Page 8 of The Duke’s Goddess (Duke Dare #2)

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”

—Sun Tzu

WITH THE LAST NOTES echoing in the ballroom, Joan left James’s arms to find her sisters while James made his escape to a card room. After a minute of searching, she found her sisters each taking a bit of a lemon square. Thankfully they weren’t dancing. She needed to have this conversation with them immediately. If they could implement this plan, then Sally and Jacob had a chance of becoming a couple.

“Mimi, Nobi, I need your help,” Joan whispered over the rim of her lemonade. “Well, Sally needs our help.”

Mimi’s troublemaker eyes glimmered in the excessive candlelight. “What do we need to do?”

“Is Sally in trouble?” Nobi, ever the peacekeeper, asked.

“Sally is fine. But Jacob is in love with her. And Sally…is—erm…she thinks she’s in love with James.”

“Your James?” It wasn’t an innocent question that Mimi asked. Joan knew she was fishing for information, she could see it in the twinkle of Mimi’s eyes. Also, this was her youngest sister. She rarely, if ever, had a simple innocent agenda.

Joan blushed. “He’s not my James.”

“You’ve danced with him twice this week,” Nobi added. And Joan had to admit that Nobi was probably guilelessly bringing that up.

“Those are just dances. It’s not like someone caught us alone on the balcony together.” Joan huffed. “They were just dances ,” she repeated in her strong defense. Dances in his strong arms, with a warm hand on her back. Protective. Guiding. Enticing. No. Not enticing. Just existing. “They were nothing.”

Mockingly, Mimi raised her fist in the air dramatically and hissed, “Nothing I tell you.” She laughed. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Then she capped her performance with a wiggle of her brows.

“Mimi, please. This is not about me. This is about Sally. We need to protect her reputation. She’s far too forward with James. She’s basically asked the man to dance three times this week.” Joan exhaled. “It’s been exhausting trying to keep her away from him.”

Mimi and Nobi exchanged glances while Joan picked up a lemon square of her own. Her sisters were obviously communicating something, she may as well grab a treat. “Are these any good?” But she didn’t wait for either of them to nod in approval before taking her first bite.

Sublime.

Just what she needed right now. Since her sisters still weren’t saying anything, Joan picked up the conversation again. “Sally is much better off with Jacob. We all agreed.”

“We did?” Nobi asked.

“We did,” Mimi confirmed, with a nudge to Nobi’s ribs.

“James and I discussed it after we three did. Sally and Jacob make the perfect couple. If only Sally could see it.” She didn’t think she needed to remind her sisters of their conversation, but their lack of words prompted her to fill in some gaps.

“Yes, I completely agree.” Mimi affirmed, nodding her head.

Wait. That was strange behavior from Mimi. She was completely agreeing? Unlikely. Nobi was normally the agreeable one. “What do you mean, Mimi?”

“Just what I said. I agree. Sometimes a person can’t see their perfect match when they’re right in front of them. And they just need a little…nudge.” Mimi poked Joan in the arm.

“Stop that.” Joan swatted at Mimi’s index finger coming in for round two. “Sally thinks she’s in love with James—”

“And she’s not?” Nobi asked.

“Of course not. The man’s a rake. She just thinks she’s in love with him because women everywhere are swooning over his obsidian locks and ocean colored eyes. And his broad shoulders aren’t deterring her either.”

Nobi and Mimi’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling. “Yes…well, those features could fell any woman,” Nobi drawled.

“Perhaps,” Joan dismissed the idea. “Many a woman might fall for James, but not me. I can withstand his charm because I know the truth about him.”

“Which is…” Mimi left the question hanging in the air.

“He doesn’t want a wife. And he never will.”

“Is that all?”

Joan narrowed her eyes at Mimi. “Is that all?” she repeated the question. “That’s enough for any gently bred lady. The man doesn’t want a wife. There’s no point in falling for him.”

“I’m not sure it works that way,” Nobi said cautiously. It was as if she was trying to say something without really saying it.

“What way?” Joan asked, needing more details.

“You don’t exactly choose who you fall for.” Nobi’s explanation did little to appease Joan.

“Of course you do,” Joan expelled a puff of air. “You choose to love someone, and then you still have to choose to love them every day.”

“That’s a different kind of love,” Nobi clarified. “I’m talking about who you fall for. You don’t get to choose that. Sometimes you just” —Nobi sighed raggedly— “see his eyes and…fall. Hypothetically, that is.”

“Anyway, that’s not the point,” Joan plowed on not wanting to delay the plan to gossip about Jacob. She knew how Nobi felt about Chris. It wasn’t the kind of love she ever expected herself to feel. It was too rare. And she was too ordinary.

“Isn’t it? Aren’t we trying to make Sally fall for Jacob?” Mimi asked.

“Yes. And it’s simple. If we can just spread some rumors of Jacob’s…prowess…and erm—desirability—then Sally will see that other women want him. She’ll be jealous and fall for him.”

The sudden silence between the sisters was exasperating. Did she really need to spell it out in more detail for them? Did she need to break down the phonetics? Surely they could see how the plan would work. But they were just looking at each other, communicating using their eyebrows and a side pout of the lips.

“What are you two discussing?”

“Nothing,” they said together.

“So will you help me?” And then she added, “And Sally?”

“Of course we will.”

And it only took four dances, six more lemon squares (split evenly between the three), and a few drips of on dit spilled over the rims of three glasses of lemonade to get the rumors started.

I hope Jacob asks me to dance.

I hear Jacob knows how to please a woman.

I’d like to meet Jacob in the gardens.

Have you noticed the size of his hands?

