LATER THAT EVENING, I paced the long portico outside my apartment. Rain poured off the roof and into the courtyard. Beneath the door to Edward’s outbuilding a shadow passed, back and forth, back and forth, making the light shift and slide. I pictured Edward pacing on the other side, as trapped as I was. Father didn’t like Edward, knew hardly anything about him, but was ready to pawn me off on him to get rid of me. It stung that I meant so little.
I leaned against a post, listening to the storm. A light shone from the barn, where Montgomery must be attending to the horses, wishing the mess over dinner could be cleaned as easily as brushing down a horse. Above all the embarrassment and the anger, I was proud of him for standing up to my father.
I made my way around the portico, stealing glances at the barn’s cracked half door, wanting just a glimpse of him. The horses stamped and whinnied within. I hadn’t intended on going inside, but as if by their own accord, my fingers softly pushed the door open. Inside, rain slowly leaked into murky puddles in the straw. The whites of the horses’ eyes flashed in the lantern light.
Montgomery groomed Duke with quick, tense strokes.
I let the door ease closed behind me, but the hinges groaned. Montgomery’s eyes slid to mine. They were dark. Cold. Warning me away. He brushed harder, sending dust dancing in the air.
“He didn’t mean it,” I said. I hugged my arms close. “He would have said anything to wound you.”
The brush kicked up more dust, almost obscuring his face. The rhythmic sound of hard strokes against the horse’s hair was hypnotic. Montgomery’s jaw was set hard, the cords in his muscles strained.
“I know,” he said.
He finished brushing the horse’s hindquarters and back legs, then used a metal pick to pull the knots from Duke’s tail. When he finished, he threw the pick into a tin bucket. The metallic ring echoed in the small space, giving me shivers.
He rubbed down his hands with an old rag and stood in the stall opening. His presence warmed the room more than the lantern.
“But he wasn’t wrong,” he said. Desire flickered in his eyes like firelight.
My heartbeat stumbled. He’s been in love with you for years, Father had said. I’d thought Montgomery’s affection lay with Alice, but could I have been wrong? If so, how could he love someone whose father had been so cruel? What if I misunderstood him still? What if—
He stepped closer, lowering his head. His face was inches from mine. Then he pulled me to him, digging his hands into my arms. His lips found mine. I jerked back, just for a breath, shocked by his passion. It was totally improper. But as he grabbed my chin and kissed me again, harder this time, I forgot about decorum. Suddenly I couldn’t be close enough to him. I clutched the collar of his shirt so hard the fabric ripped.
His lips found the pulsing vein on my neck. I could hardly think. It was familiar and new, all at once. This was the little boy who’d taken care of me when Father was consumed with work. The little boy I’d idolized since I could barely walk.
He pushed my back against the stall door, kissing me. Edward had tried to kiss me, but I’d been so shocked I’d barely had time to explore how it felt. Lucy had told me stories of shady corners and sweaty palms. But this was passionate. Wild. Something I’d never known.
“Have you kissed a girl before?” I whispered.
He ran a thumb over my cheek. His eyes lingered on my lips. “Yes,” he said. I thought of Alice, her pretty blond hair, the split lip that made her so vulnerable. But it wasn’t her name he said. “A woman at the docks in Brisbane. She didn’t mean anything. I was lonely. It wasn’t love.”
A prostitute, he meant. So he’d done much more than kiss her. Suddenly I didn’t know what to do, as though I were still just a child and he a grown man. “Just once?”
“Twice.” His fingers twisted in the hair at the back of my neck. The pupils of his eyes were wide and black, like an animal’s. “Does it matter?”
I bit my lip. I felt dizzy as a spinning top. In my old life I never would have risked my reputation. Never would have stepped outside the line.
But that life was behind me.
“No,” I said. I stood on my toes, pressing my lips to his.
THE SOUND OF BARKING dogs made me jump. I’d lost track of time, swept up in the storm of Montgomery’s passion. He had pulled me into a dark corner of Duke’s stall, murmuring my name as his lips grazed my throat, my shoulder, my temples.
I fought to my senses and put a hand on his chest. “Do you hear the dogs? Balthazar’s returned.”
He paused, listening, but his grip tightened on my waist. His hair hung loose over the sides of his face, hiding all but his fierce eyes.
A voice called from the courtyard. It was Father’s. I gasped.
“Montgomery! You worthless fool, are you in here?”
Montgomery’s fingers curled into the folds of my dress, protectively. My lips fell open but he placed a finger against them. I pressed farther into the barn wall, wishing I could disappear into it.
Montgomery pulled his hair back. He stepped out of the stall, blocking me from Father’s view. “Duke stumbled on the ride today. I thought he might have a sprain.” I detected an edge to his voice. After all, their earlier argument wasn’t the sort of spat that would blow over easily.
“Get him saddled,” Father snapped. “And Duchess as well. Ajax has killed again. That striped fellow, Lear. The beasts are rattled. It’s time to put an end to this, storm or not.”
I kept a hand pressed to my mouth, afraid to make the slightest sound. Father couldn’t find me here. I wouldn’t put it past him to kill Montgomery.
Montgomery met my eyes briefly before closing the stall gate behind him. I heard the sound of his footsteps on the stone floor.
“Balthazar is gathering the men,” Father said. “Prince will come with us. He may be a fool, but at least he can hold a gun.”
“And Juliet?”
“She’ll stay with Alice. This was a fortress once. Nothing can get through these walls.”
I heard the sound of jangling bridles in the tack room. And then Father’s voice, lower.
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten your insolence tonight. The minute Ajax is dead, you and I will have words.”
I heard the creak of the door’s hinges as Father left. A moment later, Montgomery unlatched the stall gate.
“He’s gone to the salon. Quick, hurry to your room.”
“Be careful,” I said.
He pressed his lips to my forehead tenderly, flooding me with warmth. “Be safe, Juliet.”
I slipped out of the barn, dodging every shadow for fear of the dark, and dashed back to my apartment. I pulled off my skirt and blouse and slipped into my nightdress. The last light faded over the sea as an overwhelming feeling of darkness grew in my heart. Whatever lay in that jungle, Montgomery and Edward were going to face it.
Alice knocked at my door. She looked terrified. “Miss? Have you heard?”
“Yes.” I wanted to crumple in the corner with my face in my hands. It would be so easy to give in to the fear. But fear was written on Alice’s face too. I took her hand, forcing back my own terror. “Don’t worry, Alice. We’ll be safe.”
“They’ve all gone. We’re alone.”
“I know.” I squeezed her hand, trying not to let my own worry show. “I know.”