Page 69 of Forget Me Not

She turned her attention to the most unassuming of the men, who had eagerly watched everything and everyone. “I suspect you, sir, are Puppy.”

He, too, bowed. “Niles Greenberry, at your service, my lady.”

“I hope your moniker was given out of affection and not mockery.” Though the remark was said to the bearer of the nickname, she looked to Lucas for her answer.

“It most certainly was,” he said with an air of unmistakable sincerity.

Julia met the gentle gaze of the last of their newest houseguests. “You, then, are the one known as Archbishop.”

“Oui, madame.A name I did not choose,je t’assure.” There was no mistaking his accent.

“You are French,” she said.

“Yes,” Lucas said, “but we have forgiven him for that.”

Julia swatted at him playfully. “There is no mystery about you being called the Jester.”

“Alas, gentlemen, she has sorted us all, and easily.”

“I am not the least surprised,” the General said. “The Julia we heard about over the years would not be the least baffled by any puzzle we handed her.”

“He really did talk about me, then?”

All the men nodded emphatically.

“And now,” Archbishop said, “we wish to talk abouthim.” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “Pars maintenant, monsieur.”

Julia spun to face Lucas directly, her back to the others. In a frantic whisper, she pleaded, “Don’t go. Don’t leave me in here with strangers.”

“They will not mistreat you, Julia. If I thought there was the least chance they would, I would not have permitted them anywhere near this house.”

That did not relieve her misgivings. “What if I make a fool of myself? I haven’t a great deal of experience with guests.”

He took her face gently in his hands and smiled softly. “They already adore you; I promise they do. You have nothing to fear from them. I will be very nearby. Near enough to be at your side again in a matter of seconds. Can you grant them a few minutes?”

Knowing he was not leaving her behind without thought eased her worries. It was not his prolonged absences alone that had weighed on her heart over the years but how little consideration she was given when those opportunities arose. She was very quickly forgotten because, she feared, she wasn’t terribly important to him. She welcomed any indication that that had changed.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. Julia’s breath caught. He had utilized that particular gesture often when she was little. It felt entirely different now.

He stepped back. “I won’t be gone long.”

She watched him leave the room, her heart leaving with him. Julia was not as fortified against his departures as she had been mere weeks earlier. With a strength she didn’t entirely feel, she turned to face the Gents.

Archbishop motioned her to a high-backed chair, empty and waiting. She sat, and the gentlemen did as well.

The General spoke for the group. “Lady Jonquil,” he said, “you have married an idiot.”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She was absolutely certain her mouth hung a bit open.

“That idiot, however, is a brother to all of us, so we aren’t willing to simply toss him off Westminster.”

Julia tipped her chin upward and eyed him sternly. “You do that, and I’ll toss each of you in the Trent with a boulder tied to your limbs. Do not think for a moment I won’t.”

The smile she received from the stern-faced Lord Aldric was, she suspected, a very rare sight. And yet, it didn’t ill-suit him. “You really are his Julia, aren’t you?”

“HisJulia?”

“We’ve heard stories for years. I don’t think even he realizes how often he’s spoken of you, how much of the past two decades he’s spent worrying about you, how much he’s missed you.”

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