Page 102 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“What were you going to do?” Juliet sounded fascinated.
“I was hard put not to hit him,” Harry said.
“Really?”
Harry closed his eyes. “It’s been a long night.”
“What happened to you, anyway?” Juliet asked. “You came in here looking as if you were worried something might have tried to hurt me—”
“Iwasworried about that.”
“And then you said that you knew now that the curse had never been real? Don’t mistake me, I’m glad you’ve realized that. But how did it happen? How do you suddenly know?”
Harry hesitated. It was a frightful story, and he didn’t want to burden her with it. But for her own safety, she did need to know.
“It was Lady Annie,” he said. “Not just the spying and the letters, but everything. Right from the start.”
“What do you mean?”
He closed his eyes. It hurt even to say these words aloud. “She was the one who killed Susan,” he replied. “She poisoned her. It wasn’t a curse. It wasn’t misfortune. It was murder.”
Juliet gasped. “How—how could she do such a thing?!”
“Susan and her family were staying at my home,” Harry explained, trying to describe what those last few weeks had been like. “She was so ill. I was paying for her care, and she couldn’t travel back and forth. We wanted to be near each other. We did care for each other, even though it wasn’t… it wasn’t like the way I feel about you.”
“You don’t have to explain that,” Juliet said gently. “Of course you cared for her.”
“I couldn’t keep track of the members of my household coming and going,” Harry continued. “It would have been easy, in those days, for an extra person to slip in unnoticed. I’m not at all surprised I never knew that Lady Annie was there. Apparently, she disguised herself each day and snuck into the kitchen to poison Susan’s tea. Susan’s illness grew worse and worse, and I had no idea what was to blame. I never knew. I never guessed.”
“How could you have guessed that?” Juliet asked. “Nobody could have. And she must have started long before Lady Susan and her family moved into your home, mustn’t she? Lady Susan was already ill when she came to live with you.”
“That’s right,” Harry agreed. “She was.”
“So, perhaps there was nothing you could have done by then anyway,” Juliet said. “You shouldn’t blame yourself, Harry. None of this is your fault.”
Harry nodded. He wanted to believe that, and he thought that she was right. But it was going to take a long time to get rid of the things he had convinced himself of over the past several years. This pain wouldn’t go away overnight. He had thought himself responsible for Susan’s death for a very long time.
“Harry,” Juliet said gently.
“Yes?”
“I know this is a lot for you to cope with. If you don’t want to marry, if you don’t feel ready for something like that, I’ll understand. Daniel will keep me safe from Lord Stickland now. Please don’t feel that you need to force yourself into a marriage for that reason.”
“No,” Harry said hurriedly. “It isn’t that at all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Juliet, learning that the curse isn’t real, that I can be with you without fear is the one bright spot in all of this. Lady Annie might have destroyed my past, but she can’t touch my future. Of course I’m sure. I love you. You know I do. Being with you is all I want, but only if you want that too.”
“I do,” she assured him. “I want it more than anything.”
He longed to pull her into his arms, but Daniel was still sitting right there, and they had broken enough rules already. From this moment on, Harry was determined to do everything the right way.
“I’ll have to speak to your father.”
“I’m sure he’ll give his permission.” Juliet smiled. “All he wants is to see me make a good match, so he’ll be glad you and I have mended things.”
“I think she’s right about that,” Daniel put in. “He’ll be glad he doesn’t have to worry about cleaning up her reputation, and glad he doesn’t have to find her someone else. It’s for the best that you’ve come back. That’s what he’ll say. He’ll say it makes everything easier.”
