Page 7 of Three Rules to Wed a Duke

The next morning, breakfast was a tense, solemn affair. By tradition, Lady Hutchings should have taken her tray upstairs in her room, leaving Frances to face only Juliet and Lord Hutchings at the table. Instead, she came down and sat directly across from Frances, her disappointment seeping from her every pore while she waited for a servant to fill her plate from the sideboard instead of getting it herself. While Frances kept her head down and ate her breakfast silently, Lady Hutchings fussed and fumed over her own plate, making more noise than a bee’s nest as she buttered her toast and stirred her coffee.

At long last she threw down her knife with a terrible clatter, causing Frances to jump.

“I simply do not understand how you can be so selfish, how you can have such little regard for us as your hosts,” Lady Hutchings said, pressing her hand to her forehead.

“I beg your pardon?” Frances asked, unsure of her meaning.

“Yesterday evening, Frances! At the ball? How could you dance with every eligible gentleman, laughing and flirting and stealing the attention away from your loving cousin? Juliet has never so much as said an unkind word to you, yet you went and paraded yourself around for attention, ensuring that no one even came near her!”

“I… I don’t know what you mean. I was nowhere near Juliet all evening. And I most certainly did not dance with every gentleman, nor did I flirt as you claim!” Frances replied, wounded by her aunt’s dim view of her.

Lady Hutchings scoffed. “If you don’t think your behavior was wanton, then I would hate to think what other things you learned at that school! It was humiliating, to say the least.”

Frances looked around the table, her chest tightening. Did they all feel this way about her? She couldn’t tell, for her uncle was still buried behind his newspaper. For her part, Juliet seemed to be a little confused by her mother’s outburst, though she refused to meet Frances’ eye.

“I’m very sorry you feel that way. I shall be sure to mind my manners more closely in the future,” Frances said simply before trying to resume eating her meal. Her aunt’s cruel insinuation had robbed her of her appetite, though.

“If you don’t, there won’tbeany more opportunities. I will not have someone come into my home and trample on our loving hospitality with their coarse manners and disregard! If you have no respect for your uncle and me, I would have thoughtyou would at least show your dear cousin more kindness and deference than that!”

“I’m very sorry you didn’t get to dance with anyone, Juliet,” Frances said sincerely.It may not be my fault, but I certainly didn’t want her to miss out, she thought.

Her cousin only shrugged, but after a stern warning glance from Lady Hutchings, Juliet looked put out.

“Fortunately, I was able to commend my daughter to everyone present, though the selection of worthy gentlemen was rather lacking. Lord Hutchings will have to do a better job of securing invitations from the best families in the future, for I have no intention of passing off my only child to some husband who does not meet our standards.”

Lady Hutchings drained her coffee cup and wiped her mouth delicately, then turned to her daughter.

“I’m certain that you’ll have a number of men calling on you today as that was your first event, so be sure to keep yourself prepared and available for visitors. Even in spite of your ungrateful cousin’s antics, true gentlemen know a girl of worth when they see one.”

Juliet smiled proudly at her mother while Lady Hutchings beamed. Not for the first time, Frances fought to keep from rolling her eyes.

Before the meal had finished, Mr. Robbins came to the dining room door to announce a visitor.

“My lord, the Duke of Preston has come to call,” the butler said formally, holding out a small silver tray with a card atop it.

Lady Hutchings looked as though she might burst. She clapped her hands excitedly and turned to Juliet with a knowing look.

“… for Miss Turner,” the butler added with a slight bow.

The dining room went silent. Lady Hutchings and Juliet stared, open-mouthed, and Lord Hutchings lowered his newspaper to look at Robbins. Even Frances was speechless.

“Who did you say?” Lady Hutchings demanded, her voice more shrill than usual.

“The Duke of Preston, my lady.”

“I don’t know that man. Do you know him, Josias?” she asked.

“Never heard of him,” Lord Hutchings grumbled, sounding wholly disinterested.

“Just how do you know this man, Frances?” her aunt asked coldly.

“I don’t know him. I’ve never heard the name, let alone been introduced,” Frances said, defending herself from their apparent disbelief.

No one spoke until finally Lord Hutchings instructed the butler to put the guest in the drawing room. Frances looked around at them, waiting for someone to tell her what to do.

“Well, I’m sure he’s come to call so that he can get more information about Juliet. He must be far too timid to speak to her directly,” Lady Hutchings said with a pinched smile. “Go and greet him, and be certain that you represent her well! I will expect a full accounting of what you two spoke of the moment he is gone. Go!”

Frances nodded slowly and slipped out of her chair. She thanked the butler and left the dining room, her curiosity as strong as her confusion. All the way to the drawing room, her mind raced with questions. Who was this duke, and why had he come? How would he have even known to ask for her by name in this house? It had to be someone she’d danced with the evening before, but she had been introduced to no one by that name.

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