A Friendly Alliance (Heirs of Berkshire, #1) Read online

  A Friendly Alliance

  Johanna Evelyn

  Copyright c 2019 by Johanna Evelyn

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product to the author’s very active imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  A Friendly Alliance/Johanna Evelyn —1st ed.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

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  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Author’s Note

  The Barrister’s Challenge

  Thank You

  About the author

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  Chapter One

  Juliana picked her way through the oak trees, lifting her skirts as she walked through the thick brush, carefully stepping so she wouldn’t catch mud on the hem.

  Her pockets held seeds and breadcrumbs to feed the ducks that languished on the lake near her father’s estate. As her place of solitude, she’d visited it often over the thirteen years she’d been on this earth, and not a soul minded. Well, maybe one soul minded, but he was most likely getting ready for London.

  The lake bordered her property a mile from the house, nestled perfectly down a slight hill. The area was covered with oaks, some of them pollard, causing them to look gnarled and gothic. She often slipped away from her nanny to relax by its bank, always making the trek on foot. The peace it offered rivaled nothing she’d yet to experience. She tried not to think about the fact that all her friends already had a governess long before now. Her father’s failure in doing so was being remedied this very day, so she needn’t have any more room to complain. Her father loved her but still thought her a child.

  Just as she was making her way down the slope leading to the lake, she heard a splash in the water. Ducking behind a tree, she peered around, fixing her blue eyes on the lake. The Earl of Alder Court’s son Peter was swimming in it, his long arms slicing through the water.

  Her bottom lip curled outwards at the thought of not being able to see the ducks. Her morning had been wasted by him. He always found a way to ruin her fun. This lake was hers; he really shouldn’t even be here right now. Without thinking, she pressed forward, moving closer down the slope.

  She watched as he now lazily did backstrokes, his arms easily keeping him afloat. The trees shade cast dappled light on his relaxed features, and she envied his easy escape.

  Juliana froze as she noticed what he was wearing, or not wearing. Peter was dressed only in his underclothes. She turned her eyes to the bank and spied the cast-off clothing. A smile crept over her features as she moved in closer to get a better look, curiosity getting the better of her. Peter never took her seriously, now it was her turn to level the playing field a little.

  She and her father had frequently been invited to Alder Court because they were such close neighbors. They had played together very often, and he’d become the brother she never had. She would have the upper hand in the teasing game now. Excitement at the prospect caused her to press forward without much thought.

  She stopped, steadying herself on a tree. Peter was only five years older than her, but she felt he had the maturity of a full-grown man starring at him like this. She pushed that thought aside when she realized how much she was intruding, and how very inappropriate this situation really was. Juliana stepped back, planning on backtracking home. If she was caught spying on him, she’d get a tongue lashing from her nanny, or worse yet, her father.

  As she turned to leave, her foot came in contact with the slick mud and she slipped. Grasping at the trunk of a tree with a cry, she spared herself from falling. She turned her head to the lake to assure herself she’d gone unnoticed. But Peter’s full attention was on her.

  He swam closer to the bank and stood, blinking wildly at her. “Juliana?” he paused, wiping at the water from his eyes as if she would disappear from his view. Mortification fell like a rock in her stomach, knowing she was not indeed an apparition. When he looked again and still found her there, his tone changed. “Were you—spying on me?” Indignation rang through every word he spoke.

  “No!” she shot back. “I was coming to feed the ducks.”

  Peter waded out of the lake towards his clothes and began to dress. “It’s highly unconventional for a young lady to spy on a man in his underclothes.”

  His honey-colored curls were dark and limp from the water, causing his hair to look much longer as it didn’t curl about his neck. Juliana resisted the urge to cross her arms. “I wasn’t spying,” she argued, her brows drawn.

  Peter dried his hair with a thin towel, his curls bouncing back to where they belonged. “You do understand that this lake belongs to me?”

  “It does not Peter Seton! This lake has been in my family for ages, I can show you the papers to prove it!” She’d never actually seen the papers before, but she’d overheard her father talking to his solicitor about it once. “Besides, no one loves it the way I do, I’ve been tending it my entire life!”

  “A lake does not need tending,” Peter shot back with a smile.

  Relief that Peter was not irritated with her any longer engulfed her, and she stood straighter. “Does too! I’ve cleared a spot by its bank every spring so I could feed the ducks.”

  “Well, I’ve been swimming in it since before you were born! The lake belongs to me.”

  “You are only five years my senior. I highly doubt that!”

  He let out a chuckle and she had to work hard at not showing him her smile. He was winning this argument merely because he was allowed to be here, and she was not. His claim was stronger by the sheer fact of his gender. She lost all thought of his attire at the prospect.

