The Abduction of Julia (41 page)

She waved the gun toward the settee. “Sit down.
Both
of you.”

Mouth agog, Alec started forward. “Surely you don’t mean—”

“Sit down.”

Wearing identical scowls, the two men sat stiffly in opposite chairs like mastiffs ready to charge. Julia
sighed
her relief. Anything was better than the raw fury she’d seen in their faces moments earlier. “This has gone far enough.” She turned to Nick. “Your plan has a serious flaw.”

He leaned back, his head resting on the high back of his chair. Blood dripped from his nose and marked a path down the side of his face. He looked tired, annoyed, and thoroughly disgusted. “Impossible. I thought of every circumstance.”

“Have you? You keep seeing yourself as competing with Alec for your grandfather’s fortune. But you are also Alec’s heir: the next living male relative. You cannot kill a man in a duel and then inherit from him.”

Nick’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He looked from Julia to Alec, then back again. After a long moment, he slumped in the chair. “I’ll be damned,” he said softly.

Julia almost felt sorry for him. She turned to Alec. “And as for you, you have spent years believing Nick to be something he’s not.”

Alec scowled. “You can’t expect me to—”

She cut him off with a wave of the pistol. “Nick, tell Alec about the missing money.”

“What is there to tell?”

“The truth, Nick.”

For a long moment she thought he’d refuse, but he shrugged, his gaze hooded and intent. “Alec, I did not steal Grandfather’s precious money.”

“You expect me to believe that now?”

“Call it the romanticism of youth or some such folly, but I had one or two morals back then. Now…” His gaze dropped to his scraped and bruised hand. “It is the bad blood, you know. There is no escaping it.”

“Grandfather said you admitted everything.”

“Grandfather never even gave me a chance to speak.”

Nick regarded his cousin with a flat stare. “You know what he was.”

Alec raked a hand through his hair, his brow creased. “If you didn’t take the money,
who
did?”

“Mrs. Winston believes it was Nick’s mother,” Julia offered.

Alec frowned. “She was at Bridgeton House the week before, but I never thought…” Dismayed, Alec turned to his cousin. “Is that what happened?”

Nick sneered. “It is possible, I suppose. She was not above common thievery.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“What? That my mother was a whore and a thief and I sincerely hoped you didn’t think I was like her?” Nick’s lip curled. “Don’t be foolish.”

Alec looked stunned and Julia’s sympathy overcame her exasperation. It would be difficult for her proud husband to accept that his assumptions about his cousin had been as unfair as they were incorrect. Still, Nick was the only family Alec possessed and Julia knew the importance of having a family.

She glanced at Nick. The earl sat staring down at his bloodied knuckles, his brow knit.

Julia bit her lip. What did one do with a misunderstood rake with dangerous ambitions? “Nick, have you ever been to Italy?”

His gaze flickered to her, a reluctant hint of humor twinkling in the depths. “I have always found the climate beneficial.”

Alec started. “You cannot allow him to leave!”

“Why not?”

“No matter how he was wronged in the past, he still kidnapped you.”

“And saved my life.”
She pushed a strand of hair from her forehead and sighed. “What would you have me do, Alec? He hasn’t harmed anyone.”

“Damnation! He abducted you, attempted to cheat me of the fortune,
caused
a scandal, forced—”

Nick stood and adjusted his cravat. He regarded Alec with a cool smile. “So have me arrested.”

Alec glowered and Nick laughed softly. “No, I didn’t think so. You would not submit your lovely wife to the scandal of a trial, would you? Fortunately, my only intention now is to put the events of this lamentable night behind me.” He bowed, gathered his coat and hat, and turned to the door.

Alec stood.

Nick
stopped,
one hand on the knob.

Alec’s hands clenched and unclenched. “Where will you go?”

Julia understood his struggle. Somewhere inside the depraved man before him was the cousin he had once idolized. Idolized and wrongly accused.

Nick’s grin flickered.
“To Italy, and then on to hell.”

Julia’s ready sympathy stirred. “Alec, we should help him. He will need money.”

Alec’s jaw hardened.

She reached out a hand. “Alec, please.”

