Julius's Passion (Regency Club Venus 4) Read online

  Julius wanted to take the obviously heartbroken Bethany in his arms. To tell her that her beloved James was not dead after all. That he was, in fact, somewhere in this very house masquerading as Julius’s valet.

  But they did not have any tangible evidence as yet they could present to the Prince Regent so as to disgrace Adrian Metford for having murdered his own nephew, and for having falsely assumed the title of the Earl of Ipswich all these years ago.

  Still, Julius desperately wished to offer Bethany some belated words of comfort. “Some say the dead never leave us.”

  She smiled bleakly. “Then they must be people who believe in a more benevolent God than the one I have seen.”

  Julius stepped forward to place an arm about her waist and pull her in close against him. His other hand rested beneath her chin as he lifted her face so that she was looking directly at him. “Sometimes, what seems like an impossible situation can be turned around into something positive.” It was as close as he dared come to even hinting that her brother still lived.

  Not because Julius wished to continue Bethany’s suffering a day longer than necessary, but because he doubted she could contain her joy if he were to tell her James was alive. Or hide that emotion from her uncle. Any more than she would be able to contain her anger when she learned that same uncle had been the one to pay the men responsible for murdering James.

  In light of that, the suspicion Julius had that Metford might also be Bethany’s father would probably break her heart completely.

  She snorted. “What sort of God would take away the parents of a nine-year-old girl and then, while she is still grieving, take her brother from her too?”

  “No God that I pray to,” Julius agreed. “But—”

  “What on earth is going on here?” The harsh voice of Adrian Metford cut across Julius’s words of comfort.

  Chapter Eight

  Bethany pulled away from Julius before she stepped away from him completely and turned to face her uncle. “I had something in my eye, and the earl very kindly located and removed it for me.”

  Julius’s admiration for Bethany grew tenfold at the adroit manner in which she spoke the lie.

  Most young ladies aged nineteen, found in the arms of a gentleman who was not a relative, would have stumbled and stuttered over explaining their actions. And would no doubt have failed miserably in those reassurances of innocence.

  Bethany didn’t even hesitate to give that explanation and make it sound plausible.

  Certainly, the concern in Adrian Metford’s expression as he quickly crossed the room to his niece’s side seemed to imply he trusted the veracity of her explanation. “Let me see.” Fingers beneath her chin tilted her face up toward his so that he might look into her eyes. “Your eyes do look a little red, but I cannot see any foreign object in there now,” he assured with relief seconds later.

  “Then I was obviously successful,” Julius dismissed. The redness of Bethany eyes was due to her being upset over their conversation about her brother.

  Metford’s hand on Bethany’s arm kept her at his side as he looked at Julius from between narrowed—suspicious?—lids. “It was hardly appropriate for you to have tried in the first place.”

  He shrugged. “I deemed it to be an emergency.”

  “Perhaps,” the older man accepted begrudgingly. “But it was as well I was the one to find the two of you, for you were standing far too close together.”

  “There was no danger of Lacey discovering us, because the earl dismissed him several minutes ago.” Bethany winced as, having intended to reassure, she realized, from her uncle’s deepening scowl, she had only succeeded in making the situation worse. She forced a relaxed smile to her lips. “I hope you are come to tell me you are free to go for our morning ride together?”

  Metford continued to look at Julius for several long and assessing seconds before turning to smile warmly at Bethany. “That is exactly the reason I came looking for you.”

  “And now you have found me.” She smiled brightly as she linked her arm with her uncle’s before turning Julius. “Perhaps the earl would care to join us?” The warning in her gaze cautioned him against accepting.

  The narrowing of Metford’s hard gaze also conveyed that same displeasure in the suggestion.

