Page 2 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“Actually,” Harry said, “I wonder if I might speak privately with Daniel.”
Juliet knew her mother didn’t like that idea much. Lady Linford hated to be left out of any conversations, and besides, Harry’s mother was her dear friend. She wondered if her mother would object by saying that the two gentlemen had to stay here in the sitting room and talk in front of the family.
But she didn’t. She merely nodded.
Of course she would say yes to him.
It was jarring sometimes that Juliet’s brother was an adult now. In her eyes, he was still a young man of five-and-ten years. When he had been younger, her parents had focused so much of their attention on howhebehaved. Juliet had been left to her own devices much more often.
It was clear that those days were over.
Daniel got to his feet. “We can speak in the library,” he suggested.
“Can I come?” Juliet asked, even though she knew she wouldn’t be allowed to.
It was rare that Daniel allowed her to tag along with him, but she had seen a chance to get away from the sitting room, and she had to take it.
Harry smiled and shook his head. “You stay here with your parents, Chipmunk.”
It was a teasing nickname, one Harry had called her for years. But even so, Juliet’s cheeks flamed in response.
That was why shedespisedHarry.
She knew full well why he called her by that horrible nickname. It was the same reason she felt ashamed every time she took in her reflection in the looking glass. It was the same reason her mother had stopped her from reaching for another cake, and the same reason her father used to pinch her cheeks when she was younger, until one day he stopped.
He had stopped finding it cute that her face was chubby. That was the only thing that looked cute on little children. Juliet was going to be a lady now, as her mother constantly reminded her. Ladies needed to be slim and delicate. She was going to have to eat less and hope that her figure changed as she grew into herself.
She hated Harry for making mention of it right in front of everyone. He was so cruel. He might as well have called her ugly.
And now she was blushing, and she knew her bright red cheeks were calling even more attention to the way she looked. She wanted nothing more than to get up and run out of the room. She wasgladHarry had said she couldn’t go with them. Who would want to be around him?
As the gentlemen left the room, she rose to her feet as well.
“Juliet,” her mother snapped. “Sit down.”
But Juliet had had enough. “I’m not feeling well, Mother,” she said. “I’m going up to my bedroom to lie down.”
This was the one thing she knew her mother would not ignore or argue with. Though Lady Linford was a strict hand when it came to Juliet’s behavior, she loved all her children more than anything in the world. Juliet knew that her mother would never ask her to ignore her own health.
Harry, who was on his way out the door, glanced at her. “Feel better, Chipmunk,” he said quietly.
As if you care!
She pushed past him and hurried out of the room and up the stairs. She could feel him watching her—him and Daniel both—and she didn’t look back at them. If there was any chance at all that they didn’t know she was leaving the room because of what Harry had said, she wanted to maintain the illusion. She didn’t want anyone to know that his words had such power over her.
The exception, of course, was Matilda, who was Juliet’s very best friend and the one person she loved and trusted more than any other.
Matilda was already in Juliet’s bedroom. It was as if she had known, somehow, that Juliet would need her. “Was it awful?” she asked, getting up from the window seat to shut the door behind Juliet. “Was it deadly boring?”
“It was worse.” Juliet groaned. “You’ll never believe who decided to come by.”
“Harry,” Matilda said promptly.
“How did you know?”
“I saw him from your window.” Juliet’s window faced the front of the house, which Juliet had always liked. It was a convenience she did not enjoy at their home in the city. “He’s so handsome, isn’t he?”
“Handsome?”