Silence met her request as he stared at her. Slowly, almost reverently, he took her hand and placed a kiss on the palm before he turned to Nick.
“Sell Bridgeton House to me.”

Nick’s face darkened. “No. It’s all I have.”

“If you flee now, it will be auctioned off to satisfy your creditors. Sell it to me instead. I’ll pay you what it is worth.”

“How do you know I won’t use your own largesse to ruin you?”

“I don’t,” Alec said softly. “I will accept your word.”

Pain and something else flickered in Nick’s eyes. “Damn you. Damn you to hell. My solicitor will contact you within the week.” He opened the door,
then
hesitated. “Do me one favor: go to the meeting with the executors.”

“It is too late.”

Nick smiled, his eyes glinting. “And take Julia with you.” Without another word, he left, closing the door softly behind him.

Julia breathed a sigh of relief as she listened to his footsteps fade. Her wrist ached from holding the heavy gun.

Alec’s warm hand closed over hers. “Allow me to return this weapon to its proper place.” He placed the gun on the table.

“It wasn’t loaded. It went off when Nick dropped it.”

A dangerous gleam lit his eyes. “Always full of surprises, aren’t you?”

There was no mistaking the admiration in his voice. A heated flush rippled up her back and danced along her already jangled nerves. Heaven help her, but she was too tired, too hungry, and too much in love to deal with any more excitement. She took a nervous step away. “That was a very adventurous evening, wasn’t it?”

His lips quivered for a moment before he grinned. “As usual, you have managed to wrap up the whole in a nice, neat packet.”

Julia noted the bruises on his face. A thin line of blood marred his well-shaped mouth. “Heavens, Alec. Look at you!” She crossed to the table and dipped a napkin in the water pitcher and brought it back to the settee. “Sit down.”

He obediently sat, but his gaze remained on her.

She dabbed at the cut, forcing herself to focus on his mouth, though that in itself was torture. She knew the feel of his lips against hers, the sensuous heat of his breath across her neck. Her stomach fluttered in excitement.

“Julia, why did you let him go?”

His deep voice seemed a caress in itself. Julia kept her eyes trained on the bruise on his jaw. “I didn’t have a choice. If you had killed him, there would have been some sort of inquiry, perhaps even gaol. I need you here.” She swallowed and added, “With me.”

He caught her hand. Swirls of silver lit the gray of his eyes, mesmerizing in their brilliance. Slowly, ever so softly, he said, “You love me.”

Whatever declaration she’d hoped to hear, that wasn’t it. Disappointed, she jerked her arm free. “Of course I love you. I wouldn’t have agreed to marry you if I didn’t.”

He regained his hold on her hand. “But you said you had been in love for four years!”

“Yes.
With you.”

Alec’s grip tightened. “I thought you were in love with Nick.”

Julia knew it was impolite to gape, but she couldn’t help it. “Heavens, what made you think that?”

“You said you’d known him for four years.” He said the words as if they were an accusation of murder.

“I’ve known a lot of people for four years. That’s when I came to England.”

Alec looked stunned.

Julia offered a wan smile. “I daresay you don’t remember the first time we met, but it was at the Seftons’ ball. You came in late, slightly drunk. Your cravat was crooked, too. You looked so handsome I dropped my fan, and you picked it up and handed it back to me. You didn’t say anything, but you smiled.” She examined his face. “I still treasure that smile.”

A pained expression darkened his eyes. “I don’t remember.”

“Of course you don’t. I’m not a memorable person.” She chuckled. “At least, I wasn’t.
Seems I can hardly sneeze now without causing some fuss.”

“Whatever you do, don’t sneeze in that dress.”

She glanced down. Through the opening of the greatcoat she could see where her dashing gown had twisted, her bosom nearly exposed. Blushing, she attempted to right the material. “I told Maddie I shouldn’t wear this blasted thing but she—”

His hand covered hers, his fingers brushing against her breasts. “Julia.”

She stilled, suddenly intent on the top button of the greatcoat.

Alec lifted her chin with a gentle hand. “I love you, Julia. I wish I could say I’ve loved you for years, but I haven’t. All I know is that I love you now, and always will.”

Julia wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t. She’d seen his kindness with the servants, and some part of her wondered if he classified her with them—as a responsibility.

