Chapter 11
“The gall of that beastly man,” Anna muttered as she paced throughout the confines of her dressing room.
She knew she was making poor Katherine’s life twice as difficult, the lady’s maid desperately trying to put flowers in her hair, but she couldn’t help it.
She simply couldn’t stay still, her nerves in tatters as anger, anxiety, confusion, and frustration vied for control of her mind, not to mention the memories of Jeremy’s kiss that sought to torment her whenever they pleased.
“Does he think he is some king, ordering me around in such a fashion?” she continued, her jaw clenched. “What right does he have to command me to marry? None! None whatsoever! I have done that once already. I have been married. I have been obedient, and I shall not do it again!”
Even if it is into his arms that he commands me to come…
She balled her hands into tight fists at the unruly thought, hating how her mind could be so traitorous.
This was all her father’s fault, of course, for allowing her to read, to argue, to voice her opinions, to open her mind, to be curious, to feel she was free in the world.
If he had been strict and restrictive, as she had heard most fathers were to their daughters, then she wouldn’t be in this predicament.
He had encouraged her to be herself, to not fit into the paradigm of a society lady, and then he had had the audacity to die.
Everything had unraveled since then, the real world a great and awful shock to her entire being.
Although she supposed it was her fault for believing that her peaceful, solitary existence at Stonebridge could last, when her own history should have told her otherwise.
I should have been preparing for this attack on my freedom. Instead, I wasted my time enjoying myself.
“And it cannot be that he does not have the resources to provide for me,” she continued, speaking more to herself than to Katherine.
“I have seen the value of the fortune he inherited. There is enough for me to live comfortably as a widow here without affecting his wealth at all; he simply does not want to give me that gift.”
She came to an abrupt halt as she passed by the mirror, a soft gasp escaping her throat as she saw herself.
For a moment, she was not even sure she was looking at her own reflection, as it had been so long since she had a reason to dress up for anything other than a day of walking, tending the gardens, and fixing things around the manor.
“Oh, Katherine,” she whispered, as she smoothed her hands down the front of the exquisite, golden gown.
Draped to resemble the attire of Ancient Greek noblewomen, with two brooches pinned at each shoulder, the exposed skin of her arms boldly on display, and a neckline that was somewhat lower than usual, it was a symbol of liberty and defiance wrapped in clothing.
It was perfect, for what sort of gentleman would look twice at such a brazen woman?
Well, a gentleman might look twice, but he would not be thinking of marriage; that was for certain.
“How did you manage this?” Anna took a step closer to the mirror to admire the curved half-wreath of flowers that her lady’s maid had woven into her braided hair, despite her determination not to stay still.
Anna recognized them at once as wildflowers from the meadow, where the two women spent so much time together.
Katherine blushed, waving a shy hand. “It was nothing, Your Grace.”
“Nonsense,” Anna countered. “This is not nothing. This is… exceptional, dearest Katherine. It is certainly the best use of curtains I have ever seen. You have a talent, Katherine. Truly, you do.”
As long as no one ever used the unoccupied study in the eastern wing, none would be any the wiser as to where the majestic gown came from.
Anna definitely was not going to tell any of the guests at the evening’s masquerade where the material had been sourced, since she did not plan to speak to anyone at all.
You think you have everything planned, Jeremy, but I shall not do as you please tonight.
“If I had had more time,” Katherine said, her eyes shining with delight. “I could have done more. In truth, you are the only reason it looks good. You are the perfect Aphrodite, Your Grace.”
The lady’s maid removed a gold necklace from one of the wooden boxes near the vanity, jewelry left behind by the previous duke. His mother’s, probably. Anna had never had much reason to wear any of it, even though it was legally hers. The only thing, in truth, that was legally hers now.
“I thought this would pair well,” Katherine said.
She slipped the necklace around Anna’s neck, the two women smiling at one another in the reflection. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry: a sizeable work of filigreed gold that curved and curled up to Anna’s throat, embellished with pretty peridot gemstones and a diamond or ten.
She frowned briefly, concerned it resembled a loyal hound’s collar too closely. She did not want Jeremy to get the wrong idea.
A knock at the door made her jump, her furrowed eyebrows shooting up in alarm.
The devil on the other side didn’t bother to announce himself as the door swung open and Jeremy strode in. “Are ye ready to leave, Duch–” He seemed to falter, his black eyes glinting as they roved over Anna’s body. “–ess.”
He had concluded his sentence, but it appeared he hadn’t concluded his assessment of her.
She stood awkwardly as his gaze continued to wander, slowly taking her in, his attention so intense that she felt as if he were peeling away the draped layers of her gown with his eyes.
Indeed, she almost covered herself with her arms, feeling somehow exposed though she was fully clothed.
His eyebrow quirked with something like appreciation, reminding her of the dark smirk that had gotten her into trouble the night before.
“If ye don’t want to be touched, to be kissed, to please me, then ye mustn’t tempt me.
Don’t pretend that was all me, lass.” She heard his sultry voice in her head, made all the more potent thanks to his presence in her dressing room.
Already, her heart had begun to race, her breaths becoming shallow.
“Why, yes, I am,” she said sharply, squaring her shoulders. “Ready to be paraded in front of at least a county’s worth of gentlemen who might want to take me. Ready to flaunt myself for their highest bid.”
Her heart sped up slightly as she watched his eyes narrow, the amused quirk of his eyebrow now turning into a grim frown. She wondered if he ever bothered to smile genuinely, or if his handsome face was so perfectly sculpted, so like stone, that he simply could not show any real emotion.
