. Tony and Nathaniel had swum there as boys in the heat of summer. Fed by a spring, the water was always icy cold. Large boulders surrounded it, creating natural places to jump off and into the deep water.
Juliet walked to the edge of a large rock. “This is beautiful. How did I not know this place existed?”
“I came here when I was younger,” Tony said as he removed his gloves and put his hands in the water. It was cold, just as he remembered. “Come, rinse your hands.”
Her eyes widened, but she stepped to the edge of the pond and knelt down. She placed her hands in the water and shrieked. “It’s so cold!”
He grinned as he knelt by her side, taking her hands in his. He washed the dirt from her hands. She had blisters on her palms from the work she’d done. “Where were your gloves?”
“I don’t have work gloves and my regular gloves are too fine.”
Her voice was breathless and he couldn’t stop himself from looking into her deep brown eyes.
He tightened with desire. He’d been able to resist all the ladies of London, but he couldn’t resist this wisp of a girl who was fiercer than a lion. He quickly looked down at her hands. “I think you have half the garden on your hands.”
She tried to pull them from his. “I can do it myself.”
“I want to.” He pushed up the sleeves of her plain dark dress with his wet hands. He brushed his thumb against the red marks Bartleby had left on her wrist. “Why did Bartleby treat you that way?”
“I shouldn’t have taunted him,” she said quietly.
“That was still no excuse.” He gently rubbed at the dirt around her nails.
“I think the fact that Horneswood has changed hands is causing him to worry,” Juliet said. “He’s the younger brother of a viscount. He has no choice but to either work or marry money. If he loses his position . . .”
There were many such men in England. Hell, he’d been one of them two years earlier, thought Tony. Only he’d found another, less honorable method to survive.
Having seen the state of the Williams farm, Tony could understand why Juliet wanted to help. Mr. Williams was a broken man. If Tony was going to own the land, he’d take care of the tenants. “You don’t have to marry him, Juliet.”
She pulled her hands from his and shook them dry. “I don’t plan on marrying him, but I’m afraid he’ll use my friendship with Miss Williams as leverage.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
Tony helped her stand up. Her head came to just his shoulder. Her foot slipped on the rock and she grabbed his arm.
“Steady,” Tony said with amusement.
Juliet looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “We almost landed in the pond!”
“It’d be a cold swim this time of year.”
“Tony, there is something I would ask of you.”
“Certainly.”
Color flared across Juliet’s cheeks. Her eyes met his. “Would you kiss me?”
“Pardon?”
She looked away, staring out at the pond and beyond. “I don’t want my first kiss to be from Mr. Bartleby. There is a meanness in him.”
Women had always wanted Tony to kiss them, usually followed by wanting even more. But Tony had never been anyone’s first kiss.
“I won’t expect you to marry me or anything like that. It’s just a kiss,” said Juliet.
“I didn’t think you would.” Tony’s hands enveloped her face, his fingers sliding underneath her bonnet and into her soft hair. “Are you sure?”
She nodded slightly and closed her eyes.
His mouth brushed against hers. Gentle, easy. He brushed a thumb across her pursed lips. “Relax your mouth, Jules.”
Juliet’s mouth softened and he kissed her again. She tasted of ginger biscuits. Of spring and home. Her jaw was fragile beneath his hand, her skin warm against his cold hands. He deepened the kiss slowly, letting her scent and taste fill his head with impossible temptations. Impossible dreams.
Juliet’s hands released their tight grip on his arms to find their way around his shoulders. She stepped closer, brushing her body slightly against his.
He twisted his head to take the kiss further, his tongue brushing her bottom lip. His other hand found her waist and he pulled her flush against him.
Her foot slipped on the smooth stone, tipping them toward the cold pond. Juliet pulled her mouth away and gripped his arms, letting out a surprised shriek. He steadied himself on the rock, tightening his hold to keep them both from going into the water.
His heart was another matter. It thumped hard in his chest. He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her eyes were like liquid chocolate, warm and dark. Her mouth was red from his kisses.
He wanted to kiss her again. Keep kissing her as long as she would let him. Instead, Tony carefully stepped off the rock and helped her down. “We should return to the Lodge.”
