“For round two?” she suggested somewhat hopefully.
He laughed lightly. “After a brief recovery time, perhaps.”
Once Julian had helped Mena back into her stays, they dressed in companionable silence. But when she would have wound her hair and pinned it back, he stayed her movements with a hand on hers. “Leave it down.”
She slowly lowered her hands. “Alright.”
As he escorted her back downstairs, she turned to him with a small smile. “I have to say I’m feeling rather famished now myself.”
He bent down to nuzzle her neck. “Such physical activity does tend to work up an appetite.”
A giggle escaped her lips, before Mena quickly covered her mouth with her hand. It had been years since she’d allowed herself such an uninhibited moment, but with Julian at her side, she felt like she was in the first blush of youth once more.
After dinner, where neither one of them could barely concentrate on the delightful meal before them, they retired to the parlor. For hours they sat and talked, laughing about nothing in particular.
Julian’s eyes were shining as he looked at her, sometime after midnight. “I suppose I should be going.”
Mena knew it was for the best, but she was still reluctant to see him leave.
Unfortunately, reality dared to intrude about that time. Anders appeared and held a box out to her with a polite bow. “This just arrived by messenger, my lady.”
She sighed heavily, but took the box. “Thank you,” she murmured.
As the servant left, she stood staring at the package for several minutes, until Julian finally intruded on her thoughts. “Aren’t you going to open it?”
“I’m not sure I want to.” She walked over and set the box on a nearby table.
He chuckled. “You’re staring at it as if you expect a snake to make an appearance.”
Mena shrugged. “In a way, I suppose you might say that.” She turned to him. After what they had shared earlier, she felt that he deserved an explanation. “It appears that I have a secret admirer.” She waved a hand at the gift. “I’m supposed to receive twelve gifts by Christmas. At that time, my mysterious suitor is to reveal himself.”
“Indeed?” He lifted a brow. “So what is today?”
“I suppose it’s day seven now,” she replied evenly. “Gift number six.”
“Well, don’t make me wait. Open it and let’s see what your admirer sent today.”
Mena opened the box to reveal six leather-bound novels. Reluctantly, she had to smile, for she had just torn apart her library intending to replace her late husband’s boring tomes with something of more interest.
“Books?” Julian noted. “That doesn’t seem very romantic.”
“That would depend on what they are.” She withdrew the novels and read off the titles, “Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion.”
“The complete works of Jane Austen,” he murmured. “I stand corrected. This fellow is a regular Casanova.”
“And that’s not all.” Mena held a card between her fingers, before reading it aloud. “Even the most well-written novel cannot compare to the love I feel for you. Only six days remain.”
Julian winced. “It appears that I may have a bit of competition for your attentions.”
“Don’t be silly.” Mena put the books back in the box, along with the card. “This person is likely only playing some sort of lark.”
He frowned. “Why do you think that? Can’t you believe that someone truly cares for you, Mena?”
She turned to face him, her expression set. “Not a complete stranger, no. And certainly not someone who doesn’t have the courage to tell me how they feel in person.”
“It may not be a stranger. Haven’t you considered any possibilities yet?”
She thought of the list she’d tried to start, whereas her mind was a complete blank. “I haven’t given it that much consideration.”
“Perhaps you should.”
Mena put her hands on her hips. “For someone who just mentioned that they had a bit of rivalry on their hands, you’re rather eager for me to find out who my possible suitor could be.”
He dared to wink at her. “That’s only so I can pummel them for daring to outwit me.”
Day 8
While Mena wouldn’t have minded letting Julian linger a bit longer, and repeat their actions from earlier, she decided that it was for the best if he didn’t stay overnight. She didn’t wish to shock Marigold should she come by for an impromptu visit, only to find her mother in flagrante delicto with another man.
At this point, she wasn’t even sure how to introduce Julian. He might have become her lover as of last night, but she wasn’t sure that was a relationship she wanted to pursue. Granted, her parents weren’t alive any longer, so they wouldn’t be here to witness how far she might have fallen from the pedestal of respectability she’d worked for years to maintain. Then again, she was actually starting to feel as if she was living her life instead of letting it pass her by.
If Julian had taught her anything since his arrival, it was that she still had plenty of good years left. The question was, did she intend to spend them all with him as his mistress? In truth, she didn’t even know how long he planned to stay in London. She was under the impression that he was only here on business, and once that was concluded, who was to say he wouldn’t be sailing back to America?
Until then, she still had the transformation of her townhouse to oversee. She still had the attic to complete, but at least new drapes and carpet had been ordered for the library, along with several new novels. So what was next?
She stared at one door she’d been reluctant to enter for the past three years, although the servants went in and out of the master’s suite quite often on her instruction. There was no need for it to be ignored just because she didn’t like to venture inside. Then again, it was where she had been summoned whenever Laurence had his marital urges. After sharing a bed with Julian the night before, she certainly wasn’t comfortable reliving her years of intimacy with the earl.
Mena’s hand was on the doorknob, and with a deep breath, she forced herself to walk inside. The bed where Laurence had taken his last breath still looked like it did when he’d been alive. The only difference was that she didn’t dread standing here. Laurence had never been unkind to her, it was just the anxiety she felt whenever she crossed that threshold. But however awkward their couplings might have been, at least they had given her two wonderful children.
