Page 23 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“You have to tell your father you don’t want to.”
“I did tell him that,” Juliet snapped. “Do you think I’m a child, Harry? Of course I told him that. But he wasn’t interested in what I thought about the matter. He wants me to marry someone of higher social standing than himself.”
“An earl,” Harry murmured. “I see.”
“He told me I wouldn’t do any better than that,” Juliet continued. “And the only thing I could think to say at the moment was—”
“What about a duke?”
Juliet laughed. “I know. It sounds awful, doesn’t it?”
Now that Harry was here with her, he found he was smiling. He was amused by all this.
He actually really wanted to help her, he realized.
And it would be kind of fun. It would be an adventure. They would stage this courtship together, pulling the wool over the eyes of the rest of London society. It would make this season about something more than simply fending off the unwanted advances of the young ladies who had expressed interest in him, whom he wanted nothing to do with.
It would be a sort of game. And Harry wanted to play.
“I’ll do it,” he stated. “I’d be glad to help.”
“You would? Really?”
“It might be interesting, and you know I don’t like that Lord Stickland. I definitely can’t leave you to his mercy.”
“No, you can’t,” Matilda agreed, joining their conversation for the first time. “I think you have to help her.”
“Matilda, don’t,” Juliet hissed.
“Your sister is right. We’re practically family, aren’t we?”
“I suppose so,” Juliet grumbled.
“It’s no more than I would do for Daniel, or he for me,” Harry said.
“Thank you.” Juliet sighed in relief. “I know how much I’m asking of you, and I promise that if I can make it up to you sometime in the future, I’ll do so.”
“Of course you don’t need to make it up to me.” Harry shook his head. “It’s as I said at the ball, this will benefit me too. You’re not the only one who has unwanted admirers. If everyone thinks we’re courting, you and I will be free to enjoy this season without worrying about staying away from those we would rather avoid.”
“Do you really mean that?” Juliet asked. “You actually want to do this?”
“I do.”
She nodded. “All right. But I do thank you, Harry. It means more to me than you know.”
The Duke could see the relief on her face, and he thought perhaps he understood how much it meant to her a little better than she realized.
“You’d better go back inside now, Juliet,” Matilda cautioned.
Juliet frowned. “Why?”
“We both should,” Matilda explained. “We can’t risk being caught out here talking to him. We can’t let Father think that any of this was planned.” She turned to Harry. “And you should go speak to Father now.”
Harry had to smile at the way Matilda seemed to have taken the whole matter in hand. “Should I?” He had no memory of this aspect of her character.
“Yes, you should,” Matilda said. “The sooner the matter is settled in Father’s mind, the more likely he is to leave the two of you alone. You don’t want him to try to pay too much attention to what you’re doing.”
“She’s right,” Juliet agreed, moving away from Harry. “I should get indoors. We don’t want Father to know that we have any idea you’re here, Harry. And he can never know about the letter I wrote to you.”