  In any case, Julius intended to use some of the time they were absent to search Metford’s bedchamber for incriminating evidence of his possible affair with his sister-in-law, Henrietta, and anything that might indicate his association with the men he had paid to kill James. Keeping any evidence of the latter would be sheer stupidity on Metford’s behalf, and Julius didn’t think the older man was that. But if there had been an affair between Metford and Henrietta, the older man might have kept any love letters the two had exchanged. Especially if a child had resulted from that relationship.

  “I thought I might ride into the village later this morning and check on the progress of the repairs to my carriage,” Julius refused politely.

  The frown cleared from Metford’s brow. “Let us hope Johnson has managed to complete the work necessary for you to continue your journey back to London.”

  Julius dragged his bottom lip between his teeth and bit down as Metford totally forgot his manners in his desire not only to exclude Julius in their outing, but to see him on his way out of Suffolk. “Let us hope so,” he echoed softly once he was able to talk without revealing his humor.

  “Thank you for your assistance this morning.” Bethany gave him a polite curtsey.

  He bowed. “You are more than welcome.”

  Julius watched out the window to be sure Metford and Bethany had left the house. He saw the two of them riding out of the stables and then off along the same path into the woods that the previous night had taken Julius down to the riverside.

  No doubt the smugglers, and Bethany, would have ensured there was no evidence remaining to indicate their having been there. Julius had to tip his hat to the audacity of the smugglers carrying out their nefarious nighttime work on the estate of the local magistrate. Bethany was equally as naughty for being a part of it.

  Enough to have earned herself a spanking?

  Julius didn’t believe in physical punishment of any kind, but nor could he deny that the thought of first baring and then reddening the arse of the rebellious Lady Bethany now caused his cock to swell and rise inside his pantaloons.

  So perhaps he wasn’t averse after all to punishing Bethany just a little for her reckless behavior?

  * * *

  Bethany was lost in thought several hours later as she made her way back to the house following her ride. Her uncle had handed off the reins for his horse on their return for one of the grooms to deal with, but Bethany preferred to see to the needs of her horse herself. As a consequence, she returned to the house half an hour or so after her uncle.

  He hadn’t actually made any reference to the scene he had walked in on in the breakfast room earlier. But he had regaled her with several more stories of how the earl, despite his close friends being in the army, had himself avoided fighting for England against the French. Even her uncle, although not involved in hand-to-hand combat, had been part of the war cabinet in London, which resulted in his often being away.

  Bethany had no idea why Julius hadn’t joined the army as his close friends seemed to have done, but she very much doubted it was because he was the coward her uncle wished to claim him as being. Unless it was merely wishful thinking on her part because of the attraction she felt toward Julius—

  Bethany’s interest sharpened as, having arrived at the top of the staircase, she caught sight of a tall and dark-haired figure farther down the hallway. He wore a brown superfine and buff-colored pantaloons, his dark hair messily long rather than fashionable.

  She didn’t hesitate to call out to him. “Franklyn!” The man froze, which seemed to confirm his identity, but he didn’t turn. “Franklyn?” she prompted less certainly as she hurried down the hallway toward him.

  He turned slow
ly, very slowly, and Bethany gasped, coming to a halt once he was fully facing her.

  Because he looks exactly like I have imagined James might if he had lived.

  Not exactly, she conceded once the initial shock had worn off and she could breathe again. This man’s blue eyes contained a hard cynicism James’s never had. His face was all harsh angles rather than rounded, and there was a scar along his jaw on the left side of his face. A scar her brother didn’t have.

  But of course it was not James, could not be him, because her brother was dead and had been so for many years. Although the similarity in features caused her to once again question if, with the surname of Franklyn, there was not some family connection.

  “Can I ’elps ya wiv summat, miss?” he prompted at her lengthy silence.

  The voice, with its strong London accent, was not like James’s educated tone in the slightest. Nor did it have that same habit, as James’s had done, of occasionally breaking, because ten years ago he had not yet reached full adulthood.

  He never had, Bethany acknowledged sadly.

  And she was merely imagining things by even thinking that they must somehow be related.

