AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A canine face, one with a squished nose and flecks of gray in its fur.
The dog’s large brown eyes turned to Oliver, and its ears lifted. It was not a child at all. It was Rupert.
The dog whined, squirming out of Julia’s arms. She helped him to the floor, letting the old dog race toward Oliver, tail wagging vigorously. Relief flooded through Oliver’s heart, only half of it being that Rupert was still alive. The other half was entirely dedicated to the fact that Julia did not have a child.
“Rupert, my boy!” Oliver smiled, cringing at the way the expression stretched at the cut on his cheek. The pug ran in a mad circle around his legs until Oliver managed to grab him, scooping him up into his arms. His heart swelled with momentary joy as he held Rupert to his chest.
“I think he missed you,” Julia said.
Oliver glanced up from the dog, letting his gaze settle on Julia’s face. She appeared just as nervous as he was, her feet shifting on the black and white marble floor. She looked older, more mature, more like a woman and less like a girl. She held her head with confidence even if her features betrayed her true feelings. He could see the concern playing out on her face. She had noticed his injuries. How could she not have?
“And I—I missed you too,” she said with shaky smile. “I didn’t think you would be coming home so soon. Surely you didn’t think so either.” Her eyes grew solemn.
Oliver nodded, wishing he could hide his face from her somehow. She must have thought him unsightly and pitiful. She, on the other hand, looked perfect. How did she manage to look perfect even when her bonnet was askew and her face was flushed? He wasn’t certain if that perfection was in her appearance, or simply in his eyes, but whatever it was, he had missed it. He had missed her more than anything else he had left behind. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it. In his absence, she must have spent two seasons in London. Even if she didn’t have a child, he still would be mad to even consider the possibility that she wasn’t yet married. He coaxed his hopes back to their rightful place.
He cleared his throat. “Before you say another word, come to the drawing room and sit by the fire. You must be freezing. I’ll have a tea tray brought in.” He set Rupert down on the marble floor before walking to Julia’s side. The butler offered to take her cloak.
Oliver took the opportunity to study her face again, his heart pinching. He looked away. He could hear their countless conversations, endless laughter, and hours of childish mischief in the back of his mind. He led her away from the open door where the cold air had begun drifting inside. Rupert followed closely on his heels, exhibiting far more energy than a dog his age would be expected to possess.
The fire in the hearth was already burning, so Oliver simply pulled a chair forward for Julia, motioning for her to sit. He then dragged a second chair across the Persian rug until it was beside hers. She was watching his every motion. He could feel her gaze on the side of his face—the side with the ghastly, haphazardly stitched cut running from his eye to his jaw. When he met her gaze, she looked away, staring into the fire instead.
“Why did you walk here?” he asked when the silence grew uncomfortable.
“It was easier and less dangerous to walk in the snow than it would have been to travel by coach. It’s a walk I’ve made many times.” Her eyes flickered to his. If he could read what was playing through her mind, he likely would have seen the same memories that were playing through his own. How many hundreds of times had Julia or Oliver taken the path between their two homes?
His heart sank as he considered the fact that she had taken the walk without a chaperone. Only married women could be considered proper in doing so. The intensity with which that thought tortured his heart made him aware—more aware than ever—of his feelings for her. They had persisted through years and miles, and in his absence they had even grown stronger.
Rupert whined at his feet, pulling Oliver from his thoughts. He scooped up the old dog, setting him in his lap. He had once been able to make the jump from the floor to a chair with ease, but that seemed to have changed over the past two years. Similarly, he and Julia had once been able to make conversation with ease. It felt different now.
“I find it curious,” Julia began, eyes fixed on Rupert rather than Oliver, “that you thought I was holding a child.”
Oliver’s face grew warm. “Any sensible person would have thought the same. Most women do not carry their dogs bundled inside their cloaks to keep warm.”
“Well, I couldn’t return him to you half-frozen.” A slight smile touched her lips, but she still fiddled with her skirts nervously. “I had to show you that I took proper care of him in your absence. You were right to trust me with him, though I confess I will miss him a great deal.”
“I won’t allow you to miss him,” Oliver said. “You are welcome to come see him any time you like.” The thought of Julia frequenting the drawing room at Larkhall rose his spirits more than he had expected.
She smiled. “I would like that very much.”
He hesitated. “You might bring your family with you as well. Are you…or any of your sisters…married?” He held his breath. He had only asked about her sisters so she wouldn’t think he was too interested in her marital situation specifically.
Julia’s eyes rested on his. “No. Not yet.”
Had she emphasized the wordyet? Even so, a flood of relief washed over his shoulders.Not yetwas a better response thanyeswould have been.
Julia moved her gaze to the floor, warming her hands by the fire. “My mother has plans to see me engaged to a man by the name of Lord Belper.”
Oliver’s stomach dropped. “But you are not yet engaged?”
“No.”
He swallowed, fighting against the dread climbing his throat.
“And if it were up to me, I would choose never to become engaged to him. He is ridiculous.” She glanced up. “But my parents cannot afford another season for me. I confess I have not taken my other seasons seriously enough, and so my mother is now trying to convince me that I will never receive another offer.”
Oliver felt his heart flip in his chest. If it wouldn’t be absurdly shocking, he would have made her an offer that very moment.
Rupert shifted on Oliver’s lap, planting his front paws on Oliver’s chest and sniffing his face. Before he could be stopped, Rupert licked the length of Oliver’s cheek—right over his wound. He flinched, leaning back in his chair.