Although perhaps men of such outward appeal didn’t need to know how to smile, laugh, or put effort into their character.
He looked exceptionally handsome tonight, dressed in a pleated kilt that stopped at the knee, woven in what she assumed were his family colors.
A black shirt enticed the eye to imagine the muscled body beneath, while the kilt sparked Anna’s thoughts into a frenzy, picturing the powerful thighs hidden above the hem.
For once, she would have preferred those tight trousers of his, for at least they didn’t encourage her to think of his thighs uncovered. Seeing his bare calves, however… how could she not imagine what followed them upward?
“Miss Miller,” Jeremy said with stilted politeness. “Leave us.”
The lady’s maid hesitated, glancing at Anna.
“Go on, Katherine,” Anna urged, despite her promise to never be alone with Jeremy again. “I shall be quite all right. It is not as if I can suffer any further indignity from this gentleman.”
She had not told Katherine about the kiss, and Katherine had not asked, though her brother had undoubtedly mentioned the ‘altercation’ he had heard in the library. Still, with a masquerade ball to get to, there could be no harm in hearing what the Duke and his grim frown had to say.
With a nod, Katherine retreated from the dressing room and closed the door quietly behind her.
“Are you unaware that you are not supposed to enter a lady’s dressing room?
” Anna began tartly, as she fidgeted with the filigree of her necklace to soothe her nerves.
“I do believe it is customary to wait for a response after knocking. Had you done that, you would have heard me say, ‘Do not enter.’ But I suppose we are past that. You seem determined to just do as you please.”
He didn’t say a word, staring intently at her.
“What?” she said defensively, awkward beneath his gaze. “Are you trying to determine if I will sell well at this ball? Whether I shall gain enough interest? Are you noting all of my advantages and dis–”
“Don’t speak like that,” he growled, walking closer.
“Like what? Educating you on gentlemanly etiquette, or being too direct about this event you mean to drag me to?”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Don’t speak of this ball in such coarse terms.”
“Oh, you did not like that?” She laughed bitterly.
“Are you averse to hearing the truth, spoken plainly? There was no lie, as far as I am aware. You told me that I must find a husband soon, that I must prepare myself for the evening, so why should I not speak bluntly? I am an animal being taken to market, and apparently, I must accept whoever will have me.”
“Stop it,” he warned, his eyes flashing.
She walked up to him with all the insolence she could muster.
“You know, I think you should be the one parading yourself for suitable companions.” She thought of the goat and how annoyingly endearing Jeremy had been toward the little creature.
“If you had a family to care for, perhaps it would make you sweeter, and you would spend less time bothering yourself about me.”
“I already have a family,” he replied coolly, as his hand closed over her arm, just above her elbow. “Now, move. We can’t have society thinking ye can’t keep time or a husband.”
Anna’s jaw dropped as she stared up at him, her legs moving against her will as he pulled her to the door. She could not tell if she was more shocked by his harsh remark or the first part of what he had said.
“I already have one.”
He couldn’t possibly mean that he had a wife back in Scotland, could he?
She had seen no mention of a new duchess in the countless documents he had brought as evidence, but then she had only skimmed them for the important parts.
Nor had he mentioned a wife or family, but perhaps she had somehow missed it.
Then… he would not just be a thief of my home, but a wicked deceiver too. For if he did have a wife and a family, that rather worsened the events of last night. He would be a despicable beast indeed if he’d kissed her like that, knowing full well that he was a married man.
And if he had children, then she had been right not to agree to move to the house on the coast or the London townhouse. Those would be claimed just as soon as his children were old enough.
“What are you supposed to be?” she muttered as he pushed her out into the hallway, where Katherine waited, a mask in her hand. “Do you not know that you are meant to be in costume at a masquerade?”
Jeremy smirked, casting her a sideways glance. “I wasn’t going to try and be a Goddess’s equal, lass. So I am attending as a Scottish Laird. I trust it’ll be surprising enough for English sensibilities.”
“Surprising enough that you will be thrown out for indecency,” she remarked as she took her mask from Katherine. “I look forward to it.”
It took every bit of concentration she had to focus on the repartee, not on the possibility that he might have a secret family somewhere.
A family who would undoubtedly be joining him at Stonebridge at some point.
How could she possibly look his wife in the eye, knowing what had passed between them?
Moreover, what hope did she have of retaining her place at the manor if there was a new duchess who would come in and change everything?
Something like a laugh rumbled in Jeremy’s throat. “Then ye’ll be thrown out with me for showing yer bare shoulders like that, lass. It’s me understanding that society here isn’t so fond of seeing so much skin.”
Heat rushed into Anna’s face, spreading out across the very shoulders he was referring to, the sensation tingling over her chest. “It is a costume,” she retorted. “It is expected to be somewhat… different.”
She did not add that it was exactly what would prevent her from attracting any serious attention from the gentlemen present. Still, she wished she had taken a moment to grab a cloak before Jeremy had unceremoniously ushered her out of her dressing room.
My dressing room for how long, if a wife is on the way? After all, hers were the best rooms in the manor. A dowager could not possibly have them to herself if there was a new duchess to claim them.
“Aye, but not that different,” Jeremy replied as he walked on ahead of her, giving her no chance to fight back.
Instead, he left her wondering how he dared to be so flirtatious when he had all but admitted that he had a family. If this was all part of a game to scare her away from Stonebridge, out of shame if nothing else, then she wasn’t sure she wanted to play anymore.