The Abduction of Julia by Karen Hawkins Page B

who once possessed the title,” Alec said shortly.
    He hadn’t thought to go into even that much detail before seeing the solicitor, but if rumors were already flying about town, he had to stop them and quickly. Marrying had been only one of the conditions of the will. He still had a year of hard labor left. Such an unflattering story as Therese was bandying about was sure to create a furor, and that was exactly what he didn’t need.
    Edmund scratched the bridge of his nose. “Strange. I wasn’t aware Therese had a cousin. Of course, don’t know all my cousins, m’self. Just the other day I ran into a gentleman at White’s. Couldn’t think where I’d seen him before, but I knew I had. It kept nagging at me. Finally, he demanded to know why the deuce I was staring at him. Rude of the fellow, but there it is. I told him I thought I knew him and he said , ” You dashed well should, you imbecile. I’m your cousin Bertram .“ I hadn’t seen him in, oh, two years. Not that he’s changed much. He’s thirty, you know, and—”
    “I think we understand your meaning,” interrupted Lucien, flicking him an exasperated glance.
    Edmund looked relieved. “Good. Only meant to say I never heard of the Incomparable having any cousins other than the Frant Dragon, and there’s no way Alec could have…” He trailed off, eyes wide, his weak chin moving soundlessly.
    “Yes, I did,” said Alec grimly.
    “Surely not! You couldn’t marry the Frant Dragon!”
    “I married Miss
Julia
Frant,” Alec said with icy reserve. Though he himself had called her the Frant Dragon on more than one occasion, it was unexpectedly irritating to hear it from someone else.
    Edmund’s face pinkened. “I didn’t mean to offend. She’s not really a dragon. Unless, of course, she suspects you have been taking liberties with Therese, and then she can look exactly like a dragon. Once, when I was trying to convince the Incomparable to dance, the Dragon marched right up to me and—”
    “Edmund!” Lucien silenced the younger man. “You have said more than enough, as usual.” The duke turned to Alec. “Perhaps you can explain how this, er, fortuitous happening occurred.”
    Alec rose and poured himself a drink from the silver tray. “There is nothing to explain. I married Julia Frant and that is that.”
    Lucien regarded him with a heavy-lidded gaze. “And you are convinced her father once held the title?”
    Edmund frowned importantly. “Could be a hum to get you to the altar. At her age, she’s bound to be desperate.”
    Not desperate enough to consent to marrying him without half his fortune, Alec thought grimly, returning to his seat with a glass of brandy. “Julia Frant has never been desperate a day in her life.”
    “She has always struck me as a young lady of singular determination,” Lucien said, a quizzical gleam lighting his eyes.
    Edmund shuddered. “One of those, eh?” He cocked a brow at Alec. “Mayhap she’s fixed on you. You do have the devil of a way with women.”
    “God, no.” Yet for an instant, Alec felt the heat of Julia’s mouth beneath his. He shook his head and frowned at the heavy glass in his hand. His wife’s prim exterior warred with a passionate nature. He wasn’t sure why, but the thought depressed him.
    Lucien lifted a brow. “So tell us of this mysterious earl.”
    Alec took a deep drink. “He left for America after a disagreement with his father and never returned.”
    “Not even when he inherited the title?” Edmund asked, startled.
    The brandy left a bitter taste that perfectly fitted Alec’s mood. “He inherited the title two days before his death.”
    Lucien pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “Playing it close, aren’t you?”
    Edmund absently tugged on his cravat, mussing the intricate folds. “Seems a havey-cavey sort of way to go about it, marrying a girl whose father was an earl for only a few days. Shouldn’t think those high sticklers your grandfather put in charge of