“None.” Juliet had suspected something was going on with Tony, that he had secrets, but he’d seduced her with strawberries and kisses. “How could he do it?”
“Give Tony a chance to explain. I’m sure it’s not as bad as it seems.”
“Was Nathaniel angry?”
“Heavens, yes, but he’s always been afraid Tony was like their father.”
Juliet nodded but said nothing. There were a great many things she hadn’t noticed about Tony until now.
“I warned you about putting Tony on too high a pedestal. He’s just a man. He makes mistakes.”
“Big ones,” Juliet muttered as she turned back to the window.
The door opened and Tony came in. She could see his reflection in the window. He looked haggard.
Nathaniel came in behind him. “Between Ian and I we were able to keep Tony from killing Bartleby on the dance floor in front of the guests. Bartleby has left.”
“Good riddance,” Juliet mumbled.
Tony crossed the room and went to put his hands on Juliet’s shoulders.
“Don’t,” Juliet said as she edged away from him.
Pain etched Tony’s face as his hands dropped to his sides. “Juliet.”
“We must have the guests go in to supper. I had planned on making the engagement announcement right before,” Anne said.
“There will be no announcement,” Juliet said. “Not now.”
“Please don’t do this.” Tony’s voice cracked, and Juliet had to close her eyes against the tears welling up.
“I suppose we can postpone it until later tonight,” Anne said.
“Don’t make the announcement,” Juliet said again.
“Juliet, everyone is expecting it,” Anne said. “The rumors will ruin you.”
Juliet laughed harshly. “It’s a bit late for that now, isn’t it?”
“Is this true, Tony?” Nathaniel demanded.
Tony turned and glared at his brother. “Don’t make yourself a hypocrite, Nathaniel.”
“Both of you stop,” Anne said. “This is not helpful.”
“I want to speak to Juliet alone,” Tony said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nathaniel said.
“Now.” Tony’s voice was harsh, commanding.
“It’s all right, ” Juliet said. If things were going to get ugly, she preferred it be just the two of them. The situation was tearing the family apart as it was.
“We’ll be here if you need us, Juliet.” Anne took Nathaniel’s hand and led him out of the room.
Juliet waited, watching Tony. How could one go from perfect happiness to deepest sorrow? She felt betrayed.
“What did he tell you?” Tony asked.
“That you won Horneswood in a card game in a gaming hell. He also said that you came back to Beetham to claim your prize. I take it this was what you meant when you said you ‘purchased’ the estate?”
Tony said nothing.
“Are you unable to argue against the truth?”
“There is no cause for sarcasm. Did he say anything else?”
“Only that he was interested in obtaining a mistress.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“You have enough problems without adding murder to the list. All I want to know is why?”
“Because I was stupid and just a little bit drunk. Chelsworth was even drunker. I should never have let him play.”
“You could have stopped it and didn’t?”
“You have to understand—Chelsworth is sick with gambling. He would have played and given away the land to someone else if not to me.”
“And that excuses your behavior?”
Tony held out his hands. “I came back to Beetham to make this right, Juliet.”
It was some comfort to know he had a conscience. “How did you fix it?”
“It took me days to get to Chelsworth. By then I had evidence that Bartleby was stealing from him. He was making sure the land was worth a great deal less than it had been. He paid several of the tenants not to plant their crops.”
“Why would he do that? Don’t paint Mr. Bartleby black to save yourself.”
“Ian discovered that the land used to be in Bartleby’s family years ago. My guess is Bartleby wants the land back.” Tony scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
Had he told her himself she would have been angry, but she probably would have forgiven him. The fact that he had lied to her, withheld information, was what gave her pause. What else had he lied about? she wondered.
“I bought the house outright,” Tony said. “Chelsworth agreed to the price. He gets to keep his honor as a gentleman.”
“God save me from this warped sense of honor among gentlemen.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Is there anything else?”
Tony shook his head.
