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“We were hoping you would be Morgan, at least, not…you.”

At this, Ezra let out a genuine but short laugh, making Juliet jump and Lydia narrow her eyes.

“Admittedly, that is not the first time I have been addressed with such distaste, but I must say, Lady Lydia, I do rather like it when it comes from your mouth.”

Lydia glowered at him, and it hit him right in his groin.Vicious,he mused silently.Not meek at all.

“My sister means no disrespect,” Juliet replied quickly before Lydia could let loose the retort so obviously readied on her tongue. “We are…it is just, our father gave us little information about who we were meeting today. Perhaps seeing that it is one of our brother-in-law’s friends has caught us…off guard.”

Ezra felt a sliver of annoyance as he forced his face to remain impassive.

“Your father did not specify it was I who would be visiting?” he asked calmly as he turned his cool gaze to hers.

Juliet began to tremble harder; her eyes and nose reddened, and her chin began to quiver. Unable to tolerate her emotional reaction, he looked to Lydia for an answer.

“He did not,” Lydia replied in her usual polite tone. “However, that certainly should not surprise you. So, now that we are here, let us get down to it, shall we?”

“Get down to it?” Ezra asked, his lips twitching.

“Yes, the discussion at hand,” Lydia replied, gracefully gesturing her arm between the three of them.

“Juliet, darling, do you want to marry this man?”

It was rare that Ezra was ever surprised enough to not control his features, but at the bluntness of Lydia’s question, his eyebrows flew toward his hairline. Juliet all but squeaked before she found her voice, riddled with trembling tones and fear.

“Lydia, what has gotten into you?”

She risked an apologetic look toward Ezra then added, “Please forgive her, Your Grace, she is usually not like this! My sister taught Alice and me impeccable manners.”

“Do not apologize to him for me, Juliet, I am quite capable of offering it on my own if the duke has earned it,” Lydia quipped back, not taking her eyes off of Ezra.

“Surely, Your Grace, someone of your stature cannot be easily offended by a woman,” she added, raising a challenging brow.

Something…something like joy, but not as exuberant, filled Ezra’s heart as he accepted Lydia’s challenge. He had known of both Lydia and Juliet for nearly two years now, and though Lydia had once been as frightened of him and Duncan as Juliet was of him alone, that certainly no longer seemed to be the case.

Her vivid emerald eyes flashed with flecks of gold and bronze as she stared unabashedly at him, making her power known. If he was certain, and he was sure he was, he even saw a small smile tugging at those full, rounded lips.

“Certainly not,” he replied in a slow, patronizing tone as he tilted his head toward her.

Lydia arched a single eyebrow at him, begrudgingly impressed. It was only then that he noticed his mockingly gentle tone had caused Juliet to stop shivering and finally look at him for longer than one second.

So young. So innocent.Ezra thought, taking in her wide-eyed stare. She had her sister’s hue of iris, yes, but aside from that, there was no other similarity between them.Too young. Too innocent.He knew that she would suffer a fatal coronary if he pursued her further.

“This visit has been most intriguing,” Ezra mused, looking from Juliet to Lydia, “I thank you, ladies, for your time, but as the night draws forth so does my work.”

“You are leaving?” Juliet asked, speaking for the first time.

The relief on her face was evident, but there was no offense for Ezra to take from it. He knew he’d terrified her and would not blame her for it. Admittedly, there was something about him to be terrified of, was there not?

“Consider it a perk of becoming my wife,” he replied dryly, “Due to my many duties, our times together would be brief unless your presence was required.”

“You are still pursuing her?” Lydia asked, her smug look deteriorating into annoyance as she took a step toward him.

“The young lady did not say no to your question,” Ezra replied, and before Lydia could railroad Juliet into an answer he added, “Therefore I shall call again tomorrow.”

“Oh no, you arenotleaving,” Lydia demanded, her skirts swishing as she walked swiftly toward him. “She is going to tell you…”

“You want me to stay?” he asked, using his earlier mocking tone.