Page 57 of Lady of Fortune
Eddie nodded. Though after all that had happened now with Valiant, he wasn’t even sure he had a career at all. What would he do? Would he have to go back to mucking stables and grooming horses? Perhaps he could be a trainer. Or —
“I do not believe I will say anything,” Clarence continued, interrupting his thoughts. “It really has no benefit to me for anyone else to know, and I have no wish to see Lady Julia ostracized by society. She is rather intriguing, isn’t she?”
“She is,” Eddie agreed, not allowing the Duke to see how his words affected him.
“And quite beautiful,” Clarence added, flashing a grin at Eddie, who realized now that the man was purposefully goading him into anger. He opened his mouth to refute him, but then he saw that the Duke was now looking over his shoulder. Eddie turned.
And there she was.
CHAPTER28
“Julia,” Eddie murmured, and completely forgot about the Duke for a moment.
She was breathtaking.
Tonight she wore a dress of lavender, a nod to her own racing colors, such as the silks she herself had donned only this afternoon. But it was more than the hue — it was the way the gown clung to her curves, the bodice low and the tops of her rounded breasts peeking out the top. A band of ribbon hugged her waist, from which the material flowed, while gathered puff sleeves displayed her slim yet sinewy arms, though they were mostly hidden under long white gloves.
Her curls were gathered on top of her head, a few falling around her face, softly framing her cheekbones and crystal blue eyes, a pair of matching ear bobs hanging from her delicate ears.
The moment he saw her, Eddie couldn’t look anywhere else.
Forgetting the Duke, he walked toward her as though there was a tether connecting the two of them, and within seconds he was standing in front of her.
“Evenin’,” he breathed, and she smiled back at him.
“Good evening,” she repeated, and after a moment of the two of them staring at one another, a throat clearing from Julia’s right caught his attention, and Eddie’s eyes finally left her to see her father standing next to her.
“My lord,” he said belatedly with a slight nod of his head. “How are you this evening?”
“I am well,” St. Albans said slowly as he regarded Eddie. “And what brings you here this evening to the home of the Viscount Dorchester?”
“A friendly invitation,” Eddie said, attempting to keep his voice light. “I was invited by an acquaintance.”
“I see,” said the Earl, though clearly he did not, especially considering all he knew of what had occurred between Eddie and the Viscount. He looked between Eddie and his daughter as though he was just realizing that there was perhaps more between the two of them than old friends who had become re-acquainted, and Eddie certainly couldn’t say that the man looked altogether pleased.
“Julia, the Duke is here,” said Lady St. Albans as she drew up beside Julia with a nod at Eddie, who only now realized that Clarence had slipped away. “Let us go speak with him.”
“I will in a moment, Mother, but —”
“Do not be shy,” the Countess said, and Eddie didn’t miss the slight nudge of her hand on Julia’s back. “Lovely to see you, Eddie,” she added with a genuine smile, which told Eddie that she clearly hadn’t picked up on anything between him and Julia, though she ushered her daughter away rather quickly. Julia’s face was full of regret as she followed her mother, though she turned and looked back at him with the same amount of longing that he felt deep within his soul. He would have to wait until later this evening when she was alone — if she ever would be — in order to speak with her further, to hold her close — even if it was just for one last time.
* * *
For the firsttime in her life, Julia found herself in high demand at a party, and she desperately wished it wasn’t so, for all she wanted was a moment alone with Eddie. Following what would hopefully be an opportunity to speak with him, she desired nothing more than to return home and throw herself upon her mattress and to fall into a deep sleep, for she was exhausted from the events of the day — not just physically, but from the nerves that had besieged her, the rush of adrenaline, and the subsequent thrill of seeing Eddie and sharing the victory with him.
She now lamented her dilemma in a few quick moments with Elizabeth as she looked around the room, attempting to catch sight of him once more.
“You are in demand, Julia, because not only are you part-owner of the horse that won the Two Thousand Guineas today, but it is now known that a duke is interested in you,” Elizabeth said with a smile and roll of her eyes that said Julia should have realized this. “All of the other gentlemen would like to know what they are missing out on. And of course, only now are they realizing that for so long, they have been missing out on quite a bit.”
Julia smiled at Elizabeth for her kind words, but just then she caught sight of Eddie’s wiry frame slipping out the doors into the gardens beyond, and she quickly squeezed Elizabeth’s arms. “I’ll be right back,” she murmured, and then rushed to the doors, determined that now, nothing and no one could stop her from what she was after.
“Eddie!” she called as she ran down the garden path, following his footsteps, and when he heard her voice, he stopped and turned toward her. He smiled, but it was thin, and she knew he was attempting levity for her sake. “I’m so sorry,” she said once she reached him. “I have been trying to find time for a word with you all evening.”
“You have many admirers,” he said with a nod, and Julia’s cheeks warmed — not from his compliment, but because she knew what she must now say to him and she worried about his response.
“Only one matters,” she said, her eyelids dropping low.
“Is that so?” he murmured, taking her arm and walking her down the path, deeper into the gardens that surrounded them. Julia knew they weren’t large, but they had thick foliage, and many statues, pergolas, and gazebos. The Viscount enjoyed showing off his wealth, and had rented an impressive estate.
