Page 85 of A Bride for the Sinful Duke

“Juliet, what is wrong? Are you all right?” he asked, quickly standing and rushing over to her side.

She shook her head and wiped her face with the back of her hands, inhaling deeply before she started.

“About the discussion we had before… concerning my return to St. Catherine’s… have you given it any more thought? I received a letter from them and…oh, Hector, they are struggling so much. I do not…I cannot simply sit still here and do nothing. Please, husband, I asked that you let me go back and help.”

Hector sighed, trying to calm her down by running his hands up and down her arms.

“Juliet, I am deeply sorry for what they are going through, but I cannot let you return there. I already explained to you that I took you out to save your life. It would be foolish of me to send you back to the place where you nearly met your demise.”

Juliet clung to him, hoping he could hear the desperation in her voice.

“You do not understand, Hector. The nunnery is not merely a place. There are people there, innocent girls and young women who have done nothing to earn such cruelty. When I first arrived there, I was just a young girl, lost and broken because I had watched my own mother jump to her death. My own father did not know what to do with me, so he abandoned me there in hopes that whatever ailed my mother would not affect the rest of his life. Those girls were the ones who taught me to want to live a life of my own after all of that.

“I had so many fears and concerns, but they helped me heal from many of them. We supported each other like family, and nearly all of them had nowhere else to go. I cannot simply abandonthem, Hector. I will not. Surely, there must be something we can do.”

Hector pulled her into his arms just as she started to sob, gently stroking her back to calm her down, whispering sweet words into her ear.

When she was calmer, Hector pulled back just enough to hold onto her hands and speak as their gazes locked.

“I am sorry, Juliet. I truly am. However, we cannot provide any financial assistance to the nunnery now. Not in light of the recent issues that have arisen in my businesses. I want to help, and I understand how much those girls mean to you. We will find a way, sooner or later. I promise.”

Juliet nodded in understanding. The troubles sparked by the rumors about their marriage and her past had been weighing Hector down recently, taking up much of his free time and forcing him to devise a plan to deal with it all. She trusted him—trusted in how much he cared for her and believed that if and when the means were available, he would certainly help.

“All right,” she breathed, calming down considerably. “I shall try to be patient and wait until we have figured it out together.”

Hector smiled at her, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

“Thank you,” he whispered softly.

They were still close together when Worthington came to announce the arrival of a guest.

“Lord Campton is here to see the Duchess,” he said.

Juliet exchanged confused looks with her husband before she asked, “My father? Whatever could he here for?”

“I supposed we’ll find out soon enough,” Hector mused then to Worthington, he instructed. “Have him wait in the parlor. We will be there shortly.”

As the butler left, Juliet faced her husband. “We?”

Hector nodded, gently stroking her hair with a soft, fond expression.

“You are clearly in no mood to entertain visitors, much less one whom we barely tolerate. The least I can do is provide you with some support. Or would you rather I send him home? Whatever you wish, I will do it.”

Oh, so this is what it is like to have someone who cares.

Juliet shook her head wordlessly, stepping closer to him and standing on her toes to kiss him.

“He is here already thus I should meet with him, but thank you,” she told him sincerely.

He offered his arm to her, and she was more than happy to hold onto him as they walked to the parlor.

Juliet had been hoping that the butler had somehow been misinformed, but when they arrived, it was indeed her father who was standing in the room wearing an anxious expression on his face.

“Ah, Your Grace!” Algernon smiled. “Good afternoon.”

Hector nodded in acknowledgment, and Juliet tried not to bristle over the fact that her father had addressed the Duke before he did his own daughter. She became even more irritated when he shifted his attention to her, and his voice took on an odd tone.

“Juliet. You look well.”

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