She nodded as she lowered her gaze, a blush staining her cheeks. The moment was lost.
How could one slip of a girl twist his heart around in so many different ways?
Chapter Five
T
he ride home was quiet, an uncomfortable, don’t-know-what-to-say kind of quiet. Juliet hated those types of silences.
She never should have kissed Tony. What kind of ninny asks a man to kiss her?
But heavens, what a kiss! Not the peck of a family member but a lips-pressing, breathing-each-other-in lover’s kiss. The kiss of a man who knew how to kiss a woman.
It was best not to dwell on it. It clearly meant little to Tony. He would leave for London and Juliet would be back to pity dances with him when she was in Town.
She was taking the stairs to her room to change when Sophia found her, breathless and panicked.
“Juliet, I really wish you’d stop disappearing for hours at a time.”
Sophia’s impatient tone was like being doused in cold water, waking her from her daydream. “What is it?”
“Mr. McDonald has arrived. You have to help me.”
“It will be good to see him again. Why are you so upset? He’s been here many times before.”
“He’s rude and impertinent!”
Juliet smiled. She liked Ian McDonald, even if he was one of the trustees of her settlement. He had a dry sense of humor and a way of seeing the world differently from the rest of them. He was intelligent, so he missed nothing, especially when it concerned Sophia. “You just don’t like the fact that you can’t manipulate him like most men. Or the fact that, as trustee, he’s not easily swayed when you want access to funds.”
“It’s not like that,” Sophia said mulishly. “I just can’t stand the way he finds fault with everything.”
“I hadn’t noticed that he found fault with anything.”
“Just don’t let me be alone with the man, please.” Sophia looked down at her sister’s dress. “You are covered in dirt.”
“I was on my way to my room to change.”
“Did you just come in with Tony?” Sophia gave Juliet one of her measured looks.
Juliet squirmed, afraid Sophia would guess what had happened. God forbid, for if she found out about the kiss, Sophia would torment her for days with that bit of knowledge. “I’m going to be late if you don’t let me go.”
“I hope Mr. McDonald isn’t staying here.”
“I’m positive he will be,” Juliet said and then rushed to her room, closing the door behind her. She flew to the mirror and looked at her lips. Did she look as if she had been kissed?
Juliet thought her heart would stop when Tony took her hands and cleaned them in the pond. No man had ever bathed her hands. His touch had been gentle as he brushed his fingers over the marks that Bartleby left behind.
She covered her face with her hands. She had asked for the kiss. It would have been ungentlemanly of him to refuse.
Juliet pulled a dress out of her cupboard and tossed it on the bed. She poured water into the basin and took a cloth to wash the rest of the dirt from her hands and face. When she was cleaned and changed, she made her way downstairs to the drawing room for tea.
Tony was already there. He stood as she entered, but her smile was for the tall Scotsman standing next to him. “Mr. McDonald, what brings you to Beetham?”
“Miss Juliet, how lovely to see you.” He bent and kissed her hand. “When you and your sister left Town, it was as if all the light had gone out of the city.”
Juliet laughed and looked around. “Where is my sister?”
“She made some excuse about helping our nephew,” Tony said.
Juliet had to give Sophia her due; she had found a way to avoid Mr. McDonald.
“Sit down and have some tea, child,” Lady Danford said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Juliet took a seat next to the lady. “May I get you something?”
“Now that you’re here, these young gentlemen will quit entertaining me. But that’s as it should be. You’ll keep them on their toes.”
Juliet grinned and accepted a cup from Lady Danford. “I doubt that, ma’am.”
“The country seems to agree with you, Miss Juliet. I’ve not seen you looking so pretty,” Mr. McDonald said.
“Thank you, sir. I do love it here.”
Mr. McDonald smiled widely as Tony frowned at both of them.
Anne breezed into the room. “I’m sorry I’m late. I wanted to see little Nash for his tea.”
Juliet sipped her tea and let those around her talk. Every now and then, she’d look up to find Tony watching her before he’d quickly look away. It was puzzling. “How long are you staying with us, Mr. McDonald?” she asked.
“Just a few days. I’m on my way home. Now that the Season is over, I can take some time to work my own lands.”
