Read Online The Accidental Countess by Valerie Bowman - Free Book Online Page B

only the best for his closest friend. She meant a great deal to him. So much that when he believed he was dying, his first thought hadn’t been for himself or even Penelope. No. It had been for Cassandra. Hunt had been there, his face a stone mask, trying his damnedest not to look as if he knew his friend was already dead. He’d pressed his kerchief against the flow of blood from the bullet that had torn through Julian’s chest. Hunt had clenched his fist and his jaw and Julian had known right then that his friend would do anything he asked. His dying wish. What had it been? Hunt had already promised to tell his mother and Daphne in person, let them both know how much Julian loved them. That would be taken care of, no question. That day on the blood-soaked battlefield, he’d made Hunt promise to return to London and marry Cassandra. Julian had known from her letters that she was still unmarried. She needed someone, someone good, someone strong, someone who would take care of her and treat her well. Hunt was the perfect candidate. Or so Julian had thought.
    “Whoever he is, he’s a lucky man,” Julian said, absently rubbing a hand through his hair.
    “And you haven’t even seen her yet,” Daphne said under her breath.
    Julian glanced up and narrowed his eyes on his sister. “What was that?”
    “Oh, nothing. Nothing,” Daphne replied, turning back to her letter.
    Julian leaned back in his chair. It didn’t matter. He wished Cassandra well in her match, but marriage was the furthest thing from his own mind. He intended to put an end to his almost engagement and then go in search of his brother. Fate had intervened and made a mess of things. His brother was on the Continent in harm’s way and Julian was here, safe in London. He needed to right that wrong.
    Julian looked across the room at his mother and his sister. He hadn’t informed them of his intentions of ending things with Penelope. Better to do it first and then explain afterward. But he knew what he had to do. The weeks of recovery had taught him something he couldn’t forget. He couldn’t live his life as a lie. Marrying Penelope would be a lie. His sense of honor had warred with his gut instincts, but in the end, he knew he must put an end to their agreement. He didn’t even know Penelope, certainly didn’t love her. He hadn’t been thinking about her as his blood seeped into foreign soil. No. He’d been thinking about Cassandra, Cassandra whom he only remembered as a young girl. She’d asked him for a kiss for her sixteenth birthday. He smiled at the memory. She’d been a scrawny little thing, all arms and legs, knees and elbows, but she’d certainly had the potential to turn into a beauty. Perhaps not one as gorgeous as, say, Patience Bunbury, but a good-looking young woman just the same. What did Cassandra look like today? Once he arrived in Surrey, perhaps he’d write to his friend Owen, Cassandra’s older brother, and see if he was in residence in the country, too. It would be good to see both siblings again.
    Julian’s first goal was to find Pen and end things. His second goal had been to find Cassandra and … what? See her? Thank her? Tell her that she’d changed his entire life? It sounded idiotic in his thoughts. He could only imagine how it would sound in person.
    His third goal was to return to the Continent, with or without permission, and help in the search for Donald and Rafe.
    But first things first, hence his planned trip out to the countryside tomorrow to attend a house party. He supposed it had been fortunate, his running into Lady Worthing and Miss Bunbury. If he hadn’t met the two ladies at Penelope’s house three days ago, he might not have known where Penelope had gone off to and he certainly couldn’t have arrived uninvited. It had been quite fortunate, indeed.
    “I cannot wait to hear all about the house party,” Daphne said with a sigh. “It almost makes me wish I had been invited. And I detest house