Page 5 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
“Well, rest assured, you excel at it.”
“Yes, I excel at most things.”
“Though, not at humility.” Juliet sat back and looked at her brother appraisingly. “You know, Mother and Father are hoping to see you marry this year.”
“Let them hope. I’m nowhere near prepared for such a thing.”
“Yes, that much is clear.” Juliet snorted. “I can just imagine you speaking to the young ladies of the ton the way you speak to me! I believe you think it’s charming.”
“You’re my sister,” Daniel reiterated. “You and I speak to each other differently from how we might speak to the ladies and gentlemen we wish to charm at the ball.”
“Perhaps,” Juliet said. “I don’t know. Your friends never hesitated to tease me before.”
“Oh, you’re so sensitive.” Daniel waved his hand dismissively. “But since you mentioned my friends, guess who’s in London for the Season?”
“Who?”
“Harry! He’s the Duke of Burghley now, you know. His father died.”
Juliet’s heart plummeted. “What is he doing here?”
“His estate is here,” Daniel replied.
“But I thought he had gone to Paris. Wasn’t that what you told us? That he was off in Paris meeting women and enjoying himself?”
“No, I didn’t say anything about meeting women or enjoying himself,” Daniel said rather harshly. “Harry went to Paris out of heartbreak, Juliet. His fiancée died four years ago, and he needed to get away.”
Juliet did feel bad.
But only a little bad.
She wasn’t happy to hear the news that Harry had lost his fiancé. That was terrible. But she certainly wasn’t happy to have him back, given the way he had always made her feel every time the two of them had crossed paths.
Suddenly, in spite of her insistence to the contrary, shewasfeeling nervous.
“He isn’t coming to Tunney Manor tonight, is he?” she asked.
“Well, of course he is,” Daniel said. “The Tunney Ball is one of the biggest events of the Season. It’s the ball that sets the whole season in motion. And actually, I’m very relieved that he’s going to be there because he’s had a great deal of trouble even leaving his home. I don’t know what you think he did in Paris, but the truth is that he spent most of the time in bed grieving the loss of his fiancée.”
Now Julietdidfeel bad. Harry might have been cruel to her, but he didn’t deserve this.
“He’ll be glad to see you again,” Daniel added. “He always did like you.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Juliet hedged. “I don’t think he liked me very much.”
“What do you mean? Of course he did. He didn’t have any brothers or sisters of his own, you know, and he was always very fond of you and Matilda.”
That wasn’t true at all. But Juliet knew that she couldn’t argue the matter. Daniel didn’t want to see the truth, and she would have to accept that. She would simply find a way to avoid Harry tonight. There was no reason she had to spend any time in his company.
She decided to change the subject. “I suppose the only thing I’m nervous about is Lord Stickland.”
“Ah, the viscount.” Daniel smiled. “Your old flame.”
“He’s no old flame of mine. You know I’ve never been interested in him.”
“Perhaps not, but he certainly is. I can well understand your nervousness on that score. How long do you think it will take for him to find you and ask you to dance?”
“Five minutes. Perhaps even less.” Juliet huffed. “He never did learn that he ought to just leave me alone.”