Jacob? The man with the swoon-inducing eyes?

And from there the rumors escalated. So when Joan found herself watching Sally from a few paces away, she was delighted to see Sally watching Jacob as he asked another lady to dance. It wasn’t a fiery jealousy that Joan detected in Sally’s eyes, but the slightest curiosity. Which was much more than what she’d seen before.

“The plan is working. Meet me on the balcony in five minutes.” The deep voice rumbled over her ears, just loud enough for her to hear. And just low enough to resonate in her bones. Shivers ran up the backs of her arms. There must be a breeze in the room.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as James popped out onto the balcony using the furthest door at the end of the room. She needed to update him on their progress, so she may as well do it now. Taking a quick stroll around the room, she made her way to the same door she had seen him exit.

When she stepped out into the fresh chilly air, an extended hand greeted her with a drink.

“Cheers to us,” James's voice sent a warm jolt to the pit of her stomach.

“You saw how she was looking at Jacob?” Joan’s giddiness was evident in the tone of her question.

He nodded in the darkness, only half of his face lit by the moonlight. She could still detect a small smirk.

Taking a sip of her drink, she pulled back in surprise. “Champagne?” It was uncommon for ladies to drink champagne. Lemonade was their expected drink of choice. Especially since the fiasco that was the night of the duke dare, Joan had been extra cautious of what she was drinking. All four of them were already heavily immersed in a dare that would affect their entire futures. She didn’t need another feat to her list of impossible things to accomplish. Securing one duke was enough.

“We’re celebrating,” he said with a wink. Lifting his hand, he waited for her to mirror his gesture, then he clinked the glasses. “To us. And to love.”

Of course, he was referring to Sally and Jacob’s blossoming love, so the swelling warmth she felt in her belly meant nothing. Must be the champagne.

Joan took that moment to appreciate another sip of her drink and then looked up into the night sky. The stars above twinkled with minimal cloud coverage. It was a still, serene night, with only a slight chill in the air.

“Are you cold?” He asked softly.

At the same time, the chill of the air sent goosebumps up her arms.

“No, it’s a nice night.”

“Here. Take this.” He was already divesting himself of his jacket and swirling it around her shoulders before she could protest. His heavy cologne enveloped her in a spicy, masculine scent. With as much discretion as she could muster, she inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill her nostrils. It was an odd thing to consider committing a scent to memory, but she pondered it anyway.

If they hadn’t openly discussed their differences, and if she didn’t know of his plans never to marry, she might think of him sharing his coat as a meaningful gesture of sorts.

She mumbled a quick, “Thank you.” Then she leaned back against the balustrade. It was best to focus on business, not jacket-sharing and heat-triggering scents. “What’s our next move?”

“Tomorrow Jacob wants to take Sally out on the pond to go rowing. We’ll go with them.” James was close to her, his hip pressed into the same balustrade she was leaning against. He was within arm’s reach. She could easily touch him. His chest. His bicep. His forearm. Not that she was thinking of that.

“You stated that as if it’s already decided. As if I don’t have a say in it.”

He peered at her over his glass, taking a small sip. “Would you prefer we didn’t go with them?”

She shrugged, unsure of why she was resisting the plan. “It seems like a good enough plan. No possibility of scandal.”

He laughed. “Right. We must avoid scandal at all costs.”

“You say that in a mocking tone?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

He gestured to the balcony. “We’re alone on a balcony.”

And then it hit her. She was alone on a balcony with a known rake. What was she thinking? She had only been thinking to update him on their progress and possibly make further plans. When had she let her guard down?

Seeing her panic, he chuckled again. “It’s fine. We’re done here anyway. You can return inside. Safe. Unharmed. Untouched.” The last word he lingered on. And she couldn’t help wondering what more touches from him might feel like. But that path led to ruin.

“Yes. That’s a good idea.” Not the touching. The returning inside. “Here’s your jacket.” She took her free hand to slip out of it, but it was falling too quickly. It was on its way to the ground when James reached behind her and caught the jacket. In the movements, his arm latched around her waist, and she was pressed up against his chest.

His solid, warm chest. With each breath she felt its friction against her breasts, and her nipples were responding.

Her breath hitched in her throat. “Thank you,” she said hoarsely, not really sure why she was thanking him for saving his jacket from hitting the ground.

His voice was just as hoarse, “You’re welcome.” His eyes studied her face. Dropped to her lips. He licked his bottom lip and then dragged his eyes back up to hers.

Joan’s heart hammered in her chest and she was sure he could not only hear it, but feel it as well, thumping against his chest.

“Joan—”

“I thought I saw her go outside,” a new voice entered the conversation from just beyond the door. Joan couldn’t quite distinguish it from the roaring in her ears.

Suddenly her back was pressed against the exterior wall of the building, her front was crushed against James's back as he stood hiding her from the incoming scandal. His body, in conjunction with the opened door were enough to camouflage her in the darkness. She felt…protected.

“Is she out here?” That voice was definitely Mimi’s, and Joan sighed in relief.

“I don’t think so—Oh, James. I didn’t see you there,” Nobi said.

“Just getting some fresh air,” James's voice was shockingly calm.

Joan tapped James on the back with her index finger to communicate. When he moved to the side, she stepped out from behind him.

“Oh!” Nobi startled.

Mimi’s face split into a grin, but all she said was, “There you are. We were looking for you.”

“We came out to discuss our progress on Sally. The rumors seem to have aroused her curiosity.” Aroused? That was the wrong word to use. Too late.

“Splendid,” Mimi said with a clap of her hands. “Everything is going according to plan.”