senses for some time. I do not remember much until a short time ago." Dear God,
she was rambling. Talking much too fast. She had to get hold of herself.
"Does your head still pain you?" Julian thrust his fingers gently into her
tousled curls, feeling for a wound or bump. "Were there any other injuries?"
Sophy realized she had lost her riding hat somewhere along the way. "Uh, no, no,
Julian, I am fine. That is to say, I have a headache but nothing to worry about.
And… and the babe is fine," she added quickly, thinking that would take his
attention off her nonexistent injuries.
"Ah, yes. The babe. I am glad to hear all is well in that regard. You will not
ride again during your pregnancy, Sophy." Julian stepped back, his eyes
searching her face in the moonlight. "You are quite certain you are all right?"
Sophy was too relieved that he appeared to believe her to worry just then about
arguing for her right to ride again. She tried a reassuring smile and was
horrified when she felt her lips quiver. She blinked quickly. "I am really quite
all right, my lord. But what are you doing here? I thought you would be in
London for a few more days. We had no word you would be returning this soon."
Julian studied her for a long moment and then he took her hand in his and led
her back toward the anxious crowd of servants. "I had a change of plans. Come
along, Sophy. I will turn you over to your maid who will see to your bath and
get you something to eat. When you are yourself again, we will talk."
"About what, my lord?"
"Why, about what really happened to you today, Sophy."
NINETEEN
We were all so worried, my lady. Scared to death some-thin' had happened to you.
You have no idea. The stable lads were beside themselves. When your mare comes
runnin' back into the yard, they started lookin' for you right off but they
couldn't find no sign. Somebody went to see Old Bess and she was as worried as
the rest of us when she found out you hadn't come home.'
"I am sorry to have caused so much concern, Mary." Sophy was only half-listening
to her maid's description of what had happened after she had failed to return
that afternoon. Her mind was on the forthcoming interview with Julian. He had
not believed her. She ought to have known he would guess immediately that she
was lying about having been thrown by the mare. What was she going to tell him
now, Sophy wondered frantically.
"And then the head groom, who is always one for predictin' the crack o' doom,
shakes his head and says we should start draggin' the pond for your body. Lord,
I about collapsed, I did, when I heard that. But all the fuss weren't nothin'
compared with what happened when his lordship arrived unexpected like. Even
staff who'd been here at the Abbey during the time the first Countess was here
said they hadn't ever seen his lordship in such a fury. Threatened to dismiss us
one and all, he did."
A knock on the door interrupted Mary's detailed account of the afternoon's
events. She went to answer it and found a maid with a tea tray. "Here, I'll take
that. Run along now. Her ladyship needs rest." Mary closed the door again and
set the tray down on a table. "Oh, look, Cook put some cakes on the tray for
you. Have one with your tea, ma'am. It'll give you some strength."
Sophy looked at the teapot and immediately felt slightly queasy. "Thank you,
Mary. I'll have the tea in a bit. I am not very hungry at the moment."
"It's the blow on the head that does it," Mary said knowledgeably. "Affects the
stomach, it does. But you really should have a cup of tea, at the least, ma'am.'
The door opened again and Julian walked into the room without bothering to
knock. He was still wearing his riding clothes and he had obviously overheard
the maid's last comment. "Run along, Mary. I'll see that she drinks her tea."
Startled by his arrival, Mary dropped a quick curtsy and backed nervously toward
the door. "Yes, my lord," she said as she put her hand on the doorknob. She
started to leave the room and then paused to say with a small touch of defiance.
"We was all very worried about madam."
"I know you were, Mary. But she is home safe and sound now and I think you will
all take much better care of her in the future, will you not?"
"Oh, yes, my lord. Won't let her out of our sight."
"Excellent. You may go now, Mary."
Mary fled.
Sophy tightened her fingers in her lap as the door closed behind her maid. "You
need not terrorize the staff, Julian. They all mean well and what happened this
afternoon was certainly not their fault. I—" She cleared her throat. "I've
ridden that path dozens of times during the past few years. There was no reason
for me to have a groom along. This is the country, not the city."
"But they did not find your poor, unconscious body lying along the path that
leads to Old Bess's cottage, did they?" Julian lowered himself into a chair near
the window and glanced around the room. "I see you have made several changes in
here and elsewhere, my dear."
The rapid change of subject was disconcerting. "I hope you don't mind, my lord,
" Sophy said in a stifled voice. She had a terrible premonition that he had
decided on a strategy of toying with her until her nerve broke and she confessed
everything.
"No, Sophy. I do not mind in the least. I have not liked this house for some
time." Julian's gaze slid back to her anxious face. "Any changes in Ravenwood
Abbey will be most welcome, I assure you. How are you feeling?"
"Very well, thank you." The words seemed to stick in her throat.
"I am relieved to hear it." He stretched out his booted feet and lounged back in
the chair, his big hands steepled loosely in front of him. "You had us all quite
worried, you know."
"I am sorry for that." Sophy took a breath and struggled to recall the small,
carefully plotted details of her tale. Her theory was that if she propped up her
sagging story with a large number of specifics, she might still salvage it. "I
think it was a small animal that startled my mare. A squirrel, perhaps. Normally
there would have been no problem. As you know, I am a reasonably skilled rider."
"I have often admired your riding skills," Julian agreed blandly.
Sophy felt herself flushing. "Yes, well, as it happened, I had just been
returning from Old Bess's and I had purchased a large quantity of herbs from her
and I had the packets arranged in my skirts. I was busy adjusting them, the
packets, that is, as we went along because I was afraid some of the herbs might
slip out enroute, you see."
