Julia pressed her hands to her stomach as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yet again, she was wearing her mother’s diamond pendant, dressed in her finest gown, and prepared for entering society again, but the nervousness within her was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
“My dear.” Lady Harbison entered and stopped almost the moment she set foot inside, her hands clasped at her heart. “How beautiful you look.”
Julia managed a smile, her heart leaping furiously as she turned to face her mother.
“Thank you, Mama. Are you quite certain that father will be contented with it all?”
“Yes, I am.” Lady Harbison looked back at Julia, grasping her shoulders lightly. “I wrote to him and, whilst there has not been time for him to respond, I can assure you that his response will be a positive one.”
Julia swallowed tightly, her fears still lingering.
“But if he does not understand about what has happened as regards Lord Rushington, then –”
“He will.” Her mother’s hands dropped back to her sides, her smile still fixed and filled with confidence. “You explained all to me some three days ago now, as did Lord Rushington and, whilst I will confess to being overcome with surprise, my heart soon flooded with delight and happiness, for now I know that my daughter will not only be happily married but that her reputation will once more be as it ought. I was most glad to see that he is no longer the rather foolish young man he was last Season – he seems most intent on doing everything honorable.”
“We are not betrothed yet, Mama.”
A warmth came to Julia’s cheeks, but her mother only laughed quietly.
“I am well aware of that, my dear, but I have seen the way that Lord Rushington looks at you. I think him more than a little overcome, and I am quite certain that what he spoke of, regarding his feelings for you, will only grow all the more, until he has every intention of proposing. I think that you will be betrothed within the month!” The heat in Julia’s face ran down her chest and into her stomach, where it pooled and curled deliciously, sending a smile to her lips. “And your father will accept him,” Lady Harbison continued before Julia could even think to ask such a question. “Have no concern in that regard. I confess I am looking forward to this evening, and to what Lord Rushington intends to do!”
Julia laughed, though the sound came out a little unevenly.
“I am very nervous indeed, Mama. We return to Almack’s, where the very incident took place!”
“You need not be so.” Coming closer to her again, Lady Harbison shifted the diamond necklace just a little. “After all that you have suffered, and all that you have endured, you have found happiness at the end of it all. Lord Rushington is an excellent gentleman, and I say with confidence that he will be able to take care of you for the rest of your life.”
Julia nodded, turned, and looked at her reflection once more. This was to be her first step back into society as a lady loved by Lord Rushington. This was to be the evening when the ton would hear all, where they would accept her back into their fold without hesitation. Her name would, no doubt, be on the lips of everyone, come the morrow, but this time, for an entirely different reason. They would speak of her connection to Lord Rushington, of her new courtship, and of how she had been mistaken for another. And then, in time, there would come news of her betrothal and subsequently, her marriage. The confidence that her mother expressed was within Julia also, for the love she shared with Lord Rushington was not one that would simply fade away. It possessed her, which had taken such a hold of her, that it would never depart from her again – and she trusted his heart was the same.
“I am ready, Mama.” With a breath, she turned back to face her mother, who was now battling tears of happiness. “Come now. Let us go.”
“Miss Morningside.”
Julia smiled and clutched at her friend’s hand, seeing Miss Glover smile.
“You no longer have to refer to me as ‘Miss Smith’, I suppose,” she said, with a small smile. “I am very grateful to you for all that you have done in aid of me, and for your presence here this evening. I confess to being filled with nervousness!”
“You have nothing to be anxious about.” Miss Glover let out a small, contented sigh. “All will be made right. I am sure that you will have a flurry of apologies made to you in the time thereafter! Your mother also will certainly have some prior acquaintances returning to her.”
Julia wanted to say more, to state how unfortunate it was that the ton were so willing to believe what they were told, only to be distracted when a hand touched her shoulder. The flurry of excitement that ran down her arm and to her fingers gave her every indication of who was beside her.
“Rushington.”
“My dear lady.” Lord Rushington caught her fingers, then bowed low over her hand as Miss Glover stepped tactfully away. “Might I say just how beautiful you look this evening? I think that every eye will be upon you and that all of the gentlemen within my sphere will be jealous that I am the one who has you in my arms.”
“You are very kind.” A frisson of nervous excitement made its way through her, and she clutched his hand a little tighter. “I am sure that nearly every eye is upon me already, for they will all be wondering why you would be speaking with the lady who spurned you so terribly.”
