Page 25 of Secrets of a Duke's Heart
Absurd.
A farce.
What had happened to his sweet little niece? The one he had been enchanted by as an infant? The girl he’d raised into a proper young lady? That Harriet Turner was gone. In her place was a changeling.
“I am not marrying Lord Lucarran,” she insisted.
He dropped his head into his hands and groaned. “Yes, Harriet, you are.”
“No, I am not, and if you would only listen to me, you would understand why.”
“Fine. Do inform me why you are acting like a petulant child instead of a grown woman with a responsibility to honor her word,” he snarled.
Behind Harriet, perched unobtrusively on a wingback chair with her chin propped on her fist, sat Clarissa, listening. She missed nothing. The fact that he had concealed his status as a duke for this long was a miracle. He’d done it to save his beloved niece, and she was rewarding him with ingratitude.
“Rémy was helping me,” she declared. Ridiculous nonsense from a lovestruck child. Harriet was twenty-three but she had always been a sensible girl, yet Jude saw no sign of sense in her now. “Hesawme. You and I traveled together for weeks, yet not once did you notice how much I did not want to marry Lucarran. You barely look at me.”
Jude flinched.
“I wish you had told me that before we trekked halfway across England to bring you to him.”
“We could have married in London.”
“Lucarran requested the ceremony take place in his home country. I obliged him. You were offered a chance to refuse him and instead you agreed. Why back out now?”
After all I have done to protect you, this is how you thank me? By acting like your feckless mother?
He dared to glance at Clarissa and found pity in her bright eyes.
He loathed her pity. He didn’t want it. Didn’t need it.
“Uncle Monty, you presented me with one choice, take it or leave it. You made it very clear that if I refused Lord Lucarran, I would remain at Acton Heath as your perpetual ward and nothing but a burden. I only said yes to his offer because you so obviously wanted me to and I was desperate to please you.”
Clarissa’s brow pleated. This would be the worst time for her to guess that he was a duke. The Montague family’s estate was famous in the north. It wasn’t implausible that a lady would have heard about its rolling green acres and ancient oaks, the productive fields tilled by tenant farmers, or the pottery factory he had built to take advantage of the fine clay found in the less arable land. There had been a stir when a duke went into trade, but he considered it more of a workshop supporting artisans. For profit, of course. Everyone benefited.
He didn’t have time for Clarissa’s anger now. He had to make his stubborn youthful niece see reason.
A growl rumbled in his throat. He hated the idea that he needed to remind her of her obligation to marry the earl. But obviously, he did. Lucarran was already on his way from London. He’d sent word that he was coming as soon as he received Jude’s private messenger. He expected to reach Cavalier Cove before midnight. He trusted Lord Montague’s word that Harriet remained unviolated and agreed that the best course of action was to marry her immediately, thus putting to rest any rumors that might circulate.
Except that Jude had the distinct sense his darling niece wasn’t quite so innocent anymore. As if to confirm his worst suspicions, she said, “I am not your little niece in need of protection anymore. I can make my own decisions. I am pleading with you to help Rémy make amends for his crimes, which I do not believe to be as bad as they have been painted by the Waterguard.”
“He is a criminal!” Jude exploded.
“Until the Waterguard proves its case in court, Rémy Desmarais is an innocent man.” Clarissa’s unyielding patience and the fact that she was correct only drove his ire higher. She murmured to Harriet, who glanced uneasily at him before determination hardened in her face.
Women.
She was a woman now. All grown up. His little niece didn’t need him anymore. A vise tightened around his ribs. His lungs couldn’t expand past the ache.
“Clearly, my darling little niece is still in need of protection, if this is the kind of decision she makes when left to her own devices.”
He strode from the room without a backward glance.
* * *
Poor Harriet’slower lip trembled. Her eyes glistened with tears.
Clarissa had to say something. If she had kept her mouth shut a few minutes ago, Mr. Montague would have stayed. They could have worked things out if she hadn’t ruined the moment.
