Mark of Distinction (Price of Privilege) (36 page)

A moment passed, during which I tried to collect and order the list of things I desired to learn. It wasn’t likely my father would return home until bedtime, and I was famished for information about Edward.

“We’ve been following your story in the papers.” Mr. Addams spoke before I could. “Your being the Emerald Heiress and such.”

My smile fell. Last week there’d been an article predicting that my engagement to Lord Dalry would be announced at Christmas. “Well, don’t believe the rumors.”

Henry tilted his head as if perceiving my thoughts. “This
Dalry chap, is he the one who was with Edward during the investigation?”

I blinked, never having considered that Isaac had been Edward’s companion during his ordeal. “Yes, I suppose he is.”

“You suppose?”

It hurt to admit that I still knew next to nothing about Churchill’s murder and the subsequent events. “I wasn’t even told that Edward was accused until last week.”

Henry’s face contorted. “You weren’t told?”

“It’s complicated,” I began. “They’re protective—my father and Lord Dalry, that is.”

“Protective!” Mashing his hat between his fingers, Henry found his feet. “Of what?”

I swallowed, surprised that my fingers were cold. “Well, of . . . me.”

He thwacked his hat against his leg. “I’m sorry, Juls, but I doubt it is of you. It’s their own reputation and prowess. How dare they! How dare they keep from you that Edward was nearly hanged!” He started to pace. “Would they have kept it secret if he had been?”

I shut my eyes, feeling too fragile to be yelled at. “I don’t know, Henry. I don’t know. Why are you placing the blame for this on me?”

“Oh, dash it all.” I heard Henry flop back down to the sofa and opened my eyes in time to see him wrestling with his coattails. “This all just keeps getting worse by the day. I don’t like that they would decide what knowledge you’re allowed or not allowed to have.”

I gave a bitter laugh, acknowledging the irony of it. “Isn’t that what you and Elizabeth did when you kept Edward’s ordination from me?”

He scowled. “It was for your own good, and you know it.”

“And as you can see—” tears coated my voice as I swept a hand over the room—“your plan worked just brilliantly!”

“My plan! You’re the one who married someone else. And you didn’t do this to just yourself; you did it to us! All of us!”

I turned my face and worked to compose myself.

“Aw, Juls.” Henry’s voice softened. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean it. This whole affair has us all out of sorts. It’s not like us to be at a loss.”

I pressed my knuckles against my mouth, but not because he’d upset me. His continual references to “us” were like water on parched ground.

“Satisfy me this much: The speculations about you and this Dalry chap are pure rubbish, yes? He doesn’t actually think you’re going to marry him, does he?”

“Oh, he thinks it, all right,” I said, wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands. “It’s complicated.”

Surprise filled Henry’s expression. “Have you made your position clear?”

“It’s not like you think.”

“Have you made your position clear?”

I nodded but sank against the back of the chair. How was it we were speaking of Isaac, when all I really wanted was news of Edward? I cast Henry a look that begged him to release me from this subject. He had no idea what it was like to be continually dismissed. He was the eldest son of a lord.

“Well, I, for one,” Mr. Addams said, “am for the idea.”

Henry’s head snapped in his direction. “Who asked you? Keep out of this!”

Mr. Addams adjusted himself in his seat. “Well, if you’re forcing me to miss Christmas, I’m going to dip my oar in as well.” He faced me. “If you recall, my first advice to you was to move past your indiscretion and pretend it never happened. Edward was a fool not to go to Scotland when he had the chance. But look at this place.” He gave a laugh of incredulity. “We’re all missing the fact that you’ve become the daughter—
the daughter
—of Lord Pierson. It’s either sheer madness or a miracle, and
I personally don’t believe coincidences happen without a divine hand.”

Sadness stirred in my breast, for part of me longed to believe as he did, to be comforted that there was more, some better hand at work. Yet I wondered how his theology would stand up under full knowledge of the truth. Seeing that I studied him, his smile widened with hope that perhaps he could be the one to reach the girl William Elliston had raised.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t despise the simplicity of faith; I envied it.

