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The carriageway down to the house seemed much longer than any she had ever been down, yet it probably was much the same as any other. And by the time they reached the end, the carriage pulling a circle around a beautiful fountain surrounded by flowerbeds in the very centre of the forecourt; she was more than ready to clamber her way out.
“Are you ready?” Chelsea asked the moment that the carriage drew to a halt.
“As ready as I will ever be!” Julia responded, adjusting her winter fur hat upon her head and double-checking that every hair was still in place after the ride from Grovsner Square.
“Stop touching it,” Chelsea scolded, batting her hand away from her head. “You look beautiful. I wish I looked as good as you do in green. It is such a Christmasy colour!”
Julia rolled her eyes at her friend. The two had always been envious of each other’s colouring, one wishing for the hair of the other while one always wished for the eyes that the other possessed. It was something of a sisterly type of rivalry that had always been shared between them.
“And I wish that I looked as good as you do in red,” Julia responded, gesturing at the beautiful red gown with matching coat all lined with dark mink fur, the hat also to match.
“Oh, come on, we both know that you can pull off red just as easily as I do.” Chelsea huffed deeply.
“You can pull every colour off with your blonde hair and those beautiful blue eyes of yours.”
Though their conversations had momentarily managed to distract Julia from her excitement and her anticipation, the moment carriage door was opened up by the coachman, she felt it all hitting her anew.
“Please, allow me,” came an oddly familiar voice from outside the carriage, and Julia knew immediately that it was not the voice of the coachman, but in fact the voice of Jonathan Tatford. At almost the same moment they heard his voice, the man’s gloved hand appeared inside the carriage.
With a delighted little squeal, Chelsea placed her hand in his and was quickly gone from the carriage, leaving Julia flustered for only a moment before a second hand appeared in the very same manner.
Excitement surged through her at the thought of whose hand it was and when she heard his voice, she thought her head might spin right out of control, her heart hammering so hard in her chest she was almost certain that everyone else would be able to hear it. “Please, allow me to help you down from your carriage, Miss Julia.”
All too happy to do so, Julia placed her gloved palm in his and allowed him to guide her down from the carriage. The moment she laid eyes upon him, her legs almost buckled beneath her. She stumbled on the carriage steps and only just managed to find her feet in time to stop herself when she reached the bottom.
The shingle beneath her felt all too easily moved, and so she gripped tightly to Gabriel’s hand until she noticed that his handsome face was wincing slightly with pain.
“Oh, Lord Sutthers, I do hope I have not aggravated any of your injuries!” she exclaimed, trying to yank her hand free of his. He held onto her fingers for a moment longer and then finally allowed her to remove her hand from his.
“No, Miss Julia, I am well,” he assured her, dropping into a bow of greeting. “And all the better for seeing you again.”
Remembering herself, Julia dropped into a curtsey and said, “Thank you for inviting us to join you for tea, Lord Sutthers.”
“Yes, indeed, we were most surprised and happy to receive your invitation,” Chelsea put in from where she was already standing close by to the earl’s brother. Mr. Tatford already had his hand placed against the small of her friend’s back and the two looked as though they had grown exceptionally close in the last few weeks while they had been sharing each other’s company, passing letters between them for the other couple.
Though Julia was extremely pleased for the happiness of her best friend, she couldn’t help but feel a little jealousy.I can see him now,she reminded herself firmly, deciding it was best not to linger on the past and entirely better to look forward to the future, especially the near future in which she would be able to share in the company of the man she had not seen for over six weeks.
“Please, let us go through to the drawing room for refreshments,” Jonathan suggested. “It is much too cold to be standing about here for too long.”
“Oh, I was rather hoping that you might show me around the grounds,” Chelsea interjected, looking a little perturbed. “This place is so beautiful, from what I have already seen.”
“It is not Italy,” Jonathan said with a shrug, “but I am sure that you are right. There is beauty here.”
He looked at Chelsea as he spoke, as though he thought the woman was far more beautiful than anything they would find on a walk.
With a smile, the nobleman added, “If it is a tour you wish for, then I shall take you on one.”
With that, he offered her his arm and Chelsea gave no complaint as she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.
“Would you prefer to go into the drawing room?” Gabriel asked, looking at Julia with an expectant expression. For a moment, Julia could not bring herself to answer. She was much too taken by the handsomeness of his face. In the weeks without seeing him, she found she had entirely forgotten just how beautiful he truly was with his glossy black hair and his olive skin, and those gloriously green eyes that were so unlike the usual dark irises of so many Italian men she had met over the years. “Miss Julia?”
“I have been sitting for quite long enough in the carriage,” Julia said instinctively. “I think perhaps a walk to stretch my legs might be needed before I can enjoy any refreshments.”
“Then your wish is my command, Miss Julia,” Lord Sutthers announced, bowing again. Julia noticed how stiff he was as he completed the gesture and she was certain she saw a tightness to his jaw that suggested the movement pained him, though if it did, he did not complain. Instead, he offered Julia his left arm.
“Is this the…” she began, unable to finish the question. Lord Sutthers gave her such a warm and amused smile that she could not help but return it automatically.
“If you mean, is this the one that was broken, then no,” he assured her, continuing to smile. “That was my right arm, but either way, both arms are healthy enough for you to take a hold of without any complaint from me.”