She pushed his hand away and forced a smile. “It has been a very hectic night. Perhaps we should talk about this another time.”

He caught her wrist and jerked her against him. “Damn it, Julia. Look at me. Really look at me.
I
love you
.”

Julia squinted up at him. She wanted to believe him so badly. “Say it again.”

“
I
.
Love.
You
.”
His wonderful, amazing eyes
gleamed
a misty warm gray, clearly reflecting his emotion.

“You really do,” she said, amazed.

He made an exasperated noise. “Haven’t I just said it a thousand times?”

“No.
Only four.”

Alec chuckled. “I’m still ahead of you.” He slipped an arm about her waist and pulled her closer, the hard length of his thigh pressed intimately against hers. “And I plan on staying that way. You may spread your care and concern all over
London
, to
every urchin and fallen
woman you meet. But I intend to be very selfish about your love. It is all
mine
.”

He kissed her gently at first, then with increasing passion. Julia flung her arms around him and held him close, reveling in the beating of his heart, the warmth of his touch, the sensuous heat of his mouth.

Through the passionate haze, the clock on the mantel chimed a gentle melody. Julia started and pushed away. “Alec!
The meeting!”

He gathered her back against him. “Forget it, Julia. They will have already made their decision.”

“Not if we hurry.” She disengaged herself from his embrace. “We have to try, Alec.”

His lips quirked as he pulled the edges of his coat more closely around her.
“Still thinking of the other half of London you have yet to save?”

“No,” she said with mock severity. “I’m just thinking you offered to buy Bridgeton House from Nick, not to mention the shocking amount you bid on that silly portrait of Bentham’s. I’d hate to see you unable to pay your debts.”

Alec grinned and kissed her nose. “Think how good the portrait will look in the dining room of Bridgeton House.”

“I didn’t know you wanted such a grand residence.”

“I don’t, but we will need somewhere to put our children—and as Mrs. Winston keeps telling me, our house is much too small.”

To Alec’s intense satisfaction, her blush lasted most of the way back to London.

Hand in hand, Alec and Julia climbed the steps of the office of Pratt, Pratt and Son and made their way into the foyer. Alec knew they must both look a sight after their arduous night, but he felt as fresh as a yearling at his first race.

Muffled voices sounded behind the thick, oaken door. He placed a kiss on Julia’s forehead. “Wait for me here. I won’t be long.”

She refused to relinquish her hold, her jaw mulish. “Let me go with you.”

Alec smiled, cupping her face with his hands. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her, running his fingers over her creamy skin, sinking his hands into her silken curls. “I know you do. But this is my battle, not yours.”

Reluctant to the end, she released his hand only to call out as he reached the door, “Alec?”

He turned and waited.

She twisted her hands together, doubt and concern clouding her eyes. “Good luck.”

He returned to give her one last kiss. When they were both breathless, he broke away. “Wait for me here.”

Unable to do more than nod, Julia watched him straighten his cravat and enter the room.

Time passed with agonizing slowness. For a while she paced the foyer, stopping by the closed door to listen to the blurred murmur of conversation. Once she heard voices
raised
in reproach, and she had to fist her hands to keep from bursting through the door.

After a seeming eternity, Alec emerged, his face pale and drawn.

Her heart ached and tears filled her eyes. They’d lost the fortune. She wished she could ease his pain. She touched his sleeve. “Alec, I’m so sorry. If only I could have—”

He pulled her to him, the faint scent of sandalwood enveloping her. Julia closed her eyes and burrowed deeper. She was surrounded by him, by his strength, his concern, and his love. It was heaven.

“Julia, my dear,” a voice sounded behind her. Julia pulled away from Alec’s embrace and turned. There, strolling from the
room,
was Lord Kennybrook. He stopped when he saw her face. “Good God! What happened to you?”

Julia could only stare. “What… why are you here, sir?”

“Never mind that!
You’ve a gash on your cheek and your gown is torn.” He shot a hard glance at Alec from under thick brows. “Damn it, Hunterston! You should take better care of her.” He turned to call over his shoulder, “Burton! Come and see who has joined us. Looks like hell, but she seems sound.”