“You may not,” her father said. He addressed Ash, finally acknowledging his presence. “We have to thank you for your hard work, sir, but apart from requesting your presence should a trial become necessary, we will take our daughter back now.”
Just as they’d always treated her. Like she was a parcel. “I can’t come.”
“You will do as you are told,” her mother said. She turned to Ash. “We will abide by the terms of the bond, and produce Lady Uppingham at court if she is required there. But we can’t leave her here. You understand.”
Ash walked across the room to stand by her side, his hand protectively on the back of her chair. “I’m afraid I don’t.”
Lord Hawksworth heaved a great sigh. “Your obstinacy is really quite tiring.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “However, if you must...”
He straightened, and fixed his gaze on Ash, who met it, standing straight, his head up. “We have received information about you that we find most disturbing, Humiliation Hoskins.”
Juliana felt rather than saw Ash’s tension. That name meant more to him than she knew. Still puzzled, she waited for a clue.
“Was your brother Sorry-For-Sin Hoskins?” her father rapped out.
The back of Juliana’s chair vibrated. She feared Ash would snap the sturdy wood in two. “He was.”
Wait. She knew that name. Who could forget such an outrageous first name? She strained to remember what happened. About ten years ago, when she was a mere child of fifteen.
Sorry-For-Sin Hoskins had tried to assassinate the king, claiming that he was a tyrant. He was taken away. “Was he hanged?”
“Transported.” Her parents spared her a glance. “I see you remember.”
“He died later,” Ash said quietly.
That explained a few things that had been puzzling her. Like the name of Ash’s sister, Silence. What kind of parents gave their children such names?
Puritans.
That would explain the motives of Sorry-For-Sin Hoskins. Some Puritans still believed in the Commonwealth, and resented the Restoration, called it an invasion. But she’d seen no evidence of anything like that since she’d been here. She was not in a nest of traitors. There was no sedition here.
And why did they have two different surnames?
“I won’t go,” she said. “I’m here under bond.”
“He can release you if he wishes.” The earl addressed Ash, “She is no longer under suspicion of murder.”
“She is not,” Ash said. “But if Lady Uppingham wishes to stay here, then she is welcome to do so.”
“If she stays here, we will contest the bond,” her father said. “That will bring you back to the public’s attention.”
Fury simmered low in Juliana. “Are you threatening him?”
Her father’s expression of studied surprise convinced her, even before he spoke. “Why would I do such a thing? But his brother’s activities are not forgotten, and I strongly recall someone saying at the trial that his home life contributed to his behavior. Your host has disguised his identity fully.”
Ash shook his head. “We never made any secret of who we were.”
“But you did not announce it.” The earl folded his hands over his considerable paunch, his smile broadening. Juliana hated that smile. He knew he’d won.
“No, why should I?” Ash said, irritation tightening his voice. “I would ask you to leave my house, and kindly return her ladyship’s belongings to her chamber.”
“Then I cannot help the consequences.” Ponderously, Hawksworth got to his feet. “Come, madam. We have done all we can to spare our daughter this further scandal.”
Juliana saw the results of her decision all too clearly. The mob would likely return, this time for Ash and his family. He would be ruined, his occupation destroyed forever. Nobody would do business with the brother of a traitor. Even though the king was tolerated rather than loved, he was, after all, the king.
Some thanks that would be.
Fury at her father’s manipulation warred with her exasperation at Ash. Why hadn’t he told her, prepared her for this? She could have worked something out if she’d known. But he kept everything too close. And why had Amelia not told her? Surely she had proved they could trust her. Now she had to put right the mess they had created.
She stood and shook out her skirts. “Very well. I will come with you.”
“Juliana!”
At least she had shocked Ash into using her given name.
He stepped next to her. “You can’t have considered. You cannot go.”
Ignoring her parents, she turned and faced him. “I have to. Otherwise they will do their best to destroy you. How can I thank you like that?”
“I’ll speak to you privately, if I may.”
Good, because she didn’t want to see him distressed in front of her parents. And if they fought a tug-of-war for her, she would have to step away. Her father muttered something under his breath, but silenced her mother when she would have spoken with an upraised hand. “Let our daughter say her farewells.”
After curtseying to her parents, and promising to return, she went outside with Ash. They didn’t go into another room, only farther along the corridor where he let rip. “You cannot go! They will reduce you, turn you into what you used to be.”
“Does that matter?” She wouldn’t do that, but she wanted to know what he would say.
“Yes, of course it matters! Under that painted exterior was a lovely woman who deserves so much better.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “And I will have it. I swear to you, my friend, I won’t go back to what I was. You have given me the trust and respect I needed to go forward. You saved my life. How can I repay you by bringing my father’s wrath to your doorstep? No, I will go with them. After
