Never Land the First Fish

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Part 5

Her cousin Toad insisted on taking them all out for a meal—Julia and her parents, Gills, the barristers and the solicitor, Anthony Wakefield who had written the report that saved them, the Wellbridges (the duke and both the duchess and the dowager duchess), and several other people as well.

"We believe we can prove it was the squire," Mr Wakefield explained. "He was a regular gambling crony of Lord Athol's, who owed him a great deal of money. He was present in the cottage at the time the doctor pinpoints as the time of death. He went straight from the cottage to the doctor's house and invited him to come and see a horse the doctor had expressed an interest in, and then gave a further invitation to dinner. The man who discovered the body told my agent that he was ordered by one of the squire's grooms to take a message to Lord Athol, and to go into the house to give Lord Athol the message if the man didn't answer the door."

"He cannot have expected to get money out of Athol, surely," Julia protested. "He must have known that Athol had none to give."

None of the men around the table would meet her eyes. It was Sally who said, "Apparently Athol had offered you as collateral, Julia." She shook her head at the duke. "No, David. Julia has a right to know. He thought that the squire would accept you in lieu of the money he owed. And instead of breaking both his legs."

Julia raised her eyebrows. "No wonder he was so angry when I told him I'd rather be dead than 'be nice' to a friend of his."

Mr Wakefield inclined his head in agreement. "And all for nothing, my lady, for the squire was deeply in debt himself. We are still checking our sources, but we believe he and Lord Athol had both borrowed money from a rather nasty criminal money lender. The squire was apparently told he could have time to repay his debt if he made an example of your husband. We do not believe that murder was the object, but he certainly intended a serious beating, and I do not doubt that, if you had been there as witness, things might have gone badly for you."

"Can we change the subject?" Mother posed the question in the firm tone that meant the subject was to be changed whatever anyone else wanted. "I have heard quite enough of these sordid goings on, and I am quite sure that Julia wants to put it all behind her. We must carry it off as if it never happened, of course."

"Unfortunately, it did happen," Papa said. "Julia, you will come home with me. Perhaps, in a year or two, when Society has forgotten this dreadful scandal, we might be able to find you another husband. A country squire or the like."

"Nonsense," Mother told him. "We need to show them we have nothing to be ashamed of. And Julia is still young enough to marry according to her status. Finally. She is a marquis's daughter, and now that her youthful mistake is behind her, she can find a husband worthy of her."

"No, Charlotte. My mind is made up," Papa insisted.

The rest of the table had fallen silent as the Firthleys bickered. Sally regarded Julia with raised eyebrows, and Gills was looking from one combatant to another with his face set in the 'I am a harmless social gadfly' expression with which he masked his feelings.

"Perhaps this would be better discussed in private?" suggested Toad Wellbridge. Mother and Papa looked around the table as if they had forgotten they had an audience, and Papa had the grace to look a little shamefaced.

Meeting her parents in private was not high on Julia's list of ways to spend her newly won freedom. "No need for a discussion," she told the table at large. "I have not decided what I want to do, Papa, Mother. I am not going to hide as if I were the murderess the papers have painted me. Nor do I have any interest in trying to fit myself back into London Society. Thank you for your good intentions. I will not say they come at least a decade too late."

Mother was opening her mouth, so Julia anticipated her. "I probably would not have accepted your help then even if you had offered it," she acknowledged. "And I do appreciate the thought. But no. I will not be coming home, Papa. I will not be allowing you to make me over into the innocent debutante I will never be again, Mother. I need to take some time to myself to decide what I am going to do."

Papa glared at Gills, his eyes narrowed. "Gildeforte won't marry you, if that is what you're hoping for," he said. Gills opened his mouth and then thought better of intervening in this parent child dispute. He sent her a wink, instead.

He will marry me. If I decide to let him. The knowledge that she could depend on Gills was bone deep, and helped to calm her. She smiled at him and then turned back to her parents. "I am not ready to make any decisions yet, Papa. Neither about Gills nor anything else."

Mother stood, fluttering her shawl as she wrapped it around herself. "Come, Firthley. The ungrateful child has made up her mind, and she would never see any path but her own. You may come to us for help once you see sense, Julia."

An embarrassed silence that reigned as the Firthleys crossed the restaurant towards the exit. The major domo broke it, ushering a small squad of waiters to their table with a variety of desserts. Under cover of discussion over the relative merits of blancmange and sponge pudding, Sally leaned towards Julia and murmured, "Good for you."

Julia's laugh lacked amusement. "Perhaps I am just being stubborn. Thanks to your generosity, duchess, I have money to live on and to spare, but where? I do not even know where I will sleep tonight! Do I return to the hotel? Will they have kept my room?"

"As to that..." Sally hesitated. "I hope David and I have not overstepped. We arranged for your luggage to be taken to our townhouse. Just for tonight. And if you would prefer to stay in a hotel, I can send a message now to make the arrangements..."

Julia interrupted. "I accept. Thank you. Just for tonight."