She’d been ten that day, he’d been fifteen. Two years later her mother told her that he’d left England. How she’d rejoiced! Until she found out that the earl still wouldn’t tear up the marriage contract. He was confident that Richard would come home. She was only twelve then, still a long way off from a marriageable age. But even when she turned eighteen, the earl wouldn’t give up the contract. Probably because he was still angry about failing to get guardianship of her after her father’s accident. Thankfully, her solicitors had thwarted the earl’s attempt since he couldn’t produce the groom.
Julia’s memories of Richard were horrible. She’d kept them locked away in the back of her mind for so long it was no wonder she hadn’t recognized him immediately. But those memories were all fresh now, and she realized that every single time they’d met, they’d ended up fighting.
Their parents should never have introduced them when they were so young. If their parents had waited another few years, Richard might have been more mature and not so nasty and snobbish. Another few years and she might have been able to restrain herself, instead of reacting so angrily to his rudeness. It was the worst sort of luck that the animosity between them ran so deep that it was still there after all these years! If they’d met under different circumstances, they might have made the perfect couple, like Carol and Harry, instead of the worst mismatch imaginable.
Chapter Seventeen
REASON RETURNED! AND IN good time, too, Julia thought, since a few hours of daylight were still left. Not that nightfall would have stopped her now that she had a course of action in mind.
She’d simply needed to remind herself that she was a woman of business. She knew how to make deals. She’d been buying new businesses and directing her solicitors in negotiating contracts for five years now. Of course those contracts merely involved people’s livelihoods, not the intimate aspects of their lives, but a contract was a contract, and she was going to make a new one with Richard Allen.
After she’d calmed down, she’d realized that dealing directly with Richard instead of leaving their circumstances to chance was a brilliant idea. He would agree, she knew he would. The plan she had in mind would sever all ties between them, and that’s what they both wanted. She just had to suffer his presence briefly once more, long enough to propose that he stay hidden a few more weeks until he was officially declared dead, then he could reveal himself or not, but he’d never have to worry about hiding again to avoid marrying her.
So she returned to Coulson’s Hotel and once again found herself approaching the desk. She did so decisively this time, now that the end of his dominating her existence was within sight once again. But when she requested that he be asked to join her in the lobby, the clerk told her, “They’ve left, ma’am. Both gentlemen are no longer guests here.”
Julia didn’t panic, she was actually relieved, surmising that Richard was wasting no time in leaving England, probably because of his run-in with her. She much preferred his disappearing over her having to deal with him. But just to be sure he’d left the country, she had her driver take her to Boyd Anderson’s house, where she hoped to find Gabrielle. No luck there. The butler informed her most of the Andersons were at Georgina’s house again. So on the way home she stopped there, too. Well acquainted with the crusty, old sea dog Artie, who opened the door, one of James Malory’s two unusual butlers, she asked him if he would just fetch Gabrielle for a brief word, rather than ushering her inside.
Which he did, and then the panic set in again. No, Gabrielle said, Jean Paul wouldn’t leave the country without telling her. No, she hadn’t seen him since yesterday when they both went to his hotel, nor did she even get a chance to talk to him there, so she had no idea why he and Ohr would change hotels when the one they were at had already been paid for. Julia thanked Gabrielle and hurried off, probably leaving the young woman quite confused. But Julia was sure by then that Richard hadn’t merely changed hotels to be out of her reach again. She got the maggoty thought that he was on his way home to visit his brother before he left England again and was terrified that his father would find out.
But she might still be able to stop him before he reached Willow Woods and ruined both of their lives even worse than they’d already been ruined. If she could find him.
She almost left town immediately, but she still had enough presence of mind to know she couldn’t race down country roads in the dead of night. With his injuries, surely Richard wouldn’t be traveling as fast as she could. So she sent her cousin Raymond a message that she needed him as an escort for a quick trip to the country.
They left at dawn the next morning, traveling the swiftest way possible, on horseback, which was why she didn’t take a footman along instead. Raymond, at least, was as adept on horseback as she was. The day-and-a-half trip was reduced to half that time with her stopping five times to quickly rent rested mounts so they could continue on at her grueling pace. She’d never galloped such long distances before. Raymond complained all the way. Her backside did, too, and was quite numb by the time she neared her destination.
Her panic hadn’t lessened much. She’d hoped to find Richard on the road, though that had been unrealistic as she’d galloped by so many vehicles. But they’d passed through numerous towns and villages, too, and he could have been in an inn in any one of them. She couldn’t afford to waste time searching on the way. But with their swift pace, she was at least reasonably certain that she was ahead of him now and only had to stop by Willow Woods briefly when they arrived late that afternoon to be sure. Hopefully, she wouldn’t even have to speak to the Earl of Manford. She could then simply wait down the lane to his house and stop Richard before he went any farther, even if it took the rest of the day.
She was going to have to get rooms for herself and Raymond though. She was sure it would be dark before she was done dealing with Richard, and she refused to stay at Willow Woods even for one night. A hamlet was closer to Willow Woods than the town of Manchester, just down the road, really. She even knew it had a hostelry.
