Veiled in Blue Read Online Free PDF Page A

and Julius’s previously wayward cousin had become a family man.
    He prayed it would never happen to him. Julius enjoyed his life exactly as it was. If he married, he would do it with a clear head this time. Not in haste and not to a woman he barely knew. He wanted a sensible woman who would give him sons and help with his daughter. Nothing more.
    He took another mouthful of devilled kidney, enjoying the spicy flavor.
    After his repast, Julius left the inn to explore his surroundings. He strolled past the pretty church, fifteenth century from the shape of the windows and the tower, with its peaceful graveyard, the stones neatly regimented, although some had tilted to one side. It only gave them a picturesque air. Along the side of the church in the shelter of a dry stone wall a path led away from the village, presumably to Woolton.
    The village was a prosperous one, the buildings clustered around the green solidly built and relatively modern. A few ramshackle cottages stood farther out, but Julius did not intend to explore them. He’d seen the inside of some of the cottages on his father’s estate, and he had no wish to repeat it. However even they were in reasonable repair, the thatch thick and well trimmed and the windows shuttered.
    A sense of freedom filled his soul. He was on holiday. He was Mr. Vernon of London, a working man with no family he had yet admitted to.
    He kicked away from the tree and continued his walk. Except, of course, he had better keep to the truth if he was ever to tell Eve who and what she was. He should leave her alone, have a watch put on her in case his enemies caught up with her. During his walk he had seen nothing untoward, nothing that would suggest anyone else suspected anything. She was safer if she remained hidden. Having once experienced her haunting beauty, he had a severe disinclination to leave her alone.
    As he strolled back toward the green, a carriage bowled past him, sending up a cloud of dust from the rain-parched road. Julius brushed himself down. By the time he reached the inn, the carriage was outside the house across on the other side, together with another. The Mertons must be having an at home day.
    So why should he not call? It would be polite to enquire after her health. In all his perambulations, he had not forgotten Eve, merely tried to put her at the back of his mind. But the memory of her sweet body pressed against his proved persistent, and despite his better judgment, he acknowledged a longing to feel it again.
    Julius strode around the perimeter of the green. Two sheep grazed peacefully there, keeping the grass down. A pond in the middle featured a few ducks swimming on the water and waddling around the edge. Behind the pond, a great tree grew, similar to the oak he was leaning against.
    As he rounded the edge of the green, a brown duck waddled in his direction. With a wry grin, he showed the creature his empty hands. It carried on coming and then veered off and headed for the inn instead. It probably had a regular port of call there. Just like a London gossip, crowding him for tidbits.
    Smiling, Julius strolled through the open gate and rapped smartly on the door. A servant opened it, and he delivered his message.
    “Mr. Vernon, here to enquire after Miss Merton’s health.” He had no cards, not in that name, at any rate.
    The maid glared at him before turning abruptly and striding into the shady depths of the house. A minute later, she returned. “If you’ll come this way, sir.” A woman of comfortable proportions, she seemed afflicted by a chill, as her sniff when she led him indoors proclaimed.
    Since nobody had taken his hat or gloves, Julius stuffed his gloves in his pocket and removed his hat, holding it in one hand.
    He entered a room already full. The modest space held, besides Miss Merton, an older lady, two gentlemen, and two other young ladies. The sun poured in through a window at the back of the house, which overlooked a charming private garden.