Juliet shook her head. “Is there anything else you’ve lied to me about?”
“No! Juliet, I never lied to you.”
“Omission is still a lie, Tony.”
“What do you want to do?”
“End our engagement.”
“So you’re breaking it off?” Tony’s voice hardened. “Just like that.”
“You’ve lied to me from the beginning. How can I trust you?” Juliet cried.
“You can trust me, Jules; you know you can. I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“You already have.”
“This is insane. There are a hundred people out there waiting for us to announce our engagement.”
Juliet said nothing. She didn’t care if the king himself was dancing the waltz outside the door. There was no possible way she could marry Tony now.
“We are going out there and announcing our engagement. We passed the ability to turn back last night when I was buried deep inside you,” Tony said.
“No. We are not.”
“Juliet, what if you’re with child?”
She looked away from him and felt her face heat. “It is far too soon to tell.”
“Even more reason why we are going to walk out there and announce our engagement.”
“I prefer to wait.”
Tony pulled her into his arms and his mouth came down on hers. She braced herself for a kiss of anger, but it wasn’t. His mouth was soft, persuasive. He stroked his tongue along her lower lip.
Juliet couldn’t stop her body from responding to his touch. She fought the urge to respond, but she softened against him despite herself. Tears welled in her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. He released her.
“I need time,” she whispered.
“We are going out there and announcing our engagement before this entire county.”
Juliet shook her head and wiped at her eyes. “I cannot go out there and pretend to be happy.”
“Try.”
“Why are you being like this?”
“Because if we aren’t engaged and eventually married, Bartleby will ruin your reputation.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“He’s already planning it.”
Juliet shook her head. God save her from men! Tony had lied and Bartleby would ruin her. How was a woman supposed to figure out which men were good? Were there any good ones? “I’ll take my chances.”
“I won’t.” Tony handed her a handkerchief. “Dry your eyes. We are going out there and we are announcing our engagement. You will smile and act like a woman happy to be getting married.”
“What purpose will it serve?”
“I’m not taking the chance of you being pregnant with my child. We will be married.” Tony’s voice brooked no argument.
Juliet had never seen him act like this. “I feel as if I don’t even know you.”
“We’ll fix that later,” he said. “Right now, we’re going out there and playing our parts. Understand?”
Juliet nodded, knowing she didn’t have a choice. At least it would buy her some time until she figured out what she wanted to do.
Chapter Twenty
I
t was early the next morning when Tony finally made it to his room. The guests had stayed, danced, and drunk, waiting for scraps of the scandal like vultures.
Juliet had stood by his side while everyone drank to their engagement, her face as brittle as the glass she held in her hand. She’d escaped him after their final dance. He hadn’t seen her since.
Nathaniel was shooting daggers at him. Anne glared at him as well. Lady Danford just looked disappointed.
Tony felt lower than a snake. He needed to talk to Juliet. He had to make her understand that this wasn’t what she thought.
Or was it?
He’d gambled against a man and won his estate, effectively ruining him. Just as Juliet’s father had ruined his own. He’d left a man destitute, as Sir John had abandoned his sisters.
If he hadn’t been such a coward, he wouldn’t be in this position. He should have been honest from the beginning.
Juliet had been concerned about his gambling when he first came home. Even in Town, she had always been nagging him about haunting the hells. Clearly, she had been wounded by her brother’s actions.
Tony had won and lost fortunes without ever blinking an eye. But what of those men he’d beaten? He had never thought about them. Juliet had been the one on the receiving end of what happened when all the money was gone. So had he, but he had been so young when it happened. Nathaniel had covered much of it up. Lady Danford had shielded him from the worst of it. Tony had been blissfully unaware of the tragedies that gambling had brought to his own family.
He wasn’t like his father, he’d told himself. He didn’t lose often. He could quit any time.
But could he?