“And,” Lord Rushington smiled, his eyes darkening as a whirlwind rushed around Julia’s frame, “they will wonder why I am not only bowing over your hand for the second time but also why my lips are now pressed to your skin.”
The warmth of his lips on hers jolted her and Julia’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment, only for her to hear Lord Rushington chuckle.
“I think that we will have caught the attention of many,” he murmured, stepping closer to her now, their hands the only thing separating them. “You must excuse me now, but I shall return to you… and very soon.”
Julia could only hold his gaze, saying nothing as she watched him move away. Their eyes held for as long as they were able, broken apart by the swirl of gentlemen and ladies moving around the room.
“Do you have any knowledge of what he intends to do?”
Shaking her head, Julia let a long breath settle her somewhat, though her hand which had been held captive in Lord Rushington’s for so long was now wrapped around her waist.
“No, but I trust him.”
“Which is just as you should.” Miss Glover smiled, just as Lady Harbison returned to join them.
“Has all gone well?” She put one hand to Julia’s waist, her eyes searching her face. “I saw Lord Rushington approach you, and held myself back. I will say, there were a good many eyes upon him as he spoke with you, and I heard one or two exclamations when he bowed over your hand!”
She beamed with evident delight as Julia laughed gently.
“I believe that he thought it might garner some interest,” she said, as her mother chuckled. “He has excused himself, though I do not know what he is to do. He said that he would return momentarily, and promised that, very soon, the ton would seek to pull me back into their embrace and that you, Mama, might receive a good many apologies from acquaintances who have pushed you back these last few weeks.”
Lady Harbison rolled her eyes.
“I do not think that I want any such apologies.” A purse of her lips indicated her displeasure. “I would not consider anyone who threw me away in such a careless manner, without even having the grace to speak with me about it first, to be a delightful acquaintance.” Her eyes flashed. “There have been a great many truths revealed this Season, and I intend to be very cautious as to who I consider to be a close acquaintance, from this moment onward. “
“Which makes me all the more grateful for your stalwart friendship, Mary.” Julia caught her mother nodding fervently as Miss Glover waved one hand, as though to say that she did not think her actions at all significant. “I may have returned to my father’s estate had it not been for you.”
“I am very glad that you did not.”
With a smile, Miss Glover made to say more, only for a small, tinkling sound to catch her attention. Frowning, Julia turned her head, looking all around the room for the sound. The conversation and the laughter soon began to fade away as the tinkling sound continued, until almost everyone had fallen silent.
“Pray excuse the interruption.” In an instant, all of Julia’s body burned hot as Lord Rushington’s voice filled the empty space. “I understand that all of you wish to dance, and converse and the like, but I must speak to all who are present here and express to you, quite clearly, that I have been a fool.” At this, there came some murmurs and titters of laughter, but Julia only stared, willing the crowd to part so that she might lay eyes upon Lord Rushington. As if they had heard her thoughts, two gentlemen moved away and instantly, her eyes caught those of Lord Rushington. “Some time ago, I stood in this very ballroom and fixed my gaze upon a young lady. I believed that she had done me a great wrong.”
Julia closed her eyes and let out a slow, careful breath, sensing dozens of eyes turning to look at her, the hair on the back of her neck beginning to prickle.
“I was mistaken.”
There came an audible gasp from those standing close to Julia, and she opened her eyes, just as her mother took her hand in her own and squeezed it tightly.
“Much to my current chagrin, I was deeply in my cups at the time, and I made my way across the room to the middle of the dance floor and berated this young lady. I told her that she was the worst sort of creature, that she had broken my heart and injured me most severely. I am certain that many here will know of what I speak! In addition, I informed everyone – in speaking to her as I did – that she had broken her betrothal to me by making her way into the arms of another.”
Taking a deep breath, Lord Rushington put one hand out towards Julia and almost every head turned to look directly at her. Her face hot, Julia clamped her gaze upon Lord Rushington, refusing to permit herself to look anywhere else but into his eyes. He was her strength, her anchor. If she dared to let her gaze drop, then she might sink away forever.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am here this evening to inform you all that the young lady I railed at, the young lady I threw such terrible words at, was none other than Miss Julia Morningside – and she did not deserve a single one of my sharp arrows. She was not the young lady I was betrothed to. She had never even been introduced to me!”
Lifting her chin, Julia finally allowed her gaze to rove around Almack’s. It seemed as if hundreds of eyes were fixed on her now, and she looked into as many as she could. Some ladies had their hands at their mouths, their expression one of utter horror, whilst others immediately began to whisper to the person next to them. Lord Rushington went on, his voice steady.
