34
20 March
Austin Manor
As it happened, Juliana didn’t need to engage the bat signal because as they pulled up to Nico’s house, the drive was littered with the crown prince’s entourage.
Her head snapped in Rowan’s direction. “Did you text him?”
Rowan scoffed, but his tone was mild. “What makes you think I have him in my meager Contacts list?”
“No, you’re right,” she answered distractedly.
Impatient to speak with Jamie, she unbuckled and practically bounced as the car gently rolled to a stop. Without a second thought, she scurried out and hurried to the door. Flinging it open, she made her way to the study, where she found Jamie, suit jacket discarded, engaged in a wrestle with Leo. Leia pawed the floor and whined as she waited for her turn. Pelé lay, panting, obviously tired from his round.
“Foos!” split the air, and Leo jumped to attention, leaving Jamie on the ground by himself.
“’Ello,” Jamie greeted on a laugh. “These beasts belong to you?” Disbelief permeated his words.
“Used to,” Rowan grumbled.
“If only the queen could see you now,” Juliana teased.
Jamie jumped to his feet and began brushing stray dog hairs from his shirt and pants. When he’d done what he could, he rubbed his hands together.
“There’s a small washroom down the hall,” Juliana offered.
She watched as Jamie left the room. Needing to busy herself, she gathered his jacket and tie and hung them in the small closet. Then, she detoured to the kitchen and prepared a tray of tea, which was the extent of her culinary endeavors. She found an unopened package of turrón and added it to the tray. She was stepping back into the room when Jamie emerged.
He glanced down at the tray and then met her gaze. “It’s a start, but we might want something stronger.”
Juliana placed the tray on the small table. When her hands were free, she turned to greet her brother properly. Rather than a quick kiss, kiss, Jamie pulled her into an embrace and held her. Tightly. When he pulled away, he gave her a wry smile.
They both sat, and belatedly, Juliana realized Rowan had disappeared.
“Should I get Rowan?” she asked, suddenly unsure.
Jamie leaned forward and dropped his elbows to his knees in a very unprincely manner. Rather than answer her, he took her in. It wasn’t unlike Jamie to focus in on people, to give them his attention so thoroughly the person knew they were the center of his universe. It was his special skill. His ability to tap into another’s greatest insecurities and waylay them with his concern. She experienced his effect then as some of the tension from this afternoon’s meeting seemed to melt away. Even as she knew they hadn’t reached the darkest part of the night, she could already anticipate the dawn.
“Rowan and I are just returning from an interesting afternoon with the queen,” she said as she reached forward and poured tea into two mugs. When surprise flashed in Jamie’s eyes, Juliana paused. “Isn’t that why you are here?” she asked.
“No, actually.”
“Oh,” she breathed. With steely determination, she lifted a mug and passed it to him. “Why are you here then?”
Jamie accepted the cup but deferred. “You first.”
It was said with no inflection, but Juliana could tell it was an order from the crown prince. She didn’t mind, so she launched into the story. When she was done, Jamie sat absolutely still, his eyes distant. She studied him, trying to be objective. They’d joked that their line of descent couldn’t have been completely blue-blooded because they didn’t seem to suffer from weak chins, weird ailments, or any hidden mental impairments. Jamie was handsome enough, his features an odd combination. His generous mouth was his most notable trait and garnered the most attention in both good and bad measures. If a cartoonist wanted to create an unflattering caricature, Jamie’s lips would look like the incredible Mr. Limpet’s. Now, she could see slight purple smudges under his eyes and faint lines of worry. While she’d been off in Nava and then here, helping Rowan after his surgery, Jamie had seemed to be fighting some battles of his own.
When the silence had stretched to the point of making Juliana nervous, she leaned forward and touched Jamie’s knee. He startled back, his eyes snapping to hers.
“Apologies, Jules.” He stood and began to pace. “It’s that your news is astonishing really.”
She flashed an ironic smile. “I was about to call you when we pulled up. Rowan and I thought to invite everyone to meet.”
Jamie’s brow rose. “Rowan?”
“Yes, Rowan.”
“He wanted you to call in the calvary?” Skepticism was heavy in the question.
“I know. I think he’s worried about the implications of this whole arrangement.”
“Jules,” Jamie began, his tone filled with empathy, “is this where you are at? You are ready to marry him?”
Bombarded with a thousand opposing thoughts, Juliana sat, speechless. No was the correct answer. How could she even consider marrying a man who hardly tolerated her? It was all a lie. It was all a lie. It was all a lie. Perhaps if she chanted the words over and over again, she would remember the situation she’d gotten herself into was a story spun like a fine, sticky spiderweb. All intricate lines of a well-crafted tale with a past weaved throughout. But the feelings growing inside of her were caught in the trap of the finely wrought membrane. She was in a mess.
“Jamie, why are you here?” Since she had no answers for him, maybe she could get answers from him.
Instead of responding, he continued to pace. Juliana watched him, wondering how the carpet beneath him didn’t disintegrate under his furious feet. Whatever had driven Jamie here, it sat upon his head like his heaviest crown.
When he finally stopped, he did so with resolve, and Juliana inhaled what she hoped was a calming breath.
“We’ve been busy—Robert, Ele, and I. I don’t want you to think we don’t trust you to make good decisions for yourself. We do. In fact, I am so much more confident in your choices than I am anyone else. You’ve always been the most independent of all of us. And while you like to portray yourself as a brainless socialite who flits from party to party, we all know better. You have mounted a Rescue the Crown campaign that could rival a Napoleonic takeover of Europe.”
Jules smirked.
He reached forward and grabbed her hands in his. “A bit of a master at that.” He smiled wickedly at her. “Your timing is always impeccable.”
For the first time in many hours, Juliana smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.
There were people who made you feel safe and happy in their presence, no matter the circumstances. For Juliana, Jamie was that person.
Jamie grimaced. “Right, well, let’s get to it, shall we?” Then, in a voice so low that Juliana might have imagined it, he said, “The quicker, the better.” With a gentle pat, he pulled his hands from hers and sat back, giving her distance. “When we left you in Nava, we had more questions than answers. Robert went to track down information about Rowan’s family.”
Jules moved forward, ready to protest. But Jamie waylaid her with a hand.
“Robert is not going to stop being Robert. And it wasn’t just about you. We needed to know what Barrington was up to, and the only way to know was to look into his background. And most of the family history was easy to trace. The blessing and curse of knowing your ancestors for generation upon generation.”
“Fair.”
“It was my task to look into …” Jamie paused and looked to the ceiling. He muttered something unintelligible and then inhaled long and exhaled longer. Looking directly at Jules, he said, “It was my job to look into the circumstances surrounding your conception.” He paused and then explained, “Jules, you are vulnerable because of your ignorance.”
Her eyes widened.
“I’m mucking this up. Bullocks.”