Tempted Read online

  Tempted

  (The Wicked Woodleys Book 3)

  By

  USA Today Bestseller

  Jess Michaels

  Tempted

  The Wicked Woodleys Book 3

  Copyright © Jesse Petersen, 2015

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  For more information, contact Jess Michaels

  www.AuthorJessMichaels.com

  PO Box 814, Cortaro, AZ 85652-0814

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  Email: [email protected]

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  Dedication

  For Michael, who made my first year as an indie author possible.

  I love you.

  Chapter One

  In her role as healer for the Dowager Marchioness of Woodley, Juliet Gray had been to the palatial estate on the hill dozens and dozens of times in the past four months. Yet every time the gates opened and she saw it rising above her, her heart fluttered wildly. At first the response had been born from nervousness that she would not be able to help the mistress of this house through an illness. Lady Woodley had been very sick when Juliet first arrived and having lost a mother herself, she perfectly understood the grave faces of the dowager’s adult children.

  Later, when the lady was out of danger and only needed support as she recovered, Juliet’s discomfort had come from a feeling of not belonging in such a grand house. Until she had been called upon by the wife of the current marquis to help, Juliet had never served anyone in the titled class. She didn’t know if she was supposed to talk to the lady and her children or try to disappear into the wallpaper so as not to bother them with her commonness. But she had found the entire family to be warm and welcoming, none more than Lady Woodley, herself, so soon that twinge of fear had faded.

  But it had been replaced with another anxiety. One that she scarcely wished to name, even in her own head. One that had to do with Lady Woodley’s third son, Gabriel. Lord Gabriel, if she was to be technical about it, which she always strove to be since she feared if she were too forward, even in the safety of her own mind, she would reveal too much to the world at large.

  Would he be there today? Waiting up in that house with his stern expressions and occasionally furtive glances? With his pointed questions and unexpected…

  No, she mustn’t think about that.

  “You are very pale,” her father said, interrupting her thoughts as their modest carriage came to a stop in the round driveway. They would have exactly twenty seconds now before the door was opened by the servants. Juliet knew them well, after all her visits here.

  She forced a smile for him. “Am I? And what of you? You look as nervous as a schoolboy seeing a girl for the first time!”

  He chuckled, and her heart warmed at the sound. “I suppose it isn’t very often that I am invited the home of a dowager marchioness, is it? I have certainly never accompanied you here before.”

  Juliet somehow maintained her smile, but inside his words echoed her own discomfort. Lady Woodley had never asked her father to accompany Juliet when she called, even though the dowager had spoken of him many a time before.

  “You and Lady Woodley were friends of a sort as children, weren’t you?” she asked.

  Mr. Gray’s face filled with color and he shifted in his seat. “I—well—yes, I suppose. My father worked for hers and we were of an age, so we saw each other often.”

  “Then why be nervous? After all, you are only meeting an old friend.”

  “Yes.” His voice became far away. “An old friend.”

  She might have said more, addressed the strange expression on his handsome face, but at that moment the carriage door opened and she was greeted by the familiar company of one of Lady Woodley’s footmen. He extended a hand to help her out of the rig.

  As she took it, she said, “Good morning, Thomas, thank you.”

  The young man flashed a brilliant smile at her. “Miss Gray.”

  Her father followed in her exit and the footman straightened up immediately. “Sir.”

  “Yes, yes,” Mr. Gray said, still shifting uncomfortably.

  “Go on up, Mr. Vernon is waiting for you,” Thomas said with another of those wide smiles for Juliet.

  She swallowed hard, steeling herself for whatever was about to come, as she took her father’s arm and led him up the wide stairway to the door where the butler awaited them.

  “Good morning, Miss Gray,” Vernon said with a rare smile. “And Mr. Gray, I presume.”

  “Indeed,” Mr. Gray said, and Juliet still heard the anxiousness in his voice. He was truly shaken by this invitation. And she had no idea why it troubled him so much.

  “Lady Woodley is waiting for you in the Yellow Room,” Vernon explained as he motioned for them to follow him down the hallway.

  Juliet had been here so many times, she hardly noticed the opulence around them, but her father seemed taken in by all they saw as they walked up the hallway. He even dragged her back a bit as his stare flitted from art piece to art piece.

  “She did marry well,” he muttered.

  “What?” Juliet whispered.

  “Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head.

  Juliet cast him a side glance as Vernon pushed open the parlor door and stepped inside. “Mr. Gray and Miss Juliet Gray, my lady,” he announced.

  “Of course,” came Lady Woodley’s warm and welcoming voice. A voice that made Juliet smile every time she heard it. “Please come in.”

  Vernon stepped aside and Juliet drew her father into the room. It was a bright, happy room where Juliet knew Lady Woodley conducted mostly family gatherings and business. To be invited into this room meant the lady saw a person as close as family.

  Juliet scanned the room swiftly, but their hostess was the only person in attendance. Gabriel was not with her. A fact that made Juliet’s stomach stop fluttering, but also left her with a faint disappointment she shoved aside immediately.

