say they smell particularly good, and they cost a fortune to house and feed and take care of.”
She eyed him cautiously. “You don’t like to ride?”
“Oh, it’s pleasant enough.” He waved his hand in the air as if dismissing the topic.
“Do you know anything about the Godolphin Arabians?” she ventured.
“Horses?” This time he frowned.
“Yes, famous horses,” she prompted.
“Why would I want to know anything about them?” He shook his head, looking a bit perturbed at her for asking. “They don’t exactly teach you such things at Cambridge.” He laughed uproariously at that, for some inexplicable reason.
Julianna expelled her breath. Something told her that if she continued down this path, she would find herself more disappointed. She might as well bring up the subject that she’d asked him here to discuss.
She folded her hands together carefully and took a deep breath. “Is it true that you asked my father to move up our wedding date?”
Murdock blinked at her. “Who told you that?”
“Uh…I heard it through Lord Clayton.” There, that was somewhat true.
“I see. I didn’t realize Clayton was in the habit of repeating things in private letters.” Murdock seemed angry again.
“I didn’t know you were coming here, either,” she replied, a bit put off by the fact that instead of admitting what he’d done, he was blaming Lord Clayton for her finding out about it.
“I wanted to surprise you, my dear,” he said, but the word dear sounded flat and unemotional. It made her uncomfortable.
She tried to smile, but the muscles in her cheeks wouldn’t cooperate. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t wait to see me back in London.”
He lifted both brows. “You don’t want to see me?” His tone sounded hurt.
“I didn’t say that.” Bless it. This conversation was taking a turn for the worse. She needed to get back to the point. “I merely wondered why you’d choose to try to move up the wedding without asking me first.”
His bark of laugher bounced off the windowpane. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission.”
Julianna’s brows shot up. “Pardon?” He hadn’t truly just said that, had he? In her family, her parents were well aware of the roles they each played, but her father never did anything without consulting with her mother first. It was a sign of respect as far as Julianna was concerned, and she knew her parents felt the same way about it.
“It would have been a nice courtesy,” Julianna continued, doing her best not to grit her teeth. “Am I to have no say in our wedding plans? Besides, Father will simply discuss it with Mother who will discuss it with me.”
“Well, that’s quite unusual,” Murdock replied, tugging at his coat again. His tone had turned imperious.
Julianna blinked. “What is?”
“A duke asking his wife for permission,” came Murdock’s pompous reply.
Julianna crossed her arms over her chest. “He doesn’t ask for permission. He asks for her opinion. I see nothing wrong with that.”
“I suppose that’s one way to describe it.” Murdock’s tone had turned icy.
In addition to her folded arms, Julianna began to tap her slipper upon the rug. “Well, I would like to be informed of any changes to the wedding date. We’d planned it for spring, and I think it’s best to keep it there.”
She didn’t want to vocalize the feeling of impending doom that clutched at her chest each time she thought of the wedding date being moved up. The truth was, the fact that it seemed so far off in the future was the reason she’d been feeling good about it till now. The moment she contemplated it happening in a matter of a few short weeks’ time, her heart began to pound, and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
Murdock’s frown returned. “We’ll see.” He reached out and patted her shoulder, giving her a complacent smile.
Anger shot through Julianna’s veins. He was clearly trying to placate her. Was this the sort of marriage they would have? One where he patted her and gave her a false smile and she had no say in anything?
“Yes,” Julianna replied, returning his fake-sweet smile with one of her own. “We will see.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Yet again, Julianna couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned, replaying the entire conversation with Lord Murdock in her head. She didn’t even know who he was. She’d been so wrapped up in her mother’s advice to ensure she fulfilled her destiny and became betrothed to the next most eligible man in the ton, she hadn’t even stopped to consider whether she wanted to