Page 52 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
Steeling herself, she made her way out from behind the rosebush to get a drink and join the party.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Juliet had been at the garden party for almost an hour. Harry had seen her arrive. And yet, even now, she hadn’t come to greet him.
Why wasn’t she coming over to him? He didn’t understand it. Had he done something to offend her? He couldn’t think of anything.
At least he couldn’t point to Lady Annie as the reason this time. For once, Lady Annie didn’t seem to be in attendance, and Harry was glad. It was very nice to have a respite, however brief, from her attentions.
But he did wish Juliet would pay him some attention.
He wondered why he was so worried about that. What difference did it make? The primary concern, after all, was to convince everyone of the legitimacy of their courtship, and as far as Harry knew, no one doubted them. And Juliet keeping a bit of a distance right now wasn’t going to change that. There were plenty of established couples here who had gone their separate ways to enjoy different activities. There was nothing suspicious about that.
But… hewantedto spend time with her.
It was strange and surprising but very true that he had always just seemed to have a good time with Juliet. He had been looking forward to this afternoon with her, and it bothered him that she was keeping her distance.
He surveyed the party. He had just seen her. She had just been over there, standing beside that fountain, and then, she had disappeared, as elusive as a wood nymph. What was going on?
“Good day, Your Grace.”
He turned to see Lady Beatrice, another of the brood who seemed to follow him wherever he went like Lady Annie. She was, if anything, even more annoying than Lady Annie because at least Lady Annie seemed to be aware of social boundaries. Lady Beatrice, on the other hand, had come right up to him and taken him by the arm without so much as a by-your-leave.
He carefully extricated himself from her grip. “Lady Beatrice,” he said. “It’s good to see you.” It wasn’t.
“I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“Didn’t you? I would have guessed that word would have spread by now.”
“Well, all right.” She giggled. “I did know.”
He’d known she had. He had seen her watching him from shop windows, waiting for the moment to strike. Apparently, she thought she had found it.
“Are you enjoying the party?” she asked.
“It’s been all right.” He stepped back, putting a little more distance between the two of them.
The last thing he needed was for Juliet to see him with Lady Beatrice clinging to him like a creeper vine. She would think that Harry was disrespecting their arrangement and allowing the rest of the party to see him with another lady.
Deciding it would be best to get away from Lady Beatrice as quickly as possible, he asked, “You haven’t seen Lady Juliet, have you?”
“Lady Juliet?” Lady Beatrice wrinkled her nose. “Not that homely young lady they say you’ve been courting? It’s not true, is it?”
“Certainly it’s true,” Harry confirmed. “And you shouldn’t speak ill of a young lady who may be a duchess in a year’s time, Lady Beatrice. It’s very unwise.”
Lady Beatrice’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re not going to marry her, surely? Your Grace, you could have anyone.”
“This is very rude.” Harry scowled. “And besides, what you’re saying is not even true. There’s nothing homely about Lady Juliet.”
“But she was a very ugly child,” Lady Beatrice noted. “Surely you know that. You’re friends with her brother, so you knew her in childhood. She was fat and unfortunate looking. Perhaps she has grown into herself now. But would you really want to risk your children looking like that?”
“Lady Beatrice, you’ve stepped over the line,” Harry snapped. “I’m not going to permit you to speak this way about the lady I’m courting. If you’ll excuse me.”
He turned and walked away from her, feeling both satisfied at the fact that he’d ended that conversation and angry about the way Lady Beatrice had spoken. It was unexpected, this defensive feeling, but it made sense, really. Juliet was like a younger sister to him. Of course he wouldn’t want anyone speaking ill of her.
Finally, he spotted Juliet again. She had joined Daniel for a game of nine pins, and he saw that Matilda was also with them. None of the three had noticed him yet, and he hurried over to join them.
Matilda was the first to look up. She put a hand on Juliet’s arm as if to alert her, and then Juliet looked up too.
