Authors: Beth Trissel
She cr
ossed her arms over her chest. “Very good of you, I’m sure.
I’ll endeavor not to put you out again.”
He made an imp
atient noise under his breath.
“I’ve been all through this before, Miss Morrow.”
“Making allowances for Brits?”
“No.
Admirers of my legendary cousin, superb horseman, exquisite artist, gallant nobleman struck
down in his prime.
Despite our similari
ties, I am not Cole Wentworth.
There’s one glaring difference between us.”
“He’s more charming?” she suggested.
Willi
am shot her a sarcastic smile. “He’s dead.
Do try to bear that in mind.”
“I shall.
Though he’s riveting in comparison to some, even in his present state.”
The annoyance in Willi
am’s face diminished slightly. “Touché.
You won that round.”
“I didn’t realize we were sparring.”
“I thought it was obvious.”
He bent forward, gripping the iron railing un
til his knuckles were white.
“Every old home has some illustrious person to trumpet. Cole is F
oxleigh’s most heralded prize.
I’ve grown up in his shadow like some bizarrely younger twin, even made little effort to counter the rumors that I’m gay to avoid the crush.”
She nearly staggered back.
“No one would ever believe that of you.”
Whipping
his head around,
he eyed
her in bemusement.
“I hope Grandmother does or I’m doomed to wed the highly affluent, though rathe
r unappealing, Miss Patterson.
At least,
according to the Queen Mother.
She sometimes forgets more than a century has passed since Victoria’s reign.”
Julia’s lips twitched, and then she giggled.
He
smiled back in a gorgeous flash of white teeth.
She seized her opportunity.
“I haven’t gotten off to a
very promising start with you.
Please accept my apology, Mr. Wentworth,” she said, holding out her hand.
He took her hand in his, and her skin tingled.
Releasing her fingers he offered,
“Of course, Miss Morrow. I’m partly to blame.
We’ll start all over in the morning.”
“Thank you.
I couldn’t
bear to be packed off home now.
My
parents only just let me come.
They’re of the Old School and reluctant to let me off on my own.”
“I understand perfectly.
Yo
u will be quite safe here
.”
He swept her a
low bow and held out his arm.
How natural the cavalier gesture seemed to him.
“Allow me to escort you to your quarters, my lady.”
“That’s rather gallant for one averse to his noble past,” she teased.
“Again, for you I am making an exception.”
She laughed
.
“I’m honored, sir,” she said, curtsying––absurd in her sundress––and took his arm.
“You really need a longer s
kirt for such genteel formality
. Not that I mind.”
Again, the heat in her cheeks, and a thrill at
his powerfully masculine touch
as he led her down three tiers of brick steps and along the pebbled walk around to the back of the house facing a parking lot hedged with more boxwood. Beyond the tree-lined
drive was the distant highway.
The lack of traffic noise added to the feel of havin
g traveled back in time.
And the scent of Foxleigh, its hedges and herbs, heightened her awareness.
“Such a soft evening, as the Irish say.”
“I was just thinking t
he same...the soft part, anyway,
”
he said.
“But you’re not Irish.”
He answered under his
breath.
“I wasn’t referring to the evening.”
Her heart palp
ated like a bounding rabbit’s. “Oh.
Where am I to lodge?”
“There.”
He
pointed past the brick wash house, smoke house, and kitchen to an impressive building standi
ng at the right of Foxleigh.
“
That’s th
e wing where you’ll be staying.
We’ve discreetly installed modern amenities i
n the original guest quarters.
You’ll even find Charlotte has stocked the shelves and refrigerator.”
“Brilliant.”
“I’m glad you approve.
The wing to the left of the house is for male visitors. In bygone days, it also housed older sons who’
d been pushed out of the nest.
A sort of bachelor pad.”
“Yes...I remember.”
William fi
xed his quizzical gaze on her.
“That detail isn’t in the booklet.”
“Ch
arlotte must have said
.”
But Julia knew she hadn’t.
A m
ocking bird sang
‘Julie
Julie
J
ulie
’
above the drum
ming
in
Will’s chest
.
