Lord Love a Duke (13 page)

“Your Grace, I have known you since you were
in short coats. I seem to recall how you helped to stow several
large bull frogs in my barouche. They made their presence known
about half way between the Channel and London in a most
ill-mannered way, I must say. There is nothing quite like angry
bull frogs, I have come to realize, for angry they were. Opening
the trunk under my carriage seat unleashed a torrent of hateful
amphibians and their noxious fumes. Each time I have seen you
since, you have always led or participated in a battle plan of some
sort. It was a bit too early in the Season to remove from Town, so
I ask you again, what is the purpose of this house party? I know
you detest most social functions, so I do not believe you do this
out of the kindness of your heart, Jonas.”

The Duke laughed but before he could respond
Miranda jumped into the conversation. “Oh, his grand scheme is to
rid himself of the burden of his soon-to-be-a-spinster sister.” The
smile on her brother's face dissolved into a look of unmasked
irritation. “Don't look at me like that, Jonas. You know 'tis the
only reason you would put yourself through the paces of being a
party host.”

The Countess observed the looks exchanged by
the contentious siblings and decided to change the topic of
conversation to prevent a most distasteful, if not wholly
entertaining, public family fight. “Well I would suggest you do not
ask my dear niece about her views on marriage unless you have all
morning to devote to the discussion.”

Several pairs of brows rose quizzically
around the room at this revelation, and Miranda pounced on the
topic. She was not eager to bring up the subject of her possible
marriage but delighted in watching the reaction Juliet's views
always elicited. “Oh, yes! Juliet, do tell us when you plan to
marry.”

Juliet looked from the Duke to her aunt to
her parents and smiled sheepishly, preferring to avoid this vein of
the discussion if at all possible. She swallowed the suddenly
desert-dry bite of toast she had been chewing and took a sip of
tea. “I daresay no one here has any desire to hear my views. They
are far from interesting.”

Viscount Melville would not let this comment
slide, his eyes positively glowing with avaricious desire to obtain
any key to winning the lovely and wealthy hand of Lady Juliet. “I,
for one, would be very interested in hearing whatever you would
like to say about matrimony.”

“You might think so,” murmured Miranda
sarcastically with a smirk thrown to Juliet.

“I must agree with my daughter. She has
nothing to add to any discourse on this subject.” The Marchioness
looked around the table nervously, silently praying this topic
would lose the interest of the group. The Viscount was not to be
deterred.

“I still find myself very much intrigued and
wishing to know the answer to Lady Miranda's question. So, Lady
Juliet, when do you plan to wed?”

With an apologetic look to her parents,
Juliet replied, “Never, my lord.” She looked down at her plate and
pushed her fork delicately into a bite of ham. Bringing the morsel
to her mouth she chewed and looked over the heads of those sitting
nearest her, refusing to meet anyone's eyes in an attempt to avoid
further questions. The Viscount visibly started at her brief reply,
shock warring with a look of crushed hopes plastered clearly across
his face. He blurted out a response before he could check himself
or school his features.

“
Never? A girl of your
standing and beauty never to marry? Why ever not?” Melville looked
meaningfully around the table to see if others were reacting as he.
The ladies and gentlemen seemed equally dumbfounded that a lady had
no desire to fulfill what was essentially her sole purpose, to
marry, and to do so as well as was possible. Juliet's parents
looked mortified while her brothers looked smugly satisfied that
they would not have to ferret out the intentions of any future
beaus.

“My lord, you partially answer your own
question for me. I am fortunate to be the daughter of a marquis of
good standing, and even more blessed to be the daughter of a loving
father. As such, I do not have the need to marry for future
security. Indeed, I will have my own property in a few years, with
a stable income. After two seasons, I now find myself quite content
to swear off matrimony and look forward to being an eccentric
spinster and entertaining aunt to my future nieces and nephews.”
Juliet spoke quietly but firmly, still glancing around the room
rather than engaging any particular person with eye contact. She
laid her fork down and returned to sipping her tea.

