Page 48 of Unmasking a Wicked Marquess
“You two are useless at this,” Violet muttered angrily. “You and Lord Ashton are supposed to be arguing in public, pretending you do not like one another, and what do you do? Last night, you flirted with one another openly during charades.
Maybe you two intended it to look like arguing, but to my mind, it was much more flirtatious bickering. It was as if you could not help yourselves, and today, well, neither of you have stopped staring at one another since breakfast.”
Juliet felt her cheeks flood with a mad blush as she looked towards Edward again. He was sneaking a glance at her over the saddle of a horse, and he winked at her. She returned that smile, only for Violet to huff again.
“What?” Juliet guided her horse to stand closer to Violet.
The whole riding party was gathering together now, with many in the yard preparing to leave, but they were not the only ones. Other riders were coming from nearby estates, their horses gathering at the stable yard entrance. With the increasing chance of being overheard, Juliet shifted so that her leg practically brushed Violet’s.
“Were you not the one who brought us both here? You were eager for me to get to know him. For this family argument to be at an end.”
“That I am.” Violet nodded so sternly that she made the riding hat pinned to her hair bounce with the movement. “Yet I must confess that our father does not show much sign of changing his opinion. Our mother might be a little easier.”
“How do you mean?” Juliet asked with interest.
“Did you not see our mother sat next to the Duchess of Lantham last night?” Violet said with a mischievous smile. “There was a point where they smiled at each other, laughing over some jest in charades. In fact, I think I saw it happen more than once.”
“Did they speak to one another?”
“Well … no.”
“Hurrah! Let us celebrate and sing to the heavens,” Juliet said with thick sarcasm. “We are making such progress.”
“Small steps, but we’ll get there.” Violet smiled, though the expression quickly dropped. “In the meantime, you and Lord Ashton must make an effort to look like enemies if you do not wish to raise our families’ suspicions.”
“Very well,” Juliet said sharply. Her eyes darted across the newcomers, and she tried to focus on something else other than the thought of Edward and what they had shared the night before. When a familiar face appeared through the crowd, though, all intentions to push thoughts of Edward away failed her.
Lady Clarissa was riding towards him with a great smile on her face. Juliet remembered seeing her at the opera and recalled seeing Edward smile happily at her in greeting. As if she was reliving the past, Juliet saw Edward turn and greet Lady Clarissa, now. She even offered her hand from the top of her horse, and he took it, smiling in such a way that Juliet’s gut curdled with envy.
“Do not think of it,” Violet muttered tightly beside her.
Juliet said nothing. She felt as if a heavy weight had been dropped on her shoulders as she stared at the partnership. The Duchess of Lantham approached behind the pair and started talking freely, sharing the same smile her son wore.
No doubt his mother would approve of Lady Clarissa for his wife.
“Juliet …” Violet whispered, trying to earn her attention once more, yet now, Juliet was turning away of her own accord. The thought had cut so deep that she realized she had fantasized about what it would be like to be Edward’s wife more than once.
“Let us go,” Juliet muttered miserably to Violet. “I do not think I can watch much more of this.” She flicked the reins and followed the leaders of their riding party, with Violet following closely behind her.
For a long time on the ride, Juliet said nothing. Evidently being a poor riding companion to her sister, Violet drifted off to talk with others, and Juliet rode alone in the group. Only when they reached the top of a summit and the Duke of Darby declared they were to have a picnic did Juliet find herself in conversation with someone.
She sat down on a picnic blanket, not looking where she was going, only to bump someone’s hand beside her and tip over a glass of lemonade.
“I’m so sorry,” Juliet said hurriedly. She grabbed some cloths and mopped up the lemonade from the blanket. “Here, let me get you some more.”
“Don’t worry.” A kindly voice laughed. “You did not mean to do it.”
Recognizing the voice of Edward’s sister, Juliet looked up. Jane sat beside her, an easy smile on her face.
“Here, let me get you some lemonade instead.” Jane reached for a glass and poured out some lemonade, passing it to her.
“Thank you.” Juliet was so startled by the kindness that she sat there staring at Jane for a minute.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking.” Jane giggled and rolled her eyes. “Our families have quite set us all against each other, have they not? I hope you do not think me a demon, though.”
“No, no, far from it,” Juliet said as hurriedly as she could and turned her body to face Jane fully. “Forgive me. I guess I was more fearful that you might think me one.”
“Well, that won’t do, will it? How about we get to know one another without our family’s perceptions of each other?” she whispered conspiratorially, leaning towards her. She pointedly gestured towards their fathers, who were doing their best to stay away from each other, then pointed to their mothers, too.
