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Ralston smirked “Clear the air”
That did ize, and you mock me?”
He half smiled “Go on”
“Thank you” She paused “I am sorry”
“For what?” He looked honestly confused
She gave a little laugh “There is a great deal, no?” She thought for afalls to you”
He did not reply
“Where is she?”
The glass sphere rolled between his fingers “Gone”
Juliana paused, a ripple of eh her She did not pause to inspect it She was not certain that she wanted to “Forever?”
He bowed his head, and she thought she heard hih “No If only it were that easy I didn’t want her in this house”
She watched hiht of the world on his shoulders “Where did you send her?”
He turned to face her then, the orb spinning “She did not know you were here, you know She did not expect you That is why she did not look for you in the room At dinner”
She nodded It did not make her mother’s dismissal any easier “Does she know I am here now?”
“I told her” The words were soft, laced with soy She nodded, and silence fell again He returned to the desk and took the seat across from her “You are my sister You take precedence”
Was he re her or himself?
She met his eyes “What does she want?”
He leaned forward on his elbows “She says she doesn’t want anything”
“Except her position as dowager marchioness” Juliana could not keep the sarcasm from her tone
“She’ll never have that”
She couldn’t The ton would never accept her The gossipers would feed on this scandal for years When Juliana had arrived in London six o, they had swarmed, and the sordid tale of their reat river of drama that nourished society Even noith connections to some of the es of polite society—accepted by association rather than on her own merit
It would all start over again Worse than before
“You don’t believe her, do you?” she asked “That she wants nothing”
“No”
“Then what?”
He shook his head “Money, family”
“Forgiveness?”
He thought for a longthey all used when they did not have an answer “It is a powerful motivator Who knows?”
A rush of heat flared, and she leaned forward, shaking her head “She can’t have it She can’twhat she did to youto Nickto our fathers”
One side of his mouth rose almost imperceptibly “To you”
To me
He leaned back in his chair, shifting the glass weight froht she would return”
She shook her head “One would think the scandal alone would have kept her away”
He gave a little laugh at that “You forget that she is our h scandal was for others And, in fairness, it always has been”
Our mother
Juliana was reminded of the conversation in the stables with Simon How much of this wo and cohter?
Juliana stiffened
“You are not like her” Her attention snapped to her brother, his fiery blue gaze firmly upon her
Tears pricked at his honesty “How do you know that?”
“I know And someday, you will as well”
The words were so simple, their sentiment so certain, that Juliana wanted to scream How could he kno could he be so certain that she was not precisely the woht and her hair and her blue eyes, she had not inherited a coard for those around her, whom she was supposed to love?
Blood will out
Instead, she said, “The scandalwhen they hearthat she’s back”
“It will be enoraze “The way I see it, we have two options We either pack up and head for the country—her in tow—and hope that the gossip fades”
If wishing would make it so
She wrinkled her nose “Or?”
“Or we square our shoulders and face it head-on”
It was not a choice Not for her Not for him either
One side of her mouth lifted in a half smile “Well, let it not be said that Ralston House does not keep London happily in gossip”
There was a pause, and he started to laugh, a ru sound that ca, too
Because at that h or cry
As the laughter died down, Ralston leaned back in his seat and looked to the ceiling “Nick must be told”
Of course Their brother and his neife lived in Yorkshire, but this was news that he must hear as soon as possible She nodded “Will he come?”
His brows rose, as though he had not considered the possibility “I don’t know Nick and shethey” He trailed off and they sat in silence again, each lost in thought
She was back
And with her, decades of long-buried questions
She aze “Gabriel,” she whispered, “what if she is here to stay?”
Soer and concern He took a deep breath, as though collecting his thoughts “Don’t for a ood, Juliana If there is one thing I know about that woman, it is that she is unable to sto And when she’s obtained it, she’ll leave” He set the crystal sphere down on the table “She will go She will go, and everything will return to normal”
In the six months since she had arrived in London, Juliana had had many opportunities to see the man beneath the Marquess of Ralston’s devil-h opportunities to know that he did not believe his words
Couldn’t believe them
It was an understate It was not simply that she would unearth a scandal twenty-five years in theIt was not simply that she seemed to have little concern for the impact she had on society and even less remorse for her actions It was not sih she had never left
Even if all that could be erased—if Gabriel tossed her out and shipped her off to the Outer Hebrides, never to be heard fro would ever be the same
For, before tonight, they could have pretended—had pretended—that she was gone for good Certainly, Juliana had alondered if her , whom she ith But somewhere in a deep, quiet part of her, she’d always assuone forever
And she’d begun to come to terms with it when she arrived in London, iven a chance at a new life A life in which her mother’s specter continued to loo than before
No longer
“You don’t really believe that,” she said
There was a long pause, then, “She wants to speak with you”
She noticed the change in topic but made no move to correct it She picked an invisible piece of lint froown “I’m sure she does”
“You may deal with her as you wish”
She watched him carefully “What do you think I should do?”
“I think you should make the decision for yours
elf”
She pulled her knees up to her chin again, setting her heels on the smooth leather seat “I don’t think I want to speak to her Not yet”
Someday, maybe Yes But not now
He nodded once “Fair” Silence fell, and he organized several piles of correspondence, the bruise on his jaw shiht