Page 3 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
Juliet supposed he probably was. Harry was very tall—taller than Daniel—and it was impossible not to notice his bright blue eyes. She had to admit that whenever she had thought of courtship in the future—when she would really become a lady—she wouldn’t have minded being with a gentleman who looked like that.
But it was impossible to think of Harry himself as handsome.
“It doesn’t matter at all to me what he looks like,” Juliet told her sister. “What matters is that he’s so horribly unkind.”
“Did he call you names again?” Matilda asked sympathetically.
“Of course he did. He always does.”
“I think we should go spy on him. We should go find out what they’re talking about down there.”
Before Juliet could object, Matilda was on her feet. Curiosity getting the better of her, Juliet followed her sister out the door.
* * *
“It is your mother, isn’t it?” Daniel asked the moment he and Harry had reached the library.
Harry was so thankful for his friend’s presence at that moment. He had felt on the verge of breaking down for hours, and he had found himself without a soul in the world to whom he could talk.
“It happened last night,” Harry said, his voice raw.
Daniel waited without saying a word.
“I knew she didn’t have long,” Harry continued. “That was why Father and I brought her to the country in the first place. The physicians told us that the disease had spread to her lungs, and once that happens…”
“I’m so sorry, Harry.”
“I can’t stay long. I’ll need to go back to be with my father.”
“You can stay for a while,” Daniel suggested. “I’m sure you need a break.”
Harry exhaled and nodded. “I feel awful about that. I shouldn’t be turning my back on my family right now.”
“You’re not turning your back on your father at all.” Daniel shook his head. “It’s important that you take care of yourself so that you can adequately take care of him.”
“Do you think so?”
“Of course I do. It wouldn’t be any help to your father if you went to pieces, would it?”
“No.”
“But if you need to fall apart, or if you just need a place to breathe and get away from it for a little while, you can do that here.”
“You’re too kind to me.”
“You’re my best friend, Harry. And you would do the same for me if I had lost someone.”
Harry nodded.
It was true. He would have done anything for Daniel. The two of them had been inseparable since childhood, and when his mother had died, he had realized there was no one else he’d wanted to turn to. His father was lost to his own grief and misery, but Daniel was exactly the friend he needed in this trying time.
“You’ll have to let your mother know,” Harry said. “I was supposed to tell her. That was the reason I gave my father for coming over here. But I don’t know if I can do it. The moment I saw her in the sitting room, the moment she asked after Mother’s health—”
He broke off, not feeling able to finish his thought.
“Don’t worry,” Daniel said. “I’ll tell her what happened. She’ll understand why you couldn’t do it.”
Harry nodded. “Thank you.”
