Page 24 of A Lovely White Christmastide (Me, Mistletoe, and Marriage #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

J ulianna crept out of her room into the dark hallway, a candle in hand. The maid had brought a tray up, but she’d finished the contents hours ago. Her stomach grumbled again as she pulled the door closed.

“Finally.”

Julianna jumped at the masculine voice, dropping her candle in the process. Thankfully the flame flickered out before landing on the hall carpet. There would be a wax stain, but at least it would not have scorch marks.

Moonlight illuminated the hall from the far windows, allowing her to see Daniel’s silhouette in the darkness.

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“At this time of night?”

“Morning, you mean. It’s far past midnight.”

She tried to stifle the smile that pulled at her lips, not wanting to encourage him. Then again, it was dark. If she could not see his face, he could not see hers.

“All right, what are you doing here this early in the morning?” Dash it all, she heard the smile in her words. How did an expression contort such a simple phrase to sound delighted rather than accusatory?

He stepped closer. “Waiting to grovel.”

A laugh sputtered out of her. How could she stay upset with him after such a forthright admission? But his words had hurt and that pain had not fully dissipated.

“I believe when men grovel they do it on their knees,” she finally said.

“Forgive me, I am an inexperienced groveler.” He moved to kneel in front of her and a breeze fluttered her dressing gown.

Julianna cringed. She was in her dressing gown , her hair completely undone and hanging nearly to her waist. Sheer rebellion had led her to undo her plait after the maid left and now she regretted it. She was not sure what to do first, gather her hair or pull her gown tighter around her. In the end, she settled for wrapping her arms around her midsection.

“Is this better?” Daniel asked in a husky voice.

She shivered. “I suppose.”

“Julianna, I am sorry I questioned your plan. I know nothing is foolproof. Years of battles have taught me that even the most brilliant strategy has extenuating circumstances that can make the plan go awry. Please forgive me.”

The awkwardness of standing over him overcame her and she crouched in front of him. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark making the earnest intent evident on his face.

“No, Daniel.” She fumbled to find his hands, holding them tightly in hers. “It is I who needs to apologize. I should not have run away. You had every right to question. I get these ideas in my head and do not think them through before rushing forward like a river plunging over a cliff. Beth is always telling me to be more cautious, that people can get hurt, but I keep going without much thought.”

He clutched her hands to his chest. “But sometimes it saves people.”

She began to shake her head, but he pushed on. “It can. I cannot tell you how many times in the heat of battle a thought or an instinct saved me or my soldiers' lives. The world needs people like you and me, Julianna. We may not always be right, but without your insight, Bingham would have never known how much your sister’s necklace meant to her.”

“But I sent him out in a storm. I endangered his life for a mere piece of silver. If he dies, I will be responsible and Beth may never forgive me.”

Daniel pulled her close as they sat upon the floor.

Another voice joined theirs in the darkness. “I suppose it is good that I am returned then. I would hate to be the cause of any sisterly estrangement.”

Both Julianna and Daniel scrambled to their feet.

“Bingham, is that you?” Daniel asked.

“In the flesh.”

“Well, that is a relief after we have been discussing the possibility that you became a ghost.”

Bingham chuckled. “I am not a ghost, but I now know how the ices at Gunters feel, and it’s not pleasant.”

“We should get you before a fire, then,” Julianna said.

“I am not speaking about this moment. The ride today was quite pleasant. But I almost became a lordly icicle on the way to the posting inn where we left your family’s coach to be repaired.”

Julianna’s chest pinched and her cheeks flamed red. “I am so very sorry. I never should have?—”

“Yes, you should have. If not, your family might never have recovered the coach as the innkeeper was trying to pawn it off to the highest bidder.”

“No!”

“Yes. Apparently he did not realize I was one of the parties who’d traveled in the conveyance and assumed I was just another wealthy man who came to inquire after the stolen property. When I arrived he offered to sell me the coach for a hundred pounds.”

“You did not have to pay to get it back, did you?”

Bingham took up a seat near the window. “Of course not, but I did offer to have him brought up on charges and reminded him that theft of that magnitude was a hanging offense. It seems being threatened by a lord is enough to make a man rethink his life choices. Unfortunately it was not soon enough, however.”

“How so?”

“He’d already sold Beth’s necklace.”

“But I thought you said you had it.”

“I do. That is why I am so late. It took me a week to track it down. But the family who purchased the item was more than happy to return the piece to me.”

“And the innkeeper?” Daniel asked.

“In gaol, but not by my hand. It seems the gentleman that bought the necklace also found several of his wife’s items missing after staying at the establishment.”

“I cannot say I am unhappy with the outcome.” Julianna bent to pick up the candle holder, scooping up the candle with her other hand. “The man has probably stolen dozens of things before, but what made him think we’d not notice something as big as a coach?”

The leather creaked as Bingham shifted toward the light coming in through the glass. “Apparently, when people would come searching for their possessions, the innkeeper would tell them they were taken to another inn. The village had several. After the owners of the possessions made the rounds between them all, they’d be so confused as to where their belongings had been taken, that they could not sensibly accuse anyone.”

“That’s despicable.”

The idea that someone routinely took advantage of unsuspecting travelers turned Julianna’s stomach. A flash in the moonlight caught her attention when Bingham pulled something out of his pocket.

“This is the necklace, is it not?”

Julianna moved closer to inspect it. The light from the window glinted off of the oval locket with vine-like scrolling around the edges. She undid the clasp, allowing the front to fall open on its tiny hinge, and there staring back at her was her mother.

Tenderly she ran a finger along the edge of the miniature. “This is it.” Julianna glanced up into Bingham’s relieved face.

He smiled and carefully took the piece back. “That is a relief. Having never seen your mother, I worried. But it resembled your description so completely that I relied on your words and prayed I’d interpreted them correctly.”

“Beth will be so pleased to have it back. She is sure to forgive you.”

Tucking the necklace back in his pocket, Bingham shook his head slowly. “Perhaps if I’d relied as heavily on Beth’s illustration of love as I did on your description of her necklace, there would be no need for forgiveness. But even if she does not have any room left in her heart for me, I am happy to have done this one last thing to bring her comfort.”

“It is not the very last thing. You still must sing with her.”

Daniel drew closer to Julianna, bringing with him the comfort of knowing he would support her.

“If she will let me.” Bingham sighed.

“She will,” Julianna insisted.