Veiled in Blue (5 page)

Walking across the green back to the inn, Julius tucked his hands behind his back and cursed himself for an arrant fool. He had fallen in lust once before in his life, and look how well that had turned out.

Why, then, had it happened again?

Perhaps the feeling would pass. His passion for Miss Merton was merely the novelty of meeting someone new, out of his purview, and of course because of her undoubted beauty.

Of course it was. It could hardly be anything else, could it?

* * * *

Julius walked to the manor a day after he had visited Miss Merton at home.

He strolled around the back of the pleasant building, where he found two people sitting on the terrace, enjoying the summer sun. At his approach, Alex leaped to his feet. Connie lifted her chin and smiled. She was dressed in a light silk gown, very informal, and Alex was in his shirtsleeves.

“You have turned delightfully rustic in your bucolic wilderness,” Julius drawled, tipping his hat back.

“And you have turned positively dowdy,” Alex said, but his statement didn’t stop him striding down the shallow steps to give Julius his hands and then drag him into his arms for a back-slapping embrace.

Few people saw the bright, genuine smile Julius turned on him when they parted. He reserved it for his dearest friends. “I am truly happy for you,” he said, and meant every word. Seeing his cousin so content in his marriage was worth every effort Julius had made to ensure that it happened.

Alex’s perpetual expression of cynical endurance had completely gone. Julius had largely left him alone to make what he would of his marriage, and he had made much. He glanced at the woman still sitting in an easy chair on the terrace. Connie had always been beautiful. Now, in the wake of giving birth, an event she had despaired of ever happening, she was radiant.

When Connie made to get to her feet, Julius waved his hand and hurried up the stairs to ensure she did not. He embraced her warmly, but as a friend now. Connie had lived with Helena and him for a while, and Julius always stood her friend. At one point, he had considered asking her to become his wife, but Alex had stepped up to the mark. Alex loved her, while Julius was merely fond of her, but that had been a positive asset in his opinion. He wanted no more ungovernable passion in his life.

“You look wonderful, Connie. I sneaked to the back of the house because you are so well-guarded they might not have let me in.”

Connie spluttered with laughter. “You know they would never refuse you, Julius. Do you like the house?”

“It’s utterly delightful.” He kept his attention on her. “So are you.”

“Are you flirting with my wife?” Alex had mounted the stairs and stood behind him. In different circumstances, he could appear threatening, but Julius knew better.

“Absolutely.” Julius straightened and turned around, still smiling. “Congratulations to you both. Are you planning to stay here awhile?”

Connie had had a hard time of her pregnancy, and childbirth had not been easy, either. That was why Alex had moved here, for the privacy they could claim, to give Connie a chance to rest.

“Until forever, if we can manage it.” Alex raised a dark brow and sighed theatrically. “I fear that will not happen, though. After Connie is churched, we have to steel ourselves to receive guests. My father is waiting to meet his grandson. He stayed away because I asked him to.”

“Your brothers?”

“Tiberius and Ivan are with my father. Unlike you, they are waiting for an invitation.”

“I understood I was invited,” he said.

“You were,” Connie assured him quickly. “Any time we said, and we meant it. But you were due to arrive after the baby was born. Our son decided to wait until the last minute before making an appearance.”

“Do I get to see the little princeling?” This child would surely be treated like a prince. His parents evidently were already in love with him. Julius remembered that feeling, the overwhelming, helpless love when seeing one’s child for the first time. Caroline’s birth had provided a moment of blinding revelation for Julius, one that had changed his life forever.

“He’s napping after his feeding,” Alex said, and by the way he glanced at his wife and avoided Julius’s gaze indicated she was taking a hand, or rather, a breast, in their son’s nourishment. From the way she smiled at her husband, he was still her world. “You can see him later.” Alex swept Julius with a comprehensive study, head to foot and back again. “Why on earth are you dressed that way, Julius?”

Julius raised a brow. “Guess.”

Although Alex and Connie were dressed in a casual way, they easily outdid Julius for stylishness and costliness of dress. Connie’s flowered silk might be a comfortable gown meant to accommodate her body after the birth, but it was exquisite fabric fashionably made. Julius’s brown coat and plain breeches were none of those things.

