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.“To stop her.” They would be traveling by carriage.They’d left that morning; on horseback he could certainly intercept Patrina before she did anything so foolish as to… His mind screeched to a sudden halt.He could not allow him to consider the revenge Marshville intended to exact upon Patrina.Mother’s sobbing drew more desperate.“Jonathan, you cannot make this right.Your sister has run off to elope with this gentleman.No young lady can be spared the fallout from such a scandal.”“Patrina will,” he assured her.“Be certain the girls do not speak further on the matter.” Because the moment anyone discovered the details surrounding Patrina’s disappearance, the more unlikely it was the girls would recover from the scandal.Without a backward glance, Jonathan hurried from the room, shouting for his mount.He collided with Juliet.She blanched; the hue of her skin a ghastly shade of gray.“My God, Jonathan.I—”“Not here, Miss Marsh,” he hissed.He took her by the arm and steered her toward the corridor leading to her chambers.“What were you coming here to—?”Grief twisted her face.“I needed to see you.I’m sorry.I—” her voice broke.Jonathan released her suddenly.“Not now, Miss Marshville.” He set out in the opposite direction, leaving Juliet standing alone in the hallway.There was not a moment to spare if he were to save Patrina from Marshville’s machinations.Juliet paced back and forth upon the thin carpet in her chambers.Shock, horror, and terror numbed her thoughts and dulled her movements.She didn’t know what had compelled her to seek out Jonathan after his mother had demanded his attention on a matter of utmost urgency.Perhaps it was an inherent sense of calamity, but she’d gone below, and heard.Oh God, had she heard.She’d always known Albert to be deliberately cruel and mocking, but had erroneously assumed those sentiments were reserved for her, as the sister he could not abide.In light of what he’d done to poor Patrina, Juliet could never make amends for this great wrong.Through her association, she bore some responsibility for Albert’s actions.If she’d not orchestrated a meeting with Jonathan, if she’d not accepted the role of governess, then Patrina would still be the innocent, sought-after sister of an earl.Instead, she and her sisters would bear the ultimate shame.Juliet tightened her hands into fists and embraced the pain of her nails digging into her palms.Jonathan would never forgive her and she couldn’t forgive herself.A knock sounded at Juliet’s door, and she jerked to a halt.“Enter,” she called to Jonathan.She started as the Countess of Sinclair entered the room.“My lady,” Juliet murmured, and dropped an elegant curtsy.The countess closed the door behind her, quiet, as though afraid the faint click might rouse unwanted interest.She stood there for a long while, her color wan.“I trusted you with my girls,” she said at last.Juliet’s stomach roiled.“Forgive me,” she whispered, knowing the plea to be futile, but still the only offering she could make this woman.“I trusted you, Miss Marshville, and you entered my home with not even the truth of your name or connection to my son.”Odd, how Rosecliff Cottage had once mattered more than anything else.That small property represented the fragile connection between Juliet and Jonathan.How could she dare tell this grieving mother that her daughter had been ruined for a modest stone cottage with nothing to recommend it but Juliet’s own memories and the rose filled gardens? Juliet sucked in a breath.“So, I’ll ask you now, Miss Marshville, what are the circumstances surrounding your acquaintance with my son?”The bottom fell out from Juliet’s stomach, and she sought purchase from the lone chair in her room to keep from falling.The countess crossed over to Juliet and brandished a note in her hand.Juliet lowered her eyes to the ivory velum clutched in the woman’s hands.“You see, my daughter has been deceived by your brother.”“I’m sorry,” she managed to whisper, all the while knowing how hopelessly insignificant her reasons for seeking out Jonathan would seem to this woman.“Perhaps you are.But your apologies will not rectify the wrong done by your brother.And now, my son has set out after them, but…” Her voice broke.She cleared her throat.“But it will be futile.Patrina will be ruined and subsequently my other daughters.All because of your presence here.”Juliet gripped the head of the chair so hard, her nails left crescent indents in the upholstered fabric.Nothing should surprise her where Albert was concerned any longer.He had always possessed a singularly cruel streak that she’d never understood.Since father’s death, however, he’d descended into a state of depravity, as if ruled by drink and gaming.Now Patrina and her sisters would pay the ultimate price, their reputations and good name, for whatever game Albert now played.“Prudence has told me all about you, Miss Marshville.”She blinked, pulled back from her musings.If eyes could burn, she’d be a pile of black ash at the countess’ feet.“You are Jonathan’s lover.”“No!” Juliet exclaimed.She flushed with humiliated shame.Because, after what had transpired between her and Jonathan in his library, was she anything but the harlot the countess saw her as?“Do you love my son?” the countess asked bluntly.Juliet’s gaze skidded off to the far corner of the room.Her silence her only answer.“If you love my son, then do right by my daughters.”Juliet’s throat worked spasmodically.“I will do anything for your girls.” Not just because of the love she carried for Jonathan.In the short time she’d come to know them, she’d come to love them like her very own sisters.His mother held the ivory velum over to her.She took it with tremulous fingers, and unfolded the page.Sinclair,I would trade you a sister for a sister.If you choose to ignore my request for Juliet, then you’ll find yourself with a new brother-in-law.Signed simply,AMSo, this was Albert’s plan.To force her return with Patrina as the pawn in his ruthless chess game.“My son believes they are for Gretna Green, Miss Marshville,” the countess said, jerking Juliet’s attention to the moment [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]