Always a Rogue, Forever Her Love (Scandalous Seasons #4)(63)

“And I gather you know where he is, then?”

There was only one place he could go. The one place that had represented his defeat at Jonathan’s hands, and the desertion of his sister. “I do.” She would find Patrina. She would find her before she came to any greater harm at Albert’s hands. As it was, the innocent young lady had likely suffered the greatest hurt—the betrayal of a broken heart. Even if she did not yet realize it. “Will you provide a carriage, my lady?”

Patrina and Albert could not have left very long ago. They would also be traveling by carriage. Juliet’s firmed her jaw. “I’ll need access to your carriage, my lady.” She looked at this warrior mama prepared to defend her children at all costs, and a niggling of envy pebbled in her belly. Her mother died so long ago, Juliet didn’t know if the wisps of memories she carried of the woman who gave her life were real or imagined on her part. “I’ll also need the assistance of someone you trust.”

“Lord Drake,” the woman replied automatically. “I’ve sent round a missive requesting his immediate presence on a matter requiring extreme delicacy. He will be discreet.”

She swallowed hard, as the horror of her brother’s actions began to truly seep into her numbed mind. “Please, forgive me,” she said brokenly, knowing the words were meaningless to the despairing countess.

The countess’ tense mouth softened ever so slightly. “I know you care for my daughters…and my son,” she added as more of an afterthought. “I believe you’ve acted in their best interests, since you arrived, but your presence here, Miss Marshville, you must know will no longer be welcomed.”

Juliet managed a jerky nod. She may have been hopeful that life held more for her, but she’d never been delusional as to the harsh realities of life.

“If you’ll excuse me. I must see to my daughters. I’ll send a servant to summon you below stairs when the marquess arrives. Until then, I would ask that you stay in your chambers.” The countess’ meaning quite clear—she didn’t want Juliet near her daughters or any other member of the household. The countess might believe Juliet innocent of her brother’s crimes—but she couldn’t be absolutely certain, and as a result, Juliet would be asked to remain behind her doors like a thief trapped in the house, until the watch was summoned. The countess took her leave without another word.

As Juliet stood there, staring at the wood panel of the door, and waiting for her summons from the marquess she wondered at just how happy she’d been these days with Jonathan. A tear squeezed past the corner of her eye and trailed down her cheek.

Jonathan’s life would go on. He would wed. The Lady Beatrice would give him his requisite heir and a spare. His sisters, God willing, would be spared from any hint of scandal. Their life would resume its normal cadence.

And her life? Well, it would continue, empty, alone, and desolate just the way it had before she’d known there was a man like Jonathan.





Chapter 18


For surely the thousandth time since she’d entered the Marquess of Drake’s black, lacquer carriage, Juliet pulled back the curtains and peered out at the passing scenery. Rain streamed from the skies in great, long torrents, as though the heavens cried for poor Patrina. If she were capable of tears, she would be crying right along with the heavens. The black thunderclouds had forced him off his mount and into the carriage. She looked over at Lord Drake. “How much—?”

“The roads have been slowed by the rains, Miss Marshville. It will be a while longer.”

Miss Marshville. So Lord Drake now knew, just as Jonathan’s family the vile blood that coursed through her veins.

“This is not your fault, Miss Marshville.”

Juliet drew in a slow breath. Beyond the matter of the time, the weather, and their travel plans, they were the first words spoken to her by the young marquess. “It is, though.” Her voice sounded tired to her own ears. She might not have been involved in Albert’s plans, but through her demands of Jonathan she’d ruined the girls as easily as if she’d tied a satin ribbon about Patrina’s innocent head and delivered her to Albert’s duplicitous hands.

The carriage hit a particularly uneven patch in the road and she braced herself to keep from being tossed about like a child’s toy. She could not confide in this gentleman, even though he was a friend to Jonathan, all the circumstances surrounding their families’ connection. Her lips twisted. That is, presuming he didn’t already know all.

“I have known Sin for nearly my whole life. He would not blame you for the sins of your brother.”

He’d not seen the icy rage in Jonathan’s eyes or the stiff tension in his magnificently tall frame when Juliet had come upon him outside his office. “Perhaps,” she said noncommittally. The man who’d questioned her appearance outside his office was not the same affable gentleman with an easy grin. No, he’d never loved her and whatever feelings he might have carried for her were now surely dead. To discourage any further discussion from the marquess, Juliet looked outside. She scrambled closer to the window at the familiar passing scenery. “We’re nearly there,” she breathed.

In the last moments of the journey, Juliet prayed. She prayed she’d been correct in her suspicion and would, in fact, find Albert and Patrina here. She prayed Patrina hadn’t done something as reckless as to toss away not only her heart but also her virtue on Albert. She prayed she would have the strength to not do something violent where her brother was concerned.