Page 60 of Reforming the Rakish Marquess

“Henry! Good to see you, old man.”

Henry laughed. “And always a pleasure to see you. I must be off, though.”

“Indeed,” Matt said, letting Henry pass.

Matt shifted his focus to Jude. “What was that about? Has something occurred?”

“Come and take a seat,” Jude said.

He did as Jude instructed and was rewarded with a snifter of brandy.

“I appreciate you coming right away, Matt. I didn’t have anyone else to discuss this matter with.”

“Of course. Is this related to Gordon?”

Jude nodded, then took a healthy sip of his drink. “I learnt he had a sizable amount of debts he couldn’t afford to pay. He thought his inheritance after Edward died would be much larger than it was, not realizing that most of the funds were left to Juliana. The man started running up debts and gambling and ended up spending almost all of what he had. When he realized the amount of his inheritance, he came after Juliana to obtain the funds from her.”

“It doesn’t matter what the man says. He isn’t entitled to any of Juliana’s funds. Surely you know that.”

“Of course,” Jude said, “but I have ensured he will not dare to bother her again.”

Matt’s brow furrowed. “You bought up his markers, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Jude held his head high, knowing his friend might think him mad.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on here?” Matt asked suspiciously.

“I can’t.” This was one thing he could not share, not without Juliana’s permission. Jude drained the remaining contents of his glass.

Matt nodded in understanding. “I won’t ask you to betray something shared in confidence. How do you wish for me to help?”

“I don’t believe the incident is related, but I was attacked last night, and with the woman I saw in front of my home, I wanted you to know in the event that something were to go wrong, so you could ensure Juliana is protected.”

Matt leaned forward in his seat. “You were attacked? What are you talking about?”

Jude waved him off. “It was a group of thugs hoping to get a stash of coin. I wasn’t carrying anything.”

“Yet you called me here, so you have reason to be concerned.”

“I am just being overly cautious. I can’t allow any harm to come to Juliana.” He would give his own life before that happened. The realization made it increasingly more difficult for him to keep himself from acknowledging how deeply in love with her he was.

Matt stared at him. “Are you going to tell me what is going on between you and Juliana?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Jude lied. He was certain he knew exactly what Matt suspected. He couldn’t confess his love, until he mustered the courage to speak the words to Juliana.

“I think you do. You are different, my friend.”

Jude laughed. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not at all. It’s quite good, now that I think about it. You seem relaxed, at ease even. Like you have torn down the walls you had built around yourself. I just hope you are in earnest when it comes to the lady.”

Jude’s expression changed to a frown. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“She is not a lady to dally with. She is a friend to all of us, and none of us will take kindly to her being hurt in any way.”

“And you believe I would do so?” Jude asked, biting back his anger.

It was a fair concern based on what Jude’s friends believed they knew about him, for which he only had himself to blame. It didn’t mean it irked him any less.