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Isabella shook her head at that. The last thing she wanted to do was get closer with His Grace. She could still remember the previous evening, the way she had felt when he was pressed up against her, his hand over her mouth, teeth around her ear as he whispered to her...

It sent a warm flush over her body just to think about. A sensation she had never felt before, and did not want to again. Isabella was too smart to be taken by desires like that. She hadplans. Goals. Aspirations that she would not simply forget about because there was a chance she might find a man attractive.

Better to avoid that altogether than risk the consequences. Consequences... she had dealt with enough of those as it was.

“No, no,” she said firmly, willing herself to believe this plan would work. “The next time I see His Grace, I shall be ready. And the next time I see him, shall be the last!”

Chapter Five

Duncan was not looking forward to what he was about to do. What hehadto do. But as was often the case in life, one had to put aside what they wished for and do instead what was expected and right. Regardless of how painful it might be.

A lesson I am learning all too well, of late.

He could see her waiting for him as he steered his horse down the driveway of Terrel House; a large townhouse sitting on the outskirts of London. Duncan had sent word ahead that he would be arriving this morning and, as was typical, she had made sure to come outside and meet him.

It was her way of showing Duncan how invested she was in their relationship – not that he would call it such a thing. It was purely physical in every sense of the word. A fact which she knew too well, as he had been sure to remind her on multiple occasions.

“Your Grace!” she said pleasantly, waving at him in the distance. “I have been looking for you all morning.” Her smile was eager, her eyes sparkled, but she was refined and proper and made sure not to show too much outward emotion. That simply would not do.

“Juliet,” Duncan said with a reserved smile as he reigned his horse in. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”

She laughed. “Did you think I would say no?”

Duncan pulled the horse to a stop and climbed down. Were it any other occasion, he would have the horse led around the home where there was a small stable to keep it for the day and the night, however long he planned to stay. But considering what he was here for today, he kept a hold of the horse’s reigns once his feet landed on the gravel.

This promised to be a short visit. Even if Juliet did not know it.

“I was so glad to receive your letter this morning,” she continued as she swept in toward him. “I was not expecting it. A wonderful surprise, I must say. And here I thought the day would be a boring one.” She reached where he was standing and leaned in to kiss him.

Duncan leaned back immediately “I am sorry, Juliet, truly I am. But I am afraid that my visit here might not be as wonderous as you were hoping for.”

She frowned at his rejection of her kiss. Attempted a disarming chuckle, as if praying this were all a joke which she did not understand. “Whatever do you mean? Do not tell me, you have been called away? For how long?”

Duncan remained firm, showing no emotion or regret because he did not wish to give Juliet any sense of hope for her to cling to. “This will be hard for you to hear, but I am afraid it is an unavoidable situation of which nothing can be done. And please know that it is naught to do with you. It is, as with most things, simply the way of the world...”

Her frown deepened. “Wh -- whatever are you speaking of? Your Grace, please...” A nervous chuckle. “Speak plainly. You are scaring me.”

Her name was Juliet, the Dowager Countess of St. Vincent and for the past several months, she and Duncan had been engaged in a sexual relationship, one promulgated specifically to harbor no romantic or personal feelings between its two participants.

That had been Duncan’s intention, at the very least.

She was slightly older than Duncan, thirty-eight years, but one would not know it to look at her. Red hair. Dark green eyes. Pure white skin with a smattering of pink freckles across her chest which Duncan coveted. Her figure was slim; a narrow waist, supple breasts, not much to her at all. It was a body type that Duncan had always been most fond of, and one that he knew he would miss greatly.

A stark contrast to the ample curves that Miss Gouldsmith has. Those hips. Her bosom. She could not be more different to Juliet. Which in itself might pose a danger…

“This might come as a surprise to you,” Duncan began, keeping his voice plain. “But I have recently become engaged to another, and for that reason this relationship of ours must --”

“What!” Juliet cried in shock. She knew it was the wrong thing to do, as Duncan hated being interrupted. She gasped and held a hand to her mouth. “I am so sorry, Your Grace. I did not mean to interrupt you.”

“It is quite alright,” he said stoically. “The details of my recent engagement are... they are not important. What is important is that they are true and for that reason I have no choice but to end our relationship, effective immediately.”

“Oh…” She blinked in confusion. “That is… I… I was not…” She stammered through her response, unable to find the words to express how surprising this must have been.

“As I said, it is not you,” Duncan assured her. “It is a situation beyond my control, and it really is that simple. I thought it best to come here and tell you myself in person, for I owed you that.”

“Wait!” Suddenly, she grabbed him by the arm, her chin wobbling furiously as tears began to brim. “Please! I had no idea that – if you had wished to marry, all you needed to do was say as much. If this is some… a necessity that you need to fulfill, I would be honored if you might consider me as a candidate.”

Duncan frowned and leaned back. “Excuse me?”