The following morning – although it was closer to luncheon than breakfast - found Harmonia, Amelia and the Duke sitting quietly at the dining room table, each breaking their fast. For the most part, all three appeared to be in good spirits, although all were rather quiet. Harmonia and Amelia were feeling a little fatigued after last night’s ball, with Harmonia’s head filled with nothing but Lord Newford. The supper dance had been the end to a wonderful evening, coming just after the unmasking. She had, of course, had to feign surprise that her partner was none other than Lord Newford and the twinkle in his eye as he’d bowed in front of her had made her laugh. He was, all in all, a wonderful gentleman.

“You have a letter, my lady.”

Startled from her thoughts, Harmonia looked up to see the butler handing her a letter and the Duke two of his own. She took it at once, turning it over to see none other than Lord Newford’s seal. Delighted, she opened it at once, just as her father opened the first of his two letters.

‘My dear Lady Harmonia,’ it began. ‘I could not wait another moment to write to you after what was such a wonderful evening. I have secured tickets for the theatre tonight and it would be my honor if you and your sister would join me. I have been told it is an excellent version of ‘The Tempest’ and I am quite certain that you would enjoy it. I will bask in the delight of your company should you accept. In addition, I hope to call on your father later today so that I might ask his permission to pay you court. Yours, Lord Phillip Newford’

Her hand tightened on the letter as she finished reading it, her smile blossoming as she read it over again. Looking up, she caught Amelia’s knowing smile and felt a blush rise in her cheeks. Her sister clearly knew who the letter was from without Harmonia needing to explain.

She opened her mouth to tell her father about what Lord Newford had said, only to see him frown as he read his first letter. The second lay, discarded, on the table ready for him to read later and, as Harmonia glanced at it, she saw the Newford seal. Her heart lifted with happiness as she realized Lord Newford had written to her father also, asking permission to call on him later just as he had said in her letter.

“I must say, this is rather extraordinary.”

The Duke’s voice was low, his eyebrows furrowing as he read the letter in his hand, his gaze turning towards Harmonia. “I must say, I did not think this would come about.”

“What, papa?” Amelia asked, looking a little concerned. “Is something the matter?”

“No, not particularly,” the Duke replied, with yet another frown. “It is just…. I am growing rather confused and perhaps I am mistaken.” His gaze landed back on Harmonia as he shook the letter a little. “This is from your cousin, Luke.”

“Luke?” Harmonia repeated, the smile fading from her lips. “He wrote to you?”

“You did tell me that you did not want to court him, did you not?” the Duke asked, looking confused. “I did not grant him that permission, did I?”

“No, you did not,” Harmonia said, firmly. “I made my feelings very clear on the matter and no permission was granted.”

The Duke nodded slowly. “Then can you tell me why he is writing to me to ask for your hand in marriage?”

Harmonia gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at her father, not quite sure what to say. She could hardly believe that Luke had the audacity to write to the Duke in order to seek her hand, especially after she had made it clear to him that there would never be anything between them.

“Might I ask what he says, papa?” Amelia asked, quietly, sending a concerned glance in Harmonia’s direction.

Her father shrugged and lifted the letter high, holding it some distance away so that he could read it. “It reads, ‘Your Grace, after some consideration, I would like to request the honor of marrying your youngest daughter, Lady Harmonia. We are well suited, and I know she would be an exceptional wife. There is a deep friendship between us and I know that this would be an excellent foundation with which to build a marriage on. I swear that I will treat her well, care for her and love her with all my heart. She will lack for nothing. I am sure that you will, of course, require some time to consider your answer and so I will wait expectantly for your reply. Your humble servant….’” The Duke trailed off, looking over at Harmonia. “I find him a little brash, if I may say so.”

“Brash!” Amelia exclaimed, two spots of color appearing in her cheeks as her anger grew. “The man is downright rude, papa, trying his best to get Harmonia to accept him in whatever way he can when she had specifically told him she wants nothing to do with him any longer.”

The Duke’s frown deepened. “I find him to be quite expectant in his letter,” he said, slowly. “It is as though I will come around to his way of thinking in the end, that I will decide that he is, of course, the best candidate for your husband, Harmonia.”

Harmonia, who had only just started to get her breath back after the shock of hearing what Luke had written, managed a weak smile. “Papa, you are not thinking of accepting him?”

“Of course not!” her father exclaimed, looking quite astonished that she would think so. “I know your feelings on the matter, Harmonia. I am just quite confused as to why he would write to me when he knows that I have not even granted his consent to court you!”

Thinking that this was the best time to tell her father the truth about what they had learned of Luke, Harmonia drew in a long breath. “Papa,” she began, slowly. “Do you remember Lord Newford?”