  Had she become so desperate for a family connection she was willing to clutch onto a surname and a facial likeness and coloring to the brother she knew had been dead for ten years?

  Her smile was a little shaky. “No, I do not require anything, thank you. I am sorry to have delayed you.”

  He nodded abruptly before turning on his heel and entering the bedchamber which Bethany knew had been allocated to the Earl of Andover for the length of his stay.

  A visit her uncle had made clear during their ride that he sincerely hoped would soon come to an end.

  Despite—or because of—their heated exchanges, Bethany did not feel that same eagerness to see Julius depart.

  * * *

  “What in Hades—!” Julius sat up on the bed, his erect and throbbing cock still in hand, as James thrust open the door and entered the bedchamber without knocking. He as quickly closed it behind him to lean back against that wooden panel, his face pale. “Well, this is not in the least embarrassing,” Julius muttered as he valiantly tried to push his still hard and aching cock back inside his unfastened pantaloons. He finally succeeded but that eight inches of engorged flesh now pressed urgently against the front of his pantaloons.

  James’s eyes were wide in the pallor of his face. “Were you— Did I just—”

  “Yes,” Julius confirmed abruptly as he rose to his feet to finish fastening the buttons on his clothing. “In future, I suggest you knock before entering.” Never in his two and thirty years had he felt this degree of personal embarrassment.

  Beads of perspiration seemed to have popped out on James’s furrowed brow. “You— I— She—”

  “She?” Julius echoed sharply. “Bethany?”

  “That is Lady Bethany to you,” James told him sharply as he pushed away from the door. His eyes narrowed. “After admitting you kissed my sister last night, I sincerely hope you were not thinking of her just now as you pleasured yourself to completion.”

  “I did not complete,” Julius bit out moodily, hoping James did not pick up on the fact he had deliberately not addressed the other part of his question.

  Because of course he had been thinking of Bethany as he lay on the bed, giving himself pleasure by stroking and pumping his own cock!

  From believing her to be a beautiful young miss who was far too sweet for his taste, Julius now found himself unable to stop thinking of the confident Bethany from the previous night, dressed in men’s breeches to meet up with the smugglers. Considering spanking her for that misdemeanor had kept his cock in a constant state of arousal ever since. An arousal which had not been quashed in the least by their encounter in the breakfast room this morning, and afterward, when she deftly avoided a scene with her uncle.

  Julius had never seen a woman in breeches before, and he now knew Bethany had a delectably curvaceous arse outlined to perfection in the material that fitted so snugly over those twin orbs. Add in the intensity of the kiss they had shared, having his hands cupping that bottom, and their closeness again this morning, and Julius couldn’t seem to stop his cock from being in a constant state of arousal.

  Julius had searched through Metford’s bedchamber earlier, but again had found no incriminating evidence. He had then ridden into the village and been told by Johnson his carriage was not yet ready for their onward journey. After which, Julius had returned to his bedchamber at Ipswich House with the intention of dealing with the problem of his aching cock himself. Having James walk in on him while he was doing so—before he had time to finish, damn him!—was not only embarrassing, but bloody frustrating too.

  Except James’s agitated demeanor seemed to imply they had a more immediate problem to deal with. “What has occurred to Lady Bethany to put you in this state?” Julius prompted.

  “Not to, with,” the younger man corrected as he paced the room with obvious agitation. “She stopped me just now in the hallway and spoke to me,” he explained in a rush. “For a moment, I thought… It seemed as if she knew who I was. But then I spoke to her in a broad Cockney accent, and the glow of recognition dulled from her eyes, and her expression turned to one of sadness. I have to admit that, for a brief moment, I wanted her to know it truly is me.”

  “You would not be human if you did not.” Julius reached out to briefly squeeze the other man’s shoulder. “I am sorry you cannot tell her the truth as yet.”

  “So am I,” James acknowledged heavily. “How much longer do we have to keep up this farce?”

