Abandoned to the Prodigal - Mary Lancaster Page 0,52
mother said. “Open it.”
Juliet broke the seal, retreating to her own chair while she unfolded it and glanced at the signature. “Why, it’s from Hazel.”
“Who is Hazel?” her mother asked, bewildered.
“Miss Curwen. She was one of the princess’s other ladies who was…” She paused, not so much at the difficulty of bringing up that night of shame at Connaught Place but because of what Hazel had written. “Dear God. It was malice. Hazel has discovered who tricked us that night.”
“Who?” her mother demanded with a mixture of hope and dread.
Juliet knew how she felt. Kitty arrived at her side with a gasp and a demand to read the letter. But along with the euphoria of vindication, came a new wariness, for Hazel’s letter was more than information. It was a warning.
Lord Barden had set out to harm them, for spite. And Lord Barden was already on his way to Hornby. This was the man who had lost his fortune to her father, and who was coming here tomorrow with some kind of offer. He could prove her innocence or confirm her ruin, and for that reason, she could not yet reveal his name in public.
She refolded the letter and stuffed it into her work bag. “I shall give it to Papa,” she said.
“But this must be such good news for you, Juliet,” Lady Alford said with a hint of timidity.
“My innocence, ma’am, is not news to me,” she said and picked her embroidery back up. For once, she found the awkward silence soothing.
*
Her father joined her in the library almost as soon as he returned from his ride.
“I’ve made them think,” he said. “There’s definitely regret in both of them at losing you. Whether or not anything comes of it…” He shrugged and sat in the armchair. “Now, what’s this about a letter from your friend?”
Juliet gave him the letter, and he read it, frowning. The frown turned into a scowl. “The blackguard!” he exclaimed. “Absolute scoundrel!” He went back to the beginning and read it again. “She has no proof apart from the fact he called her out in public and is trying to meet with her in private. This is her word against his. Although the Sayles seem to be on her side, which counts in her favor.”
Juliet sat down heavily. “Then this means nothing? You still don’t believe me?”
“I always believed you,” he growled. “It’s the world’s opinion that bothers me.”
Alford’s opinion. Jeremy’s.
“No one around us cares,” she observed. “No one has canceled on Kitty’s dinner. She is still engaged. Mama still receives callers. The people from Myerly did not snub us. Do we need to care for the rest of the world’s opinion?”
“Yes.” He looked up from the letter. “You must be creditably married, Juliet. You are in something of a-a bubble here, but the world is larger than Hornby, and a scandal affects all of us, not just you. And God knows I wish you a better life than that of a recluse.”
She swallowed. “So, what will you do? Will you receive Lord Barden?”
“It would be dangerous not to.”
“Can…can he hurt you, Papa?”
Lord Cosland’s lips twisted. “He’s already proved he can hurt all of us. He already has.”
*
Tea was the next test of endurance. Conversation moved politely around the fine scenery of Hornby to the prosperous land and, from there, to other comparable estates and the growing importance of additional sources of income.
“I’m not suggesting we all give up land and buy mills,” Jeremy said, “but investment in banking and industry, in the Exchange, those will be our future and our fail-safes in bad years.” He smiled. “But I suppose I am preaching to the converted here, for I know you already have interests in these areas. I am trying to convince my father.”
“Your father’s political interests keep him quite busy enough,” Cosland said vaguely. He hated to discuss business.
“As do yours,” Jeremy replied.
“Oh, no, I’m strictly a dabbler,” Cosland said modestly, though with some truth. He was just a rather influential dabbler, which had, probably, been the point of Jeremy’s courtship. It had never been about Juliet.
She rose, moving toward the open French window and stepped outside onto the terrace.
“Are you well?” Kitty asked, following her out.
Juliet glanced behind her to make sure no one else had come out. “Yes. I just feel I can’t breathe in their company. I know Papa still wants me to marry Jeremy, and even if Jeremy was willing, I’d rather eat my own boots.”