“She is not to blame for what has happened here tonight,” Julia said, her voice dark.
“I will talk to my wife how I wish to. I will not have my daughter telling me how to act.”
“If you acted with kindness, then you wouldn’t have to. My mother is allowed her opinion.”
“Such as you have had yours tonight?” He laughed, but it was without humor. “You did this on purpose, did you not? You’d rather drag our name through the pits of shame than marry because I told you to.”
Julia lifted a single eyebrow. It was an act of defiance, not quite agreeing with him, but neither was she disagreeing with him.
“I am ashamed to call you my daughter.” He shook his head and looked away. “You do not act like a daughter of mine.”
Julia had much she wished to say, but the way her mother clung tightly to her hand quietened her.
Such things can wait for another time.
The Earl hung his head forward, burying his face in his hands.
“Something must be done,” he muttered to himself. “Something.”
Julia sighed, fearing what solution he would come up with. In desperation, she revealed what the Duke of Stapleton had said.
“The Duke of Stapleton intends to call on us tomorrow.” Her words made her father and mother look to her.
“Then we might have a marriage yet,” the Earl said with far too much delight for Julia’s liking.
* * *
“What did he say?” Maria asked, stilling in the mirror behind Julia.
“That we’d have to say we were to be wed.” Julia tried to keep her voice level, unaffected by fear, but she failed.
In all her life, she had never had so good a friend as Maria. Having been placed as her lady’s maid from a young age, the two of them had practically grown up together, and Julia saw Maria more as her sister than as her maid.
As Maria lifted the pins from Julia’s hair, a tear escaped Julia’s eye and ran down her cheek.
“Julia!” Maria dropped the pins and dropped to her knees at her side. Julia sniffed, trying her best to stop her tears.
“I’m sorry, forgive me.”
“None of that.” Maria reached for her hand. Clearly seeing it was not going to do enough, she released that hand and reached up to embrace Julia instead. Julia sank into her friend’s touch, resting her head in the crook of Maria’s neck and closing her eyes amongst the mass of blonde hair that was escaping its chignon.
“I am sorry, Maria,” Julia whispered. “I know there are plenty of people in the world who have sorrier situations than I. Many women would rejoice, no doubt, thinking they had ensnared a duke into marriage, but it’s not what I want. It’s never what I wanted.” She sat back as Maria did, looking up at her with bright green eyes.
“You do not need to feel guilty about having woes,” she said with a smile. “Everyone is entitled to woes.”
“Are we?” Julia scoffed, shaking her head. “I go to that orphanage most days, Maria. I see what hardships those children have had to endure. I know my hardships are not so great, yet I cannot help feeling like the prospect of marriage is a prison sentence.” She covered her face with her hands, amazed it had come to this. “I chose the Duke of Stapleton because I never thought he would try to escape scandal by marrying me. The man hates marriage as much as I do!”
“Then it might not yet come to it.” Maria patted her shoulder with care as Julia lifted her face once again, revealing cheeks that were stained with more tears. “Look at this! All these tears. You’ll ruin the nice job I did with your rouge earlier tonight.” Maria’s good humor made Julia laugh through the tears. “Here, shall we ruin it completely?” Maria said with a smile and picked up a handkerchief from nearby, drying Julia’s cheeks and streaking the makeup.
“How do I look?” Julia asked, sniffing to stop the tears as she put upon a fine face, trying to look the part.
“Well, like you are wearing tomato skins for cheeks.”
“Ha!” Julia laughed heartily, so relieved for her friend’s kindness. Even when Julia felt the sorrows come like rain, heavy and persistent, Maria was always there to make her smile.
“Now, let us not panic before we are due to.” Maria pulled forward another stool and sat beside Julia. “The Duke says he intends to call tomorrow, but maybe in the light of day he will sober and realize like you that he can weather the storm of such a scandal.”
“Yes, perhaps you are right.” Julia nodded and turned back to the vanity mirror, smiling a little when she saw what Maria meant about the red cheeks. Julia raised a hand and touched her fingers to her lips, thinking of the kiss that she had shared with the Duke that night.