  He sighed. “I have made a rudimentary search of your uncle’s study and his bedchamber but found no evidence as yet to link him with any of the events of the past. I will search again at a time I am sure I will not be interrupted.”

  Julius thought it best, for now, to keep his suspicions regarding Metford being Bethany’s father to himself. It served no purpose at the moment and only muddied the waters in regard to what was really important: establishing James in his rightful place as the Earl of Ipswich.

  James’s hands were clenched into fists at his sides. “I am not sure how much longer I can continue with this charade.”

  Julius had every sympathy for his young friend, knowing he would feel the same way in James’s position. “Just give me a little longer, hm?” he encouraged. “I will need to search both the study and bedchamber again. I dare not spend too long in either for fear of being discovered.” As it was, Bethany had happened upon him this morning as he was leaving Metford’s study.

  James drew in a deep breath before allowing some of the tension to ease from his shoulders. A slight smile curved his lips as he eyed Julius mockingly. “Is that your way of asking me to leave so you can continue with your masturbation?”

  Julius winced. “I believe the moment may have passed for now.”

  James chuckled. “I have to admit, I have never walked in on a man doing that before.”

  He gave a snort of self-derision. “You will not walk in on this man doing it again either—because in future, I intend locking the bedchamber door.”

  James’s humor faded, and his eyes narrowed. “Whilst thinking of my sister?”

  “I could deny it…but I would be lying if I did so,” Julius acknowledged ruefully. “I apologize, James,” he told the younger man sincerely when his expression darkened. “But we cannot always choose whom we will find attractive, or when, and at least I was dealing with the problem myself.” Given a choice, Julius chose not to complicate this situation further by adding his increasing desire to make love to Bethany.

  A nerve pulsed in James’s cheek. “Then the sooner you are free to leave here, the better.”

  “Yes.”

  “You said you have searched my uncle’s study and his bedchamber, both to no avail?” James prompted slowly.

  “A rudimentary search, but yes.”

  “And during this rudimentary search, did you happen
to find the safe hidden in the floor of his bedchamber and the secret drawer in what was no doubt originally my father’s desk in the study? I cannot see my uncle having disposed of such a valuable item of furniture.”

  “What safe and hidden drawer? Good God, James,” Julius snapped in his rising impatience. “Have you forgotten to give me yet more important information pertaining to this situation?” The last time James had done so—withholding the fact of Bethany’s very existence—was proving to be far more troublesome to Julius than he would have wished.

  His distraction because of that attraction was probably also the reason, he inwardly conceded, why he had not already discovered the safe and hidden desk drawer for himself.

  Julius’s skills as a spy were honed over many years, but he had never before had his attention divided by thoughts of a woman he desired as much as he did Bethany.

  Clearing his head of all thoughts of her—and ignoring the throbbing of his cock—it was now obvious to him Metford would have a safe to keep his valuables in. Plus, Julius knew from the design of the desk in the study that it was from the Elizabethan period. A time when intrigue had been at its highest and secrecy was often a necessity in order to remain alive. Of course the desk had a hidden drawer!

  Julius sighed. “It seems I will need to search those two rooms again sooner rather than later.” This was why he had never before allowed a woman to distract his attention the way Bethany did.

  “The safe is under the floorboards beneath the bed. The earl’s bedchamber was my own for a very short period of time after my father died,” James explained when Julius frowned. “The four-number combination to open the lock used to be my mother’s birthday, the thirty-first of December, but my uncle has probably changed it since then.”

  Julius somehow doubted that, if his suspicion was a correct one. “And the hidden drawer in the desk?”

  “My father discovered it twenty years ago,” James announced proudly. “It took him a while to realize how the mechanism worked, but he finally recognized it was a combination of numbers carved into the side of the drawers. Once the drawers are pulled out to the level of that number, and in the correct sequence, another drawer appears beneath them. My father showed it to me once I was old enough to understand.”