His fiancée's smile froze on her face and she wanted to bang her head against a wall. How could she have forgotten how they met Adella? She squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to witness the scene again. Where the artfully clumsy Ms. Dunstan careened into the Duke’s waiting arms.

But, that had been later in the evening when Giuliana sought refreshments after a dance and the Duke conversed with a peer. Giuliana clung to his side as they spoke to Lecia. The dancing had not yet started and only drinks were being served. It was far too early for this to happen.

The Duke did not leave her side. He stiffened against the impact of Ms. Dunstan; the smile slipping from his lips. Giuliana heard his clipped tone as he admonished her.

“If you cannot walk upright, you need not attend a ball. I despair for any of your dance partners this evening.”

Adella Dunstan blinked her sea-green eyes, peering from beneath her pale lashes at the Duke. “Is that an offer, Alastair?”

A strangled sound came from Lecia, her pretty face screwing in indignation. “Who are you to speak to His Grace so casually?”

Giuliana’s mind was empty. She was speechless for the first time in her entire life. This was not the shrinking flower of before. The Duke had no such qualms. He stepped out of her reach, still keeping a tight hold on Giuliana.

“I’m Adella Dunstan, of course!” She said, blinking her shining eyes. “We’re fated to meet!”

Lecia scoffed. “Fated? What a joke!” She shooed the girl away with her fan. “Go away before I eject you from my ball.”

Adella didn’t even glance her way. She only had eyes for the Duke. He tugged on the collar of his shirt and sighed.

“You are Baron Dunstan’s daughter?” He asked tiredly. She nodded her head. “Then why do you address me so informally? We have never been introduced. Even the daughter of a merchant should know better.”

Those were words Giuliana once spat at Adella who insisted on calling her familiarly after their first meeting. But now the Duke said them and he laced them with more vitriol than she thought possible.

Her bright smile did not falter, and she just giggled and waved away his words. “But I can. We’re going to be married.”

Giuliana peeked around Alastair’s shoulder, mouth agape. “Married?” She repeated. “He has a fiancée.”

Adella pouted her perfect pink lips and wrung her hands. “But, he doesn’t love you, silly. So, it’ll be me because I’m the heroine.”

Alastair pinched the bridge of his nose, tips of his ears red with annoyance. Giuliana licked her lips, readying a reply. But, Lecia intervened by waving a footman over.

“Please escort Ms. Dunstan to her father’s side. I fear she has a fever.”

“She must be ill to say such words to the Duke and his fiancée,” murmured a woman behind a lace fan.

“Even if it is Lady Giuliana, that is just rude, isn’t it?”

“Unacceptable,” agreed a man.

“And to think it’s her first society event--”

Ms. Adella Dunstan heard the whispers around them, and now her pretty brow wrinkled. She scowled at Giuliana, folding her arms across her chest. And Giuliana could only stare back. She called herself a heroine like this was a romance novel. Like the Duke was the hero and her destiny. What rot.

Still, if she thought she was a heroine, what did that make Giuliana? The realization crept over her as she beheld her own flashy gown and mass of curls. Heroines never dressed like this and they were never engaged to the hero at the beginning of the story. Oh my. Was she the villainess?

Giuliana read too many romance novels to keep them straight, and they all followed the same plot line. A beautiful girl of low birth enters an academy or society where the handsome prince or duke already has a fiancée. She is always his equal, and she is cold and haughty, eager to protect her place at his side. She lacks the heroine’s charm and warmth, never showing the hero any affection. She wears extravagant gowns in bold colors. Her hair is curled, either naturally or artificially, and she is usually not well-liked.

Huh. Maybe Giuliana was the villainess after all. And any villainess worth her salt wouldn’t stand here dumbly while the heroine staked her claim on the hero. So, she pushed her shoulders back and snickered behind a hand-painted fan.

The Duke turned on her in surprise. Giuliana did not laugh as a rule and certainly not in public. She also neither simpered nor giggled.

“Whether or not he loves me is not your concern. You are a jumped up little maggot, Ms. Dunstan, and I cannot abide your insinuations.” She tugged on Alastair’s arm and dragged a finger down his jawline. “Let’s take a walk, Alastair, the air has suddenly become very common.”

Lecia’s jaw hit the floor, and she glanced at Adella’s face. The girl looked far too smug for someone who was being ordered to her father’s side for the evening. 

First, the damn Duke decided he wanted to marry Giuliana. 

Then this strange girl arrived out of nowhere and claimed she would marry him. 

And now her closest friend in the world was feeling up her fiancé in public.

This was madness.

As Giuliana pulled Alastair through the crowds, she tried to calm herself. She acted like an utter idiot based on the words of Adella alone. She couldn’t bear to show her face to Alastair even if she relished the warmth of his skin.

She released him once they stepped out onto a balcony and into the night air. Somehow evening had given way to night and so the air had cooled. She fought off a shiver and walked to the balustrade. Alastair joined her there, standing close at her side.

“What was...that? I’ve never known you to behave that way.”

Giuliana buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know what came over me. She called herself a heroine, so that means she sees me as the villainess and I just...snapped.” Alastair reached over and pulled on her hands to uncover her face. She twisted towards him in surprise. “W-what?”

His cool fingers caressed her cheeks, a mysterious smile on his lips. “You have every right to protect what is yours,” he assured her.

“W-what do you mean?”

“I know we were both raised to not show our emotions in public or even private, but I enjoyed seeing that side to you—fierce and beautiful—it reminded me of the child I knew before we got engaged.”

After they finalized the engagement when they were five, her quick smiles and bright laughter disappeared as she strove to be the best.

“It has been years since I just let myself react in a way that reflected my genuine feelings.”

“You were magnificent.”

“Perhaps a bit too rude. I didn’t need to call her a maggot.”

“Well, that was far more restrained response to Ms. Dunstan claiming she would marry me.”

“Yes, that was odd.” Giuliana bit her bottom lip and looked out toward the gardens.

“Liana,” began Alastair. “Why didn’t you just tell her I love you?”