AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Julie was surprised to realize that she’d never heard him laugh before. The deep masculine sound sent pleasurable shivers down her spine. He looked up at her with a questioning gaze, and Julie realized that she’d been staring. She hastily averted her eyes.
“When will we go skate?” Mary kept asking in excitement.
“Tomorrow,” Robert repeated and smiled at her. “We’ll take our luncheon with us and make a day of it. What do you say?”
“Skate!” Mary turned back to the window where the scenery had changed from the pond to the estate driveway, a smile lingering on her dreamy face.
Julie slid her gaze back to her husband’s form. He was also looking out the window, his profile as hard as ever. She almost thought she had imagined the tender exchange between him and her sister just a moment ago and his deep rumbling laugh. There was a lot she didn’t know about her husband, she realized. Maybe it was time for her to find out.
* * *
Soon after they came home, Robert had left for Doncaster on business and hadn’t returned till after dinner. Mary sulked all day long, acting irritable and pouting like a spoiled child. Julie was happy to see her behave that way. Anything was better than the distant gazes and meek behavior she’d witnessed from her when they first brought her home from the asylum.
Julie found herself walking past Mary’s nursery for the dozenth time that day. After spending an afternoon with her and the tenants, she hoped they might be on more amicable terms together. She couldn’t find the courage in herself to test the theory, though, especially without Robert’s soothing presence. She decided to wait for him before approaching Mary again but changed her mind abruptly once she heard the dowager’s voice coming from the room.
Julie stiffened, afraid that the dowager was chastising Mary in Clydesdale’s absence. She stalked closer but couldn’t hear the conversation clearly. The door was partly open, and she entered without a knock. What she saw nearly stopped her in her tracks.
Mary was sitting on a windowsill with an embroidery hoop. The dowager was sitting on the same sill across from her, explaining the embroidering method. She looked carefully at Mary’s work and was correcting her with unlimited patience. The frown of concentration on Mary’s face, the way her tongue peeked out from her mouth, showed how much she wanted to get it right. Julie’s eyes started filling with tears at the sight, but she blinked them back.
“What are you doing, Mary?” she asked gently.
Mary’s head shot up as she regarded her thoughtfully, then she turned to the dowager as if asking for help. Julie’s heart squeezed in an icy grip.
“Embroidery,” the dowager said gently to Mary.
Mary turned to Julie then, “Em-roi-dery,” she said slowly.
Julie swallowed her smile. “May I join you?” she asked, coming over to their side.
“Not if you want me to teach you too,” the dowager said harshly, not looking her way.
“I’ll try my best not to disturb you,” Julie said quietly. She picked up an embroidery hoop from the basket by the dowager’s feet, some cloth, and thread, and started working. She sat quietly, working on her patterns, and watching Mary work. The dowager was calm and patient with Mary, explaining everything to her in an easy-to-understand manner, repeating herself as often as necessary. She was acting as if she was her real grandmother.
Julie felt the weight of the world lifting from her shoulders. This was an elated feeling, the feeling that she didn’t have to do everything alone. That she had allies, people who stood by her and supported her and her little sister. She had a family. After all these years, she finally had an actual family.
By the time supper rolled around, however, the dowager’s mood had changed drastically. She became stern and snippy, chastising Julie for every little misstep. It was then that Julie realized Her Grace was not this harsh and cranky with everyone, just with her. She snapped at her for sitting wrong, for eating wrong, for looking in the wrong direction. Although snapped would be too strong a word. She stated her criticism in a cold, emotionless tone of voice, in a way that set Julie’s teeth on edge.
By the end of the meal, Julie finally understood why the dowager was irritated with her. At least in part. When the dessert was brought up, she eyed an apple tart with a grimace before looking at Julie with narrowed eyes.
“I tried to be patient with you all this time,” she started slowly, “and Clydesdale asked me to act amicably, so I did.”
Julie almost choked on her tart. That was her acting amicable? What was she like when she didn’t bother trying?
“But it is clear to me now that you care nothing for my grandson, and I will not stand for it.”
“Surely you know ours was a marriage of convenience,” Julie answered diplomatically.
“Well, he could have chosen one of the women who were throwing themselves at him. And trust me, there were quite a few. And instead, he chose you, and I will never understand why.”
“Nevertheless, he did choose me. And with all due respect, whatever relationship we have is none of your business,” Julie said more firmly, although her hands shook.
“I know what kind of relationship you two have. No kind,” the dowager thundered, which for her was almost like shouting at the top of her lungs. “You don’t even know his favorite foods. You’ve been feeding him the tongue and cooked fruit and vegetables—”
“Those are the most sought-after foods,” Julie interrupted indignantly.
“Don’t you ever interrupt me again,” the dowager said as slowly as was possible, emphasizing every word. “I will not stand for this kind of disrespect in my house.”
Julie raised her head at this and regarded the dowager stonily. “But it is not your house, Your Grace,” she said calmly, her chest heaving in indignation. She felt her hands grow cold from the iciness of the duchess’s gaze. “I do apologize for interrupting,” she added hastily after a few moments of silence. Besides, as much as Julie hated to admit it, the dowager was right. Julie had never once tried to figure out anything about her husband. In contrast, he tried his best to make certain Mary felt comfortable in his home, and Julie blended in seamlessly as a peer’s wife. “All I wanted to say was, he knows what he is doing.”
