Defending the Duchess (5 page)

Julia scrunched her face in a puzzled expression. “If it was the same person, why would he do so much damage to my house when he was so careful with my office?”

Linus had been wondering the same thing. “Maybe the perpetrator knew you called the police about the office break-in. Maybe he figured you’d notice, no matter how
careful he was, so he caused damage instead to throw you off track and hide what he was really after. Maybe he just wanted to scare you.”

“What do you think he was after?”

“The file?” Linus raised an eyebrow.

Julia shook her head, perplexed. “What file? The
Seattle Electronics vs. Pendleton
file? They already broke into that file cabinet, but they didn’t take the file when they
had the chance. Besides, all my work files are at my office. What could they possibly have been looking for at my house?”

“It’s hard to guess without seeing what they did to your house.”

“Mary tried to describe the damage,” Julia said as she sat up straighter, “but I suppose I’m the only one who could tell if something was really missing.” She planted her feet on the floor with determination
and rose to stand, still favoring her uninjured leg.

Linus stood as well, extending an arm to help her, glad when she placed one hand over his fingers. He had an inkling of what she was thinking, and he didn’t like it. “You want to go back to Seattle?”

“How else am I supposed to sort this out? Besides, the break-in could have happened days ago, maybe just after I left town. If it was
the same person who attacked me last night, the perpetrator probably followed me to Lydia after they realized I wasn’t home. If they’re in Lydia right now, Seattle might be the safest place for me.” She turned toward the door. “I’m going to see if I can book a seat on the next flight out of Lydia.”

Linus mulled her decision as he helped her back through the guardhouse to the palace lawn.
Technically, she was a grown woman and free to do whatever she chose. But she was also under his care. He’d been assigned to guard her. How could he do that if she left Lydia?

She was right. Seattle might be safer than Lydia at the moment, but it wasn’t the safest place for her, not if the security of her home had already been breached. The safest place for her was at his side.

They
no more than made it outside when Queen Monica pounced. “Julia? What happened? Are you okay?”

Julia quickly assured her sister that she was fine, then explained what she’d learned, including her decision to return to Seattle.

“No.” Monica shook her head forcefully. “I can’t let you go back there. It’s too dangerous. Mom and Dad are in Seattle. They can drive over and look at your place.”

“I can’t let Mom and Dad put themselves in danger,” Julia protested. “Besides, this is complicated. Something’s going on and I need to figure out what it is. I can’t do that from here.”

“Julia.” A note of warning carried through the queen’s voice as Monica took her sister’s free arm. “I don’t like it. I won’t let you go alone.”

“There’s no way
you’re
going to come with me.” Julia
sounded frightened at the prospect of her sister accompanying her on the journey.

“You’re right about that.” Monica almost blushed. “I can’t leave Lydia right now. But I’ll send a guard along with you to keep you safe.”

“That’s silly. I’ve already heard that the royal guard is shorthanded after cutting loose the traitors who were part of the attacks against the royal family.”

“We
can spare one guard to go with you. You’ve already been assigned a guard, anyway, so it won’t short us.” Monica looked up at Linus as she spoke. Her smile was half questioning, half conspiratorial.

Linus returned the look. “I’d be happy to go with you, Julia.”

The queen beamed at him.

Julia looked back and forth between them. Then she let out a breath that sounded relieved. “Okay
then. Linus can come with me. But I
am
going back to Seattle.”

Monica grilled her little sister on her plans, then made her promise she’d allow time for lunch with the royal family before she left. With that much decided, Monica returned to the sandbox where the young prince played under Paul’s watchful eye. Linus helped Julia up to her room.

“Thank you.” She smiled up at him as he helped
her down the hall. “Are you sure you should be helping me? Technically I think it’s Paul’s shift.”

“You’re right,” Linus acknowledged, supporting her again as they made their way down the hall. He wasn’t entirely certain why he’d rushed to her side and then stuck there since Mary’s phone call had come in—only that Julia had looked distressed, and he couldn’t bear seeing her that way without
trying to help. “But if I’m going to be traveling with you, I might as well help you now.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind leaving the country? I’m only buying one-way tickets. I won’t know until I get there how soon I can come back.”

“I was planning on working anyway. Whether here or there won’t matter.”

“Your family won’t miss you?”

“It’s just my grandfather these days, and
he’s as spry as ever. He’d laugh if I suggested he couldn’t stay home without me.” He paused as she opened the door to her suite. “If you don’t mind, for safety’s sake, I’d like to do a quick walk-through.”

“By all means. I’ve got my laptop here—I’m going to look into available flights.”

