She glanced at Nicholas, whose expression indicated that he had little desire to conduct a travelogue for Mrs. Thrall and her daughter. He glanced toward Juliana, then turned back to Mrs. Thrall, saying, You must forgive me, madam. I am afraid I havent time to stay and chat. I just came by to invite Miss Holcott to come riding tomorrow in my curricle. He looked over at Juliana. If you would like to, I could come by in the morning.
That would be lovely, Juliana replied quickly, not even looking toward Mrs. Thrall for permission. She was not about to let the woman ruin another visit with Nicholas by giving her a chance to thrust Clementine into their party.
Excellent. Nicholas rose to his feet. Now, if you will excuse me, I must take my leave of you ladies. Mrs. Thrall. Miss Thrall. He sketched a brief bow in their direction. Miss Holcott.
My lord.
Clementine stared after Nicholas as he left the room, too astonished for a moment to even say anything. Then she whirled around to face Juliana, her face contorting with anger. Juliana had a sudden, wicked desire that the girls suitors could see her as she looked now.
No! Clementine exclaimed. You cannot go. I wont allow it.
CHAPTER THREE
JULIANAS BACK stiffened. I beg your pardon?
Mama! Clementine whirled around to face her mother. You cannot allow Juliana to go with Lord Barre. I should be the one to ride in his curricle.
It took all Julianas strength of will not to snap at the girl that she was the one Lord Barre had invited, not Clementine.
Oh, no, dear, Mrs. Thrall assured her. Dont you worry about that. Of course he had to invite Juliana. It would not do for a young girl like you to ride out with a man alone. You have to have Juliana as a chaperone.
No, I dont, Clementine insisted. Its perfectly all right for a lady to go for a ride in a vehicle with a gentleman alone, especially an open-air one like a curricle. Juliet Sloane told me ladies and gentlemen do it all the time.
Her mother looked uncertain. Well, I know that its unexceptionable for older ladies and gentlemen, but a girl your age, new to the Town, Im not sure.
She glanced toward Juliana. What do you think, Juliana?
I think that it scarcely matters in this instance, since Lord Barre has already invited me to ride with him.
Thats true. Mrs. Thrall brightened. And you can count on it, Clemmy, that if as highborn a gentleman as Lord Barre asked Juliana to come along, as well, then that is the way it should be.
Juliana had to grind her teeth together to keep from pointing out that Lord Barre had not invited Clementine along at all. It galled her to think of the tiresome girl inserting herself into her ride with Nicholas. She would chatter and giggle and flirt like mad, and Juliana would have no more chance to chat alone with him than she had had today. It was, she thought, the outside of enough. But she could scarcely tell her employer that her daughter was not welcome to come with them. Mrs. Thrall would all too likely forbid Juliana to go, as well.
Clementine pouted for a few minutes, flashing a look of intense dislike in Julianas direction, until finally Mrs. Thrall suggested that the two of them go to a millinery shop and purchase a fetching new bonnet for Clementine to wear on the ride tomorrow. Juliana, she said, could take Fiona to the bookshop, as the tiresome girl had been begging to go.
Mrs. Thrall would have been surprised to learn that Juliana much preferred doing almost anything with her younger daughter Fiona than with Clementine or her mother. Fiona, at thirteen, had a livelier wit and more charming personality than Mrs. Thrall and Clementine combined. Juliana had spent a great deal of time with the girl, as Mrs. Thrall found Fionas questions tiring and her interests peculiar, so she often shoved her younger daughter off into Julianas capable hands.
Fiona, it turned out, was finding Clementine as obnoxious today as Juliana. If I hear one more word about Lord Barre, I think I shall scream, she told Juliana as they strode up the street in the direction of the bookshop.
Juliana glanced down at the young girl and smiled. Fionas coloring was much like her sisters, her hair pale blond and her eyes blue, but there the resemblance ended. Fiona was already as tall as her petite sister and showed no signs of stopping growing yet. Her face was squarish in shape, with a firm chin, and none of the soft, dimpled look for which Clementine was well-known. In sharp contrast to Clementine, her blue eyes were sharp and gleaming with intelligence.
She has done nothing but talk of the man the whole day, Fiona went on in irritation. How handsome he is, how wealthy he is, how respected his name is.
Lord Barre is aremarkable man, Juliana told her.
The younger girl made a face. No one could be the paragon that Clementine describes.
Juliana chuckled. Well, that is probably true. But he is a friend of mine. We grew up together, and long ago he was the best friend I had.
Really? Fiona looked up at her in astonishment. You are friends with the man Clemmy is going to marry?
Juliana raised one brow skeptically. Is that what she said?
Oh, yes. She said he would be head-over-heels about her in a few days. Fiona grimaced. And shes usually right about men, even if she is abysmally ignorant about everything else. Men seem to be disgustingly taken with her.
Juliana automatically started to remind Fiona that she should not talk so disparagingly about her sister. But on second thought, she decided that it was wrong to reprimand the girl for speaking the truth. Im not sure that she will have the usual success with this one.
The evening before Juliana had wondered if Nicholas might become attracted to Clementines beauty. He had, after all, smiled and conversed with her. But his actions today had left little room for misinterpretation. He had left, pleading lack of time, shortly after Clementine had entered the room and taken over the conversation, and, whatever Mrs. Thrall might choose to think about Nicholass invitation, he had not included Clementine in it. Mrs. Thrall and her daughter might be able to arrange it the next morning so that he had to take Clementine along, but Juliana was quite certain that he had not intended for Clementine to go.
Juliana, too, had seen Clementine wrap men around her finger, and she could not say with certainty that she might not be able to eventually work her wiles on Nicholas, but she did not think it would be easy.
That would be wonderful, Fiona said, grinning. He must be smarter than most of the men Clemmy sees.
Yes, I rather think he is. Nicholas was always perceptive.
How did you know him?
He was orphaned and had to live with his uncle. My mother was a cousin to his uncles wife, and we lived in a cottage on the estate. Nicholas and I formed awell, a sort of alliance of outcasts.
Why was he an outcast? I mean, he is a lord now, Fiona pointed out.
It was odd, Juliana agreed. He wasnt treated like a future lord. I never even realized until I heard that hed come into the title that he was the heir. His grandfather was ill and lived in Bath, and Nicholass uncle was his guardian. The way everyone actedwell, I never asked, but I assumed that his uncle Trenton was the one who would inherit the title and the estate, and that after him, Trentons son Crandall would. Trenton Barre ran the estate for his father, and everyone acted as if he were the lord and master.