“I’m quite all right, just a bit shaken,” I said. “And I’m relieved to see you made it back safely, Elizabeth.”
“I scoured every inch of the ballroom looking for you. I found Lucy, and she told me a young gentleman had practically dragged you to safety.” Her eyes slid to Montgomery, taking him in with an analytical stare. “I assume we have you to thank for this, young man.”
“This is an old friend,” I said. “He is—”
“Montgomery James,” he introduced himself with a cordial nod, and then took my hand in his own, which hardly seemed proper, and pulled me next to him so he could wrap one arm around my shoulders.
“I’m Juliet’s fiancé.”
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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TWENTY-FOUR
HIS HAND TIGHTENED OVER my shoulders. If I looked surprised by his words, it was nothing compared to the professor’s and Elizabeth’s faces.
The professor made as if to speak, but no words came out. Elizabeth’s beautiful blue eyes scoured every inch of our hand-holding, my muddy dress, Montgomery’s loose hair. Both of their mouths were folded hard, their deep-set eyes peering at us like a pair of birds from the cuckoo clock.
“It seems this evening’s surprises just keep coming,” she said. “Perhaps you should come inside, Mr. James.”
“There is one other thing,” Montgomery said, and looked over his shoulder to where Balthazar stood half hidden in the shadows. The moonlight had a way of highlighting the deformity of his back and darkening the shadows under his eyes, so he looked the very picture of a monster.
“I have a friend with me,” Montgomery continued. “We’ve been traveling together for some time, and I’d be much obliged if he could warm himself by your fire.”
As Balthazar lumbered up to join us on the front stoop, Elizabeth’s eyes went even wider. The professor seemed ready to slam the door in his face.
“Good evening,” Balthazar said with his lopsided grin.
The professor remained speechless. It was only after Elizabeth cleared her throat and mumbled something about good manners that he let us inside.
Though the cuckoo clock chimed one in the morning, we soon found ourselves sitting in the library around a pot of tea Elizabeth had insisted on making. Montgomery sat next to me on the loveseat, his hand tightly around mine. He hadn’t let go for a moment since making the announcement.
“Just play along,” he’d whispered as we’d settled on the sofa. “I have my reasons.”
The cuckoo clock ticked, and the steam rose from the pot. I think as shocked as they were by Montgomery’s announcement, it was Balthazar’s presence that had truly rendered them speechless. Now he sat awkwardly on a too-small stool near the fireplace, half cast in shadows, so quiet he might very well have fallen asleep.
“Well. The tea.” Elizabeth broke the silence at last and stood to pour. She eyed Montgomery carefully. “You’ll imagine our surprise to see you, Mr. James. Juliet neglected to tell us you were in London, nor news of any engagement.” Her eyes slid to mine, and I shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m afraid I worried what you’d say. Montgomery is the one who took me to Father’s island last year.”
“A servant!” the professor said suddenly, but there was no disdain in his voice. “That’s where I recognize you from, yes, of course. You were a servant for the Moreau family.”
Montgomery nodded.
The professor settled back into his chair. “I recall you as a quiet boy. Loyal. Hardworking. Though I can’t say I approve of your proposing to Juliet without first seeking permission from her guardian.”
“I apologize for that, sir,” Montgomery said. “I proposed the moment I returned to London. I’m afraid in my haste Juliet’s opinion was the only one I could think of.”
“Is this why you’ve been so cagey and slipping away?” Elizabeth said suddenly, twisting her head at me so that she nearly spilled over the tea. Equal amounts admonishment and relief mixed in her voice. She had been so worried the night I’d climbed through the kitchen window. To know I was just meeting a secret fiancé must have come as a considerable relief.
“Yes,” I lied. Now would have been the time to give Montgomery an adoring look, or playfully apologize for worrying them, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Acting the part of Montgomery’s sweetheart now, when I’d only just seen him again and still had the feel of Edward on my skin, was a role I wasn’t ready to play.
It didn’t seem to matter. The others took my stiff reaction as nothing more than lingering tension from the masquerade, perhaps.
“And what are your intentions, Mr. James?” the professor asked.