In the moonlight, Lord Gillet’s pale skin looked even whiter through the window.
“An unpleasant view tonight, is it not?” Edward asked, before he closed the carriage curtain.
Julia held her hands over her mouth, struggling to stop herself from laughing when the carriage jolted forward, carrying them away. Once they were comfortably far from the Viscount, she lowered her hands and allowed herself to laugh properly. Edward laughed too, the sound warm and hearty as he tipped his head back on the carriage bench.
“You tripped him,” Julia said between her fits of laughter. “Yet you did it so easily.”
“Well, for one awful second, I thought he was going to reach into the carriage and try to drag you free from it. I couldn’t allow that, could I?” Edward said, still trying to control his mirth too.
“His face!” Julia sat forward, giggling. “Do you think he’ll hate you for this?”
“So what if he does?” Edward sat forward too, mimicking her stance. Sat on the opposite sides of the carriage, they had come close together. “Let him hate me, I despise him for the way he spoke just now. You need to be careful, Julia.”
“You are sounding protective again.”
“I guess I am,” he said with a smile. “Something tells me though that Lord Gillet has not relinquished his hopes of you yet.”
Something inside Julia quivered at the thought.
“Have no fear,” Edward continued, dismissing the idea as nothing of consequence. “Perhaps next time I trip him, I’ll do a better job of it. There is something quite amusing about the idea of seeing that man falling on his face, is there not?”
Julia laughed loudly, glad for the excuse to do so. It seemed Edward was making a point of trying to cheer her up, and she couldn’t be more thankful to him in that moment.
* * *
Edward was struggling to stay on his side of the carriage. He and Julia had not stopped laughing and joking together the whole journey back to her house. He was on the edge of his seat, in the effort to get closer to her, and she seemed equally eager, with her hands barely keeping her back on her own bench.
“Thank you,” Julia said eventually, as the carriage pulled up in her street. The footman made no effort to open the door yet, and Edward was glad for it. That meant he had a few extra minutes of peace with Julia.
“For what?” he asked.
“For all that you did tonight.” Julia smiled at him. There was such a genuineness in that smile, no mischief this time, that he couldn’t help returning it.
“Are we talking of our dance together? Or Lord Gillet?”
“Ha! You’re teasing me again,” she said with laughter. “For what you did with Lord Gillet. Thank you, truly, and for making me laugh all the way home so that I have not thought of the things that he said.”
“Do not give them a second thought.” He waved away the idea with a brush of his hand. “That man is not worth thinking of. If his reputation is to be believed, and if his manners are anything to go on, he is not worth any woman’s time. Though, I will admit, part of me hoped you were thanking me for the dance.”
“Confident man,” she said, in mock reprimand. Despite her glower, he could see her lips were tilting into a smile. “You are so certain I enjoyed that dance.”
“Well, we may have begun in an argument, but I could see your smile, and I could see your blush. It’s rather like the one you have now.”
“You cannot see my blush. The moonlight is barely strong enough for me to see the color of your eyes at this moment, so I doubt you can see my face.”
“True, but you did not deny you are blushing, so you have just confirmed you are for me.” His playfulness earned a tap across his arm, making him laugh all the more.
Beside the carriage, there was a sound in her house. Edward couldn’t tell if it was a door being slammed or something falling over, but it reminded them both of where they were.
“I should go,” Julia said softly and reached for the door, about to make her exit.
“Before you do.” Edward reached out for her. He hadn’t thought much of what he was doing. All he knew was that he did not want to say goodbye just yet, and he most certainly did not want to say goodbye in this way.
His hand found hers. It was a gentle touch, his fingers against hers as he drew her to face him once again. She was nearly off the bench completely now, her eyes on his rather than on the touch of their hands.
“You make me wonder when you do this sort of thing, you know,” Julia said softly, brushing her fingers against his own.
“What do I make you wonder?”