Page 5

Lord Campton released her, confusion written on his face. “Is something wrong?”

Juliet, whose nerves were frayed by the journey and the awkwardness of the situation, could only force a smile. “Yes, Father. I am…I am Juliet.”

Algernon stuttered, looking between the ladies. “Oh, I thought…”

“It has been years since you have laid eyes upon her.” The woman next to him excused his mistake with a shrug of her shoulders. “Has it not been a decade? I could barely recognize her myself. I suppose she couldn’t recognize me either.”

“It’s been eleven years and four months,” Juliet corrected. “And I suppose you are the Countess. Word of my father’s remarriage had reached the ears of those in my nunnery.”

The woman fanned herself for a moment before she replied with a nod. Beside them, Algernon cleared his throat and made a formal introduction.

“Juliet, meet my wife, Dinah Wycliffe, the Countess of Campton. My Lady, this is Juliet, my daughter.”

Juliet curtsied to her stepmother with a strained smile, not surprised when she received another nod of acknowledgement. It was almost comical how they both took a step back, as though they were both eager to be out of each other’s way.

Finally, Algernon extended his arms to his daughter. “Juliet, I…I’m glad you could come.”

“I wasn’t left with much of a choice,” countered Juliet as she stepped away from his attempted embrace.

“I trust your journey was pleasant. Perhaps you would like to freshen up before we discuss the purpose of your visit,” Dinah added, affectionately linking arms with her husband.

Juliet followed the movement with a schooled look. Her stepmother had passed along a subtle message which had not been lost on her.

“Thank you, Lady Campton. I would appreciate that.”

“Leila, if you would assist Juliet with her belongings?” Dinah’s tone instantly became authoritative.

As she turned to her chaperone, Juliet had no doubt about just how much power her stepmother held. The young lady had entertained her all throughout the journey back home. Juliet was glad to have had her company.

She nodded as Leila wordlessly moved towards the entrance with her bags. They followed the Countess towards the stairs, noting how she clung to her husband, inadvertently causing him to accompany them.

As they ascended, Juliet couldn’t shake the feeling of being a stranger in her own home.

“I do have siblings, I suppose?” Juliet turned to the Countess.

“Of course, three. Isabella, Colin, and Thomas,” replied the Countess with a haughty smile.

“Oh. They sound lovely. How old are they?”

The Earl cleared his throat and quickly replied. “Isabella is twelve. Colin is ten, and Thomas is eight years old.”

“When shall I get to meet them?” Juliet asked.

She’d half expected that the children would have been present to welcome her alongside her father and stepmother.

“Oh, much later, dear. They are currently occupied with their studies and will join us for lunch. I suggest you wash away the stress of the journey and make yourself comfortable,” Dinah quickly replied, gesturing to the man waiting for them at the top of the stairs. “Luke will show you to your room.”

Juliet nodded absently, feeling strangely dismissed, and wondered why the Countess failed to expand upon the topic of her children.

The butler bowed and led her to an exquisite room at the far end of the hallway.

It wasn’t her old room, and something in her twisted painfully at the glaring proof that her father’s life had indeed progressed without her.

He had left nothing around to remember her at all.

With a deep sigh, Juliet walked into the room they had prepared, relieved that she wouldn’t need to climb too many stairs for the short period she would be staying there.

After unpacking her few toiletries, Juliet quickly washed away the grime of travel in the bath that had been prepared in anticipation of her arrival. Her mind was preoccupied with questioning thoughts about her family and the disquieting atmosphere that pervaded the air around her.