Juliet’s eyes went to the duchess. She was dancing with Paul Grimes, the country vicar. Juliet had spoken to her before dinner and hadn’t gotten the impression the duchess had any interest in science. It seemed quite endearing if her husband was able to discover her love for such a subject and went out of his way to find little-known facts to impress her with. Juliet smiled.
“Now, about Drake,” Caroline said, effectively pulling Juliet from her wistful thoughts.
“Right.”
Caroline shifted in her chair. “He’s not had an easy life, Juliet. I don’t know all the details―and as far as anyone else knows, I don’t even know the select few I’m about to tell you―but Drake was forced to take on a wealth of responsibility far sooner than he should have. If I remember right, his father died while he was still in leading strings and his uncle stepped in to run the viscountcy until Drake was of age. But his uncle’s greed led to the abrupt end of Drake's carefree childhood and transformed him into a judicious lord.”
A hush fell over their section of the room and Juliet desperately hoped Caroline would offer any further explanation she could.
“As I said, I don’t know everything,” Caroline continued a few moments later, wrapping a loose thread from the seam of her glove around her finger. “But what I do know is that Drake was thrust into his position as viscount when he was young and the viscountcy was on the verge of complete financial ruin because his uncle had been dipping into the accounts. Drake was forced to leave Harrow and without the financial help of anyone else, he was able to save the viscountcy and make it turn a profit. But as you can see, that came at the cost of not merely his youth, but also his innocence and ability to trust anyone.”
Juliet sat stock-still, understanding forming in her mind. It was little wonder Drake came off as presumptuous, he’d had to be. He’d been forced at―Juliet racked her brain, trying to remember at which age boys went to school―twelve, was it, to take control of something as important as a viscountcy and run it without the help of others.
“But what does that have to do with his dancing?” Juliet blurted, her brow puckering.
“Nothing directly,” Caroline said offhandedly. “But he’s always had a hard time trusting others. It’s almost like he’s built up a wall around himself and is very careful who he lets past and just how far he lets them in. Take for example, the different types of relationships he has with Alex, Marcus, Emma and me. Alex is a casual acquaintance. Drake is very formal with him. They address each other by titles only and have very little chitchat, if you will. Then there’s someone like Emma or me. He’s known us much longer and we’re more informal. He calls us by our names, we call him Drake. Though he was polite enough to come to my wedding last year and even asked Emma to dance with him, there is still some sort of barrier between us―”
“Wait,” Juliet interrupted. “You just said he doesn’t dance, but yet, he asked Emma...” She trailed off, her earlier elation at being granted that special privilege rapidly depleting.
“He asked, but he didn’t really wish to, so she made up an excuse and refused.”
“Hmmm.” Juliet’s lips twisted.
Caroline grinned. “No need to be jealous,” she teased. “I have no doubt he would have danced with her, but I also have no reason to believe he would have enjoyed it nearly as much as he seemed to be enjoying himself earlier with you.” She sighed. “It’s difficult to explain, Juliet. Marcus and Emma... Uh..Drake was just trying to help her. And he did. But the reason he asked her to dance was just to talk to her, not because he had any desire to be close to her. What I’ve been trying to say is that he actually seemed to want to dance with you.
“See, Drake is comfortable with both Emma and me, but there’s still something there. Some sort of invisible shield, if you will, that allows us to step closer to him, but he’s still able to keep us at arm’s length. But then there’s Marcus. I believe I told you before that Marcus is the only person aside from the late Lady Drakely who I’ve ever heard use Drake’s Christian name. He’s also the only person, besides you, who has had the fortitude to question Drake or his decisions. Most others are cowed by his self-assured personality and reputation for being unapproachable. However, those brave enough to question him about his decisions are usually leveled with an icy set down that sends them quickly on their way. But not Marcus. Marcus openly calls him Patrick and freely gives Drake his opinion, nice or not.”
“And you think...”