The Abduction of Julia (14 page)

“Alec!” Therese reproached, “
we’ve
barely had time to speak. I want to hear about the wedding.” She cast a sly glance at him from under her lashes. “Mother and I are Julia’s only relatives. We want to know
all
the details of the wedding.”

That made him pause. The quicker he removed Julia from her cousin’s poisonous clutches, the better. “Come, Julia. Mrs. Winston is holding supper.”

Julia flushed. “I’m sorry I’m so late. I’m not used to having anyone wait on me.” Her wide mouth hinted at some strong emotion, and he thought he detected the shimmer of tears behind her spectacles.

Alec’s irritation evaporated instantly. The last few days had been hell. He took her hand in his. “Come. Home
awaits
.”

For one horrified second, he thought she would cry. Instead, she gave him a tremulous smile that made his chest swell with an inexplicable ache. To cover his discomfort, he said sternly, “From now on, I expect you to take Johnston when you go out.”

“Oh, were you visiting your charity again, Julia
?‘
^:
Therese asked with deceptive sweetness. Despite her attempt to play the part of devoted cousin, she could not resist flicking him a malicious glance. ”Julia has always been so generous with her time. I fear, Alec, you will have to get used to sharing your new wife
.“

Though the hand that lay quietly in his never moved, he was aware Julia had tensed. He tucked her finger; into the crook of his arm and led her to the door. “I don’t think I could get used to sharing my wife with anyone
.“

Therese’s mouth tightened.

Alec hid a grin and bent solicitously over Julia, whispering, “I asked Roberts to gather your things when I arrived. He should have them by now.”

He opened the door and nodded to Therese. “I appreciate your hospitality, but I fear I must rush home to tuck my wife… back into bed.” At Therese’s outraged gasp, he pulled Julia into the hall and
bustled
her to the carriage. She offered no resistance, murmuring her thanks to the graying butler as he pressed a worn bandbox into her hand.

Within moments, they were on their way home. Alec took the opposite corner from Julia and lounged in the seat, taking up more than his fair share of space. Since he had discovered her missing, he’d had to fight off the damnedest thoughts.
Julia, trying to find a hackney in the dark.
Julia,
lost in the dark streets of London. Julia, changing her
mind
about their marriage and going back to the only home she knew.

The last thought had sent him posthaste to the Covington household. The flood of relief that flowed through him when she’d appeared had been almost overwhelming.
And strange.
He pulled his hat low so he could watch his wife in the gathering darkness.

Julia leaned her head against the worn squabs, and shot an apologetic glance his way, barely visible in the approaching night. “I meant to return before supper. The time just slipped by.”

“Mrs. Winston wouldn’t serve anything until I’d found you.”

Her wide mouth curved into a tired smile. “Mrs. Winston is a charming woman.”

“Not when she’s holding an entire basted ham hostage.”

She chuckled and he was assailed with an instant desire to taste her laughter. Low and rich, it would trail down his throat and heat his empty stomach. God, she was a taking thing, even for an avaricious reformer. “You should have told someone where you’d be.” He almost winced at the petulant note in his voice. He sounded far too much like a jealous husband.

Fortunately, she didn’t think his comment misplaced, for she gave a nod. “Was Mrs. Winston upset?”

“She was weeping over the bread pudding when I left.”

Julia laughed. Her white throat caught the light and he allowed his gaze to wander down the graceful column to the long row of tiny buttons that adorned her pelisse. Her breasts pressed against the material, small and firm, perfectly made for a man’s hand. His mouth watered and he pictured himself bending over her shapely body, his mouth fastened on her
ni
— “Did you hear me?”

Alec blinked. Good God, what was he doing? He glanced down and placed his hat across his lap. “No, I didn’t hear you. Forgive me; I seem to be wandering.”

“Tired to death?
Me too.
I merely mentioned how pleased the vicar was at the donation.” She continued to expound on the vicar’s reaction and the possibilities that awaited the Society.

He nodded absently, noting how animated she became as she talked about her charity work. She was unlike any woman he had ever known. He admired her determination and intelligence, but the ease with which she made him stiffen with desire was disturbing. How on earth could he lust after such a prim woman?

