Lord Love a Duke

by Renee Reynolds

  "Juliet! I demand you come out this instant!" roared her father as he pushed his way past the door, struggling to evade Danvers. She raised her head to address him.

  "I regret it, Father, that I cannot. I need--"

  "What you need is to stand up and remove yourself from this chamber! We will speak of this as a family." Her father's voice had lowered but the severity of his tone had not diminished. She saw her mother wringing her hands, the anguish she felt abundantly evident on her face. Juliet felt tears threatening again and was not sure she could stop them. Suddenly, the sea of onlookers parted as Miranda made her way into the room.

  "Juliet! Jonas!" She belatedly clamped a hand over her mouth while her eyes flew repeatedly between her friend trying to hide on the floor and her brother lying back on the pillows in his bed, obviously having been recently wakened from sleep.

  Miranda rushed around the bed to tend her friend. She looked at Juliet's half-removed gown and the utter look of misery on her face and stood.

  "I must ask everyone to leave this room." No one moved. She addressed the Duke's valet specifically. "Danvers, remove everyone from this room and doorway. Now." She moved toward the door and made shooing motions with her hands. The assembled audience slowly began to retreat. She looked to Lord and Lady Lansdowne, addressing them in hushed tones.

  "Please, wait for Juliet in your private sitting room. I will send her in just a moment. Let me assure you all is not as it seems." The Marquis opened his mouth to speak but Miranda placed her hand on his arm. "Please. Trust me as her oldest friend, and on the friendship of our two families. I will see to Juliet and send her to you soon."

  Juliet's parents looked from Miranda to their daughter and nodded their agreement, slowly leaving the doorway. Miranda followed and shut the door, slowly turning to face Juliet and the Duke.

  "What in the name of all that's holy is going on in here? Or should I ask what went on in here last night?" The Duke raised his eyebrows and made to reply but Juliet burst out first with her explanation.

  "Oh, Randa! You are correct. Things are not as they appear. I came in her last night after leaving supper with Aunt Catherine, as we had planned," she glanced miserably and apologetically at the Duke, "and I unfortunately decided I had plenty of time to go one step further and sew his bed linens together. I had scarcely begun when Danvers entered the room and began the obvious preparations for His Grace. As soon as he exited I attempted to flee but found I had sewn the skirts of my gown into the fabrics.” She hung her head down in a mixture of embarrassment and irritation.

  “Oh, Jules!” lamented Miranda before she abruptly dissolved into a fit of laughter, shaking so hard she dropped down into a chair.

  “Miranda, this is no laughing matter, no matter how ridiculous it seems! There is serious cause for alarm here. Do you not realize what will happen now? Your brother will be forced to offer for me as I have spent the entire night in his chamber. This is a disaster!” Juliet threw up her arm, gesturing wildly as she spoke, completely unaware that she gave the Duke an enticing view of her bare limb and shoulder.

  Miranda's laughter died immediately and her smile faded as she pursed her lips in consternation. She glanced from her brother to her friend. “But – bugger it all – is there nothing else to be done? Surely the explanation will suffice and make the situation clear, revealing there was no compromise.”

  For the first time the Duke spoke. “It sounds simple enough except there is no way to guarantee the other myriad of guests in this house will not spread a rumor. Lord Lansdowne shouted with enough volume and spirit to wake the dead. This incident will be all over the village and on its way to London by noon, I assure you, courtesy of our visitors. The only matter we can control is the result of their news, whether it be of scandal or betrothal.”

  His calm demeanor and cool rationalizations unnerved both ladies. Miranda was amazed her brother's temper had remained in check. Examining his expression closely she would almost think he looked pleased with the situation, but the thought seemed too absurd.

  “Randa, would you come help to sever these stitches so I may gather the tiny shreds of dignity I still possess and slink out of this room? You don't know how I have been tormented, sitting here all night knowing there are scissors in my reticule not ten feet away.” Juliet's voice was muffled as her head was dropped low as she sat immobile behind the bed. Danvers, the Duke's valet, reentered with an expressionless face and the Duke's dressing gown.

  “Ladies, if you will avert your eyes I will remove myself to my dressing room as you address your comportment.” They complied and Juliet felt the bed shift as the Duke moved off. “And Lady Juliet, I ask you not to leave this room until I return. We have a few items that bear discussion.” Juliet gave no answer and did not raise her head until she heard the closing click of the dressing room door.

  “Here sits the very definition of mortification!” Juliet exclaimed with a look of absolute dejection across her face. “I have been stuck here all night! I even tried to slither out of my dress to steal out of the room but I could not manage all the buttons, which only left me remaining here with half of my upper body exposed. And I do not know if I can walk as I have not felt my feet for at least two hours. You do not know how hard I have prayed for a gaping hole simply to open underneath me and swallow me whole!”

  Miranda burst out with another laugh then quickly stifled her mirth and rushed to aid her friend.

