help.”
“You were trying to annoy me.”
Uncle Lew’s twinkling eyes proclaimed that Sebastian had hit the mark. “Ah, but you should have seen your face when I did it. It made it worth any inconvenience that might arise from this sticky situation.”
“Inconvenience?” He raised an eyebrow. “If that’s all that comes of this, I won’t begrudge you your entertainment, Uncle. I’m afraid, however, that it may grow stickier before we’re done. I’m not sure that Knighton believed me.”
“And Lady Juliet? Did she believe you? That is perhaps more important.”
Sebastian thought of her face, of the certainty in her eyes, her accusing looks. “I’m not sure of that, either. We’ll simply have to prevent her from divining the truth.” He glanced at his uncle. “That will be your job.”
Uncle Lew eyed him suspiciously. “Mine? Why?”
“Since you’re the troublemaker who invited them to stay, you must make my excuses at dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. The less she sees of me, the less chance she’ll recognize me as her kidnapper.”
“Surely your absence will rouse her suspicions even more.”
“Remind her that I’m a recluse. Or say that talk of my brother dredged up my grief. Just keep Lady Juliet away from me until they leave.”
“Are you sure mere evasion will do the trick? Your pretty sprite seems rather determined to root you out.”
“She’s not my sprite!” Realizing that his uncle might read something into his strong protest, he modulated his tone. “She’s not my anything, I assure you. And though she puts up a brave front, it can easily be punctured.”
At least he hoped so. Though Juliet had been coddled and cosseted all her life, she’d shown quite a bit of spirit the night she’d discovered he was kidnapping her. Still, she’d always tended to acquiesce to her family’s opinions.“As long as her brother-in-law’s suspicions can be assuaged, she can probably be managed.”
Uncle Lew shook his head sadly. “You are a cold one. How can you talk of the poor girl’s feelings so callously? From what I gather, you hurt her rather badly.”
His uncle’s comment disturbed him, but he shoved it into the closet where he’d had to keep his conscience for the past few years to meet the demands of familial responsibility. “It isn’t callousness—it’s merely practicality. She’s young. She’ll get over her hurt feelings as time passes, and more quickly if she thinks Morgan’s dead.”
“You think so, do you?” Uncle Lew extracted a scented handkerchief from his coat and dabbed snuff from his prominent nose. “You made her care about you, then spurned her. My dear nephew, if you think she’ll stand by and let that pass, you lack a basic knowledge of the female sex.”
The memory of how she’d cared for him—once—left Sebastian feeling unsteady and out of breath, not a feeling he relished. Especially if his uncle was right, and all that caring had now turned into a burning desire for revenge. “I hope you’re wrong. Because if you’re not, we’re in for a long and arduous battle.”
Chapter 4
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.
Homer’s Iliad, written on a design for a sampler by Juliet Laverick but never worked
A n hour after dinner was over, Juliet approached Lord Templemore’s study. The door lay open and the room was dark.
I knew it! she thought. I knew his uncle was lying!
His lordship wasn’t “perusing the estate ledgers in his study.” That was a humbug. Nor was he the sort to retire early. No, he was elsewhere in the house, avoiding her.
That was why she’d pretended to retire when Griff and Rosalind had. Why she’d hunkered down under the bedclothes fully dressed to feign sleep when the maid had come in to undress her. And why she’d sneaked out of her room to come here.
She entered the study to confirm that it was empty. Notthat his lordship’s absence or
“You were trying to annoy me.”
Uncle Lew’s twinkling eyes proclaimed that Sebastian had hit the mark. “Ah, but you should have seen your face when I did it. It made it worth any inconvenience that might arise from this sticky situation.”
“Inconvenience?” He raised an eyebrow. “If that’s all that comes of this, I won’t begrudge you your entertainment, Uncle. I’m afraid, however, that it may grow stickier before we’re done. I’m not sure that Knighton believed me.”
“And Lady Juliet? Did she believe you? That is perhaps more important.”
Sebastian thought of her face, of the certainty in her eyes, her accusing looks. “I’m not sure of that, either. We’ll simply have to prevent her from divining the truth.” He glanced at his uncle. “That will be your job.”
Uncle Lew eyed him suspiciously. “Mine? Why?”
“Since you’re the troublemaker who invited them to stay, you must make my excuses at dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. The less she sees of me, the less chance she’ll recognize me as her kidnapper.”
“Surely your absence will rouse her suspicions even more.”
“Remind her that I’m a recluse. Or say that talk of my brother dredged up my grief. Just keep Lady Juliet away from me until they leave.”
“Are you sure mere evasion will do the trick? Your pretty sprite seems rather determined to root you out.”
“She’s not my sprite!” Realizing that his uncle might read something into his strong protest, he modulated his tone. “She’s not my anything, I assure you. And though she puts up a brave front, it can easily be punctured.”
At least he hoped so. Though Juliet had been coddled and cosseted all her life, she’d shown quite a bit of spirit the night she’d discovered he was kidnapping her. Still, she’d always tended to acquiesce to her family’s opinions.“As long as her brother-in-law’s suspicions can be assuaged, she can probably be managed.”
Uncle Lew shook his head sadly. “You are a cold one. How can you talk of the poor girl’s feelings so callously? From what I gather, you hurt her rather badly.”
His uncle’s comment disturbed him, but he shoved it into the closet where he’d had to keep his conscience for the past few years to meet the demands of familial responsibility. “It isn’t callousness—it’s merely practicality. She’s young. She’ll get over her hurt feelings as time passes, and more quickly if she thinks Morgan’s dead.”
“You think so, do you?” Uncle Lew extracted a scented handkerchief from his coat and dabbed snuff from his prominent nose. “You made her care about you, then spurned her. My dear nephew, if you think she’ll stand by and let that pass, you lack a basic knowledge of the female sex.”
The memory of how she’d cared for him—once—left Sebastian feeling unsteady and out of breath, not a feeling he relished. Especially if his uncle was right, and all that caring had now turned into a burning desire for revenge. “I hope you’re wrong. Because if you’re not, we’re in for a long and arduous battle.”
Chapter 4
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.
Homer’s Iliad, written on a design for a sampler by Juliet Laverick but never worked
A n hour after dinner was over, Juliet approached Lord Templemore’s study. The door lay open and the room was dark.
I knew it! she thought. I knew his uncle was lying!
His lordship wasn’t “perusing the estate ledgers in his study.” That was a humbug. Nor was he the sort to retire early. No, he was elsewhere in the house, avoiding her.
That was why she’d pretended to retire when Griff and Rosalind had. Why she’d hunkered down under the bedclothes fully dressed to feign sleep when the maid had come in to undress her. And why she’d sneaked out of her room to come here.
She entered the study to confirm that it was empty. Notthat his lordship’s absence or
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