“If only that were so,” I said. “It’s grown a bit more complicated than that. Only my father refuses to see it. I’m not allowed to speak of it. I’m not allowed to believe what my intuition tells me.” Tears broke through my voice. “Mr. Macy will expose me if matters change beyond what they are now and will seek restitution of his conjugal rights. And he is earnest. I am certain of it.”

Fear delineated Henry’s face. “You’ve seen Macy?”

My face contorted as I tried to control my emotion; thus I could only mouth,
“Twice.”

“But your father knows?” Mr. Addams leaned forward.

I nodded, wiping my cheeks again. “He claims it’s a bluff.”

“He’s right. Macy hasn’t a shred of a chance. Not against Lord Pierson. If Lord Dalry marries you, Macy will have even less of a claim.”

Henry swore. “What sort of asinine advice is that? Are you insane too? Either she’s married to Macy or she’s not. There’s no such thing as less of a claim.”

A throat cleared near the door, and the atmosphere intensified. I knew who it was before I looked; therefore I quickly rose and faced him.

It was the first time I had seen my father since our argument. Firelight flickered over the heavy gold chain clasping his cloak. His black boots glistened from beneath his woollen cape. His hands curled into fists, but he eyed our trio in a calm manner
that increased my dread. I cringed, waiting for him to unleash his full fury.

As if finally understanding for himself that the benevolent image of my father painted in the papers was only half the picture, Mr. Addams, too, found his feet. He grew so pasty, I could mark every imperfection on his face.

Only Henry managed to forgo dread. He rose and gave a flippant bow. “Well, good. At least someone is here to give me answers. You must be Lord Pierson. As you can see, your daughter is too cowed to give us a proper introduction. I’m Henry Auburn, the brother of Reverend Auburn, but more importantly, heir to my father’s title. Depending on what transpires during the next quarter of an hour, I will also forever be either your political friend or foe.”

I winced, seeing that Henry’s speech increased my father’s ire. His eyes flashed as his jaw tightened. Isaac entered the chamber, loosing his cravat. Stunned, he stopped just behind my father.

“Isaac.” My father’s voice shook. “Take Julia to the back parlor. I’ll deal with her later.”

The blue of Lord Dalry’s eyes fairly danced between Henry, Mr. Addams, and me as though trying to construct what was happening. His countenance held pity as he crossed the chamber to me.

He bowed slightly, extending his arm. Meeting my gaze, his eyes demanded,
Hurry.
Isaac faced my father. “Sir, I feel I’m owed an explanation too. Will you wait for my return before questioning these men?”

My father’s jaw flexed as he eyed Henry, but he nodded.

The moment Isaac and I entered the hall, he pulled me away from the door. “Quickly, what happened?”

“My father found me with Edward’s brother and Mr. Addams.”

“What were you discussing?”

I hesitated, then confessed, “The legality of my marriage to Macy.”

Isaac closed his eyes, and when they opened, he commanded, “Go directly to the parlor and remain there.”

I grabbed his sleeve before he could leave. “Isaac, please.” I allowed tears to gather, for I still hadn’t learned anything about Edward. “
Please
, I still need an audience with Henry.”

The pain in his eyes hurt me as well. He sighed, looking miserable. “I’ll try.”

I sat in the parlor, eyes closed, listening with all my might, hoping to catch one last strain of Henry’s voice. I was a prisoner awaiting the jailor to bring me news of whether I was to be exonerated or executed. The thought of Henry leaving before I had news of Edward nearly undid me. At the sound of the door, I nervously jumped from my chair.

I blinked, astonished to find Kate with her arms full of small parcels. Under normal circumstances I’d have hastened to greet her and felt gladsome for her presence. As it was, her sudden reappearance only made everything seem more dreamlike, so that I only managed to give her a stiff, confused nod.

