A Tale of Two Lovers Read Online Free PDF Page B

relief, Mr. Knightly agreed. It was Mr. Knightly who had transformed her from Lady Somerset, the pitiable widow of one of London’s more notorious cads, to A Lady of Distinction, the feared and awe-inspiring author of “Fashionable Intelligence.”

Chapter 5
     
    The outskirts of town, dawn
     
    A duel! Over a little thing in the newspaper! After all, she hadn’t said for a fact that he preferred his own sex. Julianna had even offered a more plausible explanation for why he appeared to be embracing a person in a gentleman’s attire. Could she help what the ton chose to believe? No, she could not.
    It was truly ridiculous that he was dueling with Knightly.
    Men were such hotheaded idiots.
    Thanks to her ever-faithful maid, Penny, and their network of housemaid informants—Penny’s six sisters, all servants in the best houses in London—they were able to determine the time and location of the duel.
    Julianna had not been invited, which had never stopped her from attending an event before.
    The hack she hired stopped some distance from the dueling field and she alighted, followed by Miss Eliza Fielding, fellow Writing Girl and the only other woman daring enough to attend with her. Once upon a time, Julianna’s best friend, Sophie, might have joined her on such an expedition, but now she was a married woman and a duchess, to boot, so she couldn’t go gallivanting around far-flung corners of town at dawn witnessing duels.
    Julianna and Eliza took cover behind a hedgerow and peered through the branches. The gentlemen would be livid to discover their serious business viewed by women, particularly the one who had caused it all.
    The sky was already a pale, clear blue. The grassy field shimmered with dew. The air, crisp and sweet, promised a warm summer day. The sun was bright, the birds sang, and the breeze brushed over the trees.
    “There’s the surgeon,” Eliza said, pointing to a man in black, leaning against a black carriage on the far side of the field. It was a jarring juxtaposition—something so dark and deathly on such a beautiful summer morning.
    A small brown rabbit hopped across the field, blissfully unaware of the gruesome activity about to unfold around it.
    A duel! The men might just stomp around and fire their shots into the air and call it a day. But there was a very real chance that one of them might get shot, or even die. Julianna had never considered that when putting pen to paper; she thought only of besting the Man About Town with delicious, exclusive gossip.
    She had also considered Knightly’s mantra of scandal equals sales , and she needed to keep her employer satisfied with her work.
    But what if Knightly lost his life today? Julianna could not even wrap her head around it. She would grieve for a man who gave her an opportunity no one else would consider, and a man she respected. So many people depended upon him—the Writing Girls, particularly. If he died . . .
    Julianna felt sick at the thought.
    And what if Roxbury’s life ended today? Her heart began to pound, which was strange because why should she have a care for him? He was nothing but a careless, carefree rake. That sort of man had never done her any favors.
    “There is Mr. Knightly with Mehitable Loud,” Eliza whispered. Their employer was calmly inspecting a set of pistols held by his second.
    “What if he doesn’t survive?” Eliza asked quietly, because the question was so grave. Who would take over the paper? Would the new publisher be so supportive of the Writing Girls? What if Knightly died because of something she had written? And then if they all lost their positions because of that? Julianna’s mouth went dry, her palms became clammy, and the urge to cast up her accounts nearly overwhelmed her.
    Julianna wrote because she loved to, but also because she needed the money. Eliza and Annabelle, too. It was an unspoken truth between the women that earning money meant they did not have to marry if they didn’t want to.