Alex’s smile faded. “More Stuart children?”

“One more. Very close,” he said shortly.

He glanced around as a footman approached, an expression of determination on his features. “Is this man bothering you, my lord?”

Alex laughed. “No. Leave us alone, if you please.” He glanced at Julius. “Unless you require anything?”

Julius shook his head and indicated the pot on the table. “If the tea is drinkable, I’ll take some of that. Nothing else, thank you.”

“Bring a fresh pot, if you please,” Connie said to the man, who bowed and moved away.

Alex waved to the garden chairs, and Julius took his place close to the couple. “Did my man Lamaire arrive?” Julius asked then.

“He did. He was deeply confused, but I have retained him for you.”

“Did you say retained or detained?” Julius asked, grinning.

Connie laughed. “We nearly had to do the latter. However, we soothed him. He thought he was in dereliction of his duty to let you go off alone. He’s set about refurbishing everything you sent with him. You won’t find a speck of dirt on anything.”

“It relieves me immensely to hear it. I do require more clothes.”

“Why the sudden change of plan, Julius? Why not come here as yourself?”

Julius sighed. “It occurred to me that if I arrived in full glory, so to speak, I would draw attention to the fact that I am here. The Dankworths watch me, and so, I’m sure, do the Stuarts. I could be drawing them to the child. If the woman I have discovered were unsuspected, I would have left her be, but I wanted to check for myself. I only received the information from Augustus last week.”

“Why did you not tell me?” Alex demanded. “I could have dealt with the matter.”

They paused when the footman returned with not only a fresh pot of tea but a plate of delicate pastries for them to enjoy. Connie thanked her and waved the man away, saying she would serve their guest.

“I would not dream of discommoding you at a time like this,” Julius said. “I meant to visit you anyway, but on my way to the Abbey. When I received Augustus’s letter, I decided to pause at the village and ensure all was well. Matters have turned out differently. There is a man I suspect may be a spy.” He took a grateful sip of tea before he spoke again. “Do you know the village?”

“I made enquiries, and I’ve attended the village church, so I know a few people by sight, but not much more,” Alex said. “Who are you interested in?”

“Sir Henry, for a start,” Julius said, watching his cousin. Alex might have an air of lazy lassitude, but he missed nothing.

“A country squire. Assiduous and locally influential. Has a good income, and is very content with his lot. He’s hanging out for a wife, if only to stop his mother’s perpetual nagging.”

Julius nodded. “Mr. King.”

Alex’s gaze sharpened. “A newcomer. Very observant, but speaks only when he needs to. He says he’s travelled extensively, but now he wants to settle down. Also hanging out for a wife. I believe his income to be sufficient.”

“He says he’s visited Rome.”

“The devil!” Alex said with feeling.

Julius shrugged. “Many people have. That may mean nothing, but still, I’d like to be positive that Miss Merton is safe before I leave the district.”

“Miss Merton!” Connie exclaimed. “She is the one? You believe her to be a Stuart?”

With a wry smile, Julius nodded. “I more than believe it. Augustus discovered a new document in Rome. Most of it was destroyed, but the Mertons featured on it. It listed some of the other children, too. Now I’ve seen her, I don’t have any doubts.”

“What do you intend?”

Julius hesitated. Before he’d met her he’d have said he planned to leave her in peace, but in all conscience he could not claim that now. So what did he want?

His body knew. He heated every time he was close to her. But his mind—he would not let his basic urges dictate his decisions ever again. He did not answer Alex, but spread his hands. “I will decide when I know more.”

Alex exchanged a glance with his wife that Julius decided not to pursue. “I am living at the Crown in Appleton.” He snorted. “If you can call it living. It’s adequate. I do not want anyone to recognize me, not yet. I take it you have not done much in the way of social events locally?”

“Not at all,” Alex said. “We’ve used Connie’s health shamelessly as a shield.” He clasped her hand warmly in his.

