Duke Looks Like a Groomsman - Valerie Bowman Page 0,60
the pile of blankets. “Would you like some tea? I made some,” she offered.
He nodded. Now that he’d found her, he wasn’t entirely certain what to say to her. They could hardly leave for the stables again, given the current weather conditions.
Moments later, she returned from the small kitchen with a steaming mug in her hands. She handed it to him, and he gratefully took it. She sat down beside him, and they were both silent for several minutes while he sipped the tea.
“How did you find me?” she finally asked. The wind and rain were still whipping outside, but now that they were closer together, he could hear her better.
“I guessed.”
She nodded. “Is Alabaster safe in the barn?”
“Yes, he’s fine. He’s with Midnight now.”
“They’re both excellent horses,” Julianna replied. “I would have never forgiven myself if Alabaster had been hurt in the storm. I wasn’t entirely certain where I was going today. I’d been riding around for a while before I remembered this place. I managed to make it here before the storm broke.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Alabaster is quite special to Clayton and not just because of his lineage. Clayton credits him with his marriage. If it weren’t for that horse, Clayton might still be a bachelor,” Rhys said with a wry chuckle.
Julianna stared into the fire and nodded. “Yes, Lady Clayton told me the story. Quite a tale.”
“Quite a way to become leg-shackled,” Rhys replied, taking another sip from his mug.
The smile faded from Julianna’s face. “I didn’t mean to frighten Mama. I just had to get away.”
“Away from what?” Rhys asked, narrowing his eyes on her.
Julianna shook her head and stared down at her hands that were clasped in her lap. “Away from my life.”
He set the mug in front of the fireplace. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” She paused for a moment. “And everything.” She let out a loud sigh.
Rhys nodded slowly. “Well, I seem to recall the last time I saw you, you called me a horse’s arse, but I’m willing to listen if you want to talk.”
Julianna appeared to contemplate the offer for a moment. She rubbed her forehead with one knuckle. “I just thought…I thought it would all be easier, you know?”
“What would be easier?” he prompted, studying her face.
She shrugged. “Falling in love. Getting married.”
Rhys continued to search her face. “Love? Are you in love with Murdock?” Why did his heart feel as if it would beat out of his chest as he awaited her answer?
“I want to be,” she admitted, glancing away. “But I’m not. And he said some things to me last night that make me think I may never be able to love him.”
Besides the surge of relief at her words, Rhys couldn’t help the surge of protectiveness that also rose inside him. “Like what?”
“Like he didn’t think it was any of my concern if he moved up the wedding.”
Rhys inclined his head. “Not particularly charming of him.”
“And that he thought it odd that my father asks my mother’s opinion of things.”
Rhys winced. “Oof.”
She nodded.
Rhys took a deep breath. Rain splashed the windows and the wind howled. “For what it’s worth, Julianna, I’m sorry I wasn’t the man you needed me to be.”
She met his gaze and lifted her chin. Tears shimmered on her eyelashes. “Are you sorry you didn’t tell me the truth about your injuries?”
He’d had all night to think about it. Sleep had been no closer to arriving last night than it had for days. “Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Call it my pride—I simply thought you wouldn’t want me any longer.”
“You were wrong. I had feelings for you and when you left, I…felt as if you’d simply abandoned me.”
He began to reach for her and then stopped himself, letting his hand drop back into the pile of blankets. “I never considered how it all must have made you feel.”
“I understand now,” she replied. “You weren’t even aware for two months, and then you were blind. It’s selfish of me to expect you to have been thinking of me at a time like that.”
“But I should have, Julianna. I realize that now. I should have written the moment I woke up, to let you know what had happened. I thought I was being noble. I thought I was being selfless. Now I realize I was just being a horse’s arse.” He gave her wry smile.
She lowered her chin to her chest and expelled her breath. “I suppose there’s no sense in regretting the past. As