Page 23 of Three Rules to Wed a Duke

Lady Hutchings’ kind generosity had been short-lived. Soon enough, the reprieve from the woman’s ire had ended and the torments had begun again:

“You’ll never make him happy. His kind have both money and power, and they’re always on the prowl for another young lady. I’ve even heard talk that he’s something of a rake…”

“You see marriage as some sort of escape from us? Your family? You don’t yet know the meaning of controlling! Wait until you’re married to a man who won’t spare so much as a penny to mend your garments, let alone hire any staff…”

“I’ve just learned from my sister that Preston has two children by his servant! Luckily for you, it’s not too late to untangle yourself from such a situation as that…”

The constant excuses had gone on and on, often becoming wilder with every new story. At long last, Frances had not known what to believe, nor how to tell truth from lies. All she could do was assume that she would be all right.

“Look, there he is!” Juliet whispered, drawing Frances back from her thoughts.

“I don’t see him,” Frances said, standing on her toes to see over the heads of the people in the crowded marketplace.

“He’s right there by the block. He’s the one wrapping up a parcel for that woman.”

“Oh, now I see him. My, he is quite handsome in the light of day, is he not?” Frances remarked kindly, smiling at her cousin.

“He most certainly is,” Juliet said, sighing. “But that’s not all that I adore about him, remember. I’m not some silly, love-struck girl who’s making a rash decision.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. I did have visions of you sneaking off to Gretna Green, you know,” Frances teased.

“I would go tomorrow if I could marry Thomas!” Juliet replied, tugging on Frances’ arm to pull her closer. “But it is Thomas who wouldn’t hear of it. He said he will speak to my father and state his case, informing him of all of his virtues. My father will simply have to agree when he learns how ambitious Thomas is and how much we love each other.”

And I fear that my escaping their clutches will have the opposite effect, Frances thought miserably, though she made certain not to let it show.

“Come, he’s far too busy to leave his father’s shop, but we can at least speak to him and greet him. We shall have to pretend we’re bringing our order from the house if anyone comes up to us and can overhear.”

“Understood!”

Juliet led the way through the crowd with Frances following right behind her. It was nearly impossible to watch one’s stepand avoid jostling people, so Frances could only hope her slippers weren’t suffering for it. When they finally reached the table outside the shop where Thomas was busy passing packages over to their buyers, they had to wait in line for the ones ahead of them to be served.

“Here, take this paper and pretend to be ordering from Cook’s list,” Juliet said, her eyes shining with anticipation.

Frances did as she was told, amused to find that Juliet had gone to the trouble of writing out a list of what they needed.

“Juliet! This much meat would feed the King’s army! The sausages alone will require half a dozen pigs!”

“I didn’t know what else to write down. It will be fine, just be sure we don’t hand it over by mistake,” Juliet insisted before shushing Frances. They’d reached the front of the queue, and Juliet smiled adoringly at Thomas.

“Hello there,” Thomas said quietly, glancing around and looking nervous.

“Hello,” Juliet replied, suddenly seeming quite shy.

Frances fought back a laugh of delight. They were positively adorable, and both so nervous with one another that it was a wonder they’d ever had an entire conversation.

“It is lovely to meet you,” Frances said pointedly. “I am Miss Walford’s cousin, Miss Frances Turner. I must say that you look quite different in the light of day.”

For his part, Thomas blushed a deep red. “Thank you for keeping our secret. Juliet sent me word that you were the one to find us in that garden, and I am grateful to you for not revealing anything.”

“I am all too happy to protect your secrets,” she replied, waving off his gratitude, “so long as you are sincere in your intentions.”

“Oh, most certainly, Miss Turner!” Thomas gushed, and Juliet grinned excitedly.

“Oi there, what’s takin’ so long?” a customer called out from behind them, prompting Frances to look back apologetically.

“Will you come to the house later this evening?” Juliet asked hopefully, and Thomas nodded after glancing to his left and right once more.

“You there! Don’t know what yer going on about, but the rest of us have to move along! Make yer purchase and be out o’ the way!” the same person called back.

---