Page 12 of Good Duke Gone Wild

“Yes, you.”

He trailed his hands down to the desk and pushed off of it, still not answering her question. Sluggishly he sauntered over to the door.

“What should I call you?”

“Nothing. You should never call me.” He said, shaking his head.

Her growl slash grumble had its intended effect.

“Fine. Jude,” he muttered in a quiet gripe. “Just call me Jude.”

“Well, Jude,” the name bounced off of her back teeth and curled out of her lips, “I’ll hide while you open the door.”

Ducking behind the settee, she peeked out from behind it as she watched him open the door.

“Oh,” a gasp greeted his disgruntled, “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry,” a familiar voice apologized. “I thought someone I knew was in here.”

“She’s not—” Jude started.

“I didn’t say it was a woman—”

“I’m here,” Agatha popped up, recognizing the knocker. “Quickly, come inside, Clara.”

“Oh my.” Clara’s eyes swiveled back and forth between Agatha and Jude while her hand rested limply against his open mouth.

“Wh-what’s going on in here?” Clara rushed to her side and Agatha felt compelled to reassure her.

“It’s nothing,” Agatha rushed to say.

“Nothing?” Jude scoffed.

“You said that’s what I should call you.”

“I said to call me Jude,” he gritted out.

Agatha paid him no mind as she turned to her sister. “Ignore him. He’s the most irritable, fake pirate I have ever met.”

More grumbles came from Jude as she plodded on in her explanation to Clara. “Don’t worry. Nothing happened.” A twinge of guilt swept through her for lying to her sister, but this was not the time norplace (namely, in front of Jude) to divulge that her world had just been irrevocably altered. No, she could not give him the satisfaction or the power of that knowledge.

“You’re lucky that it was me who found you in here. Uncle was worried when he didn’t see you after your dance, but I told him I knew where you were. Luckily I guessed right. By the way, he didn’t look happy about that.” Clara was speaking out of nearly closed lips.

“Happy about what?”

Her sister tilted her head toward Jude.

“The dance?”

Her sister’s eyebrows rose in affirmation.

“Pfft. He hasnothingto worry about.” Agatha shot Jude a look.

“I need to get going,” Jude tangled his hands in his wavy locks, accidentally bumping his eye patch on the way up. Hastily, he ripped it off of his face. “You two are fine here on your own.”

“Have to return to your ship?” Agatha teased. Surely now he would drop the facade. With the eye patch slippage.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

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