Gerald snorted. “That pompous arse Milton. He was so sure that you children would outgrow that animosity, he even managed to convince me of it.”

“Is that why you didn"t offer him more to sever the ties between our families?”

“But I did, triple your dowry. It was obvious by then that he expected a hell of a lot more from the marriage. So I stopped trying to reason with him. You were still a child. There was also still the possibility that you might look favorably on Richard one day. So I postponed making decisions of any sort until you were of a marriageable age. And now that you are, get on with your life, dearest. Find that perfect someone who"s out there waiting for you—which I failed miserably to do for you.”

She couldn"t believe he was suggesting that. Eyes wide, she said, “But we can"t go back on your word.”

“It"s my decision. You aren"t to worry about it.”

She realized he was still viewing her as a child. That was understandable, but she wasn"t any longer a child who could accept Father"s assurances and let it go at that. They had to discuss this.

“What is the worst that can happen?” she asked, then answered her own question. “The earl could take it to legal jurisdiction and could be awarded recompense.”

“Possibly, but it would be a pittance. It"s not as if the groom is standing at the altar willing to fulfill the Allens" part of that contract.”

“But the backlash for breaking your word—”

“You let me worry about that. You"ve been held fast long enough to this deplorable situation because of my actions. If there"s any backlash because of it, I"ll consider it justified for my own foolishness. And it will all be forgotten soon enough.” Julia was afraid it wouldn"t be as easy as her father made it sound. They would be thwarting a lord, after all, and they didn"t have that same social distinction themselves. The earl was bound to make trouble, creating a scandal at the very least, even impugning their integrity for not honoring the contract, the very things that had stayed her own hand in the matter. Gerald wasn"t sufficiently recovered yet to deal with that sort of whiplash.

But Julia didn"t mention that to her father. She nodded, allowing him to think she agreed with him. But she couldn"t agree, not yet, not without at least seeing the earl and trying one last time to make him see reason so they could end this betrothal amicably.

Chapter Twenty-five

HE KEPT HER WAITING! Half a bloody day!

Julia hadn"t seen Milton Allen, the Earl of Manford, in five years, not since her parents"

accident, which had devastated her life. The earl had come to her mother"s funeral and offered his trite condolences, but his real reason for coming to town had been to start proceedings to gain guardianship of her. Her family"s solicitors had told her how angry he"d been when he"d failed to do so. It would have given him what he"d wanted all along, complete control over everything the Millers owned.

It had been even longer since she"d been inside Willow Woods. The house she"d been so impressed with as a child looked quite different through an adult"s eyes. Had it been in this shabby state back then? Surely not. But the house"s poor condition actually added to her confidence that she could finally break the tie to the Allens. The earl had refused money in the past to end it, but if his finances were in such dire straits he couldn"t even maintain his home properly, he might accept that solution now.

Julia had left her maid at the hostelry nearby. She"d been lucky to get a room there after the innkeeper accused her of being responsible for damaging his property the previous week. She didn"t know what he was talking about, but paying him triple the price for the room had shut him up. She hadn"t intended to sleep there anyway when she already had a room at the much nicer inn where she"d stayed last night. But like her mother, she"d wanted a little privacy where she could freshen up before her audience with the earl.

She"d traveled by coach this time, so she"d been able to bring her maid instead of having to ask Raymond to escort her again. But traveling by coach was much slower than simply riding, and now she would be lucky to leave Willow Woods before nightfall, since the earl hadn"t deigned to see her yet, which could turn this trip into four days instead of the three she had figured on.

She hadn"t told her father where she was going, knowing he would have tried to talk her out of it and would probably have succeeded. She"d told him instead that she needed to make a brief business trip to the North Country. She didn"t like lying to him, but she didn"t want him to worry over her absence, and she would explain when she got back, hopefully with good news. If the earl ever made an appearance.

Charles wasn"t even at home to keep her company. The butler had told her he hadn"t returned yet from taking his son to visit the boy"s other grandfather. So the time dragged that afternoon. And her annoyance mounted.

It was actually turning to dusk when the footman arrived to lead her to Milton"s study. She didn"t doubt for a moment that he"d deliberately left her to stew all afternoon. So while she had intended to be polite and deferential, now she was just angry and eager to get out of there.

She didn"t even wait for the servant to close the door behind her before she got right to the point. “I"ve come to tell you two things, Lord Allen. My—”

“Where are your manners, girl?” he cut in tersely. “Sit down.” Julia found herself obeying, sitting in the chair that he pointed to in front of his desk. She did so unthinkingly because of that autocratic tone of his that brooked no argument. He was thinner than she remembered, his hair a duller brown. And having seen Richard recently, she realized father and son bore little resemblance to each other. But she recalled Charles hadn"t taken after his father, either. Both sons must pull to their mother"s side of the family.

“Now,” he added, just to display some of the politeness she"d been lacking, “how is your father?”

Suddenly he was smirking. Because he"d just controlled her without even half trying? She bristled and shot back to her feet. “Recovered.”

He sat abruptly forward. “I beg your pardon?”

“My father has recovered. His mind is completely functional again and he grows a little stronger each day.”

Apparently, like everyone else, including Gerald"s doctor, Milton hadn"t expected to ever hear that. His incredulity was revealed for a brief moment before he turned stiff. “How—nice,” he said drily.

He didn"t care. He was such a despicable man. Like father, like son. In fact, Julia suddenly realized that Milton had probably been delighted by Gerald"s disability. If Richard had been available to marry her at any time during the last three years, since she had come of age, it would have given the Allens control of everything without having to wait for Gerald"s death.

