Hear crept up her cheeks as she averted her gaze. “Thank you, Julian, truly. I was quite nervous, but I am feeling much better now.” She let out a breath and returned his smile.
“Shall we get going then? It is quite a journey to Herefordshire, and I am sure the carriages are waiting for us.” Julian gestured to the door but lowered his hand again when the housekeeper suddenly appeared with a tray.
“I must apologize for interrupting again, my lord, and my lady, but a letter has just arrived for Lady Barnard.” She came forward with the tray and held it out to Lily.
A strange look flashed in Lily’s eyes as she quickly accepted the letter and held it at her side with the front facing away from Julian.
The housekeeper curtsied and hurried from the room.
“Is anything the matter?” Julian asked as he looked from her face to the letter.
Lily shook her head and smiled at him, but made no effort to lift the letter. “Nothing at all, it is simply a letter from my aunt’s house. I shall read it later. We have already fallen behind schedule. Let us not keep your mother and sister waiting any longer.” She walked past him, keeping the letter at her side.
Who is Oliver? And why is she lying about him?
Julian watched her go as he glimpsed part of the name on the front of the letter in passing.
It is probably nothing.
He reasoned with himself that there were hundreds of reasons for her behavior. Oliver could have been a relative or even an old friend. The fact that she had said that the letter had come from her aunt’s house meant that it was someone they knew. After all, what reason would Lily possibly have to lie to him?
He pushed the questions aside and followed her out the door. After all, she never so much as given him a single reason not to trust her.
Juliette and his mother were already waiting for them by the time they reached the carriage.
Julian helped her in before climbing in beside her and allowing the footman to shut the door behind them. “Shall we set off then?” He asked, looking around the carriage.
His mother nodded just as the whip cracked in the air, spurring the horses on as they jostled into motion.
He tried desperately to make conversation with Lily, but she seemed far too distracted as she gave single-word replies and stared out the window.
It was frustrating for him that he could not read her from one day to the next. She seemed to enjoy his company at times, but would then become aloof almost as quickly as the wind had changed.
“Have you been to the cottage before?” His mother asked when the silence dragged on.
Julian shook his head. “We will all be seeing it together for the very first time. I hear that it is in better condition than Redding Hall, which is something to be thankful for.”
“Will you be hosting a ball once Redding Hall is ready?” Juliette asked.
Turning to his wife, Julian attempted to coax her into conversation again. “I do not know, that will be up to Lady Baranrd. Hosting balls is not exactly my forte.”
Lily kept her gaze out the window as she held onto the side of her cloak, and Julian wondered again if there was something that she had not told him.
Who exactly was Oliver, and why had his letter distracted her?
Chapter 20
The sun was beginning to set later that day by the time the carriage pulled up to the small cottage that had once been used by the former viscount. It looked to be in a much better condition than the hall, and Lily was grateful that the journey had come to an end.
She had quickly placed the letter in her cloak before leaving the London home and had thought about it for hours on end. She had been glad that Julian had not pressed the matter, but she knew deep down that she would have to explain things to him sooner rather than later.
“I think we should all be glad of a hot bath!” Julian’s mother announced as she climbed from the carriage.
Footmen rushed forward to unload the luggage, and maids came from within the cottage to assist.
“And what do you think?” Julian asked as he came up beside Lily.
Looking at the neat little cottage before them, Lily smiled.