  “I am so happy I amuse you, Randa! My situation is dire, not entertaining! Know you not what this means? Your brother will surely offer for me after this!” Juliet wailed with no small amount of emotion. A single tear began a descent down her left cheek. “And I will be forced to refuse, which will lead him to make a case with my parents, who will be in complete agreement with His Grace. Not to mention my brothers will begin trumpeting about honor and compromise and meetings at dawn. I cannot fathom what I was thinking to attempt this stunt!” Juliet moved to rise but was once again caught by the stitching of her gown to the coverlet. She gave a muffled oath and began to furiously thrash against the restraining garments.

  “Jules, you must calm yourself. No doubt something mutually beneficial can be worked out between you two. I have seen the way you watch each other when you think no one is wiser. Confess – you care for my brother!” Miranda declared in a stage whisper as she retrieved the scissors from Juliet's reticule and began to sever the stitches binding her friend to her brother's bed.

  Juliet gasped as if outraged but felt the betraying blush sweeping across her face. “Of course I care for your brother, in as much as I have known him all my life. He is as another brother to me. All the more reason we cannot marry. As for these supposed glances you --”

  “Do not bother to gainsay me. You never blush save embarrassment and there is nothing embarrassing about my statements unless you have been caught. I declare you are blushing to the roots of your hair because I have found you out.” She reached and smoothed the escaped tendrils of hair back from Juliet's face, tucking them behind her ear. “Take care, my friend, as my brother watches you just as furtively. More than that, he hangs on your every word, watches for your entrance into any room, and seeks out your company to the exclusion of others. This evening has turned out splendidly! I cannot wait to tell your Aunt how right she was. We did not think it would end in such a spectacularly loud or unrestricted fashion, but we knew there would be sparks of some kind.”

  Juliet whipped her head up to stare at her friend. “Why must you speak with Aunt Catherine?”

  Miranda smiled smugly at her friend's glare. “No reason save to tell her that she was correct and that you and my brother are innamorato, my sweet Juliet. And I for one am thrilled! When your Aunt confided her suspicions to me, I had a momentary pang of doubt before I decided it made no matter. If Jonas is focused on you – and believe me, Jules, you aunt has convinced me he watches you quite determinedly – then he cannot focus on me. Ergo, I am ecstatic over this turn of events!”


  Miranda ripped the final stitch and Juliet fell onto her back on the carpet, stretching her cramped muscles and flexing her fingers and toes. She groaned out loud, half from the discomforts across her form, half from the machinations of her favorite aunt and closest friend. She abruptly sat up and began to repin her half-fallen hair. “It does not signify. I will not be forced to marry.”

  Miranda gasped her astonishment and jumped to her feet, deciding to intimidate her taller friend with her brief height advantage. “You will have to marry! You yourself admitted as much not five minutes past. Not only will both our families demand it, the crowd that had gathered outside this very bedroom door this morning will be salivating at the picture of what did or did not happen here overnight. There is no way to escape their malice should the honorable outcome not result.”

  “This house party is almost totally comprised of our friends and family. Those few who would maliciously delight in some scandal erupting will not be quietened by an announcement of impending nuptials. Therefore I see no reason to trap your brother in a union he was not seeking, nor myself in a bond I had determined to avoid.”

  “But you . . . you must . . . there cannot be . . . what about . . .” Miranda sputtered ineffectually.

  “I am quite confident I can persuade your brother of the wisdom of forgetting this ever happened. As for my family, I will simply remind them of my desire to live a quiet, isolated life in the country. That it has happened perhaps a few years before I had planned is of no account. I acted foolishly and must bear the consequences. I will not inflict them upon your brother.” Juliet rose as if to exit the room but was stopped by Miranda's hand on her arm.

  “You forget that Jonas was not planning to retire to the country nor can he avoid his obligations in Town. He has just begun to feel comfortable filling my father's seat in the Lords, not to mention slowly garnering the respect of his much-older ducal peers. No amount of explanation will prevent the ton from believing you were aggrieved and have removed to the country while my brother continues his normal routines. What of his reputation? What of his needs?”

  Juliet's countenance fell as she processed the truth of Miranda's words. She moved to the chair near the fireplace and plopped wearily onto the cushions. “He is a Duke: whatever he says will be taken as truth. At the very most, I should be called upon to make a few appearances around Town to satisfy the tabbies that all is well, no one is slighted.” She rubbed her eyes and huffed out a dejected breath. “It may be somewhat fanciful of me, but surely between my father's marquisate and his Dukedom this can be resolved firmly and thoroughly, if not altogether quietly.” Juliet cast a hopeful glance over at her friend, who promptly burst out laughing, although it was a laugh of derision and not mirth.