Of course, he’d been without a mistress these past two weeks. The little charmer he’d enjoyed had become too demanding, and that was always a sign a change was in order. Perhaps his reaction to Julia was a combination of his unsatiated urges compounded with the tantalizing knowledge he couldn’t have her.

He'd given his word and she was, after all, an innocent. Her reaction to his kiss this afternoon had proved to him how easily her innocence could be taken advantage of. It strengthened his resolve to keep his promise that the marriage be one of convenience only.

Alec had always enjoyed the company of women, particularly those who loved life. He had lounged in the beds of many a high-priced lightskirt, laughed through the raucous comedies at Vauxhall with doe-eyed
cyprians
who encouraged him to slip his hand under their skirts, and driven more than one somewhat married woman to distraction in a dark carriage. He reveled in their softness and indulged himself between their thighs. But he had never been even remotely interested in a woman like Julia.

Innocent and virtuous, she represented the exact type of female he avoided. Interested only in commitment and the boring necessities of life, women like Julia enjoyed the closed confines of Almack’s, desired nothing more than a home in the country, and dreamed of babies. Alec wanted no part of any of those things. He knew what he was: the son of a questionable union between a landless Scottish nobleman and a hellion. A man branded by sin to sin.

Julia, with her rows of buttons and sensible spectacles, should have had no more effect on him than the money-grubbing Therese. Yet somehow, all his prim wife had to do was part her generous mouth in a smile and he instantly thought of those soft lips parting for other, less chaste reasons. His groin tightened uncomfortably and he shifted, suddenly aware she was looking at him with an expectant gaze.

He adjusted his hat on his lap and thought furiously. What had she been talking about?
“Uhm.
Yes.”

“Good.”

The relief in her voice worried him. He cleared his throat. “Perhaps you should explain again what I just agreed to.”

After a prolonged silence, she asked flatly, “You weren’t listening, were you?”

“No. I’m afraid not.”

In the dim light, he could just make out her squared chin. “Too bad,” she said. “You’ve agreed and I refuse to allow you to take it back.”

She sounded so much like an outraged governess that he almost chuckled aloud. Instead, he crossed his arms and stretched out his legs so they brushed the side of her skirts. “I’m a man of my word, Julia. Enlighten me to the extent of my folly.”

She pulled away and tucked her skirts back. “I asked if I could hire a few servants for the house. Not many, but one or two. Mrs. Winston is woefully short-handed.”

More servants?
Damn his inattention. He had better get his lust under control before he ended up agreeing to something far more costly.

“A wonderful idea.”
Even in the darkness, he could feel the force of her smile. He cast about for a safe topic of conversation. “Where exactly does the Society meet?”

“Whitechapel.
We own a house. It was once a brothel, but the building is sound. With a few repairs, it should serve us well.”

He sat up straight, his hat slipping to the floor.
“
Whitechapel!
Good God, don’t tell me you traipsed through that hellhole without so much as an escort?”

“Very well, then; I won’t tell you. But I do it all the time and have never come to any harm.”

“What you did before you became my wife is of no concern,” he replied frostily. “You will remember you are Viscountess Hunterston now. In the future, Johnston will accompany you.”

In the occasional flicker afforded by the streetlights, he could see her face, colorless against the squabs, her mouth pressed into a straight line. After a long moment, she nodded. “Very well, but I will not curtail my visits. There’s much work to be done. Besides,” her glance pinned him with deadly accuracy, “we have a bargain.”

“I am beginning to believe our bargain was very onesided,” he snapped.

“That is no fault of mine. When we first struck our agreement, 1 asked if you had any conditions you wished to mention, and you couldn’t think of any.”

“Well, I can think of some now.” He stretched his legs out even more until the warmth of her knee pressed against his.

She attempted to pull back further, but she was already pressed into the corner as far as her slim body would fit. “I’m sure you can. Unfortunately, it would be very unfair of you to insist on new conditions at this point.”

