More Subterfuge
“Good morning.” Effie led Julianna into the breakfast room where his friends were seated at a round table and a maid was fussing with a chafing dish on a side table. “You gentlemen will remember my sister?”
The Earl of Marsden dropped his newspaper, and for a moment Julianna thought he might fall off his chair.
The Earl of Harcourt recovered more quickly as amusement replaced startlement on his face. “Yes, of course.Lady Sarah, how nice to see you.” He shot a look at Lord Marsden that seemed to contain an instruction of some sort.
“We were so happy to hear you would be joining us,” Lord Marsden said smoothly, apparently having received the silent directive.
“Father regrets that he could not stay,” Effie said mildly, strolling over to help himself to some food, “but he asked me to convey his greetings to both of you.” He glanced over his shoulder at Lord Marsden. “In truth, he is avoiding you, Marsden, because he doesn’t want to talk to you about your gaols act anymore.”
“Edward!” Julianna exclaimed, feigning disapproval.
“’Tis the truth, and we are among friends.” Effie shot her a wink.
Julianna turned to the lords, continuing to play her part. “You will forgive my brother. Or perhaps it is my father who requires your absolution. One of the horses threw a shoe, which is why we arrived so late, and he was determined, despite the hour, to make the trip to Dover to catch his boat, which is set to depart this afternoon. Edward probably told you our father is sailing for the Continent to rejoin our mother in Italy.” She lowered her voice. “He is mad for her, even after all these years, and will happily abandon his children in favor of his wife.”
Effie snorted. They hadn’t discussed that last little embellishment. Effie’s playful demeanor had inspired Julianna to extemporize.
“I beg your pardon, Edward!” she said, affecting sisterly annoyance. “There is no call for such scorn. In truth, it is all rather romantic.” She performed a mock swoon. “Except for the part where I’ve been dumped on you, brother mine.”
The maid had gone and fetched the housekeeper, who’d heard the last bit of their exchange, and she began exclaiming over why no one had awakened her when Lady Sarah arrived. “I would have made up a room for you, my lady.”
“Oh, it was very nearly dawn by the time I arrived. I couldn’t possibly have slept. Edward walked me down to the sea, as my legs were in terrible need of stretching after the journey from Town.”
“Well, I shall see to your accommodations immediately. How long will you be with us?”
Oh, dear. When Julianna awakened this morning in Effie’s bed, she had been vulnerable—she had shed her armor with Effie as easily as she had shed her dress and stockings on the beach—so she had allowed his mischievousness, his spirit of adventure, to infect her. And she had so enjoyed spending time with his friends yesterday, so when he had beseeched her to spend the day with them, she had easily relented.
But she had been thinking only about today. About staying for breakfast, about spending a little more time with the gentlemen before she went back to her real life.
“Not long,” she said, vaguely, because she had to say something. “A night.” She would invent an excuse to leave before night fell. Perhaps her “father” had missed his ship after all and would come back to collect her. Or perhaps she had an uncle and aunt who were to be fetching her to return to London. She would think of something. But not without consulting Effie. She had gone a little rogue just then, with her ode to their fictional parents’ love, but it wasn’t wise to be getting too off-script. Effie actually had a sister named Sarah. She had no idea what kind of aunts-and-uncles inventory he had.
“You’re the one who made Father drive you here because you were bored in Town,” Effie said tartly. “And now you’re only staying one night?”
She shrugged with what she hoped was insouciance—Julianna had never been insouciant a day in her life. “’Tis a lady’s prerogative to change her mind.”
She breathed a sigh of relief when the housekeeper left, promising a room would be ready post haste.
Effie tiptoed to the door, shut it, and turned to the rest of them, grinning. Lord Harcourt made a show of applauding as if he were at the theatre, and Effie took an elaborate bow as if he were, too.
“Everyone did such a fine job,” he said when he righted himself. “Even you, Simon. We ought to form a theatrical troupe.”
Lord Marsden merely regarded Effie with his eyebrows raised.
“Oh, calm yourself,” Effie said. “We went swimming very early this morning and entered the house through my bedchamber window. He turned and inclined his head in Lord Harcourt’s direction. “Thanks for that, by the by.”
Julianna had no idea what “that” was.
“We merely meant to dry off, but we fell asleep, and rather than having Miss Evans sneak back out the window—”
“Window sneaking being properly a one-way activity,” Lord Marsden interrupted.
“Oh,hesneaked out this morning,” Lord Harcourt said.
“How do you know that?” Lord Marsden asked.
“Regardless,” Effie said, talking over them and turning to Julianna, “now that you are my sister, you may stay. The problem is we neglected to think through what ‘staying’ meant.” He grinned. “I suppose you shall have to stay indefinitely. For the duration of your trip, I mean.”
