Page 41 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“Well, no, I suppose not.”
“And I would be a fool not to learn the lesson, wouldn’t I? You’re my older sister, Juliet. Everything I know about this world, I learnt by watching you.”
“Oh, dear.” Juliet chuckled. “You really are in for a rough time of it, if that’s the case.”
“I’ll be fine,” Matilda said firmly. “And so will you, Juliet. You’ll get through this, wherever it’s leading. We’ll do it together.”
“Your confidence is a gift to me.” Juliet smiled. “Truly, Matilda, I don’t know what I would do without you in times like these. I’m just grateful that I don’t have to marry him, or anyone in reality, because if I did, you and I would be separated, and that’s one thing I’m not ready for.”
“We’ll never be separated,” Matilda promised. “Even when you do marry, you can count on the fact that you’ll never be able to get rid of me, Juliet. I’ll be your shadow for the rest of your life.”
Juliet smiled at the familiar childhood nickname. The whole family had always teased Matilda by calling her Juliet’s shadow. But to Juliet, and Matilda, it had always been a point of pride.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
“No, you absolutely may not attend the Livingston Ball,” Lord Linford said sharply. “It’s highly inappropriate of you to even pose the question, Matilda!”
“Oh, Father, let her come,” Juliet pleaded. “It would be ever so much more enjoyable for me if she were there.”
“You are meant to be focusing on your courtship with His Grace!” the viscount said. “I know what you’re like, you know, Juliet. If I allow your sister to accompany you everywhere, you’ll pay more attention to her than to the gentleman who’s trying to court you.”
“I won’t do that,” Juliet protested. “I know I have to spend time with him, Father. I won’t neglect my responsibilities.”
“It’s bad enough that I have to send Matilda out with you on all your outings. But that’s necessary, for propriety’s sake. The ball is the one place I can send you on your own and let him have some time with you.”
“But I won’t be on my own anyway. You’re sending Daniel too.”
“I am, but I trust Daniel to know better than to hover over the two of you all evening.”
Juliet knew that she had lost the argument, so she let it drop, but she also knew that her father had perceived things exactly wrong. Based on the way things had been going so far, Daniel was much more likely to be the one hovering over her and refusing to allow her and Harry any time alone together. Matilda would only make a nuisance of herself if Harry was rude, and Juliet didn’t want to be left alone with him.
There was no way of explaining all this to her father, who would never have accepted that there existed a valid set of circumstances in which Juliet might not want to be alone with Harry.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Matilda, ignoring her father altogether. “We tried. Perhaps he’ll allow you to come next time.”
Matilda sighed. “It doesn’t seem very likely.” She glanced at her father, who could obviously hear this part of the conversation but was refusing to take the bait.
“We’d better get going,” Daniel, who was waiting by the door and taking no part at all in the conversation, stated. “If you’re ready, Juliet?”
Juliet steeled herself. She wasn’t sure that her feelings about tonight’s ball could best be described as readiness. The idea of coming face-to-face with Harry again after the way their lake outing had ended was incredibly intimidating. But it was going to have to be done, and there was nothing to be gained by dragging her feet about it. If they didn’t meet one another again today, it would happen soon enough when he came to take her for another outing. There was no way to maintain the pretense of courtship, which she so desperately needed, without seeing him.
“I’ll see you when you return home,” Matilda said unhappily.
Juliet nodded, comforting herself with the thought that she and Matilda would surely stay up all night discussing everything that had happened. They would have tea brought up to her bedroom, and she would tell her sister about all the ladies in their fine gowns and all about the things Harry had said and done…
That thought made the prospect of spending the evening with him much more bearable, somehow. She felt as if she was simply venturing out to collect stories for her sister. When she thought about it like that, it almost seemed as though more interesting things happening—even if those things were a bit unpleasant for her to bear—would be good instead of bad because she would have more to talk to Matilda about later.
Juliet and Daniel made their way out to the waiting carriage and climbed in without speaking a word to one another. It wasn’t until the carriage pulled away from their manor towards Livingston that Daniel finally spoke.
“Are you quite sure you’re feeling all right?” he asked.
“What?” Juliet felt thrown by the question. She hadn’t expected it.
“I want you to tell me the truth,” Daniel said rather severely. “If you’re feeling ill at all—”
“No, of course not. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because of what happened when we went to the lake.”
