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When next Julia saw Mr. Tatford sitting in Chelsea's drawing room, she couldn't help but think just how awful he looked. Though she had heard from her best friend that both he and his brother had been desperately ill, she had never imagined it to be true. A part of her had thought it was merely the earl's way of avoiding her.
"Are you sure you are well enough to stay?" Chelsea asked after half an hour of their being in the drawing room together. The three of them had been discussing the wedding, and Jonathan had told Chelsea that his grandmother had given them a gift, though she had to wait until the big day to receive it.
All the while that he spoke, he was pasty-faced and blank-eyed, looking as though he was in pain, and Julia, who had been roped into sitting with them as a chaperone because of her already being there, couldn't help but think,I hope Lord Sutthers is not nearly so ill.
"Yes, yes, I am certain," Jonathan insisted. "In fact, being here with you today, I feel better than I have in days. These biscuits are certainly helping."
"Perhaps they are soaking up whatever illness is affecting your stomach," Chelsea suggested with a little giggle, looking pleased to help.
Jonathan smiled and nodded and for the most part Julia left the two of them alone to their conversation, choosing instead to focus on the book she had been reading, feeling as though she was a spare wheel in the room who most definitely did not need to be there.
By the time Jonathan was leaving, he looked much perkier than he had been upon arriving, and Julia guessed it must have been something to do with seeing his betrothed. The mere thought of it made her heart ache with longing.
But almost as soon as he was gone, Chelsea distracted her from her thoughts. "Something isn't right, Julia. I can feel it in my bones."
"What do you mean?" Julia exclaimed, feeling terrified. "You aren't having second thoughts about the wedding, are you?"
"Oh, heavens no!" Chelsea practically shrieked, shaking her head so hard it looked like it might come right off. "I mean this illness of theirs. Jonathan is always so sick when he arrives, but the longer he is here, the better he appears to get. He was here almost all day yesterday, and by the time he left, he was almost back to normal."
"But today he looked as though he was knocking on death's door when he arrived," Julia finished for her friend, and Chelsea nodded.
"Something doesn't add up."
"Didn't Jonathan say that Gabriel has been bed bound with illness, and he hasn't left the house since he became ill?" Julia questioned. Chelsea thought for a moment and then nodded.
"He also said that his mother quickly started to feel unwell after returning home, but she appeared to make a full recovery by the next day," Chelsea explained, looking thoughtful. "It is quite peculiar. I am quite tempted to pay a visit."
A shiver ran down Julia's spine. "What if you get ill?"
"Julia, both you and I and all of my servants have been around Jonathan and not a one of us has been ill. What does that tell you?"
Julia's stomach clenched. "You don't think…" The thoughts she was having were far too painful to contemplate.
"That Lord Sutthers pickpocket incident, their ride into the lake, and their sickness are all connected?" Chelsea finished for her. "Yes, yes, I do."
Julia was gobsmacked at that. Though she had been growing closer and closer to that conclusion, until she heard it from her friend's lips, it hadn't sounded at all plausible.
"But who would wish to do such a thing?" Julia asked. Though neither of them said what that 'thing' was, it was clear from the darkening of her best friend's gaze that they were both having the very same thoughts.
"I have no idea," Chelsea responded, shaking her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. "But we are going to find out."
For two days, Julia was dragged along by Chelsea to the Tatford house, her best friend adamant that she needed to get to the bottom of her fiancé's illness before something terrible happened. And though she had come to terms with Gabriel's letter and actively tried to avoid him during their visits, she couldn't help but feel a tugging desire to see him whenever she thought of just how close in proximity he was.
By the end of the second day, she and Chelsea were no closer to finding out what could possibly be making the earl and his brother ill. Though just as they were leaving, having told Jonathan to remain inside due to his being so unwell, she and Chelsea noticed something quite peculiar.
Having chosen to walk home because although it had snowed, the day was pleasant with a blue sky overhead; they were surprised to find a carriage waiting outside. The large 'T' emblazoned in gold upon the door suggested that it was indeed a private Tatford carriage, though the girls looked at each other, knowing that Jonathan had not called for one, and they were certain that the earl was too sick to be going anywhere.
"Perhaps it is for Lady Sutthers?" Julia pointed out, but from the look on Chelsea's face, Julia knew that the answer would not be good enough. It was clear that she had a bee in her bonnet even as she hurried up to the carriage and cleared her throat to get the coachman's attention.
"Can I help you, miss?" the man asked, looking down from where he had been reading a newspaper on the driver's bench.
"Yes, I just wondered, who did you bring here?" Chelsea asked politely, and even though she stood with her back to Julia, it didn't take much to guess that she was fluttering her eyelashes sweetly.
"A Mr. Tatford, miss," the coachman responded, looking curious. "He told me to await him here and then went around the back."
Without replying to the coachman, Chelsea turned back to Julia with a suspicious expression and said, "Why would a Tatford go around back when they can simply use the front door?"
Julia shrugged, though she had to admit it was quite a strange thing indeed. Turning to the coachman herself, she asked, "What did this Mr. Tatford look like, sir?"
