With her nose up, she gathered her black skirts and marched out of the room.
Pearl squeezed Julia’s hand. “We’ll talk later.”
“Don’t leave me alone with her,” she whispered.
“I won’t.” Pearl gave Julia’s hand another quick squeeze of sympathy.
She let out a sigh when Christopher shut the bathroom door behind them.
“Mrs Armstrong, Miss Amelia, to my office, please.” He stretched out an arm towards the corridor.
A moment of shock stilled Pearl. His office? She didn’t know what to say about the incident.
They entered the brightly lit room where a mahogany desk took up a corner. With its plain furniture and thick woollen carpet, the room was like Christopher: spartan, but warm.
“What happened?” Christopher asked, offering a seat to them.
Mrs Armstrong dropped into the couch, her nostrils flaring. Her handkerchief was pressed against her mouth. “Well, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? After you left for London, Julia said she had a headache and that she wished to retire to her room for a few hours. I noticed though that even Sir Benedict had mysteriously disappeared. I became suspicious and checked on Julia only to find her bed empty.” Her voice cracked, and she tormented the handkerchief with her restless fingers. “I searched the house, but that stupid Florence woman didn’t know a thing, and Harvey was somewhere to do an errand. I was growing worried when I finally decided to search the bathroom.”
Pearl shared a glance with Christopher. The matter was serious. If rumours of what happened between Julia and Benedict reached London, her reputation would be ruined. Even Benedict would be damaged. No respectable mother would let her daughter speak or dance with him. He’d become an outcast. Maybe men would secretly approve his behaviour, but not ladies and mothers, or even fathers. Not to mention that Julia’s family would blame Mrs Armstrong. As much as Pearl didn’t like the woman, she understood her distress.
Mrs Armstrong wiped her eyes. “This is a disaster.”
Christopher cleared his voice. “Is Miss Julia compromised?”
A flush ignited Mrs Armstrong’s face. “I didn’t have time to check.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I don’t believe Benedict would have—”
“Benedict is a scoundrel,” Mrs Armstrong thundered. “I’ll make sure to ruin him once I’m back in London.”
Pearl stiffened in the armchair. She couldn’t believe Benedict had meant any harm to Julia. They were only two young people fumbling around. They didn’t deserve to be publicly exposed. “Mrs Armstrong, I beg you to reconsider your intentions. Exposing Benedict means exposing Julia as well.”
“Not if I blame him.” She gathered her skirts around her like a stormy cloud ready to hit the earth with lightning. “It’s obvious he is the one who tangled Miss Julia into a depraved net. She’s young and inexperienced while he is neither.”
“What if Julia wasn’t ensnared but was fully aware of what she was doing?” Christopher gritted out.
“This is irrelevant.” Mrs Armstrong thumped a fist on the armrest. “I have to protect Julia. If she appears as the victim, the society might forgive her.”
“That would be a lie though,” Pearl said.
That accusatory finger pointed at her. “You’d better keep your mouth shut, lady.”
A flash of sheer anger shot in Mrs Armstrong’s gaze and stole Pearl’s breath. Did Mrs Armstrong know something? Or was she referring to that time she’d caught Pearl eavesdropping?
Christopher clasped his hands behind his back. “I must ask you to moderate your tone when you talk with Miss Amelia.”
Mrs Armstrong opened her mouth, but the door inched inwards and Benedict and Julia trudged inside. Their strands of hair were still wet, but they were both decent.
A cry left Mrs Armstrong’s mouth. “Finally. You reckless, inconsiderate, and stupid girl!”
Julia flinched. Her swollen eyes filled with tears. “Nothing happened.”
“Everything happened,” Mrs Armstrong said, shoving to her feet.
Benedict stepped forward, hands up. “Julia is right. Nothing happened. Julia is still a maiden. I would’ve never, ever taken advantage of her like this, and I’m shocked and hurt that you might’ve thought that of me.”
Pearl exhaled in relief. Not that any of that changed Julia’s shame.
