Page 40 of Lady of Fortune
“It’s not the world for me, Julia,” he muttered.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she countered. “Come, Eddie, do not be scared of a few people with titles. It doesn’t matter what name someone has, but the character that goes with it. ’Tis what I believe, at any rate.”
“Did you call me a coward?" He asked suddenly, honing in on those first few words.
“No,” she said. “I just told you not to be afraid.”
“Well,” he said, clearly still affronted. “I have never been a man to turn away from a challenge, so if this is what you want, then so be it.”
“Oh, it will be such fun!” she said with enthusiasm. “I can hardly wait. I will see you at eight, then. Why do we not meet outside of the entrance to the Morelands’ rented home? I’ll provide you with the information. Do you have something to wear?”
“Yes.”
“Oh good. I didn’t mean to affront. I was simply going to say I could bring you something of my brother’s if you hadn’t packed anything that would suit. Oh, and is Will still agreeable to meeting with my father today?”
Eddie grinned at that. “I believe he is actually somewhat looking forward to it. He said if he hadn’t the fortune to be a jockey, he might have found the stage.”
She laughed at that.
“Maybelle is quite besotted with him, so there is no issue with her agreement to see him again. She is equally excited about their encounter, though I must say it makes me somewhat nervous. But she is a good judge of character, and I believe you if you trust Will as implicitly as you do. I shall leave you now, to see to your own training. I can hardly wait for tonight!”
She wanted to leave with one last quick kiss, but Finter was approaching, and so Julia tried to get her own excited emotions under control. She knew she had been rambling, and Eddie likely thought her to be a crazy person, but she could hardly believe the thought that her dream might actually come true — that she and Eddie could possibly be together. If only she could now bring all aspects of her life to fit together. She didn’t want to believe that it might be possible, for fear of all hope coming crashing down upon her, but the optimist in her wanted it to be true.
“Oh please,” she prayed in a whisper as she mounted Maximus and headed home. “Please allow it all to work out.”
* * *
Julia managedto find a few moments that morning to take a well-deserved nap, and she had almost forgotten the Duke’s promise to call on her — until a knock sounded on her bedroom door.
“Lady Julia?” came the butler’s voice. “Are you within? You have a caller.”
“Drat!” she muttered, before answering the butler and asking for Maybelle. She hastily dressed in a white muslin day dress with pink piping and went down to greet the Duke. He stood within the drawing room as though he had been created to be a life-like statue in such a setting. Eddie was right about one thing. A man like the Duke certainly did belong here, in a home like hers. But he didn’t belong in her heart and that, she determined, was more important than anything.
“Your Grace,” she greeted him, determined to be polite, and yet to make it clear today that the two of them would never be more than acquaintances.
“Had you forgotten that I was calling upon you?” he asked, and she bristled slightly. So she had taken a few minutes to get ready. It wasn’t as though she knew the exact time he was coming — or even if she had remembered his promise.
“Not at all,” she said, stifling her urge to say what she felt. Perhaps if she were Phoebe or even Elizabeth, she would have a witty retort that was still acceptable, but Julia often found herself at a loss for words in such circumstances — such as dukes coming to call upon her. “Would you like tea?” she asked. “I should call for tea.”
As she went to ring for the butler, her father surprised her by walking into the room.
“Julia, do you—” he broke off, curiosity overcoming his face as he saw who was within. “Clarence. How are you?”
He welcomed their guest, though he seemed slightly perplexed as to why he would be within the drawing room. He seemed about to ask when Julia’s mother walked in.
“Your Grace,” she said, her eyes lighting up at the Duke’s presence, and Julia cringed. Until this moment she hadn’t considered just how detrimental it would be to her own plans with Eddie if her parents became aware that the Duke of Clarence perhaps had some serious interest in her. For despite the fact they had always urged their children to follow their hearts, a potential match with the Duke of Clarence may be enough for them to consider otherwise.
“I was actually just about to ask Julia if she would like to accompany me,” Lord St. Albans said as he looked at his daughter. “But perhaps you would both like to come. I will be meeting the jockey, the one that has been riding Orianna. He’s to meet us over at the Rowley Mile stables.”
“I would be glad to,” the Duke said, his eyes lighting up. “I am still on the hunt for a jockey, as mine has proven rather unfit.”
Julia’s heart lifted at the thought she may be rid of him rather quickly.
“But only, of course, if Lady Julia is agreeable to such an outing,” he added.
“Oh, do go on,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We can always visit another time.”
“But the week in Newmarket is coming to a close, and who knows when we may meet up again,” Julia’s mother cut in, and Julia nearly sighed aloud. She knew her mother was doing what she thought was best, but Julia would have far preferred that this time, she simply leave her be.
