Page 86 of Her Duke By Accident
“Please, Your Grace,” Juliet pleaded. “Why can’t you see the blessing that has befallen you?”
“Because he has hurt me before!”
A heavy silence fell between them. Alicia listened to their heavy breathing at the tension, staring at the crumbled up paper in her hands. The tears slipped down her cheeks quicker this time. As the carriage rocked, Juliet jumped over to the side where Alicia sat, scooting till she sat close beside her. Juliet stretched a thin arm around Alicia’s shoulders, tightly holding her in a warm embrace.
“You have no idea how happy I wish to be, Juliet,” Alicia whispered, her voice shaking as the cries left her lips. “The moment the duke touched me, I felt as though everything I had wished for had finally come true. That there was a real chance I could be happy with my life at Garvey.”
“So what changed?”
Alicia raised a hand to cover her lips as she cried. “And then my mother had a fall, and it seemed as though a terrible omen was being presented to me in my moment of bliss.”
“Oh,” Juliet breathed as she tightened her hold, “you know those things cannot be connected, Your Grace.”
“Can’t they? What do we know of fate and how it strikes?”
“Nothing, Your Grace, for it is not our place to know.”
Alicia allowed herself to sink into the maid’s grasp, not feeling the energy to argue.
“You cannot be afraid of finally being happy, Your Grace.”
A silence spread between them. Alicia tried to stifle her tears, but could only feel tormented rage within her as the carriage continued on.
“Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment,” Juliet suddenly whispered into the quiet. “Chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.”
Alicia raised her head, looking over at her. “You can speak French?”
“It is my homeland, Your Grace, of course I can speak her language.”
“What did that mean?”
“Something my mother used to say. ‘The pleasure of love lasts only a moment’,” Juliet recited. “‘The pain of love lasts a lifetime’.”
Alicia chuckled. “Quite the optimist.”
“You make fun, but it is optimistic, Your Grace.”
“How?”
“No love is always kind, Your Grace,” Juliet said. “It is not meant to be. How can you truly know someone without seeing the shadows of their soul? The darkest parts that they choose to hide? Truly falling in love means seeing everything, and choosing to still love them.”
Alicia looked away.
“Your Grace,” Juliet whispered, pulling her over to meet her gaze. “I know the duke has hurt you with his words. I know he also wielded them as a shield against the demons in his own heart. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “I do.”
“Then do not lose this. Don’t lose this when you have every chance to be happy.”
Alicia reached for the maid’s small hands, grasping them tightly in her own. “Tell me, Juliet,” she said with a smile, “how you became the wisest lady’s maid in all of England?”
Juliet giggled shyly. “You’ll make me blush, Your Grace.”
Alicia squeezed the girl into a hug before pulling away, wiping the wet tears that still strayed down her cheeks. “You’re just a little problem solver,” she teased.
“Well,” Juliet continued, lifting her chin pridefully, “give me another one of your problems, then!”
Alicia laughed. “I can’t think of anything other than seeing my mother, Juliet.”
