ride into Oxford. I was a student there many years ago and always enjoyed theweeks before Christmas, when the city took on such a festive air. I had the urge to see how much it had changed in the last ten years.”
“And had it?”
“Probably not, but I have,” he said with a chuckle. “For some reason, the scents of roasting chestnuts from the braziers along St. Giles or the spice cakes they were selling in Carfax didn’t have the same richness as they did when I was a gangling and perpetually famished undergraduate.”
“You make yourself sound like a world-weary old man,” Harriet scoffed. “You cannot be that much older than Nick, and he never lost his pleasure in the city at any time of the year.”
Julius looked at her rather more sharply. “I can give Nick eight years, my dear. And you, nine.”
That would make him thirty. Harriet had thought him about that age, although his manner sometimes made him seem older. She observed, “Eight years is quite an age difference when it comes to friendship. It seems unusual that you and Nick should have been as close as you imply just based on pleasures shared. A joint enterprise perhaps might forge strong ties that could transcend such a gap, but just cards, or sportsmanship, or dancing . . . come to think of it, Nickwas never much of a dancer.” She regarded him with an air of mild inquiry. “What did you have in common, my lord?”
Julius considered his response. The lady was fishing, and she was fishing in quite good waters. She had acted as Nick’s poste restante, so she knew at least something of Nick’s extracurricular activities, and she was no fool. Her questions as a result were pertinent. But should he satisfy her curiosity with a fraction of the truth or continue in straight-faced denial?
The latter would probably close off all possibility of getting to know her better. That had not been an object of this particular Christmas excursion, but it was one that seemed to have become very important. He liked her. No, much more than that. She attracted him most powerfully. Not just physically, although he’d be the last to deny that particular attraction, but he enjoyed her company, and he admired her. And for Julius, admiration was the most powerful aphrodisiac. She had so much courage, and she was carrying far too much on those slender shoulders. He wanted to lighten her burdens a little. She had shared them with Nick, and her brother was no longer there to take his part. Nick had made his own choices, chosen the path that had led to his early death. But others hadbeen complicit in that tragedy, too. With the smoothness of a greased wheel, his mind automatically threw up the wall that prevented further exploration of that subject. What was done was done.
But Harriet was too young to carry the weight of so much loss, not to mention the responsibility for the twins. Of course, legally they were their grandfather’s charge, but it was as clear as day to Julius that their day-to-day care, both emotional and physical, fell to their sister. And that didn’t seem right to him. Nick had said as much on several occasions, and Julius now understood what he meant, now that he had met Nick’s beloved sister. There was no real reason he should create a rift between them at this juncture.
“There was an incident while we were in Paris. I’m surprised your brother didn’t tell you of it, but perhaps he didn’t wish to alarm you,” he said with a slight shrug, accepting a refilled glass from a footman with a decanter. “We were involved in a street fight—”
“A street fight?” Harriet interrupted him. “A brawl?”
“Not exactly,” Julius said, considering his words. “I came upon a young man being set upon by a trio of bully boys, and since the odds struck me as somewhatuneven, I took my sword to the fight. I was hard pressed at one point, and by great good fortune, Nick happened to come around the corner and jumped in at the opportune moment.
“And had it?”
“Probably not, but I have,” he said with a chuckle. “For some reason, the scents of roasting chestnuts from the braziers along St. Giles or the spice cakes they were selling in Carfax didn’t have the same richness as they did when I was a gangling and perpetually famished undergraduate.”
“You make yourself sound like a world-weary old man,” Harriet scoffed. “You cannot be that much older than Nick, and he never lost his pleasure in the city at any time of the year.”
Julius looked at her rather more sharply. “I can give Nick eight years, my dear. And you, nine.”
That would make him thirty. Harriet had thought him about that age, although his manner sometimes made him seem older. She observed, “Eight years is quite an age difference when it comes to friendship. It seems unusual that you and Nick should have been as close as you imply just based on pleasures shared. A joint enterprise perhaps might forge strong ties that could transcend such a gap, but just cards, or sportsmanship, or dancing . . . come to think of it, Nickwas never much of a dancer.” She regarded him with an air of mild inquiry. “What did you have in common, my lord?”
Julius considered his response. The lady was fishing, and she was fishing in quite good waters. She had acted as Nick’s poste restante, so she knew at least something of Nick’s extracurricular activities, and she was no fool. Her questions as a result were pertinent. But should he satisfy her curiosity with a fraction of the truth or continue in straight-faced denial?
The latter would probably close off all possibility of getting to know her better. That had not been an object of this particular Christmas excursion, but it was one that seemed to have become very important. He liked her. No, much more than that. She attracted him most powerfully. Not just physically, although he’d be the last to deny that particular attraction, but he enjoyed her company, and he admired her. And for Julius, admiration was the most powerful aphrodisiac. She had so much courage, and she was carrying far too much on those slender shoulders. He wanted to lighten her burdens a little. She had shared them with Nick, and her brother was no longer there to take his part. Nick had made his own choices, chosen the path that had led to his early death. But others hadbeen complicit in that tragedy, too. With the smoothness of a greased wheel, his mind automatically threw up the wall that prevented further exploration of that subject. What was done was done.
But Harriet was too young to carry the weight of so much loss, not to mention the responsibility for the twins. Of course, legally they were their grandfather’s charge, but it was as clear as day to Julius that their day-to-day care, both emotional and physical, fell to their sister. And that didn’t seem right to him. Nick had said as much on several occasions, and Julius now understood what he meant, now that he had met Nick’s beloved sister. There was no real reason he should create a rift between them at this juncture.
“There was an incident while we were in Paris. I’m surprised your brother didn’t tell you of it, but perhaps he didn’t wish to alarm you,” he said with a slight shrug, accepting a refilled glass from a footman with a decanter. “We were involved in a street fight—”
“A street fight?” Harriet interrupted him. “A brawl?”
“Not exactly,” Julius said, considering his words. “I came upon a young man being set upon by a trio of bully boys, and since the odds struck me as somewhatuneven, I took my sword to the fight. I was hard pressed at one point, and by great good fortune, Nick happened to come around the corner and jumped in at the opportune moment.
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