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“Cheer up, Papa,” Eloise told her father in a soft tone. “It is a lovely story.”

Adam stared at his daughter, and his mouth twitched once before he reached for his wine. “Do you think so?” he asked.

Eloise nodded with great enthusiasm. “Yes, it is, Papa!”

Adam cleared his throat. Then he supposed it was fine.

“She has you entirely,” Daniel said, sounding absolutely delighted.

“You may leave at any time,” Adam said.

“And miss dessert?” Daniel was genuinely scandalized. “Never.”

Eloise ate half her meal and then began to flag, her head drooping twice toward Daniel’s shoulder before she caught herself. Juliet turned her head in time to see Adam putting his napkin down, his expression alert.

“Eloise,” he called gruffly, and she jumped at her name before looking at him.

Her expression fell at once because she knew what it meant.

“No,” she said immediately. “Please, Papa, I⁠—”

But the duke was having none of it. He stared at his daughter with a stern expression. “You already know that you cannot stay up past your bedtime,” he said, signaling towards the door. Miss Green appeared in the dining room immediately, as if by magic.

“Goodnight.”

Eloise’s expression fell into the pits of despair at the appearance of her governess. But then, she turned to look at her Uncle Daniel, who could only give her a small, sympathetic tilt of his head. Then she turned to look frantically at Juliet, but Juliet kept her expression carefully level.

Seeing she no longer had an ally in any adult, Eloise let out a defeated sigh, pushed back from the table, and rose.

“Yes, Papa,” she conceded drably. “I’m going to bed.”

Juliet smiled at her. “You should sleep early enough so you’ll have enough rest for our next adventure tomorrow.”

Adam wondered what she meant by next adventure.

“Oh, truly?” She beamed, her smile nearly as bright as the morning sun.

Juliet glanced once at him out of the corner of her eye. Adam pressed his lips together tightly, choosing not to say anything to rebut her.

“Oh, yes.” Juliet nodded now, and Eloise cheered.

“I can’t wait for the dawn to break!” She cried, and then went around to kiss the marquess’s cheek first, who received it with ceremony.

Juliet shook her head at that.

Eloise came around to Adam, who leaned down and pressed his mouth briefly to the top of her head, his hand resting for a moment on her shoulder. Then, she came to Juliet, putting both arms around Juliet’s neck and holding on. She kissed the duchess’s cheek, warm and unhesitating.

It made a part of Adam’s chest warm.

“Goodnight,” she said.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” Juliet’s hand went briefly to the back of the girl’s head.

Eloise went without protest, letting the governess collect her at the door, and their voices faded up the corridor, then disappeared entirely.

Almost immediately, the dining room settled into a charged silence that set Juliet’s teeth on edge even though she couldn’t quite tell why.

Daniel reached for the wine and poured the last of it into his glass. He turned the stem slowly in his fingers, looking at it, making a show of his contemplation.