Page 52 of His Unforgettable Bride
“The correspondence is not from me. A woman came to the door and wants to speak with you. She waits behind the house, though you need not go to her. If you wish, I shall ask her to leave.”
She drew a sharp breath before cupping her hand over her mouth. Then she unfolded the paper and read the message, her lips silently moving.
A small fire and a lantern combined to light the room, her bedding in disarray. Had memories of dancing also kept her from slumber? Or was his notion nothing but vanity?
A fuzzy memory surfaced inside him—a letter, a room with a blazing fire in the hearth, and sadness. Nothing more. What did it mean? He had no clue and would need to postpone his pondering until later. Juliet required his full attention now.
“Holy Moses,” Juliet whispered.
“What is happening?”
She tightened her shawl over her shoulders and hesitated for a moment. “Her name is Ruby O’Reilly. She swiped something from our old employer, hid it, and it went missing. Wrongly, she blames me.” Squinting, she reread her correspondence before lowering the letter. “I can’t understand all of her scribbles, but I puzzled out the main points.”
He extended his hand. “Let me read it. Perhaps I can make sense of the message.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
Their eyes locked. Then Juliet refolded the paper, tucked the slip down the front of her neckline, and lifted her brow to a challenging degree.
He blinked, not anticipating her hiding place. The odds of him hunting for the scrap stood at one and an infinite number. Unsure what to do with his hands, he stuffed them into his trouser pockets. “I insist on accompanying you.”
“All right, but you can’t listen to our conversation.” She looked at the floor. “All of this, in a sense, is tied to my past, and I’d be ashamed if you ever knew the truth.”
“I shall not judge you.”
“You might.”
He sighed. “I accept your terms, though you shall remain in my eyesight.”
“So be it.”
Their discussion had the faint ring of a negotiated business deal, but their agreement was more than a transaction. Juliet’s safety and welfare were potentially at stake.
He waited in the hallway as she changed, and then they tiptoed down the back staircase, across the kitchen floor, and outside through the back door. He held his lantern up to find Ruby leaning against the trunk of a barren oak tree, as a sliver of light brightened the eastern horizon.
“I’ll talk to you there.” Juliet started across the grass, pointing toward the tearoom.
“Who’s the fella?” Ruby straightened, and her stare remained brazen. “Your guard?”
“Never mind him.” With the shawl slipping off her shoulders, she advanced toward her foe on determined steps. “He’s no one.”
No one? The knot in Gray’s stomach tightened to a painful degree. He did not want to be ano oneto Juliet.
He had been trying so hard to keep his growing feelings for her at bay, but at her easy dismissal, all those feelings rushed in to swamp him—desire, protection, and need. They swirled inside, hard and fast and strong.
How could he deny that she was becoming important in his life? The simple truth was, he could not.
* * *
Juliet’s pulse pumped at full force. Had Ruby remained in Everly since they last saw each other? More importantly, was she about to seek revenge since Juliet hadn’t located the money or the jewels?
Juliet paused near the teahouse and spun to face Ruby. “First of all, I don’t have what you seek. Your letter mentioned your vengeance. Whatever it is, spit it out.”
They locked gazes, and the tension grew heavy enough to pour into a pitcher. Finally, Ruby spoke again. “I ain’t hair-brained. The jewels got to be somewhere.”
