True Love's Deception (book 3) (The Fielding Brothers Saga) (29 page)

When they returned home, Juliana excused herself to hurry upstairs to Andrew’s room only to find it empty. Her heart ached with sadness. She wanted to be here to comfort him, and for him to comfort her. She wanted to be in his arms, being his loving wife all over again.

Dejected, she left and walked to her room. Staring in the mirror, she took her hair out of the stylish bun Pearl had fashioned earlier this evening, combing out the locks and letting the bulk wave down her back. She considered changing into her nightclothes, but it was still too early.

Wearily, she turned and left her room, heading downstairs for a nightcap. As she reached the bottom,
Maddie
flew by her in a rush. Her sister’s face was hard with anger.

Juliana hurried into the parlor to see what all the commotion was about. Gregg stood by the hearth with a drink in his hands as he stared at the low burning fire.

“Gregg?”

His gaze snapped up to hers.

“What happened?
Maddie
just passed me and almost knocked me over in her haste to get up the stairs.”

He chuckled. “Your sister is vexed with me, I’m afraid.”

She walked closer.
“Whatever for?”

Walking toward her, he waved his hand in the air. “Just a disagreement is all.” He stopped in front of her and took her hand. “I’d rather not talk about her, but talk about what’s bothering you.”

She gave him a weary smile.
Strange how he could read her so well.
“It’s Andrew.”

He led her to the sofa where they both sat. “Tell me. If you don’t, the heavy burdens on your lovely shoulders will collapse.” He squeezed her shoulders. “Now we cannot have that happening, can we?”

Holding back the tears stinging her eyes, she shook her head. “No we cannot. You have been trying all evening to cheer me
up,
I suppose I can allow you to try again.”

“Exactly.
Now what’s on your mind about Andrew? Are you worried about tomorrow’s meeting with Matthew Lawrence?”

“Yes.”

“What worries you, my dear?”

She shrugged. “What if they discover he is the heir to the Lawrence fortune? What will happen next?”

“I suppose he will reunite with his family and be given a title, lands and money.”

“And he will want to remain living in England instead of returning to Scotland with me when my parents return from Paris.” She nodded. “I’m quite certain of it, which literally breaks my heart.”

He peered at her with a creased brow. “Am I to understand you don’t want to live in England?”

“You are correct. Scotland is my home. It is where my heart is.”

“What are you going to do if Andrew wants to remain here?”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I wish I knew. I have come to realize I love Andrew more than I had thought possible, but—” More tears fell, and she covered her face with her hands.

Gregg’s arm slipped around her shoulders, bringing her against him. His hand stroked her hair. “But you don’t know if you love him enough to live in England with him. Correct?”

She nodded, afraid to speak for fear her voice would crack. Laying her head against his chest, she cried harder. When had life’s decisions become so hard? And why couldn’t she decide which was the road she wanted to take?

“Juliana? Were you in love with Andrew when you first married him?”

“No.” She sniffed.

“But you love him now?”

Slowly, she lifted her head and wiped her eyes. Gregg’s concerned gaze tugged at her heart. “If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell a single soul? Will you promise it will not leave this room?”

He smiled and cupped her chin. His other hand handed her a handkerchief. “I’m your friend. You can trust me with anything.”

She dabbed her eyes with the cloth. “Gregg,” she whispered. “Andrew and I...well...we’re not...wed.”

His brow creased and he leaned forward. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

She sighed. “Andrew and I are not legally married.”

His eyes widened in shock. He shook his head. “How...”

Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear the sordid details of how she wanted her inheritance without becoming married. He listened intently and didn’t speak. When she finally pulled back, his eyes were still wide...but the corners of his mouth lifted into a grin.

“I shocked you, didn’t I?” she asked.

“You most certainly did.”

“Please forgive me, but I had to tell someone.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you for trusting me with this information.”

“Do you understand why I’m so confused now?”

“Indeed, my dear. But if he is the real Lawrence heir, will you marry him?”

She chuckled. “It does not matter to me if he is or is not. What matters is where we will live.”

“Do you love him enough to marry him?”

“I think I do.”

“He will want to make you his wife if he is the real heir. You know that, right?”

She glanced at her clasped hands and nodded. “I hoped as much.”

“But you still do not know if you want to live in England with him.”

Tears came back quickly and she shook her head. He pulled her to his chest again, and she sobbed. “I don’t know if I love him that much...or if he loves me enough to want to return to Scotland with me.”