"I see."
Sophy stared at him for a few seconds, feeling mesmerized by the steady, waiting
expression in his eyes. He appeared so serene and patient but she knew it was a
hunter's patience she saw in him. The knowledge rattled her. "And… and I am
afraid my attention was not on my riding as it should have been. I was fumbling
with a packet of…of dried rhubarb, I believe it was, when the mare shied. I
never quite got my balance after that."
"That was the point at which you fell to the ground and struck your head?"
They had not found her lying unconscious along the path, Sophy reminded herself.
"Not quite, my lord. I started to slip from the saddle at that point but, uh, I
believe the mare carried me for some distance into the woods before I finally
lost my seat altogether."
"Would it make this any easier for you if I told you I have just now returned
from a ride along the path to Old Bess's cottage?"
Sophy eyed him uneasily. "You have, my lord?"
"Yes, Sophy," he said very gently. "I have. I took a torch with me and in 'he
vicinity of the pond I discovered some rather interesting tracks. There appears
to have been another horse and rider on that same path today."
Sophy leaped to her feet. "Oh, Julian, pray do not ask me any more questions
tonight. I cannot talk right now. I am far too distraught. I was wrong when I
said I felt well. The truth is I feel absolutely wretched."
"But not, I think, because of a blow on the head." Julian's voice was even
softer and more reassuring than it had been a moment ago. "Perhaps you are
making yourself ill with worry, my dear. You have my word that there is no
necessity to do that."
Sophy did not understand or trust the tenderness she heard in his words. "I do
not take your meaning, my lord."
"Why don't you come over here and sit with me for a moment while you calm
yourself." He held out his hand.
Sophy glanced longingly at the offered hand and then at his face. She steeled
herself against the lure he was offering. She must be strong. "There… there is
no room on the chair for me, Julian."
"I will make room. Come here, Sophy. The situation is not nearly so bleak nor as
complicated as you appear to think."
She told herself it would be a major error to go to him.
She would lose whatever strength of will she possessed if she allowed him to
cosset her just now. But she ached to feel his arms around her again and in the
end his outstretched hand was too much to resist in her tired, weakened
condition.
"I should probably lie down for a while," she said as she took a step toward
Julian.
"You will rest soon, little one, I promise you."
He continued to wait with that subtle air of limitless patience as she took a
second and then a third step toward him.
"Julian, I should not do this," she breathed softly as his fingers closed over
her hand, engulfing it.
"I am your husband, sweetheart." He tugged her down onto his lap and cradled her
against his shoulder. "Who else can you talk to about what really happened
today, if not me?"
At that she lost most of what was left of her fortitude. She had been through
too much today. The kidnapping, the threat of rape, her narrow escape, the
moment when she had held the pocket pistol in her hand and found herself unable
to shoot Waycott—all conspired to weaken her.
If Julian had shouted at her or if he had been cold with rage, she might have
been able to resist, but his soothing, tender tone was irresistible. She turned
her face into the hollow of his shoulder and closed her eyes. His arms tightened
comfortingly around her and his broad shoulders promised protection as nothing
else could.
"Julian, I love you," she said into his shirt.
"I know, sweetheart. I know. So you will tell me the truth now, hm?"
"I cannot do that," she said starkly.
He did not argue the point. He just sat there stroking the curve of her back
with his big, strong hands. There was silence in the room until Sophy,
succumbing to the temptation once more, began to relax against him.
"Do you trust me, Sophy?"
"Yes, Julian."
"Then why will you not tell me the truth about what happened today?"
She heaved a sigh. "I am afraid, my lord."
"Of me?"
"No."
"I am pleased to hear that, at least." He paused for a moment and then said
thoughtfully, "Some wives in your situation might have reason to fear their
husbands."
"They must be wives whose husbands do not hold them in high esteem," Sophy said
instantly. "Sad, unfortunate wives who do not enjoy either the respect or the
trust of their husbands. I pity them."
Julian gave a muffled exclamation that sounded like something between a groan
and a chuckle. He retied a velvet ribbon that had come undone on Sophy's
dressing gown. "You, of course, are excluded from that group of females, my
dear. You enjoy my esteem, my respect, and my trust, do you not?"
"So you have said, my lord." Wistfully, Sophy wondered what it would be like to
have Julian's love added to the list.
"Then you are right not to fear me for, knowing you, I know very well that you
did nothing wrong today. You would never betray me, would you, Sophy?"
Her fingers clenched around a handful of his shirt. "Never, Julian. Never in
this life or any other. I am very glad you realize that."
"I do, my sweet." He fell silent again for another long moment and once more
Sophy relaxed under the soothing stroke of his hand. "Unfortunately, I find
that, although I trust you completely, my curiosity is not assuaged. I really
must know what happened to you today. You must make allowances for the fact that
I am your husband, Sophy. The title causes me to feel somewhat protective."
"Please, Julian, do not force me to tell you. I am all right, I promise you."
"It is not my intention to force you to do anything. We will play a guessing
game, instead."
Sophy stiffened against him. "I do not want to play any games."
He paid no attention to the small protest. "You say you do not wish to tell me
the full story because you are afraid. Yet you also claim you are not afraid of
me. Therefore, we can safely conclude that you are afraid of someone else. Do
you not trust me to be able to protect you, my dear?"
"It is not that, Julian." Sophy lifted her head quickly, anxious that he not
doubt her faith in his ability to defend her. "I know you would go to any length
to protect me."
"You are right," Julian said simply. "You are very important to me, Sophy."