Page 17 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“He clings to me like a fog. Even now, after having seen him last night, it’s as if I can feel him on my skin. I would do anything to have him just leave me in peace, but he never will! It’s maddening. And honestly, Matilda, he should know by now that I have no interest in him. I think hedoesknow it and he just doesn’t care. And that makes me despise him all the more.”
“I see.”
“Trust me, nothing Harry has ever done to me is as bad as what Lord Stickland did. Given the choice between the two of them, I would rather spend my time with Harry any day.”
“But you say it’s not a real courtship.”
“Well, no, of course not. Could you imagine Harry wanting to court me? He could never be interested in me like that.”
“Are you interested in him like that?”
“Definitely not.”
“Because he probablycouldbe,” Matilda pointed out. “You’re quite pretty, you know. And you did say that he had changed, so maybe he doesn’t feel the way he once did about you. Maybe he recognizes how lucky he would be to have you.”
Juliet smiled fondly at her sister. “You’ve always told me that, even when you were the only one who thought so.”
“Well, I’m hardly the only one who thinks so now! Just look at this Lord Stickland. He’s obviously interested in you for some reason.”
“Because he’s obsessed.”
“Perhaps, butwhyis he obsessed? Gentlemen get that way when they see something they like.”
“You’re wise beyond your years, Matilda, you know,” Juliet said.
“It comes of having two clever older siblings.”
Juliet laughed. “Flatterer.”
“You really don’t see yourself very clearly sometimes.”
“Perhaps I don’t. But even if Lord Stickland is genuinely interested in me, that doesn’t change the fact that Harry has always seen me as the ugly duckling little sister of his best friend. I’m sure he wants nothing to do with me.”
“Then, how is this courtship going to work?”
“I’ve got to find a way to speak to Harry before Father does,” Juliet tapped her chin. “I’ve got to let him know that this is coming and that he shouldn’t think it means anything. That I’m notreallytrying to court him, but simply taking shelter in a joke he told me at the ball.”
“It’s a mighty strange joke.”
“How am I going to talk to him? The next ball isn’t for a week, and I’m sure Father will write to him before then.”
“Youshould write to him,” Matilda said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Send him a letter.”
“Me? I can’t do that.”
“Why not? Of course you can.”
“Well, because…” Juliet wasn’t sure why the idea sounded so preposterous. “What if it were to fall into the wrong hands?”
“Well, maybe you could write it carefully. For his eyes only.”
“Of course I’m going to address it to him, Matilda, but that doesn’t mean nobody else would be able to read it.”
“Well, I’m not just talking about addressing it to him,” Matilda explained patiently. “Don’t you remember those notes you and I used to write to one another when we were children? Our secret codes?”
“Of course. Because we didn’t want Daniel to find them and be able to read them.” Juliet realized what her sister was getting at. “But that doesn’t make sense in this case. I don’t have a secret code that Harry will understand.”
“Not a code, but maybe you could explain things in a way that only he would understand. Only the two of you know about the conversation you had, right? The one where he joked about a false courtship?”
