Page 62 of A Deal with the Earl (Necessary Arrangements 1)

“Yes, special clothes that will make it comfortable for you to ride.”

“More clothes,” Mary said thoughtfully, then looked up at Julie with a wide smile.

“You need clothes too,” she said, pointing to Julie.

“I might need some more new gowns, yes,” Julie smiled as Mary walked toward her and hugged her side.

“And Rob,” Mary looked at him and grinned.

“I think my valet is on top of things regarding my clothing, but thank you for your concern,” he said with a chuckle. He placed either hand around Mary and Julie and squeezed them closer to him.

Julie’s heart filled with an inexplicable feeling of rightness. That was it. That feeling of safety and happiness. She felt it aching through her heart. The feeling of being surrounded by the most important people in her life.

* * *

Julie finally retired to her room just before midnight. She didn’t want to leave Mary, but she was tired, and Julie didn’t want to overwhelm her too much. She changed to her nightgown, performed her nightly ablutions, and sat on her bed. Now that she was alone in bed, she wondered if Robert would come to her that night. She was strangely looking forward to her marital duties. She knew she shouldn’t be, a gentlewoman wouldn’t be, especially since it hurt so much, and she was still sore. But she craved the closeness with her husband. She wanted to feel his arms around her again, breathe in his smell, bask in his comforting heat. After a long and tiring day, she’d do anything just to be surrounded by him again.

Just at that moment, she heard a knock on the connecting door.

“Come in,” she cried out and sat straight in bed.

Robert walked in, still dressed in his breeches and his shirtsleeves. He shed his coat, waistcoat, and cravat. His collar was gaping open at his throat, showing his bronzed skin. He walked around to the window and turned to her, crossing his arms on his wide chest, leaning his left shoulder against the windowsill. Julie devoured his form with her eyes. How had she never noticed how athletic and strong he was? He was tall and incredibly handsome. And his pale gray eyes were the best feature on his lovely face. They were deep and mysterious. She could drown in the depth of those eyes. Why did she ever think him cold and forbidding? How had she missed the spark deep in his eyes?

He studied her in return as they both stared at each other in silence for a few long moments.

“I hope you are not upset about the sudden gift,” he finally said. “I should have talked to you before making an announcement, but I promised Mary to teach her to ride and didn’t want to delay it.”

Julie shook her head. “No, that was the right decision. I was unsure at first,” she admitted, “but seeing the joy on Mary’s face,” she smiled in reminiscence. “This was the best idea. And she doesn’t need to ride a lot immediately, does she?” She paused, studying the coverlet for a moment. “I have to admit, I am looking forward to this new experience with her. I am sure she would love it. I want her to have many more of those.” Julie bit her lip and frowned at the thought of Mary passing without experiencing so many things.

Robert was beside her instantly. He sat on the edge of the bed and collected her against his chest. Julie hugged him closer and burrowed into his heat. She felt him rub his chin against the top of her head as she closed her eyes. This, she thought with a sigh, was exactly what she needed.

“We’ll make sure she does,” he breathed and placed a chaste kiss on her hair. Julie sighed, marveling at the feeling of safety and comfort. She could not remember a time she felt so at peace as she felt at this moment.

“I also went around making some inquiries.” He paused. “About the doctors.”

“Oh.” Julie looked up with him, still not withdrawing from the circle of his arms.

“My solicitor will find the best ones in England first. And if there is no good prognosis from them, I will send for someone to the continent. Don’t worry,” he said in a softer tone of voice. “We’ll make Mary better. I promise.”

Julie bit her lip as not to cry. Robert cupped her cheek and caressed it with his thumb. His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips and locked on them for a long moment. Julie licked her lips unconsciously and saw his pale eyes darken. He returned his gaze back to hers.

“I need to tell you some things. About the asylum. Are you up to hearing those things?” As Julie nodded, Robert told her everything he did to change things in the asylum. Starting with how he talked to the governors, tracked down reformers, even spoke to other inmates’ families while he was in Doncaster, and finishing with his meeting with Tule and his proposal about the note to the papers. Now, the only thing left was to send the letter that would unleash scandal onto their family and basically make a laughingstock of Mary.

“I was going to talk to you before sending the letter,” Robert finished his recital. “But now, I don’t think it is a good idea.”

Julie nodded mutely. Yes, the best thing for them would be to stay silent and keep Mary protected. To give her the best life possible while they still could. But what about the other inmates? How much longer would they suffer?

“I know what you are thinking, Julie,” Robert said, peering into her face. “We will find another way to help those in the asylum.”

Julie smiled weakly. She looked into his dear face and wondered how he could understand her so well. Like nobody else could. She wanted to burrow herself into his comforting heat again. To stay that way forever. Only he took her by the shoulders and slowly eased her away from his body. He stood from the bed then, the loss of his heat like a whiplash. Julie looked at him, puzzled.

“You need to get some rest now,” he said, looking down at her.

“You—” she paused and turned a color of deep red before continuing. “You won’t stay here tonight?” she asked shyly. Robert looked intently into her eyes as if trying to read her mind or peer into her soul.

“No, Julie—you need your rest.” He cleared his throat and shuffled from one foot to another. “Are you sore?” he asked as he lifted his face to hers.

“Oh.” Julie bit her lip, embarrassment flooding her cheeks, as she realized what he meant. “Yes, but—”

“I will not bother you tonight then,” he cut her off in as gentle a tone as he could. “You’ll need your strength on the morrow. But next time I come to your bed—it will be better.” He reached out to tuck a loose lock of her hair behind her ear.

“It wasn’t—” Julie shrugged, lowering her gaze. “It wasn’t bad,” she said, looking down at her fidgeting hands.Please stay,she wanted to beg. But this intimacy between them was new. She didn’t know how he felt about it. Maybe he didn’t want to stay with her. So, she didn’t ask.

“I’m glad,” he said in a tone as if he was stifling a chuckle. “But I hurt you, and you need to recover. You shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk to me about it, Julie,” he continued.

Shouldn’t she, though?Even the thought of it made her heart race and her palms perspire.

“It will be much better that way. For both of us.” He bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. “We’ll talk about this later. Now, sleep.” With these words, he left the room.

Julie fell back to her pillows with a whimper of disappointment. Yes, she was sore, but even more so, she was tired and heartbroken, and she needed to be comforted. Robert, on the other hand, probably wanted to be alone. Letting out another sigh, she turned on her side and burrowed even further into her sheets. It had been a long day.

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