“Goodness!” Kate entered and nudged the door shut with her foot. “You look like you’ve just returned from Lady Beatrice’s. What’s wrong?” She threw herself on the largest settee. Packages tied with ribbon spilled onto the floor as she pulled off her bonnet. Finding that the seat sprang back, she giggled and bounced a few times. With her eyes shining she asked, “Shall we take off our shoes and jump on it?”

My head felt as though it weighed a stone as I lifted it to acknowledge her. “Where have you been?”

Her mouth tipped up in a playful manner. “Did Isaac not tell you? He managed to find another of our cousins, though distantly removed, and sent me to spend the night with her.” She wrinkled
her nose. “It was horrid. She’s half-blind and keeps twenty cats. Do I smell?” She sashayed to me, held her sleeve under her nose, and took a whiff. “I detect nothing offensive. Do you?”

After the stress of this morning, the simplicity of Kate’s question made me laugh. Not a happy sound, but a laugh that relieved my tension more than tears could have.

Concern puckered her brow. “Don’t let your father hear you laugh like that. He’ll think it unladylike.” With an impish grin, she pulled the pins from her Quaker-like bun and shook her head. Curls of reddish hair tumbled about her shoulders and down her back. “I thought I would never be free. She insisted that curls were of the devil and made me wear my hair like this. If she could see better, I have no doubt she’d write Mother encouraging her to wax my hair straight. Where is Isaac, anyway?”

I dropped to a chair and hugged a pillow. “With guests.”

“And your father?”

I sighed, wondering anew what could possibly be taking them this long. I hadn’t heard a sound from the library. “Oh, he’s visiting with them too, I suppose.”

She dimpled and placed her foot on the couch to remove her slipper. “Good. Then just once, I’m going to jump on this settee. You watch the door. I’ve wanted to since the first time I sat on it. Have you noticed that all the other furniture here is softer, yet your father always chooses to sit on this couch?”

I looked up at her. “Kate, don’t you dare.”

She only grinned, and before I could protest again, she stood and jumped. She went higher than I would have guessed she’d be able to. Her tresses fell about her shoulders and bounced with her. She laughed and jumped again, this time turning in the air.

“Oh, you must try this.” With a flop, she landed in a sitting position and laughed.

The idea that Kate was jumping on my father’s settee while he visited with Henry was more than I could take. I gave a hysterical giggle at the absurdity of it.

“Try it,” she urged.

I shook my head, still holding back tears.

“Try it.” She tossed her curls. “I don’t know why you feel gloomy, but this will cure it. I promise!” She bounced a few more times.

It brought back a memory of jumping atop a haystack with Elizabeth. I’d been frightened we’d be caught, but Elizabeth insisted I hadn’t lived until I’d stood on top of the world. Shyly, I’d climbed the straw embankment. Wind rushed through my hair as I spread my arms. It became one of those epic moments in childhood where I felt invincible. Edward, who had chosen to remain stretched out on our picnic blanket, had turned on his back to watch me. I recalled the pleasure on his face as he observed my transformation.

“Watch this!” Kate twirled in the air and landed with a peal of laughter. “Just try it once, please.” She stood and extended her hand.

I swallowed, remembering that sensation and longing for it. I glanced toward the door as I slipped off my shoes. It was irrational. Unreasonable. But once more, I wanted to do something forbidden. Taking one giant step, I hoisted myself to the settee. Holding hands, we alternated jumps. Kate’s hair floated in the air, while my braided loops hit my ears. For a moment, I was free. Free from society, free from my father’s expectation to remarry.

Kate suddenly gasped and plopped to a sitting position. Still standing, I turned to see my father with Isaac, Henry, Mr. Addams, and James all standing wide-eyed in the doorway.

As soon as I slid down the back of the settee, Kate buried her face on my shoulder, giggling.

“Julia.” My father entered, smiling, but it was stiff. “Mr. Auburn and Mr. Addams wish to bid you good-bye.” He looked over his shoulder at Henry and, in a cold voice, said, “As you can attest for yourself, my daughter is happy. Isaac, see these men removed from my home, then finalize the arrangements
for Katherine. She returns home today as well.” My father nodded to Kate. “Give your mother my greetings.”