“We’ll have to have some sort of assembly while you and Tony are both here,” Anne said. “It’s not often we have two single gentlemen in the neighborhood. The ladies in the village will be thrilled.”
“We’ll include Mr. Bartleby as well,” Lady Danford said.
Juliet would be expected to spend the entire evening in the company of Mr. Bartleby. Her heart sank.
“Really, Anne, you don’t have to go through the trouble,” Tony said. “I’m sure we’ve both had enough of assemblies while we were in Town.”
“Speak for yourself, Matthews,” Mr. McDonald quipped. “I, for one, would love to be able to dance with the young ladies without having to trip over fifty other gentlemen. I vow to have at least two dances with you, Miss Juliet. That is, if you can stand me stepping on your toes.”
“I’m sure you’re a fine dancer, Mr. McDonald,” Anne said as she passed him a plate with some cake.
“I assure you, I’m not. But Tony is a fine dancer.”
“I’m a passable dancer,” Tony mumbled.
Juliet met his eyes. “I think you dance very well.”
“Until the embarrassing incident,” Sophia said as she stepped into the room. She’d changed from her dull, old day dress into a prettier one. She took a seat next to Anne and accepted a cup of tea. “Mr. McDonald, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to greet you.”
“I want to hear about this embarrassing incident,” Mr. McDonald said.
“There is no need to bore everyone with that old story,” Juliet said hurriedly. The last thing she needed was her handkerchief episode aired during tea. She shot Sophia an I’ll-get-you-later look.
“Are you serious about an assembly, Anne?” Lady Danford said. “It’s a great deal of work.”
“I think it would be good fun. We can easily have it here. It’s been an age since we’ve hosted a gathering,” Anne replied.
“Perhaps you can announce your engagement to Mr. Bartleby, Juliet.” Sophia’s voice held a hint of malice.
Juliet felt her cheeks heat. “Perhaps not.”
Lady Danford snorted into her teacup. Anne shot Juliet a quelling look.
“Who is this Mr. Bartleby?” Mr. McDonald asked. “Surely there’s not another man vying for your affections, Miss Juliet.”
“He’s the land steward for the Horneswood estate,” Tony said, setting his cup down with a pointed look at Mr. McDonald.
“Isn’t that the estate you asked—”
Juliet looked over at Tony. “I didn’t know you knew of Horneswood prior to coming to Beetham.”
“I didn’t—”
“I was mistaken,” Mr. McDonald interrupted.
Juliet raised her eyebrow at them both. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” said Tony and he stood up from his chair. “McDonald, why don’t we leave the ladies to their tea and go find Nathaniel?”
“I think Nathaniel is in the library,” Anne said.
Ian McDonald also stood. “If you will excuse us, ladies.” He bowed and followed Tony out of the room.
“That was strange,” Anne said, pouring herself more tea.
Tony had been acting oddly since his arrival yesterday, thought Juliet. If Ian McDonald knew of Horneswood, then he and Tony had obviously discussed it before their arrival in Beetham.
But how was that possible?
Sophia sat down beside her. “We need to talk.”
“I thought we already had.”
Sophia glanced at the garden doors. “Outside,” she whispered. Then, more loudly, “Anne, do you mind if Juliet and I take a stroll in the garden?”
“Please don’t go out there and argue under the library window. You know how much Nathaniel hates that.”
“We won’t.”
Juliet barely had time to gather her shawl before Sophia dragged her by the arm toward the door. “Sophia, slow down, please!”
“We have to hurry before they come back,” Sophia said. She kept walking, a death grip on Juliet’s arm, until they were at the edge of the garden and away from the house.
Juliet yanked her arm free. “What is this about?”
“Mr. McDonald is here to propose to me.” Sophia looked more desperate than she had in a long time. Usually, Sophia could quash any overt interest a gentleman had in her in less time than it took to sip her tea.
Juliet wished her sister liked Mr. McDonald. He was charming and fun, but there were no sparks between them. “It’s an equitable match.”
“Not as far as I’m concerned. I want one more Season to—”
“To find a wealthy husband with a title, but consider, Sophia: Isn’t it more important that you care about the man you marry?”
“Finding a wealthy husband means everything! It means I’d be accepted everywhere socially. Please help me.”
