Page 50 of A Deal with the Earl (Necessary Arrangements 1)

“You’re five and twenty, too young to be shot by a jealous husband.”

“That is unfair, isn’t it? Why should I pay for her lusty nature? Or his inability to satisfy his wife?” Gabriel shrugged again and downed his drink.

“Indeed.” Robert regarded his own drink darkly before tilting it to his mouth and drinking it dry.

* * *

Robert woke up the next morning with a cracking headache. The sun was streaming into his face, hurting his eyes. There was a slight buzzing in his head as he got up and looked around. He fell asleep in his chair, resting his head on his desk. Gabriel was nowhere to be found.Thank God,Robert thought. He couldn’t deal with his friend’s cheerful disposition after the night of drinking. Only two years older, he felt ancient compared to the exuberant life-loving Gabriel St. Clare. A man without a care in the world.

Robert shuffled off to his room to perform his morning ablutions. The pounding in his head wasn’t his only problem. He shivered in what seemed to be a warm room, and his throat felt scratchy. He let his valet dress him and shave him, feeling worse than he did the night before.

After he was presentable enough, he went to his study to encounter his secretary.

“My Lord—”

“No time for pleasantries, I’m afraid,” Robert said, his voice hoarse. “Pick up a quill; I need you to draft a letter for the papers.”

Robert dictated the horrifying details of what he knew about Mary’s experiences in the asylum, trying to soften the wording to preserve her dignity as much as he could. Then he folded the letter, put it in his coat pocket, and ordered the carriage ready for his visit to his father.

“A note for you, My Lord,” the butler said and handed him an envelope. Robert opened the missive and instantly recognized the handwriting.

Come to me at once. The matter is of utmost urgency.

Robert frowned at the note. He walked towards the carriage and turned to the driver. “To Vanessa’s townhouse.”

* * *

Julie entered the dark and gloomy house. It took them eight days to get to London from Doncaster. It hadn’t been possible to keep a brisk pace with Mary. She had been sick from all the swaying in the carriage and got tired rather quickly, so they made frequent stops and didn’t spend more than six hours on the road a day.

The servants bustled around them, bringing up their luggage, preparing supper, steaming the water for their baths. The house was thrown into upheaval in a matter of minutes, but by the look of it, everything had been quiet in the townhouse for days. Julie looked around her. She remembered little of the place from the brief visit after the wedding. It seemed—empty.

Mary yawned by her side and swayed lightly into Julie’s side. Julie hugged her closer and looked at the housekeeper.

“Mrs. Post, would you mind showing Mary to her rooms?”

“Of course, My Lady,” the older woman bowed and led Mary away.

“I will retire as well,” The dowager intoned crisply and sauntered into her rooms in the Clydesdale townhouse, leaning slightly on her cane. The proud woman rarely leaned on her cane this much, but the eight-day travel wore everyone out. The dowager had her own lodgings in London, but she informed Julie that she’d be staying with them for a while. Julie didn’t protest. The dowager seemed to enjoy Mary’s company, and Mary hers. No matter how much the duchess grumbled at Julie and looked at her in distaste, she was family. Much better family, in fact, than Julie’s own father. And Julie started to appreciate her company during the long and challenging trip.

Julie gave the dark hall one more perusal before she turned to the passing butler. “Is his lordship not home?” she asked, although she felt she knew the answer.

“No, My Lady,” the emotionless butler intoned evenly.

“When did he leave the house?”

“I couldn’t say, My Lady.”

Julie raised her brow in reaction but didn’t respond.He couldn’t say.That could only mean one thing. Butler knew exactly where her husband left and when. He just wasn’t inclined to tell her. They’d spent eight days on the road. Surely, he could spare a few minutes to greet them, no matter how busy he was. The dowager had sent the letter informing Robert of their arrival before they left for London, so he should have been aware of their trip. Unless, of course, he hadn’t been home for days. Julie frowned in thought. With a deep sigh, Julie ambled up the stairs and into her room. The room she’d spent exactly one night in before, scared and confused.

After a lonely supper and a bath, Julie lay awake in her bed staring at the ceiling. The dowager and Mary forewent the supper and retired early. Julie, however, couldn’t sleep. The house was quiet. Too quiet. She already went to check on Mary twice. Something about this empty townhouse triggering the memories of the night Mary had disappeared, of the nights leading up to that. The image of their mother, bloody and in pain, flashed before her eyes. Julie turned and put a pillow over her head.

How different would her life be if she had married John, she wondered. She wouldn’t spend a single night alone and frightened in the darkness, she was sure. The sound of something snapping or clicking startled Julie, and she sat up in bed. Was Robert finally home? She stood from the bed and tip-toed to the door, and leaned her ear against it. Everything was quiet. She sighed and returned to her bed. Every little sound had her thinking, hoping, that it was Robert coming through the front door. But all her hopes of seeing him had died sometime after her candle burned out. Robert hadn’t come home that night.

The next morning Julie jumped out of her bed and ran straight into Robert’s bedroom. His bed was made up and clearly not slept in. No clothes were on the bed either. He still wasn’t back. She looked out the window. The clouds were gathering over the sky, the weather was windy and gray, promising precipitation. She worried her lip, wondering what could have kept him out all night. Had he spent the night in his clubs? What if he took that opportunity to spend the time with another woman? What if that’s what he’d been doing in London all this time? He had asked her to be true to him, but he’d never made the same promise. Julie’s heart clenched at the unpleasant thought.

She slowly went back to her own room, rang the bell for Alice to help her dress, and sat on the edge of the bed. All her strength seemingly abandoning her.

Alice walked in looking bright and happy, a complete opposite to Julie’s own sour mood.

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