Chatwyn was a strong, healthy child and had really never been sick a day in his life. She knew if he changed his clothing as soon as they went inside he shouldn’t catch a chill. Not being able to go out for a couple of days had made Chatwyn irritable. He ran and shrieked from one end of the house to the other. Julia was patient—most of the time. Though she was feeling the strain of not hearing from Garrett.
He’d told her the documents were almost ready, yet he still hadn’t brought them over. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him with the deeds. She was fearful something had happened. An ink spill to ruin half of them. They may had been stolen, or gotten wet. Maybe the duke was having her watched and he had absconded with the documents. She had imagined all sorts of things that could have happened. She just wanted them in her possession so she’d know for certain nothing had gone wrong.
Julia threw the ball to Chatwyn and he chased it. He threw the ball to her and she chased it. He rode his wooden horse and squealed for her to watch him. They played until they were both out of breath before she sent Chatwyn into the house with Miss Periwinkle to get dry.
She was dragging the wooden horse to the rear of the house when she heard the side gate open. Turning around, she saw Garrett walking toward her, holding the butterfly net in his hands but not the leather packet she so coveted. It was elating to see him but disheartening that she still didn’t have any evidence on the duke.
He walked up to her, took hold of the wooden horse, and placed it next to a bench. Laying the net beside it, he said, “I know you don’t like for me to come to the duke’s house, but I wasn’t expecting to see disappointment on your face when you saw me.”
Julia leaned against the wet house. “There is always a chance the duke will hear of my visitors, but that’s not the reason I’m disappointed. I was expecting something a little more important than the butterfly net.”
He joined her against the siding and crossed his hands over his chest and one foot over the other, seeming more relaxed than she was. “That net is very important to me. Because of it, I met you.”
His words softened her heart a little. “I am happy about that, too,” she admitted. He made her happy, but the fact remained that he was free and she wasn’t.
“I didn’t come just to bring the net.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
He moved a little closer to her. “I also came over to tell you I took the money from the fabric over to Mrs. Feld yesterday.”
“Oh,” she said softly, her hope fading as fast as it had appeared. “How was she?”
“She’s pleasant but somber.”
“Yes. I had thought she might be. I sent her a note after our cooking experience, but she hasn’t responded to me. I know she is having a difficult time right now.”
“Mrs. Feld reminded me of myself when I first left London. She’s restless and searching for something. I had the feeling she doesn’t know what she’s searching for.”
“Yes,” Julia answered, looking directly into his eyes. She had always been impressed by his intuitiveness. “She is searching, and it worries me that I haven’t been able to help her. If I don’t hear from her by tomorrow I’ll go see her.”
“You might like to know that she entrusted me with her thoughts about joining the Sisters of Pilwillow Crossings.”
Julia straightened and faced him. “Did she? That surprises me greatly. It’s a very private matter and not something that can be told. If it gets out, she could be ruined or have—”
“Julia.” He reached out his arms and circled her waist. He spread his legs and pulled her up to him as he rested his back against the house. “She trusted me enough to keep her secret. I think you know you can trust me to keep it, too.”
She smiled and laid her forehead against his chin. It was warm. The circle of his arms was comforting. “Of course I can.” Lifting her head she looked at him. “But why are you talking about Brina and butterfly nets? I’m worried.”
“You’re right,” he said, with a twinkle of amusement sparkling in his eyes. “I knew I came here for a different reason.”
Garrett pulled the sides of his cape around Julia and hugged her up close to his chest as his lips came down on hers with soft, sweet passion. His lips were cool and moist. She leaned heavily into him and accepted his warmth and comfort. Unconsciously, her arms wove around his neck and her fingers laced through the back of his damp hair. Their kisses were richly sensuous and deeply satisfying. She gave of her heart in every touch, every gasp, and every sigh.
His lips moved across her cheek, leaving a trail of moist kisses over her jaw, down her chin to where her cape fastened at the hollow of her throat. She pressed tightly against him, making her achingly aware of every masculine contour of his body.
But all too soon Julia remembered where they were and knew that Miss Periwinkle or Mrs. Desford could come looking for her at any moment. She drew away from him. His cloak fell away and she said, “No more excuses. I want to hear about documents and ledgers.”
He nodded. “That is the real reason I came over. Mr. Urswick is working night and day but right now, he is not hopeful.”
Julia inhaled deeply. She thought she was prepared for that answer, but those were hard words to hear.
“But there is some good news. The copied documents are finished.” He brushed his cloak aside and reached into the inside pocket of his coat and handed the leather packet to her.
Her stomach tightened and her heart fluttered erratically in her chest. Julia felt such relief, she did the only thing she knew to do. She rushed Garrett and kissed him again. “Thank you. Two such simple words seem so inadequate but thank you.”
She took the packet and held it to her chest. For all the coldness that was represented inside, the leather was warm.
“I have the originals safely hidden in my office.”
She smiled. “In a hidden compartment under the floor where your desk sits?”
“In an iron chest I bought in Turkey a few years ago. Without the key, it would take a cannon to get into it.” Garrett put both his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her to him again. “I’m serious when I say you only having the original documents without the ledger deciphered will sway the duke. It will be too easy for him to say he was only holding the deeds for someone else. I don’t think we will ever find Mr. Eubury or Mr. Moorshavan. I believe it’s exactly what the duke said. They aren’t real people. Only men paid to register the deeds or manage his properties. Without the ledger to prove that the duke had monies coming in from the properties, I don’t believe he will be swayed by anything you say.”
Julia’s throat felt dry. She couldn’t give into the hopelessness Garrett was suggesting. “It’s all I have.”
“No.” He brushed a strand of damp hair away from the side of her face. “I have another way to help you.”
“What?” Julia suddenly felt a strange moment of panic. “If you had some other way to help me, why are you just now telling me?”
“It was something that occurred to me today while I was with Mr. Urswick.”
“What are you talking about?”
He slid his arms down to her waist and tightened his hold around her once more. “We know the duke can sway every judge and magistrate in England but there is one place we can go where I have control.”