Page 22 of The Earl Takes All
Albert pulled out the chair for Julia and assisted in seating her before taking his place opposite her at the small square linen-covered table. The scent of cinnamon, butter, and vanilla hung heavy on the air.
“Will you be wanting your usual lemon tart, m’lord?” Mrs.Potts asked.
“No, actually, in memory of my brother I’ll go with his favorite: strawberry.”
“And your ladyship?”
“I’ll have the same.”
“What sort of tea might I bring you?”
“Darjeeling.”
“Your lordship?”
“The same.”
“Be back in a trice.” She scurried away.
Julia began removing her gloves.
“You didn’t have to go with strawberry,” Albert said.
“It’s my favorite. I love strawberries. In summer when you’re not looking, I gorge. I wonder what else Edward and I might have had in common.”
Looking out the window, he removed his gloves and stuffed them in the pocket of his coat. “Not much else, I suspect.”
Mrs.Potts returned with the teapot and pastries. After the proprietress left, Julia poured tea for her husband and herself. “I love the fragrances in this place.”
“Always makes me hungry,” Albert said.
“I don’t suppose you had many pastries in Africa.”
He shook his head. “Let’s not talk about Africa. What did you do while we were away?”
“I don’t even know where to begin.” She’d longed to share so many moments with him, but now that he’d asked, words failed her. She took a sip of her tea, gathering her thoughts. “I changed, Albert.”
He angled his head slightly. “Pardon?”
“I’ve worried that you sensed it, that I’m not exactly as I was when you left, and that’s partly responsible for this... awkwardness between us.”
“My distraction has nothing to do with you.”
“I know that’s what you say, and I have no reason not to believe you, as you’ve never lied to me, but I am also not as I was. While you were away, I did things...”
He narrowed his eyes. “What sort of ‘things’?”
A fissure of annoyance wove through his voice, and she had the sense that he was striving not to erupt with rage.
“For the first time in my life, I answered to no one save myself. First there were my parents, and I had to obey them without question. When they died of influenza, my cousin immediately took control and dictated every aspect of my Season and what was expected of me.”
“What was expected?”
“To marry by Season’s end. Thank God, I met you. I adore you, you know that. I considered myself the most fortunate girl in the world because I was able to marry for love. But I went straight from my cousin’s household into yours—”
“You found your husband to be a dictator?”
“No, of course not, but everything I did was with the intention of pleasing you, making you proud, ensuring you were glad that I was your wife. Suddenly, when you left, I had no one to answer to. No one cared if I slept until the afternoon. I got dressed in the morning and that was it. I didn’t change for dinner or to take a turn about the garden or for afternoon tea. It was liberating.”
