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Juliet did not mind, especially when she held the boy close, and he immediately rested his small head on her chest.

“Oh my…it appears he is quite fond of you already! He does not even like his governess this much,” Emma remarked in surprise, making Juliet laugh a little.

Moments later, said governess arrived, looking worse for wear as she ushered a bright-eyed young boy who looked to be about six years old into the drawing room.

“Pardon me,” the woman practically wheezed. “I have finally found Peter.”

“Peter, come and greet our guests!” Emma called him over, shaking her head pitifully at the governess as her son innocently bounded over.

“Good evening,” he said, blinking up at her with a sweet expression.

“She is Uncle Hector’s wife,” his sister, Sarah, told him as though it were some grand news. “A duchess.”

“A duchess? But she looks like a princess! Did you have to give up your castle because you got married to Uncle Hector? That wasn’t very nice,” Peter pouted.

Juliet expected the matter to end there, but then the boy turned and marched up to Hector.

“Why did you take the princess away from her castle?” he demanded to know.

Hector looked startled at first then confused as he stared down at his nephew, clearly at a loss for words.

“What princess?” Hector questioned gently with a smile.

Peter was clearly not amused as he gestured to Juliet with an open palm.

“Her! The Duchess looks like a princess! So, she must be one, and you took her from her castle!”

Hector glanced back to Juliet, the momentary intensity of his stare making her blush before he nodded at Peter.

“You are absolutely right. I did take her. It might have been wrong of me, but I would rather pay for my sins than go aday without someone as beautiful as she is in my life. You will understand when you are older.”

Peter squinted at his uncle for a moment then faced his father and asked, “Is that right?”

Marcus snorted. “I would certainly hope so as your mother and I have long since started building a life together. So, any laws against the abduction of princesses might just be my undoing.”

Peter blinked up at his father for a moment then he screeched.

“Mama is a princess too?!”

Juliet was distracted from the unfolding drama by a gentle tug on her dress. When she looked down, Peter’s sister was staring up at her.

“You have a castle?” Sarah queried, her interest piqued.

“I am sorry, my dear, but I do not have a castle.” Juliet was already utterly charmed by the children.

“You do not have a castle? But you are a princess! Where did you live?” Peter demanded to know as he returned to them with a devastated expression on his chubby face.

“Oh, well… I am not a princess. I lived in a convent which used to look a little bit like a castle, but it does not anymore. But now, Iam a duchess, and my new home is much nicer,” Juliet said with a smile.

The children shared a glance, and another litany of questions were hurled her way.

“What is a convent?”

“Why was it bad? Did it smell?”

“Do you miss the convent? I miss home when I am away from Mama, Papa, Tobias, and Sarah.”

“Do you like Uncle Hector? Papa says he is an…something that means not everyone likes him. Papa only likes him sometimes. But I like him all the time!”