  She’d use leverage to win the dispute. “I may allow you to swim in it if you let me join you in a hunt this season.”

  She waited for his scolding, but he laughed instead, waving his hand at her. “Run along to your nanny.”

  Juliana stood to her full height, lifting her chin. “I have a governess now; she comes this very day.”

  Peter had finished dressing by now, his loose white shirt and grey trousers gave him a casual air. He held his overcoat around his arm as he stepped to her, edging his way up the hill. “Moving up in the world, I see.” His brown eyes were laughing at her.

  He stood a full foot taller than her but she remained where she was on the slope so she could match his height. “Yes, but you have not answered my request for the hunt.”

  Peter leaned an arm against a trunk and cocked a brow. “I’ll let you join the hunt when you can shoot three targets in a row with your bow and arrow.” He smiled, goading her further. “I seem to remember you struggling with archery at my mother’s
last picnic.”

  Juliana frowned. She so desperately wanted to master the bow but struggled with hitting her targets. And the fact that he was using it against her caused her temper to flare.

  “You must teach me.” She glared at him, trying to come up with a way, any way, to get him to agree besides what he offered.

  “I must not. I am too busy—” he paused, and a slow mischievous smile crawled up his face,“—away hunting.” He pushed off the trunk and backed away from her.

  She stomped her foot. “Then how am I to learn?” She knew he was baiting her on purpose, but she couldn’t control her feelings. He had intruded on her solitude and was mocking her now.

  Peter tousled her hair before retreating down the slope slightly. He turned back to her with a smile. “You best practice while I am away.”

  She stumbled down the slope catching up to him. “Where are you going?”

  “Mother wants to introduce me in London.”

  “For the season?” He was confirming her suspicions. She was losing her friend. She’d resisted the impulse to think of him as a man, but the undeniable proof stared at her. He was leaving her behind. Not just in going to London, but in childhood.

  He nodded with a smile. “She wants me to start acting like a respectable young man.”

  “But you just returned from school,” she willed his usual reassurance. The need to put things back as they were before sunk into her heart.

  “Yes, and now that I have passed my exams, I must become acquainted with society.” He winked at her before turning away and heading back to Alder Court.

  She watched him as he moved out of sight. Something inside her felt hollow as he disappeared from view. Juliana turned up the slope, forced to go back home to her father where her new governess awaited. Peter was lost to her now, her playmate from her youth had turned into a man in front of her eyes, ready to become stuffy and old. Though Peter would probably call it distinguished. Her smile returned at the thought.

  Chapter Two

  Five Years Later

  Juliana tucked a piece of toast drizzled with honey into her mouth. She lifted her eyes to her father, who sifted through the morning mail across from her.

  “Your aunt and uncle are coming next week to take you to London.” Juliana’s father’s voice was low and guarded. “Have I told you?”

  “Many times. I am grateful to them—and you of course, for letting me go.” Finally, Juliana kept that thought to herself. Showing respect for her father would go much further than letting her temper get the better of her as she had learned long ago.

  He huffed, tossing a few letters onto the table. “I still think you should wait until next year.”

  “You’ve insisted I wait until this year,” Juliana forced a smile. They’d been over this many times in the last few weeks. Her father had tried to throw excuses at her to keep her by his side. “You’re afraid I’ll get swept up by a man with no prospects or money, aren’t you?” she teased.

  He grunted, refusing to look at her. “You would do very well to remain here as an old maid,” he said under his breath.

  She smiled at his sour mood. Her father doted on her, giving her much of his attention, something that wasn’t common amongst her friends. She knew well, how lucky she was to have such a loving father.

  He opened the final piece of mail, scanning its contents. “The Setons are putting together a hunting party tomorrow,” he paused, his eyes moving over the paper again. “I’m invited.”

  Juliana nearly dropped her toast. “Will you go?” She eagerly leaned into the table to get a better look at the invitation.

  He shook his head, folding up the note. “No. No, I don’t think I will. Getting too old for these things, you know.” He brought his eyes to hers with a grin. Father knew her obsession with the hunt. But like Peter, had been obstinate in his resolve at refusing her this pleasure.

  Juliana coaxed her voice into the sweetest tones possible. “May I go in your stead, please father?”

  His eyes met hers as he frowned. “Out on a hunt with the men? I don’t think so, Juliana. Best stay here with me. It is too dangerous for a girl.”

  She clenched her jaw before regaining her composure. “You know how well I ride. There will be no danger. Peter will look after me.”

  He turned to her, a worried expression in his aging eyes. He was contemplating the risks. If he wouldn’t allow her to ride in the hunt, how was he to be placid about her going to London? He’d contrive a reason for her to stay, just as he had last year.

