Julius's Passion (Regency Club Venus #4) - Carole Mortimer Page 0,12

mentioned that your valet is named Franklyn?”

His eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

“It is just that it is not a common name, and it was also my mother’s maiden name, so I wondered if perhaps…” The longer the earl continued to stare at her, the more flustered she became. “But, of course, the two would not be related. I should not have bothered you— My lord?” Her voice trembled as she suddenly found the tops of her arms grasped and she was pinned in place by the intensity of Julius Soames’s gaze.

He continued to look at her searchingly for several long minutes before just as suddenly releasing her and stepping back.

Bethany was momentarily stunned by her immediate and unexpectedly sensual reaction to being touched by Julius. Her arms tingled where he had held her, that sensation then traveling to her breasts and down to her belly and then lower still, engendering a heat between her thighs which caused her to shift uncomfortably.

“As you say,” Julius continued dryly, thankfully seeming unaware of her reaction. “It is very unlikely that my valet would be related to the previous Countess of Ipswich.”

Bethany felt utterly ridiculous for having even broached the subject with this superior gentleman. “I apologize for disturbing you and wish you a good night, my lord.” She didn’t wait for him to acknowledge or return those wishes, but instead turned sharply on her heel and quickly entered and closed the door of her bedchamber farther down the hallway. She leaned back against it, her breasts quickly rising and falling in her agitation.

With her continued arousal…

Chapter Five

“You rang, my lord?” James mocked when he entered the bedchamber a few minutes after Julius had sent for him. The cheeky smile left his lips when he saw Julius was not responding to the humor. “What is wrong?”

“You are what is wrong,” Julius instantly accused. “Firstly you forgot to mention you have a sister until we were almost here, and when I asked what name you would be using while posing as my valet, you chose Franklyn.”

“Yes…”

“Without telling me it was your mother’s maiden name.”

James appeared dumbstruck for several seconds before regaining his wits. “How do you know that?”

“Because your sister informed me of it a few minutes ago.”

“Bethany was here?” the other man prompted sharply. “In your bedchamber?”

Julius could see the outrage building in the younger man’s demeanor. “No, she was most certainly not in my bedchamber,” he instantly assured. Imagining something did not make it real. “She heard us talking and came out of her room to investigate. Do not worry, she did not hear our actual conversation, nor did she see your face before you disappeared down the servant staircase. But it seems, having discovered the name of my valet, she is curious as to whether or not you might be related to her mother. I left her in no doubts that could not be the case.”

Julius deeply regretted causing the embarrassment he had seen in Bethany’s face before she returned to her bedchamber, but at the time, he could think of no other way to shut down that particular avenue of conversation.

“You should not have chosen the name Franklyn,” he gently reprimanded the younger man. “In circumstances such as these, it is best to choose aliases which have no relevance to the mission or anyone close to it.” And he, Julius realized, had just revealed far too much of his own knowledge of such things.

Being a spy for the Crown had been his life for many years, but to the rest of Society, he appeared to be merely a gentleman who had chosen not to join the fight against Napoleon’s despotic rule. His three closest friends knew the truth, of course, as did the Prince Regent.

From the way James studied him before slowly nodding, Julius believed the younger man now had an inkling of what that truth was too.

That belief was confirmed when James did not question him more closely on the subject. “Do you think Bethany will continue to pursue the coincidence of the name Franklyn by seeking me out?”

Julius shook his head. “I believe it is merely a curiosity to her. A possible connection to the past, given that your parents died, quickly followed by yourself, when she was only nine.”

The younger man gave a pained frown. “I do not think I chose that name deliberately, but I cannot swear to it.”

Julius’s mood softened. “It must be very frustrating for you to know your beloved sister is in the same house but