Read An Honorable Wish (A Lady's Wish 2) for Free Online Page B

Juliet had left them.
    Tony wasn’t sorry for the interruption. One more moment and he would have been kissing her. And kissing Juliet Townsend was the last thing he needed to be thinking about. “You weren’t interrupting anything.” He began walking to the edge of the garden.
    Aaron walked beside him, not taking his eyes off Juliet’s retreating back. “She’s quite pretty.”
    “Who?”
    “Miss Townsend. Do you think you could make sure she comes along tomorrow?”
    “We’ll see.”
    Secretly, he wanted Juliet at the Lodge, along with plenty of witnesses, in case Mr. Bartleby came calling. There was something about the man that grated on his nerves. He had an air of entitlement that made Tony instantly hate him.
    Tony had seen the same type of man in the gaming hells and at the card tables. Sharks come to feed on the unwary. He had played the games long enough to recognize them. Bartleby had that look.
    He found Juliet already by the cart, talking softly to Miss Williams. Juliet was reassuring her, judging from the look on their faces. Tony understood Miss Williams’s fear. Bartleby would take what he wanted and thumb his nose at any broken laws. Penelope Williams was a lovely young woman, and he’d already threatened her once.
    Penelope had been terrified when she came looking for them in the fields earlier. He and Aaron had already started back to the house for a bit of lunch when she caught up with them and breathlessly explained the situation. Tony had suffered a panic that he’d not experienced before. According to Miss Williams, Juliet had been in danger.
    He’d slowed before rounding the corner of the house. He hadn’t wanted to alert Bartleby of his presence. He’d seen the way the man had treated Juliet before, seen her revulsion. She was definitely much safer at the Lodge. Tony would have a word with Nathaniel about him.
    “I’ll send a note about tomorrow,” Tony heard Juliet say to Penelope.
    “Don’t, Miss Juliet. He might come back.” Miss Williams’s voice was just a whisper.
    “Don’t worry about him,” Juliet said confidently.
    The little fool was purposefully putting herself in Bartleby’s way for some reason, perhaps to prove this crazy idea of hers that the man was a thief. Tony took Juliet’s hand and helped her into the cart.
    “Please give our thanks to your family for the ham,” Mrs. Williams said, coming into the park from the house to bid them farewell.
    “I will,” Juliet said with a smile.
    Tony climbed into the cart and placed the now empty basket between them. He took the reins and motioned the horses to start. As the cart pulled away, he said, “Perhaps you can tell me what you were discussing with Miss Williams?”
    Juliet didn’t look at him. Instead she folded her hands in her lap, the only sign of her nervousness her fingers working at the dirt on them. “There’s nothing to say. Thank you for stepping in with Mr. Bartleby, though it wasn’t necessary.”
    “So I noticed.” He slowed the horses to a stop once they were out of sight of the Williams house.
    “Why are we stopping? Won’t we be late for tea?”
    Tony jumped down and led the horse and cart farther off the road. He wanted a private conversation with Juliet Townsend. “It’s time for a chat.”
    He held out his hand for her to take. Juliet’s eyes widened as she took in where they were, off the main road, with no one nearby. “Surely you aren’t going to pull the same tactics as Bartleby.”
    Tony winced. How could she believe that of him? “You know me better than that.”
    Juliet remained in the cart with a stubborn expression on her face, refusing to take his hand. “There’s nothing for us to discuss.”
    He held out his hand, feigning a patience he did not feel. “I know a pond where you can wash the dirt from your hands.”
    Juliet finally relented, placing her hand in his and allowing him to help her from the cart. They followed an overgrown path to a small pond. Tony and