Page 64 of Unmasking a Wicked Marquess
Juliet re-read her note to Edward and thrust it under his bedchamber door. Scurrying back, she hurried through the hallway, eager to get to the nursery and await him.
Since Edward had carried her back from the woods during the croquet match the day before, her name and Edward’s seemed to be on everyone’s lips. Robert had stopped talking to her entirely, and she wasn’t sure if this was worse than him being overtly angry at her.
The Duke of Lantham, too, had started glaring at her from a distance. The joint suspicion of their fathers and the speculation of all others at the house meant they had not managed to spend a moment alone together since.
Determined to rectify that, Juliet had written the note hurriedly to Edward. She only hoped he would read it in time.
Rushing towards the south end of the house, she was not far from the nursery when she heard sounds from beyond the window of horses galloping down the drive. She went to the window, eager to see who it was, when she saw it was, in fact, a group of people leaving the house.
A group of people partying at a neighbouring estate had clearly come to call on them, and when Juliet saw that Lady Clarissa was amongst the party, the excited smile slipped from her cheeks.
She watched Lady Clarissa, admiring the beautiful smile as the lady waved back at the house, saying goodbye to someone.
Is it Edward?
Yet Juliet had the wrong angle and could not possibly see from her vantage point if Edward stood in the doorway waving at her or not.
Juliet backed up from the window and hurried towards the nursery once again. As she moved now, though, her hands fidgeted together, and she felt heat creeping up the back of her neck.
She tried to commit moments to memory, to remind herself that Edward was fond ofher.Had he not come to kiss her in the woods, braving discovery at any moment just to be beside her? Had he not carried her back from the woods for all to see?
It must all mean something. Surely.
Had he not also made love to her in those woods, pleasuring her to such an extent that she had not known was possible, his hands gripping her tight as he had moaned her name and found his release?
“It was a rebellion,” she murmured to herself aloud. “What if that was all it was?”
She suddenly stopped walking, her mind going around in circles, unsure whether to place hope in the idea that Edward cared for her as much as she did him or whether to be certain that she was just another rebellion like the women who had come before her.
“I am certain of it,” a voice reached Juliet’s ears.
“Ma, you overthink things too much.”
“I am not overthinking things now. I am certain of it, Jane. Truly.”
Recognizing the voices as those of the Duchess of Lantham and her daughter, Juliet jerked her head in the direction they were coming from. A door stood ajar, drawing Juliet forward, and she crept towards it, peering into the library.
“Edward is to make a proposal. I have never been more confident of anything in my life.” Amelia’s grin was alive, and she could not stop jumping up and down with her excitement.
“Ma, please.” Jane took her mother’s shoulders and steered her towards the nearest chair in the library. “You think too much of it, I am sure.”
“He will propose, Jane. I know it.”
Propose?
A happy image filled Juliet’s mind. She saw herself at the altar, her veil being lifted by Edward as he bent towards her, lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss. She saw herself in his bed as well. They wouldn’t have to make love in the garden, as thrilling as that was, for they could make love in his bed, be a true couple, be husband and wife. She saw herself gripping the pillowcase as he pleasured her, her arms wrapped around him as she kissed him, knowing she was in love with him.
I do love him, do I not? Oh, God’s wounds … I would say yes if he asked me!
She stepped back, her heartbeat thundering with excitement when Jane’s next words made her come to a sudden icy halt.
“But Lady Clarissa? You are sure of that?” Jane asked.
Clarissa …
Juliet swayed on her feet, her hand going to a nearby wall and gripping it tight.
“They have been friends for so many years. You must have seen them together, as of late, and is she not beautiful? Does she not command attention? She is an impressive lady. She will make him a fine duchess someday.”