Her family had passed through there on each of their visits to that area of the country, and her mother had once mentioned stopping there just to freshen up before they arrived at Willow Woods, which her father had laughed about. But that wasn’t a bad idea in her present situation, since she was covered in dust from that mad dash across country. It was almost comical, the dust cloud she created as she tried to get rid of some of it before she entered the hostelry. Raymond had told her not to hurry and went directly into the tavern next door.
She didn’t get more than a step inside the door before she froze, her eyes latched onto the tall oriental man coming down the stairs into the main room. Richard’s companion. What had Gabrielle called him? An oar, or ore, or whatever, something odd like that. His presence meant she was either too late or just in time. She was almost afraid to find out which.
He had stopped, too, upon seeing her and stood there like an unmovable barricade to those stairs. She had to wonder what Richard had told him about her. He certainly didn’t seem very approachable at the moment with his arms crossed over his chest.
She marched over to him anyway and stated the obvious. “This is too close to Willow Woods for Richard not to have gone straight home.”
“He’s not going there.”
“Then he’s here?”
He wasn’t going to tell her. He just stared at her without expression. How annoying. She didn’t miss that he hadn’t asked who Richard was, so he knew Richard’s real name. Did Gabrielle know it, too, but just hadn’t mentioned it to Julia when she’d referred to him as Jean Paul? How embarrassing if they both knew why Richard had gone into hiding.
Impatiently she told the man, “Never mind, I’ll just knock on every door. There can’t be more than a few.”
“First one at the top of the stairs, but if you have a weapon on you, you’re not getting past me without handing it over.”
She flushed bright red. So the man did know about her. She was sure Ric
hard had put all the blame on her. She did have a weapon, but she certainly hadn’t intended to use it on Richard to get her point across.
She might dress like the veriest lady and was often mistaken for one because of it, but she only traveled with chaperones if she was going to an upper-crust party, since the ton expected it, or on long trips like this one. Otherwise she often moved about London by herself or with her secretary when she was merely attending to business. But in either case, she’d got into the habit of keeping a pistol close to hand in case it might be needed. She kept it in the small valise she was toting, which also contained a change of clothes.
Too impatient to rummage through the valise for the weapon, she shoved the bag at him, then slipped past him to go upstairs. She was relieved that he didn’t follow her. Only two rooms were up here, both on the same side of the short corridor. On the other side, three windows were open, letting in a warm breeze.
She knocked briskly on that first door. It opened within seconds, but she only caught the briefest glimpse of surprise on the face of the man standing there before the door was slammed shut again with Richard’s snarl “No way in hell.”
Julia gritted her teeth and pounded on the door more loudly. All fear gone that she wouldn’t find him in time, she was her usual indomitable self. The racket she made resulted in the door’s opening again and her being yanked inside the room.
“We are not causing a scene here,” he said angrily. “If you draw notice to me, I’ll—”
“Shut up, Richard.” She turned to face him. “I’m just here to stop you from making a mistake we’ll both regret.”
His cheek was still scratched, and bruising was still on both sides of his nose, but he was behaving as if nothing was wrong with his ribs.
“Mistake? You thought I was going home?” He laughed harshly. “Not a chance. But I bet that’s where you’re going. Get out.”
He was still holding the door open. She shook her head at him. “I’m not leaving until we discuss our options and come to an understanding. That’s the adult thing to do. We can even put it in writing.”
“Another contract?” he said incredulously. “Are you out of your mind?”
“One we can both agree on.”
“You and I will never agree on anything, Jewels, so do us both a favor and get out!”
“No.”
“You see? We can’t even agree on something so simple as your not being welcome here!”
“Relax, my teeth are sheathed.”
She was trying to put him at ease, but apparently her comment only reminded him of their violent encounters in the past. His face turned livid with anger and he reached for her. She squeaked out a protest, but didn’t get out of the way in time. But after he grabbed her, he only threw her out of the room. Before she could even turn around and express her indignation over the way he’d just treated her, the door was slammed shut again.
Chapter Eighteen
JULIA’S INSTINCT WAS TO pound on Richard’s door again, but she’d heard the key turn in the lock. He wouldn’t open it again. And he was right, she didn’t want to draw attention to him by making a racket up here. He was too close to home. He’d probably even snuck in here the back way after his friend got them the room.
Besides, she needed to calm down. His attitude infuriated her just as it always did. They’d never been able to have a civil conversation, except recently when they hadn’t recognized each other. But it was too late to go back to that point. Or was it?
She ought to make an effort to show him that she wasn’t the child who had so little restraint she tried to bite off ears! She was a grown woman in control of her emotions and, hopefully, her destiny.
So she marched back downstairs and snatched her valise back from Richard’s friend without a word. He was still there with the bag at his feet as if he’d guessed she wouldn’t be long in returning. She checked to see if the other room upstairs was available. It was. A few minutes later she was behind a closed door of her own, staring with narrowed eyes at the wall that separated her from Richard.
If he had been reasonable, they could have come to a quick agreement and she would be on her way back home. She might still be able to start the journey back to London today if she could be on her way within the hour. She just needed to quickly tidy up, then try again to speak to Richard.