  “My lady,” Juliet began, expecting Lady Woodley to offer her one of her welcoming smiles, perhaps a squeeze of the hand. But to her surprise, the lady wasn’t looking at her, but behind her where Mr. Gray had come to a halt in the doorway.

  Juliet stepped back and looked between the two. Lady Woodley was pale as parchment paper, her lips thin and her eyes wide. And Juliet’s father was just as pale, supporting himself against the doorjamb as if he couldn’t stand on his own.

  “Susanna,” he finally whispered. “You have not changed, not in all these years.”

  His words seemed to break the spell, for Lady Woodley turned her face with a blush and a faint smile. “Nor have you, Jed.”

  Juliet stared at them. What in the world was happening? She had heard Lady Woodley speak warmly of her father, and she had suspected that perhaps there had once been a childish romantic interest between them, but now she saw a bald emotional connection that was as raw as it was intense.

  She was an intruder here, apparently. More than she had ever suspected.

  She shifted her attention to her father, trying to see him through new eyes. What Lady Woodley said was not true, of course. He had changed, certainly, even in just the years since her mother’s death. He was still strong of body and exceptionally sharp of mind, but his hair had gone gray ten years before and
his face had been lined from lingering grief and too many long nights fiddling with experiments and reading until dawn.

  Still, Juliet had always thought him handsome. And apparently so did the lovely, fine-boned, utterly sophisticated Lady Woodley.

  Lady Woodley suddenly shook her head. “Mr. Gray. Of course I mean Mr. Gray.”

  With a few rapid blinks of his eyes, he straightened up. “Lady Woodley, my apologies for my lack of manners.”

  Lady Woodley ignored the apology and motioned them to the small circle of chairs that were gathered around a low table where tea had been set.

  “Would you like refreshments?” Lady Woodley asked, the only remnants of any emotion between them a slight tremor to her voice.

  Slowly, Juliet approached one of the chairs and settled herself in. Mr. Gray did the same.

  “None for me,” Juliet said, caution in her tone. She suddenly felt like a chaperone and wasn’t certain how to play the part.

  Mr. Gray smiled. “A bit of tea would be lovely.”

  Lady Woodley cast him a quick glance and then poured before she swiftly added two sugars and a dash of milk to the brew. Juliet drew back. That was exactly how her father took his tea, twice a day for the last twenty-five years of her life and probably the entire span of his own.

  Her father removed the cup from Lady Woodley’s suddenly shaking hand and took a small sip. “Perfect,” he said softly.

  Lady Woodley blushed, actually blushed, and Juliet’s hand tightened on her chair arm.

  “Thank you for having us here today,” Juliet said, trying to cut the tension a bit, if only for her own sake. “You are looking very well.”

  “Thanks to you,” Lady Woodley said, shifting her attention to Juliet and gifting her with one of those warm and motherly smiles that Juliet had come to crave since the first moment she had entered Lady Woodley’s chamber. “Jed…Mr. Gray, you do know what a revelation your daughter is? What a gift?”

  Juliet blushed as her father puffed up with pride. “It is always what I’ve said, my lady.”

  “Oh, you two,” Juliet said with a shake of her head. “I did nothing out of the ordinary, Lady Woodley. I simply treated you and prayed that what I did would help. You fought the battle and should take the credit for your recovery.”

  The marchioness arched a fine brow. “You take too little credit, not that I would expect otherwise. You are such a modest young woman and never ask for attention. But you are owed it, my dear, so I hope you will accept, once again, my most sincere gratitude.”

  Juliet tilted her head. There was no use having an argument with the lady. “I do, of course.”

  “I would like to repay you,” Lady Woodley continued.

  Juliet smoothed her hands on her dress reflexively. “I assure you that your eldest son has paid all my fees in full and then some. You owe me nothing else.”

  “But I do,” Lady Woodley said softly. “Juliet, I have come to see you not just as the healer who was called in to assist me, but as a friend. Even a daughter.”

  Juliet swallowed hard, blinking at the tears that leapt to her eyes even as she heard her father suck in a sharp breath through his teeth. “That means so much to me, my lady. More than you shall ever know.”

  It seemed their hostess was also fighting tears, for she blinked before she reached out and covered Juliet’s hand with her own. “I have asked you and your father here today to make a proposition to you.”

  “What sort of proposition?” Juliet worried the inside of her cheek as she awaited the response.

  “Well…” Lady Woodley’s gaze slid to her father. “Mr. Gray, I would like to invite your daughter to accompany me to London for the upcoming holiday season. And because I know that you would not like to be separated from her for very long, you would be welcome to join us as well.”

  Juliet shook her head. “I-I don’t understand.”

  Lady Woodley smiled. “I would like you and your father to come and stay in my London home until the end of January. You will celebrate the Christmas holiday with our family and be my personal guest at some gatherings in the city. I would also provide you with some new gowns.”

