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“Indeed, he is.” Julia patted the puppy’s head. “Your mother will surely adore him once she comes to know his gentle disposition.” Oliver’s mother was not fond of dogs, and so she had not given Oliver any money with which to purchase one himself. If he brought home this pug without having spent a penny, hopefully she would allow him to keep it.
“I think so, too.” Oliver gave an eager smile, seeming to forget his anxiety for long enough to sign his name on the document.
“Wait for the witness,” Julia instructed, ushering Mary forward. Mary put on the spectacles she had sneaked from her father’s study. She looked far more official that way. Holding them to her eyes, she leaned down to properly see the paper.
In a neat and careful hand, Oliver signed his name.
Julia did her best to hide the grin on her face. If Oliver hadn’t been watching, she and Mary likely would have squealed with delight, but she couldn’t have her future husband thinking her a silly girl. From that moment forward, she needed to act like an elegant lady. If he wasn’t in love with her yet, she had ten long years to change that.
Kneeling on the grass, Julia took the paper and signed her own name beside his. As soon as the ink dried, she picked the paper up by one corner, reading it over one last time before giving a nod of approval. “I shall keep this safe for the next ten years, should I need to use it if I am twenty-one and still unmarried.”
Oliver didn’t seem to hear what she had said. He was reaching for the puppy, snatching it from Mary’s arms. His grin was pure delight, eyes bright with excitement. “What shall I name him?” he asked.
Julia stared at the puppy, already missing his velvet fur and wrinkled skin. “I already named him if you would like to use the name I have chosen. His name is Rupert.”
Oliver tapped his chin. “I suppose I like that name. He must be already accustomed to being called by it, after all. I should hate to confuse him.” He began walking away, his long, lanky legs carrying him across the grass toward Larkhall, not giving her another second of attention. She watched little Rupert’s head bobbing as Oliver broke into a run.
Julia looked down at the paper in her hands, stroking the edges with a grin. She didn’t need a puppy when she had something far better.
She had Oliver Northcott.
CHAPTER2
TEN YEARS LATER
Edged in frost, Larkhall looked different than Oliver remembered it. His body swayed with the movements of his coach, but his muscles were limp. Pain throbbed all over his body, despite the long hours in the cold carriage that he had hoped would numb it. His thoughts had been heavy and even colder than the crystals of ice that gathered on the edges of the windows of his childhood home.
He felt nothing as the coach pulled into the courtyard. At least nothing he would haveexpectedto feel, knowing that he would soon see his family again after two years away from them. He wasn’t eager to jump out of the coach and run inside—he would have rather hidden in the cold than face them as a failure.
He flinched as his shoulder bumped against the side of the door. He had too many injuries to keep track of. Something was sure to hurt with every single movement.
When the conveyance finally came to a halt, he stepped cautiously onto the flat stone of the courtyard. Candlelight flickered through only two of the windows, glaring down at him like a set of disapproving eyes. What would Mother think when she saw him? What of his elder brother Matthew? His younger sister, Bridget? He stopped himself, taking a deep breath to calm the turmoil in his chest. He knew his family. They were kind, generous, and loving. They always had been. He knew, deep in his bones, that they would welcome him home happily, broken or not.
The rest of society…well, of them he couldn’t be so certain.
* * *
Under usual circumstances, Julia quite enjoyed spending Christmastime in the country. Her family’s country house was warm, spacious, and separated from the chaos of London. It was her home, the place she had been raised.
And it was close to Larkhall.
She had always loved how Larkhall looked in the snow, much like a golden biscuit topped with icing. Each year, she treasured December as her last month before preparing to enter London society again with her mother urging her to find success in the marriage mart. December was always the month she could rely on to be free of unwanted suitors.
This year, however, she had not been so fortunate.
“You look like a rose,” a sultry voice said from behind her ear.
She didn’t turn around for fear of seeing Lord Belper’s wet smile far too close to her face. He licked his lips far too often, particularly when he was looking at her.
“I have always liked when women wear my favorite color,” came his voice again. “Red.”
Julia’s stomach lurched, and she walked a little faster down the corridor toward the dining room. Mama had invited Lord Belper to dine with them twice within the last week alone. Not only that, but she had welcomed him into their drawing room to call upon Julia every day for a fortnight. The man was persistent, and so was Mama. Julia couldn’t quite determine why her mother was so insistent that she marry Lord Belper, but it had been her ambition from the moment he first paid Julia special attention at the Radcliffes’ ball. He was wealthy beyond reason, and his face was moderately handsome. His character, however, was quite odd.
Ignoring Lord Belper never seemed to work. In fact, it seemed to encourage him. He caught up to her as they reached the dining room door. “Miss Reeves, I must confess that I would find you lovely in any color. I daresay you could not go amiss. Well, aside from green. I have never liked when women wear green.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Julia muttered when her mother cast her a scolding frown. They entered the dining room and were seated in the same arrangement as last time—with Julia directly beside Lord Belper. She breathed deeply, careful not to let her anxiousness overwhelm her. The dining room walls seemed to be closing in, threatening to pin her against Lord Belper forever.That was what would happen if she married him. She would be forever tied to him, and forever uncomfortable.
She had become quite skilled at deflecting suitors in her last two seasons in London. What was another?