“But what of your duty to your family name,
to marry well and bring joy to your parents in a good match?” The
hope to have been the other half of that match was now clearly
written on the Viscount's crestfallen face.

“Would you wish me to go into trade, my
lord, for that is exactly what a business arrangement of a marriage
would be to me.” She paused to look at the Viscount's face and
quickly swept her gaze across the rapt faces of the attendees. “No,
I can see the thought of being a tradesman is abhorrent to this
gathering. It is funny how we so look down on the merchant class
from our lofty heights in the peerage but the marriages all around
us are nothing more than engagements in commerce. We swap currency
for titles, positions for heirs – just think of marriage
settlements, for one! As for myself, I can speak with confidence
when I say the family name will be well carried to future
generations by my two brothers. The daughters are of little
consequence to a family unless they be a financial burden or the
only offspring. I am neither.”

Melville opened and shut his mouth several
times, his thin face looking remarkably like a fish. Juliet could
not let the conversation end with the focus on her, so she saucily
added a closing.

“I fancy myself quite the astute observer of
Society and have noticed a marked difference between those couples
who married by choice or by desire and those who merged as if
engaged in mercantilism. But my windy sermon does not signify.” She
stopped as if to take inventory of the gathering and addressed all
the men in the room as one. “Look around the room, my lords and
gentlemen. It is nearly bursting with gentlewomen of various colors
of hair and eyes, all fair-skinned and demure and all that is
proper. There is no gathering of such concentrated beauty of both
features and talent as what is assembled here at Edgecliff. Take
advantage of it, dear sirs. It is, after all, a party. Now, pray
excuse me.” She set her teacup back in its saucer, dabbed daintily
the corners of her mouth with her napkin, and rose from her chair.
She left the room in a swish of skirts and confidence, not stopping
until she climbed the stairs and reached her chamber.

The Duke had watched the exchange and
Juliet's departure with a mixture of admiration and disappointment.
He admired her liveliness of spirit and mind, her wicked sense of
humor, her obvious beauty, and unassuming talent and intelligence.
He was surprised to find himself disappointed that she had sworn
off marriage, although he was not yet willing to identify the
reason for this. He was honest enough with himself to realize he
was happy that the gentlemen of the party were being encouraged to
give up any plans of pursuit they may have been fomenting, although
not for the altruistic reasons that more suitors were free for his
sister. He did not realize a small smile of satisfaction was
curling the corners of his mouth.

The Countess observed the reactions of those
around the table and was quite pleased to watch the Duke. She could
tell her niece held some interest for him and she resolved to
foster that interest wholeheartedly. She now needed to ascertain
the feelings of Juliet toward the brother of her best friend.

There was a misty fog struggling desperately
to keep its grip on the trees in the early light the following
morning. Miranda and Juliet met at the top of the stairs outside
the front entrance and walked quietly together to the stables.
Their mares were saddled for their ride and they thanked the groom
for his help, making sure to tell him they were headed for a
leisurely ride on the beach. Juliet noticed that the Duke's horse
was missing from his stall, which was a good sign. The ladies made
use of the mounting block and trotted toward the path to the sea
until they were out of sight of the stables. They immediately
circled back and away from the cliffs of the beach, following the
treeline to the pond located near the back pasture. Coming up on
another copse of trees, Juliet stopped her horse to wait in hiding,
concealed from possible view, while Miranda softly walked her horse
nearer to the pond. Securing her mount to a branch a fair distance
from the water, Miranda stealthily crept through the trees that
shielded the pond from view.

