Page 25 of The Artisan and the Duke
Jules rolled her eyes in disgust. “Why does anyone do this to themselves? It is cruel. Do they hate themselves so?”
“I have never thought to ask,” the Duke said honestly, “although it does appear that most of them are opposed to how they look in some way or another.” The man cleared his throat. “I was just telling Mother about the fire. I had one of my insurance men go look at it with me. I have even been around to the local police, such as they are. They all seem to think the fire was a deliberate set and that someone barred the doors.”
Jules nodded slowly. “That fits with what people told me the day of the fire. They couldn’t get the doors open for anything. So, it has to be someone who would gain from a fire like that.”
“And it definitely wasn’t the property owner,” the Duke said thoughtfully. Jules cringed at the thought of the man’s body. “I’m sorry to bring that up,” the Duke apologized at the expression on Jules’ face.
Jules blushed deeply at having been caught being so soft. “It’s quite alright,” she assured him.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I did not enjoy the sight at all myself and find it waiting for me sometimes when my thoughts stray,” the Duke said quietly.
Jules nodded. “I feel ridiculous for being so affected by it when there are people like your brother who have seen far worse, Your Grace,” Jules said honestly. Her brow wrinkled, and she asked, “Where is Sir St Claire if you do not mind my asking, Your Grace?”
“He left just this morning to go take over the country estate. We lost our overseer for the estate due to age, and Fredrick was keen to get away from society for a bit. It worked out well,” the Duke said with a smile.
With another nod, Jules agreed. “It does sound like it would be good for him.”
“That was my thought as well,” Duke St Claire agreed. “Are you longing for your family yet?”
Jules sighed. “I’ve always been with them. Missing them comes very naturally.”
“I promise that when all this is over, you can return to them,” the Duke said sincerely. His grey eyes locked onto Jules’ gaze, and she saw nothing but truth reflected in the man’s eyes.
Jules pushed herself up a bit on the couch, the corset just about forcing her to lie down despite her efforts. She was eager to ask the Duke about what her part in all of this was to be, but just then the door opened, and a servant brought in a tray with a pitcher of lemon water and some small sandwiches.
“Excuse me, Your Grace. Your mother sent me to bring the young lady some refreshments,” the man said with a thick accent that Jules could not place.
The Duke waved the man to deposit the tray on the side of his desk. “Thank you so much, Manuel,” he said graciously as the man set the tray on the desk. As quickly as he entered, the servant was gone again. “He’s a nice man,” the Duke said of the servant after the man had left, “but a little too stiff. He does not like to make conversation lightly.”
“Oh,” Jules said simply as she pushed herself up off the couch. The Duke was already rising to help, but she insisted, “I can stand up on my own.”
The Duke watched her lever herself up off the cushion seat with amusement. “No one can say you take the easy road, Miss Kelley,” the man assured her.
“Thank you,” Jules said as she breathed a sigh of relief on getting to her feet. She came over to sit next to the desk in one of the leather chairs. The leather chairs were far more comfortable to sit in with a corset, Jules discovered. She took the glass of lemon water that the Duke held out to her.
“You have yet to say in what way I can help you, Your Grace,” Jules ventured. She did not want to anger the man, but she was also anxious to know what she would be called upon to do in the near future.
The Duke nodded as he watched her take a sip of the lemon water. “I simply need you to do as you have been doing, pose as my betrothed for a time. I do apologize for not being more forthright with you in the beginning, but I feared you might be predisposed to decline on principle,” the man said with a slight lift of his shoulders.
Jules frowned slightly, and she asked, “Why is it necessary for me to do so?”
“It will give me more freedom to investigate without my mother and others constantly interfering with me,” the Duke said with a dismissive flick of his wrist. “I thought you might enjoy a bit of pulling the wool over the elite’s eyes, so to speak.”
The idea of getting something past her betters did spark a bit of mischief in Jules’ heart. She smiled at the man. “Can I ask what you will be investigating with all this new freedom?”
“To put it simply, it has come to my attention that some of my peers might be behind a series of acts that have been blamed on various guilds in the city. Not only that, but I am fairly certain that someone is undermining me and my family’s name. To that end, I am determined to find out the truth,” the Duke said truthfully.
Jules eyed the man and said quietly, “You are very open about your ambitions. Aren’t you afraid that I might not be on your side? Or that someone could overhear?”
“I want what you want,” the Duke said, “and if I someone here is against me, then I feel as if I have already lost.”
Jules nodded slowly and sipped her lemon water. “So, have we decided who I am in this whole farce?”
“You are yourself, only you are from the colonies in India,” the Duke said. “We met during my trip to India last year and have been corresponding since then.”
Jules smiled. “How very romantic, Your Grace.”
“Truly,” the Duke said with a chuckle. “You might want to say that with less sarcasm if asked by someone about it.”
