Page 66 of Forget Me Not

Aldric nodded. “Set your mind at ease, Jonquil. I have an idea.”

***

Lucas wasn’t accustomed to being excluded from the Gents’ planning sessions. But Aldric had been insistent. The five of them had pushed him out of his own sitting room with strict instructions to Mrs. Parks that they were not to be disturbed, especially by Lucas.

One did not argue with the General. Digby’s tossing out one of his monarchial smiles had sealed the Parkses’ cooperation. And so the Jester took his evening meal alone, on a tray in his room. Julia didn’t emerge from hers.

With the sun long since dropped below the horizon, he accepted the inevitable and resigned himself to bed. Cozy in his nightshirt and a pair of woolen socks, he dropped onto his well-worn chair near the fireplace. What were the Gents planning? He had faith in his friends, but he also had a few far-too-keen memories of past misadventures to not have some qualms.

He needed a moment to calm his worried mind, and he knew precisely where to do that: the circular sitting room. Lucas took up a candle and moved through the adjoining door.

The room wasn’t empty. Julia lay curled in a ball on the sofa, a small lap blanket pulled tight around her shoulders but offering not the slightest warmth to the rest of her. Absolutely nothing about her current arrangement looked at all comfortable.

Lucas set his candle on the mantel and knelt beside the sofa. “Julia.” He gently nudged her. “Julia.”

Her eyelids fluttered but didn’t fully open.

“Sweetheart.” He brushed his hand over her hair.

Her eyes opened, though her lids remained heavy. “Lucas?”

“Why are you in here?”

She blinked a few times. “I’m not supposed to be.” Her words emerged slow with lingering sleep. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d find me.”

“I’m not upset.”

Her eyes slid closed once more. “I’m not supposed to be in here.”

“This is your home, Julia. There’s no part of it where you aren’t welcome.”

A little smile fluttered across her face. “I like Brier Hill.”

He wrapped his fingers around hers poking out from under the blanket. “I’ve wondered over the years if you would.”

Her breathing grew slower and heavier. She was clearly exhausted and not entirely awake. But if she slept on this short sofa, only half covered with a thin blanket, she wouldn’t wake very rested.

“Julia?”

Her eyes half opened.

“You should go lie on your bed. You’ll sleep better.”

“A bottle of perfume broke. My room needs to be aired out, so all the windows are open.”

Ah. “The room is too cold for sleeping.”

“I didn’t know where else to go,” she whispered. “Mrs. Parks says the guest chambers are all being used.”

And so they were.

“Come along, sweetheart.” He slipped his arm under her back and helped her to a seated position. “You can sleep in my bed; I’ll use the sofa.”

She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. “You’re far taller than I am, Lucas. You’ll never fit on this sofa.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I would sleep in Pooka’s doghouse if it meant you didn’t have to pass a cold and uncomfortable night.”

“Sometimes, Lucas, I think you don’t actually hate having me here.” She leaned more heavily against him and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m cold.”

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