Page 27 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
Daniel was waiting for Harry outside by the carriage.
“You and Juliet?” he demanded. His face was a mask of cold fury. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do this, Harry?”
“It was a sudden decision,” Harry said honestly. “I didn’t have time to bring it up with you. There was never a chance.”
“We were at a ball together just last night. Are you telling me you made the decision this morning?”
“Well, yes. In fact, I did do that.”
Harry really didn’t want to lie to Daniel. He would answer honestly as much as he could, he decided, and only lie when that became necessary to protect what he and Juliet were trying to do.
And perhaps she’ll tell him the truth eventually. Maybe she just doesn’t want to do that yet. After all, she needs some help in this. She told her sister the truth. Maybe she’ll confide in her brother.
He wished she would. He would try to persuade her to do so, but he knew he couldn’t make that decision for her. She would do it on her own time or not at all.
“How could you decide such a thing so quickly?” Daniel questioned.
“It’s only a courtship,” Harry said. He wasn’t quite sure what his friend was so worked up about, to be honest. “It’s not as if I made a decision to marry her. If it doesn’t work out, at least we’ll have tried. But the fear of it not working is no reason not to make the attempt, is it?”
“Is that what you think I’m afraid of?” Daniel asked. “That it won’t work between the two of you?”
Harry frowned. “What are you afraid of, then?”
“How many times have we talked about it, Harry? How many times have you told me about your curse?”
Harry was startled. These were dark thoughts that played inside his own mind. He had confided to Daniel about them before on occasion, but to have the ideas hurled back into his face like this in broad daylight was shocking.
He composed himself. “Not here,” he said curtly.
“What?”
“If you want to talk about that, then get into the carriage. We can discuss it there.”
“I hardly think—”
“I’m not going to talk about it where your father and Juliet might be able to hear us. Absolutely not. Get in the carriage, or I’ll simply leave.”
Daniel looked, if it were possible, even more infuriated. “Fine,” he snapped. He opened the carriage door and climbed inside. Harry followed him and pulled the door closed behind the two of them.
The men sat opposite one another. Harry had the sense that each of them was waiting for the other one to speak first.
Finally, Daniel broke the silence. “You’re really going to try to court my sister, knowing, as you do, that you have this curse hanging over you?”
“You’ve told me many times that the curse wasn’t real,” Harry protested. “Youcomfortedme with that when I was grieving, Daniel. You told me that wasn’t the way the world worked, that I was blaming myself for things that couldn’t possibly be my fault. Isn’t that what you said?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
“You didn’t mean it, then?” This was shocking enough to be almost horrifying. “You were lying to me when you told me I wasn’t to blame for Susan’s death? For my parents’ deaths? You think Iamto blame?”
“Of course I don’t think you’re to blame,” Daniel affirmed. “Those deaths, all of them, were tragic. And it isn’t as if you orchestrated them. I know that.”
“Then what on Earth are suggesting?”
“I’m only saying… well, bad luck does seem to follow you, Harry. I’m not saying that it’s a curse, but perhaps there’s some merit to the idea that…” Daniel trailed off.
“You think if I allow myself to become involved with a young lady, that some misfortune will befall her.”
“It’s not a chance I’m willing to take with my sister,” Daniel argued. “And nor would you, Harry, if you had a sister. You would want to protect her just as much as I want to protect Juliet.”
