Page 53 of Gone With the Rogue
His roguish smile and the way he saidI’ll be backcaused Julia’s heart to flutter.
Garrett picked up the kettle and headed out the door. He seemed to always be coming to her rescue. But she knew he didn’t mind. He was such a strong but patient man. She thought of all the young and beautiful young ladies who had been at Lady Hallbury’s party. Garrett could be riding around Hyde Park with anyof them today. But he was here, helping her clean up the kitchen. A peacefulness settled inside her.
After she’d scrubbed the pans and had put them back in place, everything was tidy—except herself, of course. She poured fresh water into a basin and splashed it onto her face, letting the coolness trickle down to her neck and chest. She thought about what her life would be like if she were fully free to be her own master and not at the mercy of what the men in her life wanted her to do. She wanted to know what it would be like to have no fear her son might be ripped from her arms for the slightest infraction. What would she do first if she were truly free?
Her thoughts went immediately to Garrett. She’d invite him over to have dinner with her. Just the two of them sitting at a table, dining, sipping wine, and talking. She saw them sitting together on a rug in front of a fire, playing in tall grass with Chatwyn, and lying entwined together on crisp, cool sheets.
“Julia.”
At the sound of Garrett’s voice, she straightened and turned away from the basin with water dripping down her face and hands. “I didn’t hear you come back inside.”
Garrett walked closer to her and asked, “Where is the housekeeper?”
“I sent her away for the day so Brina and I could have the house to ourselves. We wanted to know if we could do something as simple as bake bread and, well, you can see how that turned out. How did you know I was here?” She looked around for a towel but didn’t see one. She started wiping the water from her face with her hands.
“I saw Miss Periwinkle and Chatwyn in the park.She wouldn’t tell me where you were but when I asked Chatwyn he spoke right up and told me you were at the school.”
“Of course, he wouldn’t know not to tell. You were very clever to ask him. And I had to let Miss Periwinkle know in case Mr. Pratt arrived after I left. I told her to come tell me immediately. I don’t know why but he hasn’t come over for several days now.”
“You won’t have to worry about Mr. Pratt for a while.”
“Oh, but I do,” she answered. “The duke said he wouldn’t make a decision on dismissing him until after he assessed him.”
“I know,” Garrett said softly, stepping even closer to her. “So I took the decision out of the duke’s hands.”
“What?” she gasped as hope and fear rose in her chest. “What did you do?”
“Nothing harmful, I assure you. I simply had him put on a ship that was sailing to America.”
“You had him abducted?” Julia’s body tensed.
“I didn’t think he’d go willingly, but believe me, he wasn’t hurt in any way. When the man arrives in New York Harbor he’ll be told he was mistaken for someone else. He’ll be given a generous amount of money to compensate him for the error that was made and put on a ship back to Southampton. From there he can hire a coach back to London. When a person is on a long journey and dependent upon the wind and the sails, he tends to learn a lot about patience and forbearance. I thought that might be a good lesson for the tutor.”
For a moment or two, Julia’s emotions warred inside her. Garrett had taken a man against his will and sent him to another country. But then she thought of Mr. Pratt’s bulging eyes as he stared at Chatwyn withseething anger and from clenched teeth ordering him to stop clinging to his mother and sit still in the chair like a man.
“Thank you,” she whispered to Garrett. “You did well.”
Garrett smiled and moved even closer to her. “I did it for Chatwyn. I agree with you, Julia. He’s too young and active to be under the direction of a man like Pratt. Remember, I met the man. He may not have laid a hand on Chatwyn, but it was only because you were there. In time he would have. I’d do what I did again to keep Chatwyn away from him.”
Julia suddenly felt calmer. “Yes. Sometimes it’s necessary to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. That’s one worry I can put out of my mind. Now tell me, do you have good news from Mr. Urswick?”
“Not yet, but I’m still hopeful. But Mr. Ashfield has almost finished with the documents. They should be ready soon.”
“That’s good.” She wiped more trickling water from her forehead down the side of her face. “Even if we don’t have the ledger, I can present the duke with the copies and tell him I have the originals and the ledger. That should be enough to make him give me my freedom.”
Garrett placed the palm of his warm hand to her wet cheek. His touch caused a shivery tingle to shudder through her. “Let me do this for you.” He smoothed his hand all the way down her neck to her collar. His touch was purposeful, yet soothing.
For the first time since the fiasco happened, Julia trembled. She was so glad he’d come over and just at the right time. It was if he’d somehow sensed she needed his strength. She closed her eyes and gave into the restful reassurance that he was there for her. With gentleness, he dried her forehead with the pads of his fingers. He pushed her fallen damp hair away from her face and behind her ears. He then lowered his face to hers and kissed the corners of her mouth, below her eyes, and the tip of her chin before lifting his head and looking into her eyes. He was teasing her, making her want to feel his lips on hers.
Julia couldn’t remember a time of being so completely comforted. “You didn’t tell me why you wanted to see me today.”
He placed the tips of his fingers under her chin and lifted it ever so slightly while his thumb caressed her bottom lip. “Surely you know by now that I don’t need a reason to want to see you. I simply want to see you.”
His words thrilled her. Her stomach quivered deliciously and a teasing warmth tightened her breasts.
“However,” he added, while lightly threading his fingers through the side of her hair, and making a few strands fall from her chignon. His hand then slipped around her still damp neck and gently pulled her closer to him. “I did have another reason for coming today.”
A small puff of breath escaped past her lips as she whispered, “I knew it.”
