Page 18 of His Scandalous Viscountess
Chapter 7
Hours earlier, Wolf had stared at the delicate scrawl on the page. The very first thing he’d noticed was the huge, loopingJat the bottom of the page. Something akin to satisfaction had welled up inside and permeated his limbs. Finally, she had contacted him. The missive had been short and direct, much like the woman who had penned it. It was hard to imagine that anything could be scandalous about a stroll through Hyde Park at the fashionable hour, but a small voice in the back of his head wouldn’t let him fully believe she merely wished to see him without some ulterior motive.
Much later, as he waited for her, the question that still nagged at him was, what was Jules about?
She had always been intelligent and quick on her feet. More times than he could count, she had been the one who’d come up with the most plausible story to avoid trouble with their respective parents, after his adventures had landed them squarely in a tight spot.
He knew in his gut that this would be no simple social call.
He stood by the Queens Gate and scanned the crowd for the fiery redhead who was quickly taking over all his thoughts, much as she had when he was a young man, fresh out of university. Carriages drove by and people strolled, but he saw no sign of her. A few riders walked at a sedate pace amongst the general hubbub. Everyone who was anyone was out to be seen, and of course, to see if you were of any import to them.
Another rider passed, and then, suddenly, there she was. Her red hair glowed like a living flame in the late afternoon sun, and her deep green walking dress hugged her every curve. His heart thudded heavily in his chest as desire bubbled up—unwanted and wildly awkward as he stood on a public promenade.
“Good afternoon, Wolf.” She tilted her head, causing her bonnet to shift precariously. She then reached up and caught the hat before it could fly off. “Oh, I knew I should have worn my usual bonnet. This one is too tall to be functional.”
He smothered a laugh as she settled the head covering back into place. “It’s quite fetching, height notwithstanding.”
She preened a moment, which made him inordinately pleased.
“How are you this fine afternoon, Jules?”
“Well enough, I suppose. Though I am afraid I do need to speak with you. I appreciate your coming on such short notice.”
Short notice?If he had been required to wait for even a minute more, he would have been a candidate for Bedlam. “Think nothing of it.” He took one of her hands and tucked it in the crook of his arm. “Shall we walk and talk?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose we should. After all, I did draw you out on that exact pretense.”
“Yes, you did, and since I’ve been hunched over my desk all day, my legs could use the stretching.”
They started off amongst the throng of people. As they walked in companionable silence, Wolf fought off the urge to hurry her along with whatever she wished to discuss. Instead, he focused on politely nodding at various acquaintances as they passed, while not looking overly pleased with himself. He was enjoying having her on his arm, even as he began to notice the reaction of people around them. As he paid closer attention, he realized that most of the women were glaring at them, or rather at Jules. And most of the men either offered a lascivious perusal, or eyed her with curiosity. He resisted the urge to sigh. It would seem her ploy to stir up scandal had beenmorethan effective. Add him to the picture, because of course he had caught at least one less than circumspect comment on the breeze about how they made a fitting pair.
And why not?He was widely rumored to be a bastard—though his father had claimed him as his son and heir. Of course, most of the gossipmongers didn’t know that the rumors were absolutely, unequivocally true. But he did. Her dead husband had made certain of that.
So, the bastard and the… He tried to imagine how Society might frame them.
The bastard and the light-skirt?
Then Julia broke into his scurrilous thoughts. “The reason I asked you to walk with me today is to discuss your previous offer.”
Curious, he continued to walk, though he refrained from commenting until she explained herself further.
With her cheeks pinkening, and obviously not from sun exposure, she presented a fetching picture. “I’m afraid I spoke out of turn and declared our betrothal to Lord Wallthorpe and my parents this morning.”
Wolf felt the jolt of excitement straight down to his toes, though he merely inclined his head. “I see.”
She looked at him as though waiting for more of a reaction from him, as they continued to stroll. When he said nothing else, she pursed her lips a moment, and then pressed on. “Is that all you have to say, after I stubbornly refused your offer twice?”
“I can see it does put you in something of a predicament, as I have not recently—say in the last day—made such an offer again. Am I to assume you are here seeking some assistance in this matter? Or are you simply alerting me to the fact, should I be unexpectedly questioned?”
He kept their pace up as the crowd thinned around them and they meandered off the main thoroughfare.
Jules shot him an annoyed glance. “Wolf, do not be obtuse. Yes, I am here seeking your assistance. An engagement in name only will not suffice, as my mother and father have now taken up Lord Wallthorpe’s cause.”
A surge of pleasure bubbled up inside him as he considered how to leverage this turn of events in his favor. He would, of course, help Jules, regardless of what he wanted, because it washerasking. However, he very much wanted an opportunity to get to know her again, to learn about the woman she had become. “I suppose I could make myself available to you for a few social calls, and the like. Simply to establish the fact of our courtship, of course.”
Her face lit up then, and his heart stuttered in his chest. It was an achingly familiar expression to him, and yet wondrous in the newness of it, from the woman who so intrigued him. “You are a real brick,” she said.
He stopped them near a small copse of trees that offered them some privacy. “Oh, ho. Do not sing my praises just yet, Jules. I’m afraid I want something in exchange for my assistance.”