In the few weeks he’d been back at Beetham, he couldn’t deny that he’d itched to go down to the public house to play a few rounds. He hadn’t only because of Juliet. She’d kept him so busy that he hadn’t thought about gaming. Even during cards after supper, he hadn’t played. His mind had been occupied solely with her. Tony sat down on the side of the bed in shock.
All because of Juliet. She’d saved him.
God knew where he would end up if he didn’t have Juliet with him. He couldn’t let her go without telling her.
Tony pulled himself up. He walked over to the window and stared out at the back pasture, squinting to see the house that had caused all of this uproar.
A movement caught his eye in the garden. It was Juliet. She was alone.
Tony tore out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door to catch her. He circled the yard looking for her.
Damn, she could move fast!
He started down the path through the woods toward the Fairy Steps.
He didn’t call out. If she knew he was looking for her, she’d run. He was the last person she would want to see, except maybe for Simon Bartleby.
Juliet was numb. She’d left the ball for the privacy of her room after the announcement. She couldn’t pretend to be happy. She wasn’t happy. She was destroyed.
She just didn’t know what to do. She loved Tony, but she couldn’t deal with the gambling. She’d seen it wreck her own family. It had wrecked his family.
She just didn’t understand why Tony needed to keep doing it. She understood it was popular and the thing to do in Town but didn’t understand the excess.
Could she risk marrying a man with such a sickness? What if he gambled away their house or all their money? Where would that leave them? Dependent on Nathaniel and Anne?
What if Nathaniel disowned his brother for gambling? It was clear Nathaniel hated it. He never even played card games for shillings. If he disowned Tony, where would they turn?
She’d almost reached the woods when she heard someone behind her. She turned and found Tony coming toward her.
Panic set in. She wasn’t ready to talk to him. She wasn’t strong enough to resist him. She turned and ran into the woods.
“Juliet! Wait!”
She was only prolonging the inevitable. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
He was breathing heavily, still dressed in his evening clothes. “Thank you,” he said between breaths.
She didn’t say anything. Her heart tugged at how tired Tony looked. “Juliet, we need to talk.”
She hugged herself and backed away when he made a move to touch her. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”
Pain etched his face in a way she’d never seen before. She stiffened her spine, fighting the urge to give in to the temptation to comfort him.
“Please let me explain.”
“Tony, was anything Mr. Bartleby said untrue?” she asked carefully. “If so, tell me. Please.”
Tony dropped his hands. “What he said was true.”
Juliet nodded, then turned away to continue to walk.
“He painted the picture black.” Tony defended himself.
She kept walking. She couldn’t allow herself to be persuaded that he would change. No one changed that much.
“Juliet.” He grabbed her arm. “Please stop.”
She turned to Tony. “I can’t do this now.”
Frustration vibrated through him. “It had nothing to do with you. With us. Nothing.”
“It has everything to do with us.” She wiped at the tears she couldn’t seem to stop. “My brother lost everything because of gambling. So did your father. How could you do this?”
“I’m not like my father.” His voice was low, angry. “I am not.”
“Can you quit?” Juliet said. “Can you walk away and never play another game, gamble another shilling?”
Tony ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve not gambled in weeks since arriving here.”
“What about when we go to London? What about while you are at your club, or at a ball with gaming tables? Can you resist it?”
Juliet prayed that he’d say yes. Hoped he could indeed walk away from gambling. It was the only hope she had.
“I’m a man, Jules. I make mistakes, one of which was thinking you loved me enough to forgive me.”
Juliet’s head snapped back as if he’d slapped her. No, this was worse than a slap. This was blunt force.
She had no words, no pithy comment. His shardlike tone left her brain numb and her voice mute. She nodded to him woodenly and turned away. She moved absently past Tony.
He said something. Her name, perhaps, but she had to keep moving. If she stopped, she would shatter into a million tears. She refused to allow that to happen. She had that much pride still left.
She could do this. One foot forward, then another. Walk slowly. Don’t let him know he’s destroyed you.
