Page 67 of The Secret of the Dashing Detective
Matthew cursed under his breath.
“Let us hope he comes to his senses before it gets that far. At his core, I know the duke is a good man. Perhaps if it is his family he is concerned about, it is his family we must speak to.”
Lewis opened his hands in front of him. “I’m all ears.”
* * *
Juliana knew betterthan to go outside the fence surrounding Warwick House by herself, but she would have given anything at that moment to have Lucy cuddled on her lap instead of licking her hand through the fence.
“It was terrible, Lucy, truly it was,” she said to the dog, who tilted her head to the side and twitched one ear as she listened to Juliana’s tale. “He’s a stubborn-headed mule, and I finally realized that there was no chance of ever making him see reason. So I let him go. But it could have been the most foolish decision I have ever made for now I don’t know if I will ever get him back.”
“Sometimes letting something fly free is the only way to get it to return to you.”
Juliana whipped her head around, shocked to find her grandmother standing behind her, walking stick held regally in her hand as she stood staring without comment at the dog Juliana petted.
“Grandmother,” Juliana said, scrambling to her feet. “What are you doing out here?”
“Seeking you out,” she said. “You barely ate anything this morning, and I wanted to see if you were all right or if you had fainted out here from hunger.”
“I am fine.”
“I am glad to hear it. That was my first concern. Secondly, I wanted you to see this. A lad was handing them out when I returned from visiting with Lady Tanningham.”
She held out a stack of paper to Juliana – a stack of paper she recognized very well.
“My pamphlet!” she said excitedly, unable to contain the glee that broke through her melancholy. “That is to say, a—”
“There is no need to hide your secret from me, child. I am well aware of what you have been up to.”
“But how—”
“Who did you think used that little parlor before you did? Did you ever wonder why it was so elegantly appointed that it would invite you as it has? I happened to find your work stored away in one of the drawers one day.”
“I see,” Juliana said, feeling foolish to have ever considered that she wouldn’t be found out.
“Your ideas are peculiar,” Lady Winchester said, never one to hide her true thoughts on a subject. “However, you have written in a concise, straightforward manner and some of your arguments have even convinced me that I could take a better path.”
Juliana couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Thank you, Grandmother.”
“I tell only the truth. Now, come sit with your grandmother on a bench over near the pond so we can discuss what has happened with this young jackanape.”
Juliana said farewell to Lucy before following after her grandmother, wondering if the woman even needed her walking stick with how fast she walked, or if it was all simply for show. She guessed she would likely never know the truth.
“There is nothing to tell, really,” Juliana said as she sat next to her grandmother and watched the few birds who were using the shallow water as their pool. “I love him and he doesn’t want to be with me.”
“Youlovehim?” Lady Winchester’s eyebrows rose. “That is quite a statement. Are you certain of it?”
“Absolutely,” Juliana said with determination. “Although I am quite cross with him at the moment.”
Her grandmother chuckled. “It cannot always be sunshine.”
“That is most certainly the truth.”
“I am assuming his objection is the difference in your stations.”
“Yes.”
“He is not wrong. If you were to marry him – an investigator from Holborn – your life would never be the same.”