  “One thing is truth, that whatever Jonas says will have the full weight of his sheer – whatever you call it – 'dukiness' – behind it and will be the way it shall be. However, you know as well as I that without a marriage his words will merely be a surface balm. The scandalous story will remain Society's reality and will be fresh on everyone's mind and tongue every time a Quinn or a Leighton is seen in public.” She walked over to give her friend a long hug, kissing her on the head before she straightened. “You know I am correct. A small part of me is amazed that I am speaking thus to you rather than the other way around. Your solution for you may seem easy enough, but pray think of all the other characters in this play. I know you would not wish this to be a tragic opera, despite your love of them,” she joked. With one more hug to her friend, Miranda exited the room, leaving Juliet to her increasingly morbid thoughts.

  Juliet's subsequent chuckle held a tinge of mania before she took in a deep and calming breath. She would not cry, but she did fear she might disgrace herself and shame the Duke by begging her family not to make her marry. A new laugh that sounded somewhat mad with desperation escaped her pursed lips. How many times had she declared to her family that she would not marry for her personal purse nor position, secretly harboring a desire to marry for love, or at least fond like. She never once considered she might be forced to drag another to wed due to foolishness. For a lady known for intelligence and wit she felt suddenly asinine and imbecilic. “Yes, my life has moved from farce to tragedy in less than a fortnight. I should put pen to vellum and make some coin off the stage at least since this sorry tale will no doubt travel the breadth and width of Town soon.”

  Juliet patted her hair, straightened her bodice, arranged her skirts smoothly, assumed her most ladylike pose, and awaited the arrival of the man she had doomed.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.

  William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5, Scene 2

  A more composed, albeit wrinkled and dejected, Juliet sat primly on the edge of one seat near the cold grate in the Duke's chambers. She had been returned to rights, or as rightly as she could be returned, by Miranda before her friend took her leave. The valet, Danvers, had reentered to retrieve clothing for his master, and amazingly remained expressionless as he pulled out the entire contents of the wardrobe thanks to Juliet's dexterity with her needle in the execution of the ill-fated prank. The servant calmly collected the voluminous stack of cravats and stockings and exited the same way he had entered. He serves his master well, thought Juliet wryly. At least he will be the star below stairs when he relates this juicy tale. She sighed deeply and once again looked over the room she had learned so well in study throughout the night. Like it or not, she would likely get to know all the rooms at this estate, as well as the rest of the Dorset properties, as she would evidently be its new mistress. She could not stop the bubble of agitated laughter that escaped her throat, wringing her hands at the slightly hysterical quality she heard in it. Steady girl, she thought, this wild ride has only begun.

  A light knock preceded the Duke's entrance and Juliet sat straighter in her seat. Her pulse pounded and for a moment she felt both hot and cold and disturbingly lightheaded. Good heavens, is this what a faint feels like? she thought haphazardly as she swayed slightly, her vision darkening.

  “Here now, none of that if you please,” instructed the Duke as he reached her side. “Close your eyes and lean back.” Juliet heeded his words as she took slow breaths. “You will not become missish now and leave me to face the reckoning alone,” he teased in effort to calm her panic.

  Her eyes snapped open and he was pleased to see a small spark of life return to their gray depths. She had the most fascinating color to her eyes, he thought. Both brothers shared her hue but something was different between them. Hers glittered and shone, reflecting her vivacity and personality. This morning, however, they resembled stone.

  Juliet took one more calming breath before responding to his weak jest. “The least I can do, the very least,” she stressed, “is stay conscious for the inquisition.” She favored him with a wan smile that, unsurprisingly, did not reach her eyes.

  Jonas grinned widely down at her. “Yes, I will definitely need you awake and coherent when your father and brothers demand satisfaction.”

  Juliet blanched, but she remained steady. “Oh, Your Grace, I cannot begin to apologize sufficiently for my actions. I can only stress that I shall not ruin your life in this manner. You will not be saddled with me due to my foolishness and folly. I, alone, will bear the brunt of this ridiculous night and--”

  Jonas dropped to his haunches, sitting on his heels in front of her seat. “I am going to stop you before you go any further and tell you that we will indeed marry. There will be no discussion and no bargaining on this point. Regardless of the motives or circumstances, you spent the night in my chamber and were discovered by a sizable number of people, including my mother and your parents. Add to that my state of undress and your state of dishabille and the end result can only be matrimony.”

  Juliet swallowed a wail and made to rise from her chair. The Duke grabbed her wrists, preventing her escape. “But, Your Grace, it was a prank. A stupid, childish fo
lly. You should not be so punished for my foolishness.”

  His hands slowly moved up and down her arms in a light caress of her skin. “What, then, is the punishment of which you speak? I am to wed a beautiful, intelligent lady who makes me laugh as well as gives challenge to my ideas. Truly, I see no punishment.” He paused as his gaze bore into hers. “Unless, of course, you continue to call me 'Your Grace,'” he added.

  Juliet made a sound in her throat that was half sob and half laugh. How could he not be furious over this situation? “But you are being forced to marry! You are being deprived of your choice in the matter of your bride,” she began but again he stopped her, this time with a touch of his fingers to her lips.