Juliet freed herself from Sophia’s desperate grasp. She felt like the stick for the dog today. “Help you with what?”
“Keeping Mr. McDonald from proposing.”
Her sister had finally taken leave of her senses. “He’s wealthy. He’s a gentleman. He has a wonderful sense of humor.”
“When we say that about a young lady, they tend to be plain,” Sophia snapped. “I don’t want him to propose.”
“Then refuse him. It’s not as if you haven’t had practice.”
Sophia put her hands on her hips. “Just because I receive marriage proposals and you do not isn’t a reason to jump down my throat.”
Juliet looked up to the heavens for patience. She could stand here and argue with her sister for hours. Or she could go along with whatever crazy scheme Sophia had concocted. Yes, definitely, the path of least resistance was preferable. “What’s the plan?”
“I want you to pretend you are attracted to Ian McDonald,” Sophia said with a smile.
“Mr. McDonald is going to know it’s not real.”
“If you don’t help me, I’m going to Anne with those books you’ve been reading.”
Juliet experienced a shiver of fear. “About the agriculture journals?”
Sophia smiled an evil smile. “Those naughty books, the ones you’ve been hiding in your room. Really, Juliet, they are obscene. No young lady should see those.”
“Anne doesn’t care what I read.”
Oh God.
Juliet could feel the color drain from her face. How had Sophia found out? She had kept them hidden. “You’ve been going through my things.”
“Anne will care about these books. They aren’t fit for good society. Good Lord, if this got out, you could ruin us all,” Sophia said.
“Did you remove them from my room?”
“I left them where they were, for now,” Sophia said. “I’ve also decided to not tell Anne quite yet, but I want something in exchange for my silence.”
Dash it all
, thought Juliet. “What would you like me to do?”
“You must keep Mr. McDonald occupied. You cannot let him have the opportunity to propose. Am I clear?”
“Sophia, if he proposes, just tell him no.”
A strange look crossed Sophia’s face. “I can’t.”
“I don’t understand. Do you have feelings for him?”
“Of course not,” Sophia said a touch too quickly. “Just do as I ask or I’ll give Anne the books, understood?”
Juliet hated the look of triumph on her sister’s face. “Perfectly.”
Tony walked past the library to the breakfast room. McDonald was such an idiot. He’d almost given away the entire game. Tony had seen the puzzled look in Jules’s eyes. The woman was smart. Too smart.
“This doesn’t look like the library,” McDonald said, circling the large table.
Tony closed the door. “Keep your voice down. I don’t want the servants to hear.” He couldn’t risk gossip getting out. “What in blazes were you thinking?”
“You haven’t told anyone about your good fortune?” Ian crossed his arms, a smug look on his face. “I should have known you wouldn’t have the bollocks to tell them.”
“Once the situation is remedied, I’ll tell them,” Tony said.
“Chelsworth finally responded to your letter. Seems his stupid honor is worth more than the estate. He doesn’t want to renegotiate the terms of the debt.”
Tony cursed. “What am I going to do now?”
“Chelsworth should be at the estate by now.”
Tony did not have much time before word reached Nathaniel’s ears. “What are the rumors in Town?”
“Surprisingly, there aren’t many. The man is known to play deeper than his pockets allow. No one was surprised when he finally gambled away his land.”
“I’ll have to call on him. Insist he deal with the issue. Will you be here to help me?”
“I was hoping you’d already had this discussion with Chelsworth, or at least mentioned it to Nathaniel. I should be in Scotland.”
“Hard to do that when Chelsworth wasn’t around.” Tony should have been planning his move to the estate and buying the right sheep for the land; instead, he was trying to keep things quiet. The very last thing he needed was for Nathaniel to find out. Tony wanted to show his brother he was capable of cleaning up his own mess.
“What are your intentions toward Miss Juliet?” McDonald asked. “I noticed how you were looking at her. I hope they are honorable.”
Tony glared at him. “I could call you out for that statement.”
McDonald laughed. “You should have seen your face when she smiled at me.”
“Perhaps I should ask you
your
intentions.”
“Hold on; I’m just a friend. I just happened to catch the look in your eye when she walked in. She is not one you can trifle with.”