Linus scoped out the sitting room, bedroom and bath, paying special attention to the windows and
doorways, but saw nothing that looked as though it had been disturbed. He passed back through the sitting room, where Julia already had flight times up on the screen. “How soon can you be ready to leave?”

“I could be ready to go in under an hour.”

She grinned. “Good.”

Linus grinned back, feeling eager to head out with her. The sooner they left, the sooner they could sort out what
was going on, and the sooner she’d be safe again. And, he had to admit, he wouldn’t mind spending time with her, though he’d have to be certain to keep their every interaction aboveboard. He couldn’t give Jason any reason to bring up his long-buried record.

“I can book a flight for 3:00 p.m., then,” Julia said, but didn’t turn back to her computer.

After staring at her in silence for
another moment, Linus realized he still had the spec sheet on the shoes that Oliver had given to him. If he was going to fit in any more research before their flight, he should ask her now if she recognized anything about the footwear. He pulled out the pages.

“Our investigators matched the shoe print they took on the beach to these shoes in a size twelve.” Linus stepped close and unfolded
the paper.

Julia sighed as she laid the page flat on the desk beside her laptop. “They sell these shoes everywhere.”

“You’ve seen shoes like this before?”

“Sure. A lot of shoe stores in the malls back home carry them. It’s a popular design. He could have bought his shoes anywhere.”

“Not in Lydia.” Linus watched Julia’s face carefully as he revealed the details Oliver had included
on the spec sheet. “This company uses sweatshop labor. Lydia strictly prohibits products produced under unjust conditions. These shoes have never been sold in Lydia.”

A haunted look entered Julia’s eyes. “He could have bought them at the mall near my house.” Her words remained level until the final two words, when a squeak of terror penetrated her determined stoicism.

Linus had already
suspected her attacker might have followed her from Seattle. But even knowing that ahead of time didn’t make it any easier to hear the fear that edged her voice. In fact, he was surprised by the way his heart clenched with concern for her.

But that didn’t change the fact that her attacker hadn’t bought his shoes in Lydia. Linus made a mental note to ask Oliver to do a specific search on where
the shoes were sold. If they could be bought just across the border in Albania or Greece, Linus wouldn’t rule out a local. Maybe the text from Fletcher Pendleton was only a coincidence. He couldn’t let himself jump to conclusions. But if the shoes were only available in the United States, he’d have to assume trouble had followed Julia from home.

FIVE

A
s Linus might have guessed, the queen was determined to protect her little sister, and the rest of the royal family rallied around her. By the time Julia emerged from her room, they had a plan in place, beginning with Queen Monica’s big announcement.

“We were going to save this news and announce it over dinner on Friday night, but if you leave in the morning you might
not be back by Friday,” the queen began, love for her little sister shimmering in her eyes.

Julia looked apprehensive.

“Since you are my sister,” Monica continued, “and since the Lydian royal family feels you should retain the rights and privileges of an extended member of the royal family, we have decided to grant you a royal title.”

“Oh, Monica.” Julia’s face turned a deep shade
of red. “I don’t need any rights or privileges—”

The queen cut her off, beaming happily at her sister’s red-faced response. “As my sister, the most fitting title you can hold is that of duchess.”

“Duchess!” Julia gasped. “I was thinking more along the lines of Her Royal Bookworm.”

The rest of the royal family laughed, clearly pleased with Julia’s shocked reaction and relieved to
have something happy to share after all Julia had been through.

Linus lingered in the doorway. Even though he’d known ahead of time about the intended title, he still felt a warm glow as the honor was announced. Julia would make a fine duchess.

“I don’t deserve—” Julia began.

“Nonsense,” her sister cut her off, and the other royals joined in with supportive words.

“I really
am honored,” Julia assured them when she could get a word in. “But I don’t need any privileges.”

Princess Isabelle, King Thaddeus’s sister, cut her off that time. “You need a bodyguard. That’s your right as a titled member of the royal family, and we’re going to insist that you have one everywhere you go until the man who attacked you is apprehended.”

At the reminder, the room went silent.
Julia didn’t protest, but looked around the room meekly until she met Linus’s eyes. He could see the fear she wanted so much to leave behind. But what frightened him even more was the reluctant gratitude that beamed from her.

He knew how much she hadn’t wanted a bodyguard when she’d arrived in Lydia. She’d even gone so far as to sneak out for a jog on the beach to avoid him. If she was glad
to have him now, it could only be for one reason.

She knew she was in real danger.

And she trusted him to keep her safe.

Linus swallowed. He’d do everything he could to deserve that trust. But would it be enough?