As she approached, she saw her brother using
long strokes to cross the pond. His horse, Paladin, lazily grazed
near his master's pile of clothes. Seizing her opportunity, she
quietly scooped up the garments and ran back to her mare and the
coverage of the trees, chuckling silently that she left him only
his tall boots. Familiarity with the land lent speed to her strides
and she remounted her horse with ease. Trotting through the trees
as swiftly as possible, she rejoined Juliet and together they broke
for the rear of the house. Miranda dismounted at the entrance to
the kitchen and took the servant stairs up to her chamber, stuffing
the pile of clothing under her bed. She rejoined Juliet and they
nudged their horses back to the treeline to follow it to the
beach.

"My nerves are absolutely crackling this
morning," confessed Juliet as they descended the narrow path to the
sea. “Since my brother and Lord Aylesford still think your brother
had something to do with the tampered spirits, I think your brother
is going to suspect them in this plot. It was actually good fortune
for us that the dye joke fell on them, causing them to suspect a
LOO member and not look for another culprit."

Miranda's face broke out in a diabolical
smile and she laughed with unbridled glee. "I cannot wait to see
the look on Jonas' face after he has to make his way back to the
house
au naturelle
and fuming. I wonder which lord he will
accuse first. I just hope I am around to see it all unfold, just as
occurred at breakfast two days past."

They rode for a little over an hour before
hunger began to get the best of them and they turned back for the
manor. Reaching the stables, Juliet dismounted and began to brush
Hera's coat after the groom removed the saddle, all the while
softly crooning her mare's chosen name interspersed with words of
affection and pride. The white coat of her mount took on a sleek
shine with her ministrations. When Miranda was ready to leave, she
grabbed Juliet's arm so they could walk back together. Reaching the
house, they heard some noises from the breakfast area as they made
for their rooms. Steaming baths awaited them, having had the
foresight to ask their maids to have them ready one hour after
their early morning departure. Quickly bathing and changing, they
met again at the foot of the main staircase before entering for
their meal.

The two best friends skidded to a halt when
they saw the Duke lazily sipping his coffee while talking to
Juliet's father. They quickly glanced at each other, their widened
eyes and assessing stares silently encouraging the other to act as
if nothing were amiss despite the flushed cheeks on both their
faces. Straightening their shoulders and stiffening their backs,
they entered the room and made for the food-laden sideboard.

"What is my brother doing here?" hissed
Miranda as she distractedly selected some pastry for her plate.

"More importantly, who will be forced to
make the naked trek in return from your pond?" responded
Juliet.

They finished making their plates and took
seats across from Capt. Hughes and Maj. Quinn. Casting a nonchalant
glance around the table, Juliet ascertained the Marquis of Stafford
was absent from breakfast. Her mind took immediate note that his
hair and build were similar to the Duke, and she began to feel an
uneasy and somewhat queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She
put down her fork to sip her tea and calm her nerves.

"Stafford is missing this morning," she
whispered behind her cup.

"Oh, bugger. I wonder how this will play
out?" Miranda squirmed slightly in her seat.

The Duchess took advantage of the quiet as
everyone ate to announce an entertainment for the day. "I have
asked the kitchen to prepare a cold picnic lunch for our party this
afternoon. I thought we all might take a walk to the berry fields
and spend a lazy afternoon in this beautiful weather. I have also
arranged for archery for those who have an interest."

A round of affirmation went up from the
group and the topic of conversation rambled from mundane ideas to
specific goals for the outing. Plans were tossing around when
Hastings entered and spoke to the Duke in whispered tones. Jonas
jumped up to look out the window, muttering a mild expletive,
retaking his seat after giving Hastings some quiet instructions.
Before the butler could leave, the Marquis of Stafford loomed in
the doorway, clad in nothing save a saddle blanket draped around
his body and his still glossy, knee-high boots.

"I should like to speak with you, Your
Grace," the Marquis spat out through gritted teeth. "It seems I am
the victim of a prank meant for you." Juliet and Miranda blanched
at the accusation. The Duke rose from his seat to accompany
Stafford out of the room, but not before the gaping witnesses could
hear his final statement. "I shall have my revenge on those
bounders Aylesford and Bristol."