Page 95 of Dukes for Dessert

“We should go before we can’t catch up.” She spun on her heel and started from the drawing room.

He walked beside her once they left the room. “You didn’t answer my question. Am I not a Society type?”

“Heavens, no. You’re a duke, of course, but I gather you loathe Society. And you certainly don’t behave like anyone I’ve met in Society.”

“You’ve met a great many people like that?”

“My grandfather is a baron, so yes, I’ve met enough.”

He looked genuinely surprised. “How on earth does the granddaughter of a baron end up as a paid companion?”

“My dear duke, we’re all just a decision away from a completely different life. Only think of your near engagement to Marina. If you’d decided to propose, everything would have changed for you already.”

“This sounds like a story I’ll need to hear on the way to the village. Will you tell me?”

“You’ll have to tell a story of my choosing in return.” Juno didn’t yet know what she would ask, but she’d think of something.

They stepped outside into the sunlight, and Juno looked up at him. “Do we have an accord?”

“We do.” He looked at her intently, his dark eyes seemingly trying to see every part of her. “Now tell me about the decision that changed your life.”

It wasn’t what Dare had envisioned when he’d invited Juno to walk with him today. It was better. He hadn’t anticipated the curl of joy threading through his chest or the absolute rightness of how it felt to be with her, as if there were nowhere else he was supposed to be.

They walked several paces behind the nearest trio of people. Everyone was somewhat spread out along the track, golden sunlight bathing them as trees painted in a riot of color lined the right side.

“Deciding to marry Bernard Langton changed my life,” she said simply. Then she smiled and shook her head. “Actually, it wasn’t the deciding part exactly. It was when I informed my parents that I wanted to marry the dashing schoolteacher I’d met at the local assembly. They were horrified.”

He looked over at her, resplendent in her dark blue walking gown trimmed with bright gold. “Because he was a schoolteacher?”

“Not just because of that, but yes, that was a factor. He was also boisterous and charming—excessively so is how my mother described him.”

“He sounds like he was a good match for you. You’re very charming.”

“My mother would argue that was why I needed a husband who was more sedate.”

“She thought you needed calming?” Dare wouldn’t change a thing about her. Now. When he’d first met her—a scant few days ago—he’d thought she smiled too much, that she was too…energetic. That seemed ludicrous given how much her smiles and energy lit the world. His world.

Another laugh. “Why, yes, she did. More importantly, she wanted me to marry someone respectable. Bernard was loud and opinionated. People either adored him or reviled him. I fell into the former category, of course. He also tended to drink more than he ought.” She winced, and he wondered how Langton had met his demise.

“What happened to him?”

“I’m not entirely sure. He didn’t come home from the pub one night. The blacksmith found him at the bottom of a hill just outside town, facedown in a stream.” She spoke matter-of-factly, as if she either no longer grieved him or hadn’t grieved him at all. Except she’d said she adored him.

He studied her profile, noting the slight pucker of her brow. “Do you suspect something sinister?”

“Not really. It’s likely he was intoxicated and suffered an unfortunate accident.”

“Had you been married long?”

“Less than a year. As you can imagine, he left me in a bit of a state,” she said wryly. “I couldn’t go back to my family, not after they refused to even attend our wedding. I responded to an advertisement for a paid companion in Bath. While there, I helped my employer’s wallflower granddaughter to secure a husband. Another woman offered to double my salary if I would come and help her daughter do the same.”

“So you left your employer?”

She shook her head. “Lady Dunwoody gave me a chance when I most needed it. I stayed with her until she passed away about a year later.”

“You’re loyal.”

“To a fault, some might say.” She grinned at him. “I think it’s important to stand by your principles and alongside the people you’ve pledged to help or who mean something to you.”