Part 14 (2/2)
Across the hall a door opened. ”Oh! h.e.l.lo, there,” said a lilting, musical voice.
Arabella glanced up to see a stunning woman with rich chestnut hair standing across from her. ”h.e.l.lo,” she said. ”You're Julianna, aren't you?”
”I am. And you are*Arabella, yes?”
Arabella nodded. Like the marchioness, Julianna was tiny; Arabella noted wryly that she barely reached her chin. Her eyes were as vivid as Justin's, but they were blue - and without his icy penetration.
”I thought so. I recognized you by -”
”Yes, I know. My hair. No one ever forgets me. Ah, that's what comes of being a redhead, I suppose.”
”Actually, I was going to say I recall you from some years ago.” Julianna's eyes sparkled. ”A particular incident involving my brother Justin -”
”Oh, dear.” Arabella couldn't withhold a smile. ”I fear I'm quite infamous in your household.”
”Yes, well, Justin can be a swaggering oaf at times. He stomped around for days, while Sebastian and I laughed for weeks!” Julianna tipped her head to the side. ”Shall we join the others?”
”Yes, thank you.” Arabella gratefully accepted the offer. If left to her own devices, she should have been quite hopelessly lost. They had turned to the left and now traversed a hallway that seemed to go on forever.
”My word,” she said. ”How big is this house?”
Julianna let out a laugh that sounded like bells tinkling in the wind. ”One hundred and two rooms. It's a monstrosity, isn't it? I quite prefer my own tidy little house in London.”
Arabella eyed her curiously. ”Do you live alone?” The question emerged before she thought better of it, but Julianna didn't seem to mind her forwardness.
”Yes. Sebastian, Justin, and I all resided together until Sebastian married Devon. Indeed, it was time for Justin and I to go our own ways. I am, according to the gossips, a spinster.” Her beautiful eyes darkened. ”It's beyond me why, when a woman pa.s.ses the age of one-and-twenty, she is promptly put on the shelf. A man, on the other hand, is hailed as a gadabout and no one thinks the worse of him. That I have chosen not to marry is no one's business but my own. Why must I do what everyone expects? Why must you? Why must anyone?”
Arabella blinked. Julianna's vehemence was startling.
Julianna appeared to have noticed it as well. ”Pray forgive me. I didn't mean to lecture.”
”And I didn't think you were,” Arabella a.s.sured her promptly. She smiled. ”Frankly, it's refres.h.i.+ng to find a woman who isn't afraid to think for herself. I fear I've never been able to hold my tongue when I probably should, so I've acquired a reputation as the opinionated sort, and it's just so*” As usual, her hands began to flail about.
”So unfair,” Julianna put in. ”And so vexing!”
”Yes. Yes! As if our only goal in life is to marry and have babies*not that there's anything wrong with that - but I should like to make up my own mind without Society constantly looking over my shoulder and pa.s.sing judgment.”
”Oh!” Julianna declared. ”Blessed be, a woman after my own heart. But you must find the whole business of being regarded as The Unatt -”
Arabella threw up a hand. ”I beg of you, do not say it!”
By the time they reached the drawing room, they were chatting as if they'd been friends for ages. A little of her unease departed, and for the first time since yesterday, she was cautiously optimistic that this house party wouldn't be such an ordeal after all, particularly when she saw that Georgiana and her parents were present. She beckoned to Georgiana, who hurried across the floor.
Georgiana's face lit up when she saw her. ”Arabella! I'm so glad you came! I confess, I feared you would cry off-” She broke off as Arabella sent her a warning look. ”But it appears I've forgotten my manners. Who is your friend, Arabella?” Georgiana smiled at Julianna.
Arabella made the introductions. ”Georgiana Larwood, Lady Julianna Sterling.”
Georgiana bobbed a curtsy. ”Lady Julianna, I'm so very pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said hastily.
But the look that had pa.s.sed between Georgiana and Arabella had not gone unnoticed by the sharp-eyed Julianna.
”I do hope your reluctance to attend doesn't stop you from enjoying the house party.”
”It wasn't that I was reluctant,” Arabella said lamely, ”I simply forgot about the invitation until Aunt Grace reminded me yesterday morning.”
A dimple appeared beside Julianna's lovely mouth.
”Good. For I should hate to think you were reluctant. Or that it had something to do with my brother Justin. His behavior can be atrocious, you know. I do hope he hasn't been rude to such lovely ladies as the two of you.”
”Oh, he's been nothing but charming to me,” Georgiana put in brightly.
Arabella could have cheerfully throttled her. She said nothing.
Julianna's gaze of mild inquiry had yet to leave Arabella. ”Oh, dear,” Julianna murmured ruefully. ”Arabella, pray do not tell me he has been misbehaving again.”
Oh, if she only knew*It was all Arabella could do to stop her hand from stealing to her lips, which tingled in remembrance of his kiss.
”Well,” she stated without thinking, ”he won't be doing it again, that much is for certain.”
Julianna chuckled. ”That's the spirit. Whatever it was he did, I do hope he wasn't too outrageous. You're not a hen-hearted miss, thank heaven. Indeed, I suspect, you're just the woman to set him in his place.”
Just then Julianna was hailed by someone across the room. She raised a hand, then glanced back at Arabella and Georgiana. ”The Dowager d.u.c.h.ess of Carrington is calling me. I'd best attend to her.” Her smile encompa.s.sed them both. ”Ladies, a pleasure meeting both of you. Welcome to Thurston Hall, and may your stay be an enjoyable one.”
Julianna left, and Arabella and Georgiana looked at each other. ”I like her,” they announced in unison, then laughed.
”I wonder why she isn't married,” Georgiana mused.
The very same thought had been running through Arabella's mind.
”We came downstairs together,” Arabella murmured, ”and she informed me quite openly that she's regarded as a spinster. She seems very much the independent sort, doesn't she? She told me she has her own house in London.” She paused, then said, ”I don't mean to sound unkind, but how old is she, do you think?”
”Twenty-five or -six, I should imagine. She's so lovely, it's a wonder that she's never married. I can't imagine she wouldn't have received a score of proposals her first Season.”
Arabella bit her lip. ”She stated quite distinctly that it was she who had chosen not to marry, and it was no one's business but her own.”
There was an odd expression on Georgiana's features.
”What is it, Georgiana?”
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