Say Yes to the Duke by Kieran Kramer Page A

in with her sister, whose husband is one of our
     farmers.”
    “Thank you for coming to stay,” Janice told her, “and I’m so sorry for your loss.”
     She couldn’t imagine how Mrs. Friday was feeling.
    “It’s been a little over a year now.” Mrs. Friday smiled a sweet half smile. “And
     I’m glad to be here, if only to get some peace. My sister has three young boys. It’s
     a happy household but a loud one.”
    “I hope your sister can do without you.” Janice smiled back. “I have three brothers,
     so I know what havoc they can wreak.”
    Mrs. Friday laughed. “She’ll do well, I promise you. The boys assure me they’ll take
     fine care of her.”
    They both grinned at that.
    With some hope in her heart that she might have acquired a friend as well as a chaperone,
     Janice took a seat next to Miss Branson. When the duke’s male friends sat down again,
     Janice didn’t even attempt to guess what they were thinking, although Lady Rose’s
     earlier insistence that they wanted her gone, too, gave her reason to tilt her chin
     up a fraction of an inch more than usual.
    “Good evening,” she told the company.
    They had no idea what they were in for. But as resolute as she was to proceed as she’d
     planned, fear over what she was about to do made her severely mute.
    The Duke of Halsey was an excellent conversationalist. Lord Yarrow and Lord Rowntree
     made the occasional bland remark, reinforcing her impression that they weren’t very
     distinguished themselves, and the questionable women—Lady Opal, Lady Rose, and Miss
     Branson—interjected fairly amusing comments as well.
    But the duke steered the topics and set the tone. Janice stayed quiet, murmuring only
     a few words of agreement.
    But she would have to change that. Now. She took a deep, quiet breath and in the back of her mind hoped that Mrs. Friday,
     at least, would be happy with what she was about to say.
    “Your Grace”—she noticed that Mrs. Friday looked up from her stitching with a warm
     smile of encouragement—“I enjoyed meeting your grandmother very much. In fact, rather
     than leave when the roads clear and my carriage wheel is fixed, I’ve decided to stay
     the full month as she requested I do in the letter, as long as Mrs. Friday can spare
     the additional time away from her sister.”
    “Of course I can.” Mrs. Friday’s enthusiasm was touching.
    The duke hesitated only a fraction of a second. “Oh, but that won’t be necessary,
     Lady Janice. You’re very kind, but we have plenty of people in the household to provide
     my grandmother company.”
    “Oh? According to Her Grace’s nurse, no one but you has been to visit her, Your Grace.”
     Janice looked round at the other guests. “Since some of you have been here at least
     several weeks, I made the assumption that you’d have done so by now had you intended
     to.”
    There was a brief pause.
    “I’ll be happy to go see her,” said Miss Branson. “I like old ladies. I simply forgot about her. I never see her, for God’s sake.”
    Janice was tempted to smile. She did enjoy Miss Branson’s over-the-top speech.
    “We’re only following doctor’s orders,” the duke said on the heels of Miss Branson’s
     colorful remark. “My grandmother needs peace and solace. But perhaps the occasional
     visit won’t be untoward.”
    “I’ll go,” said Lady Opal. “I’m sure we’ll find something to talk about.”
    “We’ll all go together, shall we?” Lady Rose spoke as if she, her sister, and Miss
     Brandon would be entering a tiger’s lair rather than an elderly woman’s bedchamber.
    “Damn tootin’,” said Miss Branson.
    Lady Opal nodded vigorously in assent.
    Janice wished she could be happier about their enthusiasm, but she saw, of course,
     that this was their way of helping her leave the house party and return to London
     while they maintained guilt-free consciences.
    “I’m sure your grandmother would enjoy seeing Lords Rowntree and Yarrow as