“Alex was far too anxious,” Connie said, turning a laughing face to first her husband and then Julius. “I was fine. A little sickly, it’s true, but rest and a careful diet took care of that.”

Alex shook his head. “The birth was agony. They wouldn’t let me anywhere near her.”

“To fret around me while I did my work?” Connie laughed. “No.”

“I know. I recall the day Caroline was born. I went to my wife when she howled for me, but they protested vigorously until I threatened them with force.” The birth had come as a deep shock to his wife, who had expected nothing like the experience she’d undergone. How she could have remained ignorant of the realities of giving birth had mystified Julius, but further shocks had remained in store for them both.

He turned his mind away from the memory of what had happened after the baby’s birth. He had no wish to dwell on it, especially on such a happy occasion and with two of his best friends.

Connie and Alex looked to be as deeply in love as ever. Julius was happy for them and felt no jealousy when he saw them together, any more than when he saw the other Emperors with the people they had found to love. He told himself that more frequently these days, although he didn’t doubt a wife would make his life easier from a practical point of view.

Inevitably, his thoughts drifted back to Eve. Would she—no, he could not even think it. He had to give himself more time.

“We will not be doing that again,” Alex said firmly.

Connie merely laughed, but her exchange of glances with Julius told a completely different story. She wanted more children, and if Julius knew her at all, he would not wager on her not getting her way.

“That is entirely your concern,” he said, thus forestalling any discussion until after he had left. “I have been invited to attend a soiree at Sir Henry Fulworth’s house. Am I likely to meet anyone there?”

“I would hope so,” Connie said, “or the soiree will be a complete failure.”

Julius rolled his eyes. “You are perfectly aware of my meaning. Anyone who might recognize me.”

“So you’ll put up with indifferent service at an inn and not seeing Caroline for a while?” Alex said.

“She and Helena are with my parents. They will be safe enough for a week or two.” Although Julius had his worries in that quarter, he would not concern his cousin with them at the moment. Once he would not have hesitated, but Alex had his own worries now. “I need to ensure this person is safe.”

“I could do that for you.”

Julius finished his tea. “I will take care of her safety before I leave.”

And give himself time to recover from his inconvenient tendre for her. Mere infatuation wore off on its own. He should know. By the time he left, he should be clear-headed once more.

In any case, she had two suitors. Although he suspected one, he could not in all conscience stand between her and Sir Henry. His personal dislike of the baronet should not matter in this instance.
Should not
. He repeated the words firmly in his mind, but it made no difference. He still wanted her, still held feelings he could not deny or quell. She had wit and intelligence. She should not waste it on the pompous Sir Henry. Julius was torn, but he would overcome his doubts. He must, because Eve did not belong in his world.

And he did not belong in hers. How could he even consider it?

He glanced at Alex to find his cousin regarding him from below half-closed lids. The sleepy expression did not fool Julius for even a second. Alex was watching him with the kind of careful speculation that had made him a deadly opponent on the card table and in the fencing studio. He missed nothing.

“What?” Julius demanded irritably.

“If you should find yourself in need of shelter, you will come here,” Alex said, making what might have been a question into a statement. He stretched his legs out. A bee bumbled its way along the terrace, finally finding its way back into the garden. It seemed to hold a fascination for Alex, but he had the habit of fixing his attention on something else when he was thinking. “It sounds as if you might be playing a dangerous game.” He turned his regard back to Julius, and now there was nothing lazy about his eyes. “You are on your own, not even a servant to help you. Send word if anything happens. If you find yourself in any danger, come here at once. Bring whomever you need to.”

Recognizing a stone wall when he saw it, Julius nodded. Alex would not take a denial, nor would he turn his back on his cousin, even if Julius asked him to. “As you wish. I promise I will come if I need to.” Although the last thing he wanted to do was bring trouble to Alex at this time.

“Good.”

Julius picked up a small cake and popped it in his mouth, chewing appreciatively. The landlady of the inn knew how to cook a good breakfast, but the rest of her offerings were less successful.

Alex scraped back his chair and got to his feet. “Now, may I introduce you to our son before you leave?”