“In my drunken state, I did not realize that I had made such a mistake. Having spoken those terrible words, I made my way home and, thereafter, returned to my estate so that my sister could be wed. When I later made my way back to London, I was informed that the lady I thought I had spoken to had been somewhere else entirely at that time, and to my shame, I realized my mistake, but chose to do nothing to correct it. In my mind, I believed that the gossip would have removed itself from the unfortunate young lady and that she would now be recovering from what would only have been a mere embarrassment.” Knotting his brows together, Lord Rushington scowled. “I was wrong. You had all chosen to push her away, to cut her company, to force her to retreat. She became a wallflower, forgotten by some, but ignored by nearly everyone. To her, I owe a great apology and I should like to state, here and now, that Miss Julia Morningside has done nothing worthy of censure – that censure was due to an entirely different young lady. I was mistaken and, in turn, led all of you to believe that a great wrong had been done to me by Miss Morningside. I hope, now that I have explained, that you will return her to your company and no longer push her into the shadows.”
With a nod to indicate that his small speech was complete, Lord Rushington turned, snapped his heels together, and bowed in Julia’s direction. He lingered there for a few moments longer than was expected and Julia’s eyes immediately began to burn with tears. The whispering and the murmuring began almost at once, but as Lord Rushington rose to his full height, that sound fell away. Julia could no longer hear it, letting herself be filled with only the sight of him as he came towards her.
“I must pray that you will accept my apology.”
Julia laughed just as tears sparked in her eyes.
“Oh, my dear Lord Rushington. I do not think that there is anything in the world that would keep me from accepting it.” Her hand went to her heart. “You cannot know how much I value what you have done.”
“I do hope it means that you will be restored to your rightful situation,” he told her, before taking a small side step and bowing low again, looking at Lady Harbison as he rose. “And to you, Lady Harbison, I must express my apology and my regret also. It was never my intention to injure Miss Morningside, and my remorse over my actions is very great indeed.”
Lady Harbison smiled at him as Lord Rushington lifted his head.
“Lord Rushington, you have done a great wrong, certainly, but you have done all that you can, now, to make it right. I would not hold back my forgiveness from you. Indeed, I do not think that I could even try to do so, given how much my daughter has come to care for you!”
Julia blinked her lingering tears away, her face scarlet as she looked from her mother to Lord Rushington and back again. Her mother had spoken clearly and, no doubt, those who stood nearby, and who were able to hear her would now begin to whisper such news to others. Had there not been enough gossip for one evening?
“Do not be too concerned.” Lord Rushington grinned at her, and Julia tried to smile back, catching the edge of her lip between her teeth. “I can see that you are concerned, but I assure you, you need not be. We are to be courting, are we not? It is just as well that the ton know of it, for then, very soon, they will find something else to discuss and we will find ourselves forgotten.”
“Which is exactly what I desire,” Julia murmured, trying not to allow her gaze to dart around Almack’s. “I have been stung by gossip, so I am a little concerned, I admit. I do not wish to feel that attention again.”
Lord Rushington chuckled, then as the music began, bowed to her again.
“The only way to battle gossip is to give it something else to feed on – even if we are to be the delicious morsel it chews upon for a while. Come now, Miss Morningside. Will you dance with me?”
Julia smiled up at him, took his hand and, in that one moment, it was as though there were no others present in the room but him. As he led her out to the center of the dance floor, she kept her gaze fixed, not wanting to break apart the moments of calm he offered her, simply by looking back into her face.
“It is at an end, Julia,” he murmured, as the dance began. “The gossip, the whispers, the pain, the shunning. It is all at an end.”
“Yes. It is. Already my heart feels lighter.” As they were forced to step apart for a brief moment, her fingers burned to once more catch his within her own. “Thank you for what you did.”
“What else could I do but rescue the lady I put into difficulty?” Lord Rushington’s eyes grew serious, his smile faded. “I care so very much for you, Julia. You are my very heart.”
“As you are mine.”
As the dance continued, neither she nor Lord Rushington said anything more. Instead, they simply danced together, their gazes fixed, and their hearts filled with a happiness that they both shared, one which spread from his heart to her own – and one which Julia was certain could never be taken away. No matter what it was that they would face, she would have Lord Rushington beside her, holding her close, holding her tight, and loving her more and more with every moment that they shared together.
What more could she ask for?