Chapters 11 & 12

Summary: Chapter 11

Back at home, Daphne tries to come up with a way to stop the duel between Anthony and Simon. When Colin returns home from the ball, he tells Daphne that his friend saw her and Simon go into the garden together, and that Lady Danbury may have seen them as well. Daphne tells Colin she fears that Anthony is angry enough to kill Simon in the duel. Colin finds out the location of the duel and then Colin and Daphne set out in an effort to stop it. Simon arrives at the duel first, just as he and Anthony draw their pistols, Daphne rides up on horseback. Daphne tells Simon that if he doesn’t marry her, her reputation will be ruined because she and Simon were observed going into the garden at the ball by others. Daphne begs Simon to save her reputation, and he is at a loss for what to do.

Summary: Chapter 12

Simon agrees to marry Daphne but tells her that he cannot have children. He knows that this statement isn’t entirely true, but he doesn’t think that Daphne would understand if he told her the whole story. Daphne considers what Simon has told her, then tells her brothers that there’s no need for the duel as she and Simon will be getting married. Simon asks Daphne if she is sure of her choice, and she tells him that he’s worth it, even though it means giving up her dreams of having children. Daphne wonders to herself whether a doctor may have misdiagnosed Simon and privately hopes that he might be able to have children after all, but she decides not to share her thoughts with Simon. Simon reflects on the fact that Daphne agreed to marry him quickly despite the fact that she believes he cannot give her children, and wonders if she truly loves him, or if she simply felt guilty about the duel. Later, Anthony warns Simon against ever hurting Daphne in any way.

Analysis: Chapters 11 & 12

Rules form the foundation of society in The Duke and I, and breaking them has drastic consequences. As Daphne wonders how she’s going to stop the duel, she recognizes her own lack of etiquette in the matter and ponders how to stop the violent and illegal act while staying within its set of social regulations. Though the encounter in the garden will likely be the subject of gossip, Daphne acknowledges that society will overlook the scandal if she’s married to the duke, suggesting that even the most rigid of rules allow for flexibility under the right circumstances. Simon, for his part, isn’t worried about breaking the law or facing his own death; rather he’s concerned that his death will be distasteful, further emphasizing the significance of one’s reputation. Simon insists that Anthony proceed with the duel in spite of the fact that Simon arrived without a second, and Anthony insists that Simon could stop the duel by marrying Daphne. Both points serve to reinforce the notion that each man is subject to the whims of society’s expectations, a force far more powerful than their friendship. 

Daphne taking control of the situation defies traditional gender roles. Her determination to stop the duel suggests that she will not leave her fate in the hands of Anthony and Simon even though she knows neither one will be pleased with her interference. In her horseback ride to save Simon’s life, she embodies the heroic archetype traditionally reserved for men. Daphne subverts expectations further when she punches Simon to halt the duel, as well as when she threatens to hit her brother too. In a last-ditch effort, Daphne positions her request not as a means of saving Simon’s life, but as a means of saving her reputation, which appeals to Simon’s sense of honor. That Daphne recognizes opportunity within the rigid constraints of society suggests she’s well practiced at navigating them, perhaps more so than Simon and Anthony. Though Daphne and Simon overstepped society’s unyielding boundaries in the garden, there’s irony inherent in her decision to use those same boundaries to convince Simon to save them both to avoid social disgrace. Where the rules were once poised to bring about their ruin, now they are used as a means of redemption.