* * *

Julia felt a surge of gratitude as she watched Linus heft her bag along with his. Still unsteady on her injured leg, she’d cringed at the thought of carrying
anything. She’d brought only a single carry-on bag for ease of travel, and left her larger suitcase, along with her laptop and anything else she didn’t absolutely need, back in her suite at the palace. Still, she knew her carry-on was heavy enough, but Linus insisted on doing anything and everything he could to help her, as long as it didn’t require him to leave her sight.

Maybe it was selfish,
but she was so grateful for his attitude and conscientious helpfulness. She was glad, too, that her parents had offered to let them stay at their larger home. That way she wouldn’t have to be in her own house after dark, and Linus could be nearby, in Monica’s childhood bedroom.

While Linus stowed their carry-on bags in the compartment above, Julia settled herself into her seat for the long
flight. She’d dismissed her sister’s offer to send them via private jet or even first class. Her sister might have plans to make her royalty, but Julia didn’t see the need for special treatment.

It wasn’t until Linus squeezed his wide shoulders into the narrow seat next to hers that Julia doubted her choice. Maybe
she
fit just fine in coach, but the burly bodyguard could have used a little
more legroom for the overnight flight.

“What?”

Julia realized as Linus looked at her in confusion that she had her mouth open in a round O. She snapped her mouth closed, then opened it again. “I think we should try to get you a seat in first class.”

“I think they’re full.”

“Maybe we can make a switch with somebody.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re squished.” Julia had the seat
by the window. There were just two seats on that side of the aisle, and Linus still had one foot and most of his arm sticking out into the walkway. “You’re going to get hit when the beverage cart comes by.”

“I’ll pull my arm in then.”

“What if you’re asleep?”

“I’ll sleep with my arm pulled in.”

But Julia had already made up her mind. “No, here.” She shifted in her seat until
her back was to the window. Then she raised the armrest that had divided the space between them. “You can overflow onto my seat.”

“I’m not going to take up any of your seat.” As if to prove it, Linus backed farther away, but another passenger passed by and bumped him, so he had to scoot toward her again, but he still didn’t seep past the division between their seats.

“You have to avoid
being injured so you can protect me.”

It wasn’t until he gave her a long, slow grin that Julia realized she was fluttering her eyelashes at him. Embarrassed, she put the arm rest back up between them. “Fine, have it your way.” She turned to watch out the window and hide the blush that had flown to her cheeks.

There were plenty of reasons why she should not be flirting with her bodyguard.
Although technically she wasn’t flirting with him, just trying to protect him from bodily injury by beverage cart, but those two were quite nearly the same thing. Anyway, it would be all too easy to flirt with him. He was so good-looking and attentive and polite.

She reminded herself that he was only being attentive because he was paid to watch out for her well-being. And from what she’d
seen he was polite to everyone, including a few very grumpy tourists who’d been miffed at him for buying her the last bottle of her favorite flavor of bottled water in one of the airport shops. He’d charmed them both, and she’d gotten to keep her water.

The man was practically perfect, from his white-toothed smile to his deep olive tan, to his broad muscles and kind words. She had yet to
find a single fault with him, other than perhaps that she felt like a bit of a helpless weakling every time he rushed to her aid. Linus was a sweet guy. She couldn’t risk spoiling their easy camaraderie.

She needed to keep her emotions in check. After all she’d been through, it was no wonder she felt an extra smidgen of attraction toward the handsome guard. But the last thing she wanted to
do was make things uncomfortable between them by overstepping the boundaries of their professional relationship.

She’d have to remember to act like she wasn’t attracted to him.

Even if she really was.

* * *

Linus waited for the duchess to fall asleep before he pulled out his Bible. He needed to read God’s word. He needed reassurance and perspective, without the lawyer’s sweet
smile distracting him.

With a tug on his bookmark, he opened the Bible to the Book of Psalms. He’d been memorizing the Psalms, verse by verse. It was a spiritual discipline that grounded him. With God’s word committed to memory, he was never really without a Bible, even when he was in a dangerous situation such as those he’d faced following the ambush two months before.

Those had been
frightening days, but God had been with him. Even when he wasn’t sure who he could trust—when they’d begun to suspect the head of the royal guard was working against the royal family—Linus had focused on God’s promises in the Psalms, and God had seen them through those trials. Jason had replaced the treasonous head guard, and Linus had been promised a promotion.

The only catch was, it had
been two months, and other than a jump in his paycheck and a shift in duties as Jason had rearranged the royal guard, Linus didn’t have anything to show for his efforts. Though he’d never mentioned it to anyone, he’d have appreciated a new title or even a sentence in the newspaper that he could show to his grandfather—something to let the elderly man know all his prayers over the years hadn’t been
wasted.

Of course, the whole royal family had been ridiculously busy since then, and the guards were swamped. There wasn’t time for titles or petty news releases. Linus understood. He wasn’t complaining.