His anger sparked anew. “If you risk a scandal with your trips to Whitechapel, my lady, I will be well within my rights to demand a new agreement.”

Julia sniffed. “There will be no scandal. After all, I am merely helping those less fortunate.”

With deliberate menacing intent, Alec leaned forward and placed his hand on her knee. “And if there is?”

Her fingers tightened about her reticule. “If for some unthinkable reason I cause a scandal, then we will speak again about our bargain.” She turned to look out the window.

Alec grinned, feeling inordinately proud. It wasn’t the assurance he’d wanted, but it was all he would get. And from Julia, it was more than enough. The woman was nigh bursting with prudish honor; she’d keep her word or die.

Julia was the most exhilarating challenge he’d ever faced. He burned to wrap his hands about her trim waist and pull her across the hard leather seat. He dreamed of sliding her sensible skirts up to her waist, parting her tender thighs, and plundering every delectable inch of her.

Alec stifled a moan at the hot images flickering through his mind. God, he needed a drink. A
drink,
and his hat back in his lap.

As he bent over to retrieve it his arm brushed against her skirt. Julia started as if he’d run his hand up her thigh. Muttering to herself, she hunched a shoulder and looked steadfastly out the window.

She was not immune to him. With one or two well-placed kisses, he could ignite the fire that smoldered beneath her primly buttoned exterior and win any assurances he desired. She possessed the wild Frant blood, despite her belief to the contrary.

The only problem was
,
there was more than mere honor at stake. Alec wasn’t at all sure he would be able to stop a simple kiss from progressing into something far more dangerous to his own peace of mind. If he were to compromise Julia in such a way they would be married in more than name only, and that was a commitment he was not about to make. Especially not to a woman who had wed him for no other reason than to secure a hold on his purse strings.

For that very reason, he would turn Julia over to Lady Birlington with his blessing. He needed some time to adjust to the fact there was at least one woman he could never have and that he’d been foolish enough to marry her. For now, he would remain on his side of the carriage, his entire body achingly stiff,
his
disposition lowering with every passing moment.

Sighing heavily, Alec decided Lucien had been right. Noble intentions were a damned inconvenience.

"Edmund
!“
Maddie thumped her cane on the carriage floor. ”Wake up! How do you expect us to get out of the carriage with you sprawled across the doorway
?“

Startled from a comfortable doze, Edmund jerked upright, his head cracking against the low roof. Shawls and books tumbled to the floor as Ephram barked hysterically.

Edmund clutched his chest, wrinkling the gaudy green and yellow waistcoat.
‘Tare and hounds, Aunt Maddie!
I’m having heart palpitations
!“

Julia choked back a laugh. Edmund possessed a natural sweetness of temperament that had won her instant favor. For the past fortnight he had been everything polite and charming, escorting them everywhere and offering her numerous suggestions on how to wear her hair, which color best suited a rainy day, or what type of half-boot complemented her new pelisse.

As
his own
taste seemed somewhat questionable, she usually listened politely and did the opposite. So far, her instincts had not erred.

Maddie patted Ephram on the head. “There, there, precious angel.” When the dog’s barking had subsided into satisfied grunts, she poked her nephew in the stomach with her cane. “Cease your wailing and open the blasted door.”

“The coachman—”

“Is older than I.
It will take him an hour just to climb from the perch.”

Edmund gathered the strewn articles and dutifully opened the door. “Don’t know why you keep him on if he’s so blasted
slow
.
Took us almost a half-hour to get here.
I can make it in ten minutes in my curricle.”

‘That’s because of the way you drive your cattle
.“
Maddie took her great nephew’s arm and climbed from the carriage.

Edmund blinked his surprise. “Why, thank you, Aunt Maddie. I can’t understand why they won’t let me in the Four Horse Club. I am a fair hand at the whip, if I do say so myself.”

She snorted. “Bound to say it yourself—no one else would. Most cow-handed fool I ever saw.” Maddie glanced over her shoulder at Julia. “Once saw him tip over right in the middle of Bond Street.
Biggest green ‘un ever to handle the ribbons.”