Read Online Say Yes to the Duke by Kieran Kramer - Free Book Online Page A

saw the nurse pause in her housekeeping for a moment, then return
     to folding a cloth with a sure, steady motion.
    The dowager fisted her handkerchief and leaned toward Janice as if seeing her for
     the first time. “You’re Lady Janice, are you not?” Her eyes were softer now, even
     friendly.
    “Yes, Your Majesty.”
    “Your Majesty?” The duchess gave an indulgent little laugh and waved her free hand.
     “You must be travel weary, my dear. I’m merely the Dowager Duchess of Halsey. Not
     the Queen.”
    Oh, dear. This wasn’t going to be easy. Janice caught the nurse’s eye—the woman shrugged and
     continued about her business.
    “I’m sorry, Your Grace.” Janice wondered how long the dowager’s moment of clarity
     would last. “Of course. My mistake.”
    “It’s all right.” She eyed Janice kindly. “I had my secretary write you. Would you
     like to know why?”
    “I did wonder. But I was very glad, Your—Your Grace.”
    A fond smile passed over the old woman’s face. “Your mother used to sew for me. She
     made me a gown, and you were there when it was being fitted. You held up a scrap of
     velvet cut from the same cloth and said that someday you’d be a duchess, too. You
     said no one ever made fun of duchesses nor pounded on their door for the rent. I never
     forgot that. Your mother was terribly embarrassed. You were a pale little thing sitting
     in a corner with a book. I almost didn’t see you.”
    Janice blushed. “I wish I could remember. I must have been very young.”
    “It doesn’t matter,” said the dowager. “ I remembered. I kept track of your mother. She made me a good many more gowns, and
     I referred all my friends to her until she became quite the thing among seamstresses.
     She deserved the business—her talent is remarkable—but in my mind’s eye, I always
     saw you, the little girl who wanted to be a duchess.”
    “Your Grace.” Janice blinked back tears. “How very kind of you to help my mother so.”
    “And I was so happy to see her meet her marquess. I knew that would make you a lady.
     Lady Janice. No longer the little shopgirl.”
    “No, I no longer am.” Janice swallowed the lump in her throat. In a very odd way,
     the duchess had contributed to Janice’s mother’s success … and even to her meeting
     Daddy. Life was certainly funny.
    The dowager sneezed again into her giant handkerchief.
    Janice blinked. “I’m sorry you’ve a cold.”
    But when the old lady looked up, her eyes were different. They were narrowed once
     more. “Enough of colds,” she said in the same superior tone she’d employed when Janice
     had first entered the room. “There’s something you must do for England, young lady.”
    She was being the Queen again!
    “Really?” Janice wasn’t so taken aback this time. In fact, it was rather exciting
     talking to the dowager—illness aside, of course. She was a challenge, to be certain,
     but terribly interesting. “What’s that, Your Majesty? Aside from finding the crown
     jewels?”
    The duchess threw a suspicious glance at the nurse, then crooked a finger at Janice.
    Janice came closer.
    “I have a mission for you,” the dowager whispered in her ear. “You’re a girl after
     my own heart.”
    Janice laid a hand on her heart, which was thumping wildly. “Me?”
    “Yes, you.”
    “But why do you say so? You don’t even know my name.”
    “You’ve got a look in your eye,” the dowager whispered again. “You’re clever; I can
     tell. And I see the same sense of frustration in you that was in me at your age. You’re
     a competitive spirit denied a chance to shine, all because you’re too frightened to
     speak up.”
    “How can you see all that? We’ve only just met.”
    “I’m the Queen,” said the duchess in a patronizing voice. “Do you think I don’t know
     my own subjects? Halsey, for example, needs a wife in the worst way.”
    “I-I suppose he does,” Janice said low, “as he’s a