Page 38 of Lady of Fortune
From his immaculate dress, the way his hair was pulled back ever so carefully, and the very manner of which he held himself, it could only be one man — the Duke of Clarence.
A man whose ranking was next to only the Prince Regent himself was interested in Julia. How wonderful for her.
Eddie snorted as he turned away. He could lie to himself as much as he liked. Deep within he knew that he would be unhappy about Julia being with anyone but himself.
That could never happen, he insisted once more, a mantra that seemed to have become rather repetitive as of late. And it wouldn’t stop, he knew, until this damn race was done and he was separated from her for good.
* * *
And so Eddiebroodily greeted Julia the next morning when she arrived at the Rowley Mile stable, where Orianna would remain until after the Two Thousand Guineas, so she could become used to the other horses on the training grounds. This melancholy mood was not a familiar one to Eddie, and he did not enjoy the way it felt within him. But at the moment even Julia, who normally brought him all of the happiness in the world, could not make him feel any better, for all he could think of was the fact that their time together was coming to an end.
“Eddie!” she said as she practically skipped into the stables despite the early hour. She entered the stall with him, greeted Orianna with an apple and a stroke of her neck, and then turned to him with eagerness on her face.
“Are you excited?” he asked her.
“I am,” she said. “Very.”
“About the Two Thousand Guineas, or about something else?” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the stall door.
“About the race of course, but there is more to it, I must admit,” she said slowly, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. “What… do you think I would be excited about?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, matching the hesitation in her voice. “Are you looking forward to spending more time with a certain gentleman?”
“Yes,” she responded, her cheeks turning quite a becoming pink, and his heart turned in his chest. He hadn’t realized just how much he was beginning to feel for her, despite the fact that it was he himself who was doing all he could to build a wall between the two of them — though clearly he was desperately failing in his attempt.
“I’m happy for you,” he said, and she cocked her head to the side as she looked at him quizzically.
“You’re… happy forme?”
“Yes,” he said, attempting to maintain his stoic expression. “You deserve to find a man who can be there for you, provide for you, give you the life you deserve.”
Confusion reigned on her face as she stared at him. “Whatever are you talking about?”
“Your duke,” he said, somewhat exasperated. He would prefer not to speak of this at all. Could she not move on from the subject instead of continuing to torture him so? Though he had brought it up.
“My duke?” she exclaimed. “Tell me you are not referring to the Duke of Clarence?”
“Of course,” he said with a nod. “I saw the two of you together yesterday. He is clearly interested in you, and you were rather… close.”
“Oh, you silly man,” she said, surprising him by swatting him on the shoulder and laughing aloud. “I amcertainlynot interested in the Duke of Clarence. I do not even believe he is in me. Truth be told, it seems to be that there are strange emotions and desires lurking beneath the surface between him and my friend Elizabeth. Not that either of them would ever admit as much or even acknowledge one other. I believe he is somehow after my own affections in order to vex Elizabeth. But all that being said, I have no interest in him myself. I was only close to him yesterday because I had no room to move away.”
His heart slowed once more as he stared at her.
“So… he is not the gentleman with whom you are enamored.”
“No, of course not,” she said, a slow smile beginning to spread across her face. “Don’t tell me you were jealous, Eddie Francis?”
He ignored her last remark.
“Then to whom are you referring?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Who do you think?”
He paused, unsure of how to respond. Of course he wanted it to be him. For she was right — the thought of any other man capturing her affections caused vicious jealousy to grow within him. As much as he wanted it, however, to admit such thoughts for one another aloud would only make their inevitable separation much more difficult.
“Julia, I —”
But she didn’t allow him to say another word. Instead, she launched herself into his arms, wrapping her own around the back of his neck as she brought her lips to his and kissed him with more power than he would ever have thought possible from a woman her size.