* * * *

Maddie
strained her neck as she tried to listen to the conversation going on between her sister and Gregg. She didn’t want them to know she stood in the hall eavesdropping, but she needed to know what was so secretive.

She didn’t like that Gregg had his arms around Juliana—or that her sister snuggled so close to him as she cried on his chest. Now was the perfect time for Andrew to walk in.

Where was he anyway?

Then
Maddie
heard something, and she strained to hear more. Did Juliana just say she didn’t know if she loved Andrew enough to want to live in England?

Maddie’s
spirits lifted. For a long time now, she knew her sister’s hatred for England.
If Andrew chose to remain here instead of returning to Scotland...

She clasped her hands against her fiercely beating chest. This just may be the leverage she needed to break her sister and Andrew apart.

Soon Andrew.
You will be mine.
Forever.

Chapter Sixteen

Andrew stumbled through the front door, holding onto the handle as not to topple over. The spinning room made it hard to see where he headed. Blasted all, but maybe he should not have drank a whole bottle of whiskey.

When the room settled—as did his rolling stomach—he took a step into the house and closed the door. As he staggered up the stairs, he cursed himself for indulging too much spirits, but the blokes at the tavern tonight encouraged him.

Confusion over the past few days had tempted him to drink in the first place. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he might be an heir to a wealthy family. What confused him more than anything was the fact that his grandfather and uncle had not even told him. Andrew had believed for all these years he had been orphaned as a child.

Originally, he hadn’t planned on going to the tavern, but Clifford’s carriage had broken a wheel during Andrew’s impromptu evening drive. His driver cursed the ill-fated accident, mumbling something about it being tampered with. Andrew didn’t care. He had too much on his mind at the time. And as luck would have it, they’d broken down not too far from a tavern.

His boot caught on the last stair, and he tumbled to his knees.
Blast it all!
He blinked, trying to focus his eyes. He hadn’t seen that last step.

Down the hall hobbled a shadow, the white nightshirt flapping against a pair of chicken’s legs. Andrew blinked again to get the vision corrected.

“Wilbur?” he slurred.

“Aye,
laddie
.”
The older man bent and grabbed Andrew’s arm, helping him stand. “
Ye’re
bein
’ too noisy.
Ye’ll
wake the household.”

Andrew stood on wobbly legs. “Forgive me. I’m not trying to be loud.”

After taking a couple of steps, Andrew glanced at the butler again. “Wilbur? Have ye heard? I may be the heir to a wealthy family.”

“Aye,
laddie
.
That is the rumor.”

Andrew grinned. “
If’n
I am, I’m
gonna
buy Juliana the biggest house in all of England. She deserves a wealthy husband.”

“Aye, she does.”

Finally, they made it to Andrew’s room. After Wilbur had opened the door, the older man reached for the lantern. Andrew grabbed his hand to stop him.

“I won’t need any light.”

Wilbur shook his head. “But I fear for your safety,
laddie
.”

Andrew patted the butler’s shoulder. “Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine from here.”

“As you wish.”

Wilbur waited until Andrew could stand by himself, before closing the door and leaving his side to hurry down the hallway.

Splaying his hands in front of him, Andrew searched for his bed. When his legs bumped against it, he fell on the mattress. He turned, sat on the edge, and stripped off his clothes, having a harder time removing the obstacles than normal.

Once undressed, he used his hands to direct him into bed. The weight of another person lay next to him. He skimmed his hands over the lump under the blankets and grinned.
Juliana.

He’d missed his wife more than he realized and he couldn’t wait to hold her close and tell her he loved her. Yes…tonight he’d definitely tell her.

* * * *

Andrew stirred on his bed, his head throbbing with an intense pain. He blinked his eyes against the sun pouring through the open curtain.
What the devil?
He didn’t open those, so who did?

He scooted to the side of the bed and sat upright. Covering his eyes with his hand, he stood, preparing to walk over and close the curtains, but his rolling stomach stopped him. Instead, he hurried into the next room to empty his stomach into the chamber pot.

He groaned.
Serves him right for getting drunk.

Through squinted eyes, he wobbled toward the washbasin. Thankfully, water had already been poured. He splashed water on his face,
then
grimaced as his head throbbed worse. Taking a deep cleansing breath, he tried again. This time the cool liquid on his parched skin didn’t make it feel as if wagon wheels were running over his face.

He straightened and glanced in the mirror.
Egads
! He looked horrid. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he hoped it would bring him awake so he could bathe and dress for the day. Today he would meet the Lawrence family.