Page 87 of Romancing Daphne

The duke nodded. “You can keelhaul him later if this proves a poor strategy.”

“Do you promise?”

A ducal nod seemed to secure the lieutenant’s faith in the plan.“How familiar are you, Lord Tilburn, with the story of Daphne from Greek mythology?” A decidedly odd question for the lieutenant to pose without preamble.

“Not very,” James admitted.“Daphne was a nymph, and I believe someone turned her into a tree.”

The lieutenant nodded. He lowered himself into a chair near the duke.“That is generally all anyone remembers. My father was a scholar of all thingsGreek. He once said Daphne’s tale was the most tragic in all of mythology.”

“Even more tragic than Perseph—?” A quick glance at the duke silenced James’s question. His Grace would take any negative view of Persephone of old as a slight on his wife and likely himself. James reminded himself to keep his mouth shut.

Lieutenant Lancasterwove his fingers together, resting them in his lap.“My father believed Daphne’s suffering was entirely self-imposed. Knowing cupid’s arrow instigated Apollo’s pursuit of her and not the natural dictates of his heart, Daphne did not trust Apollo’s feelings for her.”

Snippets of his education came back.“But I seem to remember thatcupid’s arrows created a permanent change,” James said. “Though the beginning may have been forced, the outcome was not temporary.” James could honestly say he’d never before discussed Greek philosophy outside of university.

The lieutenant nodded.“But history was decidedly against Apollo.Nymphs were beautiful and desirable, but demigods did not pursue them with long-term intentions. They were generally viewed as expendable andinherently unimportant. A nymph, after all, is not a goddess.”

He watched the two men, uncertain of the exact purpose of this discussion, knowing only that it had to do with Daphne.

“So Daphne of myth ran from Apollo, not because she despised him but because she anticipated his eventual defection,” Lieutenant Lancaster said.“She felt certain he would hurt her, would wound her heart with his false declarations of love. She begged the river god to save her from what she feared most. In general, people view the river god’s solution as unnecessarily cruel.”

“He turned her into a tree,” James said. “That does seem rather drastic.”

“He gave her precisely what she wanted,” the lieutenant countered.“Daphne pleaded to be saved from pain and heartache. But suffering is partof being human. She could only truly escape it by feeling nothing at all.”Lieutenant Lancaster’s voice took on a pointed quality as undeniable as hisglare.“As my father said, hers was tragic, self-imposed suffering. What mighthave happened, he used to muse, if, instead of running, instead of cuttingherself off so entirely, she had turned around and allowed the possibility oflove to give her courage as she faced her fears?”

“Or,” the duke spoke for the first time since his brother-in-law had taken up the unexpected tale, his tone strangely accusatory,“if Apollo hadn’t been so blasted bacon-brained in the first place.”

“In the Lancaster family,” the lieutenant continued,“our lives have the uncanny tendency to resemble those of our ancient counterparts. I, for one, am hoping tonotbe strangled with my own lyre. If I possessed the smallest degree of intelligence, I would have chosen a different instrument, though at thirteen, it had seemed rather too comical a choice to turn down.” He shrugged, something of a mischievous smile hovering on his lips. Did all the Lancasters know how to produce just such a look? James had even seen Daphne’s face light with mischief on occasion.

The lieutenant continued.“How likely is it, do you think, Lord Tilburn, that our Daphne will find herself transformed into a tree?”

“A tree?” Was the man in earnest?“Not likely, I would venture.”

“On that, sir, I must beg to differ.” The lieutenant offered no further explanation.

“I place the blame entirely on Apollo,” the duke said. “If he’d been a man of purpose and determination, he not only would have wooed her with some degree of capability but would also have caught up with the stubborn girl before things got so blasted out of hand.”

James knew something about unsuccessful courtships and felt more than a bit of sympathy for Apollo.“Perhaps he realized too late what he would lose if he did not redouble his efforts. Perhaps he never was given the second chance he needed.”

“Perhaps,” the duke ventured,“he was a thick-witted buffoon.”

“But the river god might have given Apollo an opportunity to make things right before turning the poor girl into a tree,” James insisted.

Of a sudden, both men were looking directly at him, their expressionsquite serious. The duke spoke, though obviously on both their behalves.“Had he—reluctantly, mind you—postponed the transformation longenough for Apollo to try his hand under very, very close scrutiny—”

“Armedscrutiny,” the lieutenant amended.

“—and only out of love for the nymph, not any degree of empathyfor the bird-brained Apollo, would the addlepated man have made a mull of it, do you think? Would he have only made things worse? Made more promises only to break them?”

James understood now the reason for the story. He was cast in the role of Apollo to his modern-day Daphne.“If given the opportunity, he wouldhave tried again. And again and again if need be.”

“The river god might still have whisked Daphne away, feeling Apollo was not good for her or goodenoughfor her,” the duke warned.

“At least they could have discovered as much.” James’s pulse pounded in his neck. They were going to give him a chance. Daphne might still reject him, might want nothing to do with him, but he had a chance. “If nothing else, she might not have hidden herself away. Her loss of vibrancy was the true tragedy, not Apollo’s lost opportunity. She deserved better. She still does.”

“That,” the duke said, rising to his feet, “is exactly what I needed to hear.”

James rose as well. His Grace and the lieutenant walked away from thedesk, pausing a few steps from the doorway. He looked back at James.“Comeon, then. Time for dinner.”

---