CHAPTER TWENTY
Julia soon found that she had more to do than stand around kissing her new fiancé in the hallway. After nearly being interrupted by Mr Larkin, who was making a round of the house to check that everybody was settled after Annabelle's disappearance, they retreated to Charles's study to hash out the finer details of how to break the news to Annabelle – not to mention what to tell the servants.
"Miss Kelsey will be so surprised!" Julia laughed. "All this time, she's been trying to set me up with your valet."
"Peter Kildare?" asked Charles, amused. "I don't need to call him out, do I? Pistols at dawn?"
"Nothing of the sort," Julia assured him. Charles sat down in his large, comfortable high-backed chair, and Julia hopped onto his lap and put her arms around his neck. "I have only had eyes for you from the moment I arrived."
"I have you beaten there," smiled Charles. "I have been entranced by you since the moment we met."
"Entranced?" Julia repeated. "That's a good word for it. Entranced. Promise me I will always entrance you!"
"I promise. Now, let me ring for Larkin," said Charles, leaning over to the bell. "I'll have him prepare champagne for the household."
"That's very generous."
"I think everyone should share in a little of our joy today, don't you?"
An uncomfortable thought occurred to Julia. "Charles, what am I to do about Mrs Potter, Miss Kelsey, and Felicity, the cook? They have been good friends to me in all my time here. I do not know quite how I shall behave towards them when I am lady of the house."
"Why, you must behave however you wish. I do not keep a very formal household. There is no reason why Mrs Potter cannot be your friend as well as your housekeeper, and Miss Kelsey, and Miss Graham, too. The only thing that will change is that you must begin to make friends with women of your new station. I'm sure the Duchess of Westbourne will be able to help you with that. All in all, I cannot see your life changing very much."
"Can you not?" asked Julia, with a wicked smile. "I hope there will be some changes, at least. There are a number of new experiences I intend to try."
"And what might they be?"
Julia leaned in so that her breath tickled his ear as she softly murmured, "I want to dance at Almack's."
She heard the smile in his voice. His hands began to trace the curve of her waist, and he drew her closer. "Is that all you truly desire?"
"Well, there is something more..." Julia caught his earlobe between her lips and gently bit. Charles gasped, stirring beneath her. "I want to buy a new gown from a Parisian dressmaker."
"I will give you anything," Charles promised breathlessly. Julia stroked her fingers up the back of his neck.
"In that case," she breathed, "I must ask you for just one more thing..."
The door opened behind her. Julia sprang from Charles's lap and flung herself to the other side of the room. Charles rose, adjusting his clothing awkwardly.
"Ah, Larkin!" He cried, failing to disguise the note of annoyance in his voice. "I must say, that was very prompt of you."
"Prompt, my lord?" asked Larkin.
"Exceedingly. I only rang the bell moment ago."
"I'm afraid I did not hear it, my lord. I was just coming in to announce Lord Christopher here to see you."
Charles glanced at Julia. "Do make my apologies, Larkin. I'm afraid I'm not at home."
Julia could not let the chance of speaking to Lord Kit on Felicity's behalf slip away. "No, let him in," she said. Mr Larkin gave her a look of pure outrage.
"Excuse me, Miss Mallory, but his lordship has said he is not at home!"
"No, no," said Charles. "It's quite alright, Larkin. Send him through."
Larkin bowed and left, pausing only to cast a glance of admonition in Julia's direction. They would have to give him the news soon, Julia realised. Mr Larkin would be mortified if he gave Julia a telling off, only to discover that she was now the Marquess's betrothed.
When he arrived, Lord Kit's appearance was shocking. Far from his usual dapper self, his hair was a dishevelled mass, his cravat hanging undone about his neck, and his shirt untucked.
"Gracious!" Charles exclaimed. "What on earth has happened to you?"
Kit sank into a chair without waiting for an invitation. "The very worst has happened," he moaned. "Send your governess away, Charles, so that I can talk to you frankly."
"Whatever you wish to say to me, you can say in front of Julia," said Charles. Kit raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. He was clearly too full of his own misery to decipher the mystery that lay before him.
"I'm afraid I come to you not as a friend but as a beggar," he said. He ran a hand through his hair, a wildness in his eyes. "My father has thrown me out. I am no longer welcome in my family home. He has disinherited me. I am finished."
"What on earth has gotten into him?" demanded Charles. "Would you like me to speak to him? Whatever has happened, surely by morning he will see sense?"
Kit shook his head mournfully. "The one who needed to see sense was myself, and, in any case, it is now several months too late. I have done something dreadful, Charles. This is the end of me."
"Does this concern Felicity?" Julia guessed.
Kit stared at her in astonishment. "How did you know that?"
"Felicity?" Charles repeated. "Do you mean Miss Graham? My cook? What on earth has been going on?"
"I'm afraid I have been... a little foolish," Kit admitted. He was expending some effort to prevent his mouth from twisting into a self-mocking smile.
"Foolish? Do you imagine that's how Felicity would describe it?" asked Julia sternly. "You are not the only one facing ruin."
"Do you think I don't know that?" Kit demanded.
"Guard your tongue, Kit!" snapped Charles. "What on earth do you mean by speaking to Julia in that tone? You are under my roof, and you dare to speak to my friend this way? You will give her the respect she deserves!"
Kit groaned and lowered his head into his hands. "Force of habit, I'm afraid, Charles. I'm afraid I have been at pains to distance myself from the servants of late. I didn't want to come across as too familiar. I thought that if I did, people might begin to suspect that Felicity and I... Well. A foolish thought, no doubt."
