Page 30 of The Artisan and the Duke
“It hardly matters,” the Duke said as he waved off her concern. “I know that I am not your ideal mate,” he said with a shrug. “The sooner we get your friends out of jail and get things sorted away, the sooner you can get on with your life.”
Jules wanted to take back her words, but the man clearly was not interested in her apology. He had not seemed so cold to her before. Jules frowned. “Yes,” she said quietly.
“I do not know if I will return in time for the evening meal,” the Duke said. “Enjoy your day, Miss Kelley.” Before Jules could say another word, the Duke was gone, and she was left standing in an empty foyer.
Jules stood there trying to reason out what had just happened until Sherry found her. The girl put her hand on Jules’ arm and enquired, “Is everything well?”
“I don’t think it is,” Jules said softly. “I don’t know why I thought it might be.”
Sherry pressed, “What is it that has happened, Miss?”
Jules shook her head. “I’m not really sure,” she said, pushing away from the sadness that fought to crush her down. “Nothing is the matter,” Jules said finally. “The Duke and I just reaffirmed our working arrangement.”
Sherry looked at her in confusion. “I don’t think I follow, Miss.”
“You can have the Duke, Sherry. I want nothing from him,” Jules said as she turned on her heel and marched back up the stairs with Sherry right behind her.
Sherry asked urgently, “What happened? I thought you had eyes for him. He definitely had his eyes on you.”
“Oh, Sherry, you do not know how wrong you are,” Jules said with feeling. “That man is everything that is wrong with this society.”
Sherry frowned as she followed Jules up the stairs and towards the woman’s room. “If you would just take a moment, then perhaps you would be a bit clearer headed, Ma’am,” Sherry said with concern.
“Never make a deal with the Devil, Sherry, for he will always say what you want to hear,” Jules said as she refused to listen to the chambermaid.
Sherry sighed and followed the enraged young woman into her room.
***
“Do you think that perhaps, Sir Chapman will reconsider his stance?” the barrister asked Gregory with a hopeful look.
Gregory considered his words carefully. “Maxwell has always been a man steeped in virtue. Men like that can be a benefit or a curse,” Gregory said thoughtfully.
“You are thinking that he is being swayed?” Reginald asked astutely.
Gregory nodded. “I have pondered long and hard as to who might be in his ear, and I know of only a handful of men that could bend Maxwell to their way of thinking,” Gregory said with a sigh.
Gregory and Barrister Dulock sat in the man’s cramped office. It was the only place that Gregory thought private enough to talk about such things any longer. There was no telling who Maxwell was in league with, and whoever it was could definitely be behind some of the rumours that Gregory had caught wind of.
“You are taking a very personal interest in the fate of these tradesmen,” Barrister Dulock remarked.
Gregory sighed and said simply, “I am no patron of injustice.”
“I think no man truly is,” Dulock replied, “but that does not mean that fairness pervades everything. After all, people only see things from their level. I think things look a good deal different from on high as they do from the grit of London’s streets.”
Rumours about his family aside, Gregory was determined to keep his promise to Miss Kelley. “Just do what you can, Reginald. I will do what I can to uncover why it is so important to Maxwell’s benefactors that these men take the blame for that fire,” Gregory said with resignation as he stood up to take his leave of the man.
Reginald stood up as well and clasped the hand that Gregory held out to him. “I bid you safety, Your Grace, in your endeavours,” the man said solemnly.
The path of going against Gregory’s fellows was a precarious one, but it was one that he had already been pushed onto, so he felt obliged to see it to the end. “Thank you,” Gregory said simply as he turned and exited the building.
The sky outside was ominously full of grey clouds that threatened to burst at any moment and drench the streets in the rain. Gregory thought that rather fitting to how he felt. He had no idea how to approach Miss Kelley after the words that had been said.
He knew that he had spoken rashly, but her words had echoed with him. If that was truly how she felt, then he might as well let her out of the engagement now. They had no obligation to each other at this point. Still, he hesitated.
Gregory swung up onto the saddle of his horse and rode towards his family home lost in thought. There was nothing to be done but go home and face the mess he had made earlier. Perhaps if he apologized, Miss Kelley might calm towards him. Gregory snapped the reins, and his horse sped up.
***