“I also came to tell you that I"ve seen Richard and nothing has changed between us. We still hate each other and have mutually agreed to never marry.”

Milton narrowed his eyes on her. “Do you really think what either of you wants matters?

But Richard will have a change of heart.”

“He won"t.”

“Oh, he will. In about seven months. So you have that long to prepare for your wedding.” Julia felt herself approaching a screeching level. How could he say something like that and sound so confident about it, when he hadn"t even seen Richard? So she counted to five, ten, should have counted to a much higher number, but the earl was staring at her with his icy blue eyes, adding nervousness to her other frazzled emotions.

She burst out, “What arbitrary number is that? You actually think you can find him in seven months?”

“I know exactly where he is.”

“Where?”

“Does it matter? All that matters to you is that he will soon be available to remove the taint of old maid from you. You should be rejoicing.”

She was incredulous now. Why did the nobility put so much stock into a young woman"s getting married right out of the schoolroom? But he hadn"t given her an answer, probably because he didn"t know where Richard was, which meant he was just bluffing. He had to be.

She gritted her teeth. “If that mattered to me, which it doesn"t, it doesn"t remove the fact—”

“Are you arguing with me?” he demanded.

“No, of course—”

She stopped abruptly, realizing he was frightening her. With his tone of voice? Good God, how had Richard managed to live under this man"s roof all the years of his youth and manage to defy him to the point of earning beatings for it? He"d mentioned at least one of those beatings, even tried to blame her for it. She didn"t doubt now that there had been many beatings. She realized if the earl had gained guardianship of her, she would probably have run away just as Richard did—no, she wouldn"t. That guardianship would have given him complete authority over Gerald"s care, too, and there was no way in heaven or hell she"d have left her father to the earl"s questionable mercy.

The very thought stiffened her spine and had her amend, “Yes, I am arguing with you. And I understand why you would lie to prolong this intolerable situation—”

“How dare you!” he shouted, his cheeks florid with anger.

She flinched. She was suddenly glad his desk was between them. What had possessed her to utter that gravest of insults to a lord of the realm, even if it was true? If she were a man, he"d be demanding a duel.

“I apologize,” she said quickly. “That was a bit harsh, but—”

“You"re as disrespectful as Richard is. How alike you two are.” She didn"t particularly like being compared to Richard, but at least her apology seemed to have mollified the earl because he"d only sneered at that last remark. Now might be a good time to leave, before she let her anger rule her tongue again. She had been prepared to offer him money one last time if he couldn"t be reasoned with, since the solicitors hadn"t yet been summoned to transfer control of the family businesses and finances back to her father, but the man simply didn"t deserve a penny for holding on to the contract much, much longer than he should have.

“I came here to end this amicably, but in either case, it"s over,” she said.

“Over?”

“Yes. I was willing to honor my end of this detestable bargain, but Richard wasn"t, and he"s quite old enough now to stand by that decision. So I have been stood up at the altar, as it were.”

He snorted. “You haven"t stood at any altar—yet. But in seven months—”

“I"m sorry, but seven more months will be four years too long. So if you can"t produce the groom immediately, I am no longer obligated to wait. I am officially removing myself from the engagement to your son—with my father"s blessing, I might add, since Richard long ago removed himself from it. I came here as a courtesy to tell you that, before it becomes public knowledge.”

“I see,” he said, a distinct iciness entering his tone. “You"re going to let your father suffer the brunt of this when he"s only just recovered simply because you won"t wait a few more months to be married?”

“My father has assured me we"ll weather the storm,” she said stiffly.

The earl steepled his hands before his face for a moment, then suddenly did an about-face that amazed her. In a tone that actually sounded like concern for her, he told her, “You must realize your father tells you what you need to hear because he loves you. But I would be remiss if I didn"t warn you, for your own good, what will really happen if you break your betrothal.

It"s not just going to reflect badly on you and your family, the social scandal it will cause and the negative effects it will have on the Miller enterprises will cause your father so much aggravation that it will quite likely upset his recovery. I"d hate to see that happen. Do you really want to be responsible for making your father sick again? I hadn"t realized you were so selfish, girl.”

She drew in her breath sharply. He was masking a threat with his so-called concern. She knew he was a horribly greedy man, but piling guilt on her now to manipulate her?

Furiously, her turquoise eyes blazing, she said, “A few more months based on what?! I"ve already told you I saw Richard last week and he told me to my face that he won"t marry me!

What could you possibly have said to him to make him change his mind? And if you don"t tell me, m"lord, then we have nothing more to discuss.”

She was bluffing. He"d made his point well. That damned contract was going to stand for eternity now. She wasn"t about to risk her father"s health over this.

Yet he actually answered her this time. “Saying anything to Richard wouldn"t have worked.

He had to be shown the error of his ways. He was due punishment for the debt he deliberately left for me to settle, and for his thefts before he disappeared. That punishment could have been light, a slap on the hand, if he"d been reasonable, but as usual, he wasn"t. Instead he"s going to suffer the most extreme punishment.”

She hadn"t known Richard had committed any crimes, however minor they sounded, but she guessed, “My God, you"ve put your own son in prison?”

“Prison?” The earl gave her a supercilious look. “Our prisons would seem like a vacation compared to the penal colonies in Australia where he is now being transported. You aren"t pleased, hating him as you do?”

The earl smiled mirthlessly as he eyed her closely. Julia fought hard not to show her alarm and to keep an indignant expression on her face.