Page 52 of Love and the Shameless Lady

What did how long she’d known him have to do with it? If she liked a man enough, if she felt at ease with him . . .

“He’s an attractive man,” Melinda said, “and his behavior is always gentlemanlike. I met him at countless balls and parties, and never once saw him drunk, rude, boastful, or anything of the sort.”

“A true paragon,” Miles retorted in a grouchy voice.

Julian grimaced. “This will never do. I shall have to cultivate a sin or two.”

Daisy smothered a laugh. He grinned down at her. Oh, damnation. She mustn’t grow to like him so very much. “Melinda is right,” she said stiffly. “You are extraordinarily well-behaved.”

“Tsk,” said Julian. “It’s a bad habit. I blame my tedious upbringing.”

“Well, I’m not convinced,” Miles said. “He’s under a cloud financially. I can find someone much more suitable if she truly wishes to marry.”

Melinda made a scornful noise. “Just like my brother would have found for me, if I hadn’t decided to marry you? No, thank you. At least she likes Sir Julian.”

Miles grunted.

“Don’t let it worry you, dearest,” Melinda said, her voice coming closer. “She will be able to make a more informed decision once this threat is no longer hanging over her head.”

Daisy slipped her hand into Julian’s arm and continued down the stairs just as Melinda appeared in the drawing room doorway.

Dinner was awkward. At first they spoke of politics and the weather, waiting by tacit consent until they could discuss the murder attempts in privacy. Miles asked a number of nosy questions about Sir Julian’s encumbered estate in Somerset, which she recognized as his way of warning her that her betrothed might be a fortune hunter. Julian answered civilly enough, but she could see it annoyed him to be grilled.

She countered by asking Julian to tell them about his travels. “Tell me about Hadrian’s Wall.”

Julian described hiking along the remnants of the wall with his fellow scholar, Mr. Hunt. “It stirs the imagination. One can’t help but picture oneself as a Roman soldier on patrol, keeping a wary eye out for attackers from the north.”

“I’m sure it would stir mine,” Daisy said wistfully, “although I would more likely see myself as a barbarian plotting to drive the invaders away.”

“I’ll take you there,” Julian said, his smile eager, his eyes alight. “We’ll walk above and below, and imagine a wild romance of ancient times.”

She knew he didn’t mean it—this was part of the charade—but he sounded as if he did. He was an accomplished actor, far better than she, for all she could manage was a murmured, “That would be marvelous,” and a sigh which she hoped didn’t sound as sad as she felt.

“We’ll spend a couple of nights with my friend Hunt,” Julian said. “He’ll delight in showing you his collection of antiquities, particularly the cage cup.”

Could it get any worse? “A Roman cage cup?”

“Yes, indeed,” he said. “A beautiful one of colored glass.”

“What is a cage cup?” asked Melinda.

“A glass cup in which the top layer was ground away to produce a design, looking rather like a cage around the cup,” Julian said.

“Oh, I should love to see it,” Daisy said.

“And so you shall,” he said, which made her want to weep. It sounded so wonderful, and yet it would never happen.

“Where else have you traveled lately?” Melinda asked.

“Before visiting Northumberland, I spent a fortnight at Scarborough, as a friend is stationed at the garrison there. Then, after walking the wall with Mr. Hunt, I turned south once again to York, where there are remnants of both Romans and Vikings.”

“I had no idea,” Melinda said. “All I do in York is shop and visit friends, such as the Fields. Mr. Field was a friend of Miles’s father, and has a collection of artwork, both painting and sculpture, of which he is very proud.”

“If you mean Horace Field, I am acquainted with him,” Julian said. “Judging by the objects in the library and elsewhere here at Garrison House, the previous Lord Garrison was a great collector as well.”

Daisy’s mind wandered. The vision of walking with Julian along the Roman wall had taken hold, making her burn with longing. She couldn’t bear to pretend to be in love, pretend to be filled with hope for the future. She didn’t understand how Julian did it so very well. Perhaps because he was content with his life and not subject to yearnings such as hers, so he could easily play a role and later shuck it without a pang.

She must remind herself, again and again, that she and Julian were only allies, united against an unknown enemy. Once the threat was over, they would go their separate ways.