What on earth was he to do w
ith his rush of feelings for Julia
?
Not a thing
.
She was here to work
, then return home
.
That’s all
.
He must
focus on fulfilling his
family
obligation
to
Grandmother Nora
,
see the reconstruction
of Foxleigh
completed
,
and
get on with his
life.
So why was he hovering
in the
entrance
of the guest wing, one
hand on the
iron door
knob, looking
back
over his sh
oulder?
He’d
seen Julia
safely
to her quarters
and
stow
ed her luggage in the bedroom.
He
had no
further
excuse for
lurk
ing
in her doorway and no business seeking one.
Still, he lingered
.
She sat
on the peach-upholstered couch
hugging a
lacy
pillow
.
The mellow
evening
light slanting
through the window
played
over her upturned face and
wide eyes.
Maybe her peculiar insights int
o Foxleigh had frightened her
.
Lord k
nows they’d unnerved him a bit.
But why the all-consuming draw he felt to her?
Even mo
re reluctant to leave, Will strung
out his goodbye.
“I trust y
ou have everything you need?”
Julia
glanced around at the
simple
tasteful
décor
and nodded
.
“It’s lovely
.
Thank you.
”
The hesitancy i
n her manner
wasn’t lost on him
.
“
Are you quite certain
Charlotte has made adequate provisions
?
”
“Abundant.”
“
Well, if you’re settled
in
,
I’ll be off
.”
Her uneasy
gaze returned to him.
“Where will you be
, William
––
I mean,
Mr.
Wentworth
?”
she asked in a small voice.
He liked th
e
sound of ‘William’ rolling out of
her
pretty mouth
, but could hardly encourage that name af
ter the stand he’d taken
earlier
.
“Didn’t Charlotte
tell you?
I’m on
the s
econd floor of Foxleigh where
my g
randmothe
r lived
before
she entered
a retirement home
.
That’s why the upper level
is closed to visitors
.”
“
So, you’ll
not
be far if I need
you?”
Julia loo
ked so endearingly vulnerable.
Will fought the impulse
to take her in his arms
and comfort her
,
disturbed
by the
effect she had on him.
P
opularly
known as
the iron man
,
after he’d resisted th
e advances of a voluptuous but over the top
law student,
he was
normally
imperviou
s to the appeal of most women. B
ut Julia was like no other.
“I’m just a knock away
if you have any problems
,” he assured her, “and even been known to answer my phone
, though sometimes I’d like to toss it out the window.
”
She smiled a little shakily
.
“You’ll be fine.
Foxleigh
’s
ghosts are quite benign.
”
Winding
a s
trand of hair around her finger she confided,
“
I’m not bothered about them
.
It’s just
––
”
He
turned fully toward her.
“Yes
?”
The color in
her cheeks
heightened
.
“I’ve never spent the night
all
al
one.”
Forcing
himself not to stare openmouthed
he asked,
“
What?
Why?
”
She chewed her bottom lip.
“I share
a room with my two
younger
sisters.
Mum and Dad
taught us at home and
engaged
tutors.
They’re quite strict
so I was seldom away
.
”
“
What about
college?”
“I
was a day student
at Barclay
where Dad
teaches
.”
It crossed Will’s mind that he should have hired two young women and housed them both in
here so she’d have company.
But he didn’t really need two.
“So this is your first tr
ip without your sisters
?”
“Now you’ll
think me an
utter
infant.”
The thought had occurred to him, along with
how on earth
did anyone live this way
, but he adopted an assuring tone.
“No.
Of course not.
You’re j
ust very inexperienced.
I
t’s quite brave
of you, really,
to travel all this way alone.
”
Exceedingly
so
, when she’d practically grown up in a convent.
“
Julia, w
hy
are you here?” he asked, unable to resist
using
her first name
.
“I
had to come
, you see.
It’s time.
”
She was the strangest
most intriguing girl.
“For what
, exactly
?”
“
To be
here
, at Foxleigh.
I just
knew, though not exactly why.
Don’t you ever just know things?”