Her father’s frown lifted a little as he nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“I believe your other letter is from him,” Harmonia said, pointedly. She caught Amelia’s eye as her father opened the letter and read it quickly, a smile spreading across his face.

“Well, well,” he said, with a quick smile towards Harmonia. “It seems Lord Newford wants permission to court you and will be calling here this afternoon, if it is convenient.”

“He also would like myself and Amelia to attend the theatre with him this evening,” Harmonia continued, aware that her cheeks were burning. “Papa, I do not care for Luke. Lord Newford is the only man I am considering at this moment.”

Her father smiled and the ball of tension that had settled in her stomach began to disappear. “Then of course I shall grant him permission to court you,” he said softly. “You need not have any concerns in that regard, Harmonia.”

Smiling back at her father, Harmonia let out a long breath. “Thank you, papa. However, there is something I need to tell you about Luke. Something that Lord Newford discovered.”

“We have known for but a day,” Amelia added, hastily. “We wanted to tell you as soon as we could but yesterday you were still rather fatigued.”

The Duke’s smile disappeared. “Whatever is it?”

Harmonia took a breath. “Papa, Luke is in a great deal of debt.”

“Debt from gambling and from visiting houses of disrepute,” Amelia added, as the Duke’s mouth fell open. “It appears he has been doing his best to keep this hidden from the rest of us.”

“Did you know anything about this, papa?” Harmonia asked, able to guess what the answer would be. “You had no idea of his behavior?”

The Duke shook his head, his mouth closing but lines of worry creasing his forehead. “No, I did not,” he said, gruffly as he cleared his throat. “This has come as something of a surprise.”

Recalling just how shocked she had been when Lord Newford had told her about Luke, Harmonia gave a small smile. “I quite understand, papa,” she said, quietly. “I did not want to believe it, given how close he is to our family, but I would not doubt Lord Newford’s word.”

“He could have no reason to blacken Luke’s name,” Amelia said, firmly. “He already knew that Harmonia had no preference for Luke. He discovered this news from Baron Roth, who warned Lord Newford that it would be all over town very soon. Apparently, Luke has more than a few creditors who are chasing after him, the Baron included.” She shook her head, her lip curling a little in disgust. “Frankly, papa, after how Luke treated Harmonia when she tried to tell him that there would be nothing more than an acquaintance between them made me dislike him intensely. I am not surprised to hear that there is more of his poor character hidden beneath his façade of gentleman.”

The Duke turned horrified eyes onto Harmonia. “I did not know of this, Harmonia! Did he hurt you?”

Harmonia shook her head. “But he might have done, had not Amelia been there. I am quite sure that the only reason he wishes for my hand is so that he can use my dowry to cover his debts.”

Shaking his head, the Duke planted one elbow on the table and buried his face in his hand. “Whatever is going on with this family of mine?” he muttered, darkly. “and here I am proven to have a poor judge of character yet again! I thought Luke to be charming and upright, only to discover that he is anything but!”

Not wanting her father to feel distressed, Harmonia reached across the table and took his hand. “Papa, you do not need to take this on yourself. On this occasion, I was already in mind to refuse Luke and instead of pushing me towards him, as you had every right to do, you chose to allow me my own choice of suitor.” She smiled as her father raised his head and looked directly at her. “There is no fault here, papa, not from you. You have done everything well, I assure you.”

After a moment or two, the Duke let out a long sigh and nodded. “You do well to assuage my guilty soul, Harmonia. Very well, I will write to Luke and make it as clear as I can that he is not to come near you, Harmonia or, in fact, the rest of the family. Until I find out the exact nature of these debts – for I am quite sure that they are very substantial – Luke is not welcome in this house. Do not so much as speak to him, Harmonia. Continue on as you have been, of course, but ensure that he is not given any of the familiar acquaintance he once was.”

Glad that her father had accepted all that had been said by Lord Newford, Harmonia nodded. “Thank you, papa. And, the theatre tonight? Might I go?”

Her father’s gloomy look disappeared as he smiled, looking over towards Amelia who gave him the smallest of nods.

“I think your sister is happy with the idea and I could not refuse you this, my dear,” he said, patting her hand. “You are very good, Harmonia. I look forward to Lord Newford’s visit this afternoon for I would like to get to know the gentleman who has stolen my youngest daughter’s heart! And you need have no doubt that I will refuse him for I can see that you hold a deep affection for him and, from what you have said, he is, in fact, worthy of you.”

“Yes, he is,” Amelia declared, sending a bright smile in Harmonia’s direction. “I am sure we will have a most enjoyable evening together.”