Page 88 of A Deal with the Broken Duke
She gazed out the window for a moment. What a relief it would be to just run away from all this. But she knew she couldn’t.
The guests were now starting to arrive. They looked at Juliet with curiosity in their eyes, all of them clearly wanting to know what had happened, how the Duke’s courtship had come to such a quick and unexpected end. Juliet avoided their gazes. She had no interest in answering those questions. All she wanted was to get through this evening. She knew she would feel infinitely better when it was behind her.
When everyone arrived, they went into the dining room and took their seats. Mercifully, Juliet was seated between her brother and sister. She wouldn’t have been surprised if her father had seated her next to two gentlemen and forced her to make conversation with them all night, so she was deeply grateful for the fact that he hadn’t.
Both Daniel and Matilda seemed to understand without having to be told that Juliet wasn’t in the mood to talk at all, and they didn’t try to speak with her. She was grateful to be left to her thoughts, not that there was anything particularly enjoyable about those thoughts at the moment.
Harry had been seated at the opposite end of the table, so it ought to have been possible to avoid looking at him altogether, but Juliet couldn’t seem to do it. Every time she lifted her head, it seemed, she could feel his eyes on her, and she couldn’t keep herself from looking his way. More often than not, she was right, and he had indeed been looking at her.
She wished he would stop.
But at the same time, she knew that she couldn’t ask him to.
Lord Stickland was present as well. He had been seated directly opposite Juliet, and that was even more of a problem in Juliet’s mind because she couldn’t avoid his gaze at all. He wasn’t even shy about the fact that he was staring at her.
“He’s certainly had his eyes on you all evening, hasn’t he?” Daniel murmured to her as he helped her to some fish.
“Please don’t let Father force me into a situation where I’m on my own with him,” Juliet whispered. “I can’t stand him, Daniel. He makes me feel unsafe.”
Daniel frowned. “Has he done something?”
Juliet hesitated. She couldn’t very well explain the whole situation to Daniel right here at the table. “I can tell you more about it later,” she said. “But he isn’t very respectful.”
“I see,” Daniel muttered, his tone dark. “Well, don’t worry. I know Father wants to find you a gentleman who will improve our reputation and social standing, but I’m sure we can find someone else.”
“Really?” Juliet felt a blossom of hope.
“Of course,” Daniel said. “You know perfectly well that I wasn’t even willing to let my best friend court you if I thought it would have put you at risk. You can count on me, Juliet.”
Juliet relaxed ever so slightly. Daniel was right, of course. As difficult as it was to face all this, at least she knew that she had her brother on her side. She knew he wouldn’t let anything too dreadful happen to her.
I’m going to tell him everything about Lord Stickland.He’ll make sure Father doesn’t force me into some kind of arrangement with that man.
Perhaps she could actually find a way to enjoy this dinner after all.
She focused on the fish. It really was very good. Her father had spared no expense in making sure this was a dinner party everyone would remember and talk about for a long time. She had to admit that if the purpose of this party hadn’t been finding her a gentleman she didn’t want, she would have been enjoying herself.
She hoped that Matilda, at least, was having a good time. She knew how much her sister had longed to be included in the events of the Season. Every time Matilda had been allowed to go to a party, she had been overjoyed, and she had been included in this one by default since it was being held at her own home.
She’d been seated across Lord Belmont, and more than once, Juliet caught her looking at him and smiling.
Perhaps she had feelings for him. She was still too young, but it would be wonderful if her sister was able to find something real with a gentleman in a few years; something that would allow her to escape their father’s scheming as he tried to arrange the most beneficial matches for his daughters, and their family.
When dinner was over, everyone got up to walk around and socialize for a bit before dessert and coffee. Juliet ached to go out into the garden and find a secret place to hide, but she knew she would be missed if she did. She had to stay.
She lingered beside Matilda for a while, but her father caught her by the elbow.
“We didn’t have this party so that you could spend the whole evening with your sister the way you always do,” Lord Linford whispered. “Go find someone else to talk to, Juliet.”
After that, she had no choice. She was forced to walk away from Matilda and to the crowd of people.
She pushed past several gentlemen who tried to catch her eye, wanting nothing to do with them and hoping that her father wouldn’t see what she was doing and step in again to interfere.
And then, at last, she ran into a piece of good fortune in the form of Lady Annie.
“Lady Juliet,” Lady Annie said, her voice warm and full of sympathy. “I heard about what happened. I’m so sorry.”
“You did warn me.” Juliet sighed.
