Lord Love a Duke by Renee Reynolds Read Free Book Online

at their success so
far.

    “Jules, we are going to have the best time
this fortnight. I swear I should have thought of bedeviling Jonas
much sooner. I have never felt so alive, free, and excited as I do
at this moment.”

    Juliet grabbed her friend's hand and
squeezed it conspiratorially. “I agree. My mind is positively
racing with our ideas. I think we shall have the most fun of our
lives.”

    The friends laughed again as they hurried on
the path through the woods that would lead them to the sportsman's
cabin. The tiny house lay near the property line separating
Edgecliff from the Quinn's home, Belle Rêverie. It was isolated
enough that their presence would go undetected, their plan of
action uninterrupted.

Chapter Ten
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn,
and cauldron bubble.

William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 4, Scene
1

    The heat from the fire in the small hearth
was astonishingly oppressive, but Miranda and Juliet persevered.
Although Miranda complained long and loudly, crushing the berries
in the cloth had been the easy part. Forcing the mixture through a
sieve and into the small pan was done with relative ease as well.
Neither lady had realized how tedious it would be to force
themselves to stir and watch the pot as the juice reduced over the
flames.

    "I think we are working much too hard for
such a small prank," declared Juliet as she stirred with one hand
and wiped her drenched brow with a cloth. "I had not realized just
how much labor goes into the task of cooking, especially in this
stifling heat, and we are only making a small amount of syrup. I
begin to think this is the height of folly."

    Miranda lifted her head from its resting
place on the small cutting block on the table and dipped her own
cloth into a nearby pan of water. Not bothering to wring out the
excess, she mopped her face with the wet scrap and moaned. "This
should have been a prank for the winter months. I am in
misery."

    They had opened all the windows in the tiny
sportsman's cabin, but no breeze could be coaxed to come inside.
Juliet looked down at her sprigged muslin gown of lilac and noticed
even the embroidered rosettes decorating the neckline looked wilted
from the heat. Her thick apron had lost it starch long ago, but it
had served its purpose well as it was dotted with telltale drops of
berry juice.

    "Randa, come look at this syrup,” she
demanded, once again focusing on their task. “It looks like the
drizzle cook pours over custard. I think it will suffice. It is
very dark, just as Hampton predicted. I am so glad I confided our
scheme to him else the first joke would not have worked from the
outset. He gave me a bottle of fine port in addition to the brandy.
Brandy is amber in color while the port is very dark; he thought
our berry syrup would be less noticeable in port. Seeing the color
of this concoction I am inclined to agree."

    Lady Miranda got up from her stool and
peered into the pot that had been removed from the fire peg. She
dipped the spoon and tested the viscosity. With a shout of joy she
declared it thickened and the ladies both sighed in relief.

    "Then we shall hide the brandy and bugger
with Jonas' port so it will be the only available spirit. Now, you
snuff the fire while I gather our supplies," directed Miranda.
Juliet grabbed the basin of water and poured it over the glowing
coals. The dying fire hissed as smoke billowed out of the hearth
and into the cabin. She jumped back from the grate and turned to
her friend.

    "Oh, Jules! Your face is covered in soot!
What a lark! I wish we had a looking glass."

    Juliet smiled ruefully and futilely wiped an
equally sooty hand over her grimy cheek. "Be glad we do not,
dearest, for you are flushed red as a rose and wet as a cat in the
rain. I imagine we both like quite pitiful." Her brow suddenly
wrinkled and her mouth formed an 'o' of alarm. "I just realized
something. How are we to get past any guests or servants looking as
we do? We are in complete