Page 75 of Three Rules to Wed a Duke

“I fear I may already agree with you, but I cannot know until you tell me.”

“All right. But just remember something,” Frances warned, smiling at him and grasping his hand again. “You have to trust me.”

CHAPTER 29

“Now, what is it I must do?” Juliet asked, her expression showing just how perplexed she was. Beside her, Thomas held her hand and looked nervous.

“Frances, I don’t like this in the slightest,” Anthony growled from where he stood by the front window, his arms crossed defiantly in front of his chest.

“Yes, you’ve mentioned that a few times,” Frances returned.

“But what if something happens? What if she’s hurt on my account? I shall never live with myself!” Abigail cried, holding tightly to Juliet’s other sleeve.

Frances smiled at them. At long last, she had a family of her own. Anthony, scowling in disagreement. Juliet, seated on the sofa and proud to help but unsure. Thomas, her husband, wanting to be helpful but fearful of the outcome, and Abigail, willing toendure almost anything so long as the people she loved were not even inconvenienced, let alone harmed.

Bringing all of them together had been no small feat.

“Are you sure she won’t find me an intruder?” Juliet had asked as Frances led her up to Abigail’s apartments.

“No. On the contrary, she’s terrified that you’ll think of her as nothing more than a sickly girl with nothing interesting to talk about,” Frances had promised her.

Within minutes of the introductions, Juliet and Abigail had become inseparable best friends. Frances had even slipped out of the room and returned downstairs when she realized their conversation wasn’t going to halt any time soon. She’d nearly collided with Anthony as she closed the downstairs door behind her.

“You’re certain that your cousin can keep my sister’s secret?” he’d asked, staring over her shoulder at the door as though he wished to spy what was happening.

“You cannot be serious. My cousin kept the man she was in love with a secret for two full years before escaping to Scotland to marry him, and you’re questioning her abilities?”

Anthony had actually smiled, and Frances’ heart had melted a little bit more. She’d taken his hand and held it tightly, leading him out to the garden and away from his sister’s rooms.

“All will be well soon. I promise,” she’d said as the warm sunshine lit her face. “When this is behind us, Abigail can return downstairs and live among us again, and Juliet will be her closest friend. I’m already sure of it.”

“But what of this plan of yours? How will our scheming bring an end to Sir Perry’s torment?”

Just as Frances had begun to explain, she’d lost her footing on a crumbling stone stair. She let out a small cry of fright as she began to fall, but Anthony had scooped her in his arms. As he landed on the stair instead, Frances had been cradled close to him, protected at last. She’d looked up at him and seen the concern on his face, not only for those around him but for her as well.

“Thank you,” she’d said softly, touching his hand. “You’re my hero.”

“I’m afraid I’m not very good at it,” Anthony had answered.

“I didn’t fall, did I? I think you’re rather accomplished. I know Juliet must feel the same way after a lifetime of providing for her happiness.”

“Then why does it still feel like a struggle? Every day, I still have to wake in fear that I will fail to keep others safe.”

“But you don’t have to feel that way, not anymore. I’m here to help you now, and we’ll struggle through it together,” Franceshad replied, reaching up to touch Anthony’s cheek. He’d leaned into her palm, closing his eyes briefly as if savoring the warm comfort.

When Anthony opened his eyes once more, there was an intensity to them that Frances had never seen before. This was an awakening, a realization happening right before her eyes that he had found something that he’d never even known he was searching for. With the slightest touch, he’d lifted a lock of hair away from her face, holding it like it had been spun from gold, letting the silky feel of it soothe him somehow.

“Frances, I know this has not been easy for you,” he’d said quietly, still watching her intently. “But I want you to know that you are so much more to me than a mere ploy. You are my wife, my duchess, and I love you fiercely.”

Frances had felt as if she’d forgotten how to draw breath. Anthony’s declaration had been so unexpected that she could only sit with his words and let them wrap themselves around her heart, bringing her the sort of happiness that she’d long feared she would never find. When she could think again, she gazed back at him, her feelings nearly bursting inside of her.

“I love you, too. I have since the very first time we danced.”

“I refuse to believe that. I was so odd,” he’d replied, wincing before beginning to laugh.

“You were refreshing,” Frances had corrected. “No games or pretense or demands for certain manners. You knew what youwanted, even if it was for your own reasons, and you sought to go after it.”

When Anthony kissed her, the moment their lips met with such longing but reserved hesitation, Frances knew her entire world was about to change forever.

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