Until now.
Mr. Stockton entered her thoughts again. The rush of longing to have his strong arms surrounding her, pulling her up close, and his lips covering hers with kisses wouldn’t leave her in peace. There was a hunger inside her that wouldn’t stay away.
Julia defiantly shook the images from her mind and said, “Brina.”
In a rush, the friends met with welcoming hugs and kisses to each other’s cheeks.
Feeling a brush against her skirts, Julia glanced down. York woofed softly. She reached down and patted his black head. He didn’t hear very well anymore, and recently she’d noticed his voice wasn’t nearly as deep or strong. She bent down and gently took his gray muzzle in her hand. Looking directly into his cloudy dark brown eyes, she said, “I’ve already said hello to you today. No attention for you right now.” Julia looked back to Brina. “I didn’t expect you to come so soon, but I’m so glad you did.”
“I had to. It’s been over three months since we’ve seen each other. I wanted to dash over the minute I received your note saying you’d returned, but restrained myself to give you time to settle in.”
“Tell me how you’ve been.”
“Except for the heat these past few days, I have been well, and I do have something I want to share with you, but we are going to talk about you first. I’m dying to know how you talked the duke into letting you come to London without him. That’s never happened before! Did you give him a dose of laudanum in his brandy and make him groggy enough to say yes to anything you said?”
Julia smiled. “No, but I probably would have if I had thought about it.” She glanced toward the doorway behind her. “Let’s move farther into the room and sit on the settee by the window. I don’t want anyone to hear us so we must speak softly.”
“Yes, of course. You now have me anxious, but before we begin…”
Brina reached over to a chair and picked up a package York was sniffing. “I can’t give you one of these right now,” she told the dog, and then presented Julia with a bundle of cloth that had been pulled up by the ends and tied together with a blue ribbon. “I had plum tarts made this morning for Chatwyn.” She looked down. “And York, too.”
“Oh, you are no friend at all,” Julia admonished with a smile. “You know what an utter mess Chatwyn makes of himself and his clothing when he eats.”
“I do and I insist you let him have one of these while I’m here so I can watch him eat every bite of it. York will enjoy every crumb that falls to the floor.”
Julia laid the package on a side table—and out of the foxhound’s reach. “Of course. I’ll bring him belowstairs in a few minutes and you can give him one.”
Brina made herself comfortable on one side of the deep rose–colored velvet settee and Julia the other. York, sensing he wasn’t going to get a treat or any more attention, turned and slowly wandered out of the room.
“Now, tell me,” Brina said softly. “What’s going on? Your note said only enough to intrigue me.”
Julia had needed to talk to Brina since she overheard the duke’s conversation. “It’s really two different stories, but I’ll be brief with each.”
“Don’t be for me.” Brina laid her hand on her chest. “I have all day.”
Julia did not. She planned to spend some time in the duke’s book room on the pretense of looking for a book to read.
“First, I’ll tell you how I managed to get to London without the duke. He hasn’t been his spry self all summer. He didn’t complain, of course, but I noticed he’d sometimes wince in pain when he bent over or when he’d rise. He lacked his usual vitality in chasing Chatwyn around the house and garden. A few days ago, the duke made the comment he might be feverish. I became concerned and quite innocently asked if he thought he might have something that Chatwyn could catch. Once that fear was spoken out loud, there was no taking it back. The possibility he might have a serious condition that could pass to his grandson concerned us both. Naturally, he doesn’t want Kitson’s son coming down with anything. I saw this as the chance I desperately needed to come to London without him.”
“It’s a dream come true for you,” Brina said in a normal voice, but then caught herself and whispered, “To be free of him. To be on your own.”
“Yes, for more than one reason, which I’ll tell you about, too, but I want you to know I don’t wish a grave ailment on the duke. I only want to be allowed to live my life the way I want, but I can’t wish him severe harm.”
“You don’t have to say that to me,” Brina said sympathetically. “I know your heart.”
Julia nodded. “After the duke agreed we needed to get Chatwyn away from Sprogsfield to spare him whatever was ailing the duke, I wasted no time. We left early the next morning. I didn’t want to give him opportunity to change his mind. I do want him to recover. Eventually.” She sighed. “But not for at least a couple of weeks or longer. A month if possible. I must be ready when he returns.”
Brina clutched her hands together tightly and scooted closer to Julia. “Ready for what? I see concern in your expression.”
“That is the second part of the story. I’ve always known the duke had two faces. The righteous one he relishes and everyone in Society and the rest of his family sees, and the coldhearted one I must endure every day. But now I have the chance to prove to everyone he isn’t the man he’s always claimed to be. As distasteful as it is for me, I’m going to search the duke’s private rooms, every drawer, every pocket of every coat, under every rug—” Julia paused and shook her head in earnest. “I will leave nothing untouched and will not stop until I find the confirmation of his own wrongdoing and confront him for his deceitful ways.”
Worry etched in Brina’s face. “What wrongdoing? What will you be looking for?”
“Documents,” she answered firmly. “A couple of weeks ago, I was in the garden reading. I heard the duke and Mr. Isley, his solicitor, approaching on the other side of the tall hedge. There was no reason to alert them I was there. I assumed they’d continue walking and never know I was nearby. And they did, but not far past me they stopped. I could hear them clearly.” Julia paused and glanced toward the doorway again. She had no reason to believe the housekeeper or the footman would eavesdrop on her conversation, but she still needed to be careful. “Mr. Isley asked the duke where the documents on the Eubury-Broadwell Gaming Company were kept. He replied that they were safely hidden in the London house with all the rest of his secret companies.”
“Secret?” Brina asked.
“Yes. Mr. Isley responded that the duke should destroy all papers concerning that company the next time he was in London because fifteen people were killed in ‘the explosion.’ The townspeople were asking for help in locating the owner so they could force him to pay restitution to the victims’ families. The duke said, ‘Poppycock. They can look all they want. We know they will never find the owner because there is no such man. But I will dispose of the papers.’ He laughed as they walked away.”
“What explosion?” Brina asked. “I don’t read newsprint every day. I must have missed it.”