“I’m not going to make a promise I can’t keep. I can’t promise to never play a card game again. But I can promise that I won’t lose everything I own on the table. I won’t ever do that.”
The tone in his voice now haunted her. It was as close to begging as Tony could get. She didn’t turn. She couldn’t. If she saw his face she would give in to this urge to ignore her common sense and listen to her heart. “I can’t risk it.”
Juliet left him as quickly as she could, following the path back to the house almost automatically. She moved, head down, until she was in her room. Closing the door and locking it, she sagged against it, silently crying.
Tony watched as Juliet made her way down the path toward the house. Her head was down.
He had an uncontrollable urge to punch something. Hard. His hands fisted.
“Well done, Matthews,” Bartleby said as he leaned against a tree, near enough to have witnessed the entire scene.
“Have you removed your belongings from Horneswood?”
“Of course,” Bartleby said with a sneer. “You had the housekeeper watch while I packed. I’m on my way to the village inn for the night.”
Good riddance. Tony was glad to see the back of Bartleby. He started for the Lodge.
“I want the chance to win Horneswood back,” Bartleby shouted.
Tony stopped and turned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Horneswood. It was in my family until my father lost it in a bet. Ironic, isn’t it?”
Tony hesitated but said nothing, waiting. There was always more to the deal, especially with a desperate man. Bartleby’s tone had that note of desperation to it.
“The estate should have gone to me when my mother died. I want the chance to win it back.”
Tony was out of his mind for even considering it, but the urge to ruin this man who had destroyed his chance of happiness was stronger than anything he’d felt before. He could stop Bartleby. Exact a revenge from which he would never recover. Temptation raged in him.
“If I win?” Tony was almost surprised when the words fell out of his mouth. He needed this game. He needed to squash Bartleby like the insect he was. Tony fought the urge to rub his hands together in glee. He could end this now. Leave Bartleby destitute, crawling back to his family with nothing. “What do you have that I want?”
“Money.”
Money Bartleby probably had skimmed off the estate for the last few years he’d been in Beetham. Tony thought about what Bartleby had done to the Williams family and the other tenants on the estate. He thought of Jules and what she’d want. If he won, beat Bartleby, it would avenge everything the man had done. Temptation reeled him in like a fat fish on a hook.
Except Tony wasn’t that man any longer. “No.”
Tony walked away, leaving Bartleby sputtering in rage.
“I’ll ruin you in this village, Matthews,” Bartleby shouted after him. “I have connections that will ensure you can never show yourself in Town. I’ll ruin your brother. He’ll not be able to do business in England.”
Tony turned toward Bartleby in a red haze of anger. He reared back and punched Bartleby, knocking him flat. “I don’t give a damn what you do to me, but if I hear that you speak one lie about my family, I will have you thrown in jail for attempted murder.”
Bartleby stood and picked up his hat, knocking the dirt from it. “I have done nothing wrong.”
Tony laughed harshly. “Don’t be too certain.”
Bartleby went white, confirming Tony’s suspicions. It had been Bartleby shooting at them that day.
“Get the hell out of Beetham, Bartleby. Get out before I change my mind and have you arrested.”
Bartleby’s face went red. “You have no proof.”
“I have an eyewitness who saw you shooting into the woods. If you leave now, we’ll forget the whole thing. If you choose to make trouble, I’ll bring charges against you.”
“My brother would never allow it,” Bartleby shouted.
“Go ahead. Risk it, but I have it on good authority that your brother put you in this position as punishment for gambling beyond your means and other thefts.”
Bartleby tugged his waistcoat down. “Go ahead and marry your whore, if she’ll have you. I will have the house one way or another. It is mine by right.”
Tony fought the urge to punch the man again. “If I see you in Beetham again, I will make your life a living hell.”
He walked away from the man toward the Lodge. It was time he set the record straight with Nathaniel. It was time to get on with his life.