Page 50 of Lord Trafford's Folly
Audrey nodded, but she had to admit she was rather overwrought at that moment. She wanted to get this parting over with, and deal with the scandal as a separate issue. The truth was, she was feeling rather fragile, and discussing the looming gossip was not foremost on her mind. Right now, she wanted to return to her room and nurse her breaking heart.
“In the morning, perhaps. It … has been a long day.” It was all she could offer in the way of explanation.
Julius reached out, attempting to take the cage from her hand. “In the morning, then. May I … assist you with that?”
Audrey shook her head, drawing back. She needed to get accustomed to fending for herself. Papa was gone, and Julius would be off on his adventures without her. “I can manage. Shall we?”
Julius nodded, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. The sweetness of his gesture pierced her heart with longing, but she squared her shoulders, determined not to stray into wishful thinking. They left the drawing room, descending the main staircase. The mood was gloomy. Neither of them appeared to be thrilled about their return home. Audrey wondered briefly about the cause of Julius’s pensive tone, but she was struggling with her own despair, so did not pay it much mind.
They reached the front door, and Patrick was there to open it.
As Audrey stood in the doorway contemplating the house on the other side of the street, she fought back a black cloud of depression. She welcomed the weight of the cage and the valise tugging on her arms. They helped her focus on the here. She did not want to think about how this was so much like the night she had arrived in London as a grieving daughter, only to return a dejected female who had lost her heart to the gentleman standing at her side.
It had been a glorious few days, but now she was waking from the strange dream she had been caught in. Audrey just hoped she could leave for Stirling soon, and that the scandal would not follow her there. She needed time to grieve anew while she picked up the pieces of her life and tried to work out what would make her happy.
CHAPTER 15
“It is only necessary to have courage, for strength without self-confidence is useless.”
Giacomo Casanova
SEPTEMBER 3, 1821
Audrey went down to breakfast, nursing a headache. She had lain awake all night considering her future, and regretted not speaking with Julius about whatever plan he had mentioned to rescue her from scandal. Perhaps she could have slept if she had a solution to the future, but instead she had tossed and turned, unable to stop worrying about it.
When she had awakened and rung for the maid to assist her, a different maid had arrived. Audrey had been nonplussed, questioning the young servant to learn that the other maid hadquit a few days earlier. This had been jarring news. Had she quit to distance herself from Audrey’s situation, or perhaps as a direct indictment of Audrey’s continued disappearance?
Belowstairs must be rife with gossip over her, especially now that she had returned. It was not uncommon to lose servants over disreputable occurrences, and she hoped she had not created too much chaos for Lord Stirling when he ultimately returned.
Approaching the breakfast room, she noticed a footman standing sentry in the hall. She noted it must be one of the new Johns that arrived the previous night, because she did not recognize him. The guardsmen had arrived while it was dark, so she had not gotten a proper look at most of them. The servant in question was a little too short, a little too worn around the edges, and his livery was askew. Especially the stock around his throat. Not to mention that his sleeves were too long. However, he had a glint in his eye that suggested a fierce nature—someone who could hold his ground in a fight.
Passing him to enter the room, Audrey found a footman she did recognize standing in wait at the sideboard where the breakfast trays were laid out. Taking up a plate, she served up eggs and fruit and dropped into a seat with a heavy sigh. She had been hoping to find Julius—or rather, Lord Trafford, she supposed, since they were back in polite society. If he had thoughts on how to mitigate this disaster, she would like to hear them. The logistics of her situation were what had plagued her all night.
Did she need to wait for the Earl of Stirling to return before she could leave London? There did not appear to be an alternative.
Must she alert someone she was home?
Send a letter to Lady Astley with some contrived explanation for her disappearance?
She was loath to announce she was home. It might serve as an invitation for Lady Astley to show up and scold Audrey. The old bat might insist that Audrey leave with her so she could chaperone her moving forward. A prospect that was unappealing. And pointless.
The earl’s footman, the one she knew, cleared his throat, having approached while she had been staring at her plate. “You have correspondence, Miss Gideon.”
He proffered a small tray with a single letter set out.
With acute reluctance, Audrey picked it up just as Julius appeared in the doorway.
“Aud—Miss Gideon!” he exclaimed with buoyancy.
Despite her thudding head and the dread of the letter in her hand, her spirits were lifted to see Julius. He was handsome in his purple silk, even if it was a foppish choice. Or, perhaps, she was just hungry to spend time with him.
Lud, I need to leave London.
“We are to speak this morning about”—Julius’s gaze flickered over to the servant—“the situation …”
Audrey smiled, her headache relieving mildly at his presence. “Please, Lord Trafford, have you eaten?”
Julius shook his head, crossing to the sideboard. He spoke in a low voice with the servant, who departed the room and shut the door while he gathered a plate for himself.