  She changed the subject, hoping to turn his thoughts from the hunt. “I’ve been practicing with my bow.” She’d practiced steadfastly every day while Peter went off to London. Her father had been impressed with her improvement. She pressed him further. “The Setons won’t mind. Peter has promised to take me if I can prove I’d do well.”

  Her father rubbed at his bearded chin, narrowing his eyes at her. “Would do Lord Seton some good to see your improvement with the bow. You know, he told me just last week that girls were of no use to a father. Should prove him wrong to see your skill.” He turned his proud eyes to her. She did not take for granted the affection in his voice when he talked of her accomplishments. She was fortunate to have such a loving father.

  She smiled affectionately at him. “I shall do you proud. Please say yes.”

  “I suppose if Peter will look after you—he is responsible. He’ll make sure you stay out of trouble.”

  Juliana took her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation before she could stop herself. “Father, I’m quite capable of keeping myself out of trouble if I so choose.”

  “Quite right,” he said, cutting into a pastry and chewing it slowly. “Yes,” The long pause showed her how unwilling he was in this endeavor as well. “You may go if you must.”

  Juliana’s smile stretched. “Thank you!”

  He smiled dotingly on her before dabbing his napkin to his mustache and throwing it onto the table. He stood, moving to his study, no doubt to look over his unusual collection of leaf prints.

  Traipsing off to London would be hard for him, and if she were being honest with herself, it would be an adjustment for her as well. But she was not getting any younger and she so wanted to see more of the world. She had never left Berkshire though it was just a stone’s throw from London. Silvia, a friend in her neighborhood, had taken a season every year since she could walk and had boasted the fact every chance she got. Benham Park would always be Juliana’s home, but at times she wondered at her father’s domestic disposition. Ever since her mother died, he’d been afraid of so many things.

  She stood, leaving the breakfast room alone. Once she knew her father was comfortable, she walked to Alder Court in search of Peter. She counted herself lucky to have found a soul like Peter’s to act as her elder brother. His siblings had all passed at birth, leaving him soul survivor to continue the family name. And she was an only child as well, her mother having passed in the childbirth of her sister, who had followed her mother in death. Juliana was but six years of age at the time and could hardly remember her mother’s face.

  She strolled onto Peter’s lawn and into the back stables, hoping to catch him before he went on his morning ride, her bow strung across her shoulder.

  The stable hand, John, brushed Peter’s stallion, his eyes seeking hers curiously.

  “You waiting for master Peter?” His smile grew as she stepped into the yard. The man before her had been a servant here since she could remember, his hair turning to grey from the happier color of his youth, causing him to look older than he really was.

  “Yes.” She smiled at him, patting Beast’s muzzle as he nickered up to her.

  Peter arrived shortly after, his eyebrows raised as he spotted her bow and pack of arrows. “You heard about tomorrow’s hunt, then?”

  “I have. And I’ve come to prove I would be a valuable addition to the party.”

  He grinned at her answer, taking his eyes to John. “I will not be
riding Beast this morning, have Jacob take him out to give him his head. I want him ready for the hunt tomorrow.” He turned back to Juliana, his smile growing. “You really think you are ready for a hunt?” His tone was condescending as he teased her.

  She smacked him but he tugged her hand into his with a laugh. “By all means; test your skills.” He didn’t let her hand fall as he pulled her to the archery range.

  Juliana shrugged away from his grasp before squaring her shoulders and marching her way in front of the line of targets. Taking a deep breath, she drew an arrow from her pack to fit it precariously on the bow. Making sure her stance was strong, she eyed the bullseye on the first target, aimed, and released the arrow. Its quiver sailed straight and sure.

  With a quick thwack, the arrow lodged itself on the very edge of the bullseye. Still counts, she thought before removing another arrow and aiming at the second target. She focused, willing her aim to be true. It hit the center of the target, and she smiled smugly to herself. Her practice was finally paying off.

  Peter didn’t make a sound behind her, only watched.

  She faced the third and final target, confident she would hit the bullseye. Releasing the third arrow, her heart plummeted in dismay as it hit just outside the bullseye. She pressed her lips together, then spun to face Peter.

  He clapped slowly. “Well done, too bad about that last one, I will surely miss you on the hunt tomorrow.” His last word held a teasing hint, and she had to work hard at not falling into his trap.

  “As I recall, The Honorable Lord Seton, when we made our deal several years past, you said you would take me on a hunt if I could hit three targets. You never specified where.” She tried to force her smile away as she played with his title, adding a double meaning to its formal air.

  “It was implied,” he said dryly.

  Frustration bubbled in her chest before she stamped it down to start her persuasion. “I am leaving next week for my first season, who knows? I may find an eligible suiter and never have the chance to hunt with your party again.”