Still, he felt a tiny emptiness inside whenever he thought of the risks he’d taken, which seemed to have been forgotten already. Reading and memorizing the Psalms would put his problems
in perspective. He was up to the twenty-fifth Psalm. As he worked out the words and committed them to memory, repeating them line by line, he heard God’s reassuring promises echoing down through the ages.

My God, I trust You. Don’t let me be disgraced. Don’t allow my enemies to defeat me... Lord, tell me Your ways. Show me how to live.
Linus made his way slowly through the Psalm, pinching
his eyes shut and repeating the words under his breath until he was certain he had them exactly right. He whispered the words like a heartfelt prayer.
Protect me and save me. I trust You. Don’t let me be disgraced.

Disgraced.
The last word made him cringe, and he spoke the plea with sincere pleading, forming his own prayer from the words.
Lord, don’t let me be disgraced
.
Don’t let me fail
the duchess
. He could imagine the many forms disgrace might take. It was one thing to not have his efforts noticed. It would be another thing entirely if his record of faithful service in the royal guard was marred by a failure to keep Julia safe.

He couldn’t let anything happen to her. He’d never forgive himself if he did.

That was part of his role as a royal guard that outsiders didn’t
seem to fully comprehend. It was more than a job. He felt a mixture of civic pride and honor and devotion that was difficult to explain to someone who didn’t feel the same way.

He loved the royal family, every last one of them. Not that he expected them to love him back or anything—it wasn’t that kind of love. He and a few of the other guards had discussed it while the royal family was under
attack. It was more than the vow they’d taken when they’d become royal guards. They’d risked their lives to restore the crown to the Royal House of Lydia.

And they’d risk their lives again to protect every member of that household.

That included the duchess.

Linus looked over at the sleeping woman who’d pressed herself against the side of the plane to make room for him, and he felt
that familiar protective instinct swirling inside him. As he recalled the fear he’d felt when her attacker had struck, Linus strengthened his resolve to keep her safe, and repeated the line from the Psalm on her behalf.
Lord, protect her and save her. Don’t let her enemy win.

* * *

Julia had spoken by phone with the Seattle police, who’d already been through her house and identified
the intruder’s point of entry. Her perpetrator had pried apart the window casings on her three-season porch, which was at the back of the house, out of sight from the street or the neighbors. The intruder had punched through a screen, then knocked out the window between the porch and the main part of the house.

The investigators had also established a time frame for the break-in based on
the thawed food that had been tossed from her freezer. The break-in had most likely taken place within the first twenty-four hours after Julia left for Lydia.

Which left plenty of time for the perpetrator to finish tearing apart Julia’s house before hopping a plane to Lydia and attacking her on the beach two days after her arrival. If the incidents were related—and she was nearly certain
they were—it was entirely possible a single person working alone had been behind everything. It even made sense that the intruder might have spotted the notes she’d left herself as she prepared for her trip and known exactly where to find her.

The police warned her over the phone that, though they’d completed their analysis of the crime scene, the mess remained. Her job was to note whether
anything was missing and let them know.

Julia’s hand trembled as she put the key in the front door lock.

When she hesitated to turn the knob, Linus murmured something from behind her.

“What’s that?” She turned and met his eyes—anything to put off the dreaded visit, if only for a few more seconds.

“Lord, protect her and save her,” he repeated, his tanned cheeks going a bit red.
“It’s from Psalm 25. I was just praying.”

Julia felt a sudden swell of emotion that surged through her throat, carrying tears to her eyes. She turned away before he could see. “Thank you.” Her words felt insufficient given his thoughtfulness, praying for her precisely when she needed his prayers the most, but she didn’t trust her voice to say any more. Not when she was half a tremble away
from reaching for him and burying her head against his shoulder. She knew that such a move would bring her comfort, but it would also vastly complicate their already delicate relationship. It would be all too easy to act on her growing feelings for Linus.

But then what?

Mostly likely, she’d embarrass them both. No, too much of her life was in turmoil to add to the upheaval now.

Instead she turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

Mary’s description hadn’t done justice to the mess. The pieces of pottery she and her sister had made together years before, which she’d lovingly displayed on the bookshelves on either side of her fireplace, were smashed against the antique tile mantel. Even the tiles had cracks.

And her books! The intruder had ripped out fistfuls of
pages, gutting the cherished volumes. Julia’s hand flew over her mouth.

“Are you going to be okay?” Linus asked softly.

Julia nodded, but it took her another few moments to compose herself enough to step farther into the house.

Her furniture was ruined. The upholstery was slashed, the stuffing spilled out. The rugs that covered her oak floors had been tugged aside, but she smoothed
one out and found it otherwise unharmed. At least they hadn’t stabbed through that.