"Foolish indeed," Charles growled. Julia felt heat glow deep in her belly as Charles moved to stand beside her, taking her hand in his. "It is not me you need to apologise to, Kit. I must tell you that I was shocked to hear the way you have been speaking to Julia in my absence. It reflects poorly on you, very poorly. She is a fine woman who does not deserve to bear the brunt of your idiocy!"
"You are quite right," sighed Kit. He turned to Julia, looking so thoroughly wretched that she forgave him at once, even before he apologised. "Miss Mallory, I am most sincerely sorry for the way I have behaved towards you. I am a thoughtless, flighty sort of man, and in my desperation to avoid suspicion falling on Felicity I decided it was best to behave like an absolute beast to everyone I thought beneath me."
"Julia is not beneath you," Charles snapped.
"No, you are quite right. I, of all people, have no business giving myself fine airs. Miss Mallory, I have no right to expect your forgiveness, but I beg you for it all the same."
"You are quite forgiven," said Julia. "You are the Marquess's friend, and so I hope we may become friends, too, in time." It might take quite a lot of time. But she was determined to do it, for Charles's sake.
"Now, I suppose I had better send for Miss Graham," said Charles. He looked from Kit to Julia, as though on the verge of believing something he very much did not wish to believe. "It seems she is as closely involved in your disgrace as anyone, Kit."
"Please," said Kit. "Though I have no good news to give her. Charles, I know you must think me a blind fool, but I really am thoroughly ashamed of myself. I never meant any harm to come to Felicity. You can't imagine how deeply I care for her."
"I think you underestimate my imagination," said Charles, with a glance at Julia.
Felicity was summoned in due course. Before long, she was standing in the middle of the room, twisting her hands in front of her in despair. "Yes, it's true, my lord. I have allowed Lord Kit to take liberties with my person. I know it was wrong, but... Well, now that the truth is out, there is no use in hiding it. I was in love. It made me a reckless fool. And now, I will have to suffer the consequences."
Kit sprang to his feet. "You will not suffer them alone, my darling!"
"Enough of that," snapped Charles. "I suppose the two of you imagine it will be very romantic, suffering together, but there is a child to think of. How do you intend to provide for your baby, Kit? How do you intend to support your wife?"
Felicity's eyes widened in horror. "My Lord, do you mean that I have lost my position?"
"I have not decided anything as yet," said Charles. "I do not yet see the best way forward. Kit, do you think there is any way that your father will accept Miss Graham into your family?"
Kit winced at the memory of his last conversation with his father. "There is not the faintest chance. That door is now closed to me forever."
"Oh, Kit," sighed Felicity, moving towards him. "You cannot give up your family for me."
"That is exactly what he must do," snapped Charles. "The two of you are a family now. For the sake of the child, you must marry."
"I am not afraid to bring an illegitimate child into this cruel world," said Felicity defiantly. Julia thought it was time to interject.
"Believe me, Felicity, you do not know what you're talking about. You have never suffered poverty. You have never lived under the shadow of illegitimacy. I would not wish it on my greatest enemy, never mind your innocent child."
"Then we must marry," said Kit decisively. Julia was impressed. She would never have imagined him accepting responsibility so easily.
"Yes, and soon," Charles agreed. "And what then, Kit? You may stay under my roof as long as you wish, but sooner or later you must find a way to provide for your wife and child. I am afraid that the road before you is a long and difficult one."
"Has nobody thought to ask my opinion?" demanded Felicity. "My Lord, you may be a Marquess, but that does not give you the right to marry me off like a piece of property!"
To Julia's amazement, Charles laughed. "Quite right, too," he said. "I would not inflict Kit on a woman lightly. Go ahead, Miss Graham, tell me what your wishes are in all this. How do you intend to survive this mess?"
Felicity actually blushed. "Well... To tell you the truth, my lord, I would not object to having Kit as a husband."
"My own darling!" cried Kit, and embraced her.
The embrace was rather a lengthy one. Both Julia and Charles had to avert their eyes for the sake of propriety.
"Well," said Charles, eventually. "I suppose I ought to ring for that champagne, after all. Why shouldn't we celebrate?" In a lower tone, for Julia's benefit only, he added, "Nobody else will."
They all went into the drawing room, where a merry fire was blazing, and rang for Mr Larkin once more. If the butler was surprised to be asked to serve champagne to the governess and the cook, he made no comment on it. After they had toasted to Kit and Felicity's happiness, Charles took Julia aside for a quiet moment.
"I think it might be best to let the dust settle on one engagement before we announce another," he murmured. "Would you be terribly offended if I saw Kit safely married before embarking upon the venture myself?"
"I am quite of your opinion," said Julia. "Poor Felicity will not get much enjoyment from being a bride. I do not want to take away from the little that she has. We will wait until after their wedding."
"I think we will not be waiting long," said Charles. "I intend to settle things as quickly as possible, for the sake of Felicity's reputation. I will apply for a special licence on their behalf, so that they do not need to wait for the reading of the banns. That will speed things up considerably."
"You are too good to your friend," said Julia. "I am afraid he does not deserve you."
"Don't judge Kit too harshly," said Charles. "He has his flaws, certainly, but he will be forced to make amends for them before long. I'm afraid that you and I will now be the only friends those two have in the world."
Julia sipped on her champagne and watched Kit and Felicity talking happily on the sofa. They made an odd picture. Kit still half-dressed and dishevelled, Felicity still in her floury apron. What did the future hold for them?
Julia hardly dared to think.