Page 30 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“You don’t have to keep an eye on anything,” she told her brother. “You didn’t need to come. Or don’t you trust Harry?”
“I trust Harry,” Daniel said. “I just hope I’m not making a mistake in doing so.”
“The two of you have been friends all your lives.”
“I know that.”
“How can you not trust him?”
“I just told you that I did trust him.” Daniel scowled. “Trusting him isn’t the problem. The problem is that I don’t know what his intentions are.”
Juliet felt a little dizzy at that. Could Daniel possibly suspect that this was something other than a straightforward courtship? And if he did suspect, what would he do about it when he learned the truth?
Would he allow it to go on? Or would he put a stop to it, go to their father and let him know the truth about what had been happening?
I won’t be able to stand it if he does that, if after everything, I’d have to marry Lord Stickland.
She just couldn’t think of anything worse.
She wandered away from her brother down to the riverbank, keeping a respectable distance between herself and Harry because she didn’t want to be on her own with him either. She liked Harry now, certainly more than she had as a child, but she still felt awkward around him. It made her feel uncomfortable to think that he had once mocked her looks and that now she had had to ask him for this specific favor, to pretend to be courting her. It was embarrassing. If she had been able to secure a courtship for herself last year, she wouldn’t have had to ask for this from him. Even though he was being kind to her about it, she was sure that a part of him was wondering what was wrong with her to make her have to pretend like this. Why couldn’t she find a real match? One she didn’t despise? One she didn’t have to lie to be with? Were there no gentlemen who both genuinely liked her and weren’t completely odious?
Maybe there weren’t. Certainly, she had yet to find them, if they did exist.
A young lady came walking along the bank towards Juliet. Juliet stepped back automatically to move out of her way, but the lady modified her course enough that Juliet realized she was heading towards her.
“Good day,” the lady greeted.
“Good day to you,” Juliet greeted back, wondering if the lady was just being social.
“We’ve never met, have we?”
“No, I don’t believe we have.”
“My name is Annie Livingston. My father is the Earl of Langdon.”
Juliet nodded. “Good day, Lady Annie. I’m Juliet Herbert. My father is the Viscount of Linford. Over there are my sister Matilda and my brother Daniel, and that’s the Duke of Burghley. He’s a friend of the family. I don’t know whether you know him or not.”
“And what brings you all to the lake today?”
“The fine weather,” Juliet replied. “And the fine scenery, of course. I always enjoy a day at the lake, but when the weather is favorable, I can’t compel myself to stay inside.”
“I quite agree,” Lady Annie said.
“Who are you here with today?”
“Oh, just a couple of friends,” Lady Annie answered. “But they’ve gone looking for wildflowers.” She waved a hand in the direction of a group of ladies off in the distance. “Personally, that holds no interest for me.”
“You don’t care for wildflowers?”
“Not very much. I find they’re always full of bees, and I certainly don’t care for bees.” Lady Annie shuddered delicately. “I suppose they are pretty, but I would rather keep my distance from certain elements of nature.”
“I can understand that,” Juliet said. “Look at His Grace now. Is he picking up a frog?”
Lady Annie laughed. “You know, I do believe he is. I’ve never understood the preoccupation gentlemen seem to have with picking up frogs! Have you noticed this? I have no problem with frogs, but leave them on the ground where they belong. That’s what I say.”
“Oh, I quite agree.” Juliet nodded. “My brother was forever bringing back things he had found in the creek behind our home when he was a child, and I never understood why, even though I was much younger than he was.”
“And was he friendly with His Grace even then?” Lady Annie asked.