  Juliet pushed from the settee and took a few steps away. Shock hit her in waves. She liked Lady Woodley so very much, but she had never thought that she was seen as a charity case by the woman.

  “You do not look happy with this invitation,” Lady Woodley said, rising to move toward her. “What is wrong?”

  Juliet measured her tone carefully. “My lady, I could not possibly take your handout—”

  Lady Woodley’s eyes went wide. “You misunderstand me, Juliet. I don’t see this as charity in the slightest. I like you, my dear, and I want to give you a reward for your kindness and your assistance to me.”

  Juliet shook her head. The idea of going to London, of parading around in the titled elite and being displayed, made her very skin crawl. Aside from which, if she was staying with Lady Woodley in her home over the holidays, she would certainly be placed in the path of Gabriel more than once.

  A traitorous part of her soared at that thought and then she pushed the reaction away. She didn’t want that. And she knew he likely wanted it even less.

  “I couldn’t intrude, then,” she began.

  Lady Woodley let out a soft sound of frustration and turned her attention back to Juliet’s father. “Jed—Mr. Gray, you must help me to persuade your dearest daughter that this is a good course of action for you both!”

  Juliet narrowed her gaze at her father, hoping to send him the strong message that he should take her side. But she found a thoughtful look on his face as he examined first her and then Lady Woodley.

  “Juliet, you should consider this offer,” he finally said slowly. “You work so hard on the behalf of all those in the village, and you take such good care of me. I like the idea of you having time to yourself, a pleasure just for you.”

  Juliet watched him closely. He was still casting side glances at Lady Woodley and she realized that while he was speaking the truth about wanting her to be happy, he was also incapable of hiding how much this renewed acquaintance with his old “friend” meant to him.

  Could she deny him his chance to spend more time with Lady Woodley if it meant so much to him?

  She sighed. “I-I just don’t know.”

  Lady Woodley’s smile was triumphant, as if she knew she had already won. “Then allow me to know for both of us! I have already arranged for the seamstress in the village to measure you this afternoon in order to make several gowns for you.”

  “Evelyn Wilcox?” Juliet asked, blinking in surprise.

  “That is the one. She made my new daughter-in-law Josie’s wedding dress for her ceremony with Evan just a few months ago and did wonderful work. She will have the gowns sent to London by the time you arrive.”

  Juliet gasped. “I feel as though you are sweeping me away.”

  Lady Woodley laughed and then reached out to grasp both of Juliet’s hands. “Let me sweep you, my dear! I want to do this, please say yes!”

  Juliet explored the lady’s face, saw the earnestness there. Then she glanced at her father and saw the flicker of hope in his stare, not just for her, but for himself.

  She sighed. “I—oh, very well. You are impossible to refuse.”

  Lady Woodley nodded once before she drew Juliet in for an unexpected but warm hug. “My children tell me that constantly! Oh, I am so pleased that you will do this. Now you must hurry. Miss Wilcox expects you almost directly. And I will send all the details along to you before Gabriel and I leave for London tomorrow.”

  Juliet stiffened at the mention of his name. It was a reminder of what she would be walking into once she joined Lady Woodley. But then, Gabriel would be staying at his own home in the city. And perhaps he would simply be too busy to call overly much.

  She would just have to hope that would be true. Otherwise, it could be a very long visit, indeed.

 
Chapter Two

  Gabriel looked up from his book to find his mother watching him. She had an odd expression, and he put a bookmark between the pages before he set the tome aside. Before he spoke, he searched her face for any clue of what was going on with her. He saw the flicker of her gaze as it darted away from his, the shift of her body weight. She gave every indication of discomfort.

  “What is wrong?” he asked.

  She lifted her eyebrows. “Wrong? Nothing at all.”

  He tilted his head. “I can see something on your face, Mama. Are you unwell? We are almost in London, less than an hour from home, but if you would like to stop, we can do so.”

  He lifted his hand to tap on the back of the carriage wall and alert their driver, but Lady Woodley reached up and caught his hand with both of hers.

  “No, no, of course not,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m very well physically, I assure you.”

  Gabriel let out a sigh of relief as he leaned back against the carriage seat. Since his mother’s illness a few months before, he hadn’t been fully comfortable. Almost losing her brought up too much pain. Too many memories of the father he had lost and the sister who was still missing.

  He cleared his throat, pushing aside the strong emotion he didn’t know how to process. “Then what is troubling you? If not something physical, it must be something else.”

  His mother pursed her lips, but there was a smile in her eyes. “You are too observant, my love. You can always see through us all.”

  He shrugged. Too observant. He had been called that all his life by governesses, friends and family members, sometimes with kindness, other times as a criticism. But was it his fault that he saw the little details? He didn’t try to do it—it was his nature. Sometimes to his own detriment.

  “Perhaps I just know you too well,” he teased. “You have been very quiet the last two days. Vernon mentioned you had company around the same time.”