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“No one truly knows. But many believed she had been possessed by the devil for all her sins. She was not the friendliest woman, and…well, at the end of the day, she met a gruesome end. When she fell ill, she refused help from everyone and stubbornly believed that there was nothing wrong with her. Indeed, her demise resulted from her actions,” Dinah said nonchalantly as though she was discussing the weather.

Her blatant and aggressive disrespect angered Juliet greatly. Pure unfiltered rage coursed through her veins, but she knew that voicing her fury would only cause a public scene.

“Help me take off this dress, Leila,” she called for her maid, who came to her aid at once.

Once she was done, she met Francesca at the front of the store.

“You have many of lovely dresses, Miss Francesca, but I am afraid none of them truly suit me. I would like you to design a gown for me. You may apply all of your creativity to it. It should be sent to Renton House when it is finished.”

“Your Grace?” the woman balked at the Duchess. “I don’t…I mean, I can do that, but are you sure you do not have a style or fabric preference…”

“I trust your judgment. The ball is in a fortnight. Will you be able to finish the dress by then?” Juliet queried, itching to leave the store.

“Absolutely, Your Grace. You will not regret putting your faith in me,” the modiste promised.

Juliet waved Leila forward to settle the expenses with Hector’s arranged allowance. As she turned to leave, Isabella called out to her.

“Are you leaving already?” Isabella asked, ignoring her mother’s calls to return to her side. “I was hoping you would visit and have tea with us.”

Juliet pressed down her rage and smiled at the child, who had done nothing to upset her.

“Sadly, I have other duties to address. Please visit me at Islington Hall with your brothers. As I said before, you are welcome anytime.”

She patted the girl’s dark hair but startled slightly when Isabella’s mother pulled her away.

“Safe travels, Your Grace,” Dinah spat venomously.

Swallowing what might have become a disrespectful remark, Juliet turned around and left the store with Leila.

Juliet had hoped that her anger would gradually decrease with distance and time. However, as her carriage pulled up to their townhouse, she still felt as though her heart and stomach were ablaze.

How dare that vile woman speak such blatant lies about her mother and turn her into some villain, some deranged woman whose sins were the cause of her demise?

What frustrated her even more was that Dinah had insinuated that whatever plagued Juliet’s mother was also a cross that she bore.

In addition, the fact that her father had chosen to start a new life with someone who had such loathsome thoughts about hisown daughter and late wife, views she feared that her father also shared, felt like the final betrayal.

When she walked into the foyer of Renton House, the servants bowed to greet her, but she barely acknowledged them, wanting nothing more than to be alone.

Hector chose that same moment to approach her from the opposite end of the corridor.

He noticed her tense form and rapid footsteps along the hall. “Juliet? Are you all right”?

Instead of answering she walked past him wordlessly but did not get very far. Hector gripped her wrist, his expression a mix of anger and concern. “Speak, wife,” he demanded. “Who has upset you so?”

“Why should you care?” she choked. “I do not wish to speak about it. Leave me be!”

Juliet knew she had crossed the line. Still, her emotions were too volatile for her to care about the consequences. She was not particularly surprised when Hector dropped her hand.

“And yet you accusemeof being difficult. What has come over you?”

Juliet turned on him and hissed, “I wish for exactly that which you have always wanted…space between us…and once again youdeny me what I need. So, Hector, I spoke no lies when I called you difficult. Even now, all you are doing is making matters worse for me.”

Hector stared down at her as she spoke.

In the silence that followed Juliet’s tirade, Hector appeared perplexed. “I do not understand why you must be so infuriating all of the time,” he huffed in exasperation.

“Well, if you do not wish to deal with me, then you do not have to. No one forced you to approach me and I have told you already to…”