As she took off her jaunty riding hat, she saw it was so caked with dust that even the pink feathers drooped with it, then she realized her face must look just as clownish. Thankfully there wasn’t a mirror in the room to confirm it, but she had no doubt and was surprised Richard hadn’t made some nasty remark about it. But then his own appearance hadn’t been without its shortcomings and certainly hadn’t been appropriate for the son of an earl.
He’d been wearing a billowing white shirt that wasn’t tucked in, but was girded low on his hips with a wide, gaudy belt. Loose black pants had been cut off at the knee. Which had looked a bit outlandish with knee-high boots that gleamed. His excessively long hair was queued and quite visible. All of which made her wonder if he was wearing a disguise.
But she didn’t give it another thought once a pitcher of fresh water arrived with several towels. The maid, or the owner’s wife, directed her to a tub in a closet next to the pantry downstairs, if she wanted a bath. She politely declined and made good use of the water, then donned her extra riding habit, though she left the matching lavender jacket off. She wouldn’t need it until she was ready to depart the hostelry.
She knocked softly on Richard’s door this time. It fooled him into opening it and she rushed inside past him before he could stop her. Successful, she had to tamp down the urge to smirk as she turned around to see him closing the door with an angry look.
“Hear me out before you turn brutish again,” she said quickly. “If you’re not here to go home, what are you doing here so close to Willow Woods?”
“I’m here to see my brother.”
“Just that?” At his nod, she said with some disparagement, “Then you’re a fool to take this risk, showing your face so close to home. You should have sent someone to bring Charles to you in London instead.”
He seemed to grow angrier at her calling him a fool, probably because he knew she was right. It was obvious with his lips tightening, his green eyes glaring at her. She ought to keep her own eyes off his damned face. It was disturbing her train of thought and making her say things she shouldn’t. She’d always known he’d turn out handsome. That had been apparent when he was a boy. She just hadn’t expected him to be this handsome, even with a messed-up face. That it was having even a small effect on her, as much as she hated him, was insane!
No doubt those kisses she’d shared with him had made a greater impression on her than she’d realized. Now, seeing him again, she was reminded of how exciting they’d been. But she’d kissed Jean Paul, someone else entirely, or so she’d thought, not her detestable fiancé. She had to keep that in mind.
She focused on his clothes instead. All clean, but hardly the garb of a gentleman, which had her point out, “You call that a disguise?”
“I call this comfortable, and it’s no bloody business of yours what I wear. I’m only going to say this once this time, Jewels. Get out.”
He said it so calmly it was easy to ignore. She warned him, “That contract still binds us, you know. Your father still has it. He was even offered the entire dowry to hand it over, but he wouldn’t.”
“I know that. He’s not just a tyrant, he’s a greedy tyrant. He wants it all.”
“So we can agree on something?” He just narrowed his eyes on her so she quickly added, “Your absence hasn’t changed that. Nine years have passed and he still won’t relinquish the power that contract gives him to marry us if you show up.”
“That isn’t going to happen. I’m not bound by a piece of paper I didn’t sign, nor am I a boy any longer under a tyrant’s control. That contract is meaningless to me.”
Brave words, but she could see in his ey
es that he didn’t quite believe that, he just didn’t know for certain. She did.
“It’s not an ordinary contract that might have been negated when we came of age, it was a contract made by families, yours and mine, an agreement to join through marriage. The courts see it as binding as if you and I signed it. A priest will see it as binding and won’t even need to hear an aye from you to pronounce us man and wife. Don’t pretend you didn’t know that and disappeared before it could happen.”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit, Jewels. You’re not the only reason I left.”
Denigrating her already? Actually, when did he ever not? She had to grit her teeth to go on, “But I’m in the process of getting it from him, as long as no one in this country knows you’re still alive.”
He laughed. “You’re having me declared dead?”
She actually blushed a little. “Yes, but it will make no difference to you. As soon as I have that contract destroyed, you can return from the dead, as it were. You can even go home and see your brother as often as you like.”
“No, I can’t,” Richard replied bitterly. “It won’t erase what I did to get Father to disown me before I left.”
She frowned. “What did you do?”
“It doesn’t matter, but that vindictive bastard will make me pay for it, if he ever gets his hands on me. He probably even has legal recourse to have me imprisoned.”
“He wouldn’t do that to his own son.”
“Are you kidding me? He would, and faster than you can blink. You really don’t know him, do you?”
“No, thank God, I’ve had very little exposure to him and am only well acquainted with his unreasonable stubbornness.”
“Well, rest assured I will avoid, at all costs, clapping eyes on him again.”
“Then you will leave the country again, for good?”
“Of—course.”
That pause was brief, but noticeable. She didn’t doubt for a moment that he was thinking of Georgina Malory. His love was here. He probably would return, just to see her. Not that Julia could trust his word anyway. She wished she could, she really did. But he was Richard Allen and he’d never done anything she’d hoped he’d do. He couldn’t even stay gone long enough to be dead! On paper, that is.