Chapter 21
Jeremy hated it all. He hated that his drawing room was filled with strangers who had not come here for community or fun, but to gawk at him, whisper, and ask him stupid questions.
He hated the sedate music, hated that there was no dancing, hated the loudness of so many voices, hated the posturing and parading, and hated that he was the one who had invited everyone.
Most of all, he hated that so many eligible gentlemen had answered his invitation: a duke, a marquess, a couple of earls, a viscount, a handful of barons, not to mention the sons of peers who had come along.
Just then, he spotted Sophie peeking through the door. A fleeting relief in so much chaos.
“What are ye up to, eh?” he asked, glancing down at her.
“The maids want to ken if I can play hide and seek, but I cannae find Mama to ask,” the little girl whispered.
Jeremy turned his gaze to the corner of the drawing room. There, Beatrice sat alone, staring down at a glass of whiskey that she had not touched. Pale and despondent in a black gown, so still and sad that no one had approached her yet. Maybe, they thought she was some kind of sorrowful statue.
At least it’s not a reminder of our old gatherings, eh?
Douglas would have been horrified by the restrained and, frankly, dull occasion. He would have been pushing aside chairs and rolling up the rugs, insisting on a lively tune so everyone could learn to dance a reel.
“Ye go and play with them, lassie,” Jeremy said, not wanting to disturb his sister-in-law just so she could say ‘no’ to her daughter. “And ye make sure ye win.”
Sophie deserved to have some fun, while he and Beatrice pretended to partake in this stuffy English nonsense.
The little girl grinned. “Thank ye, Uncle!” She turned to leave, then turned back. “Will ye take me to see Sprightly later?”
“I promise,” he replied.
Clearly satisfied, the girl darted off, her joyful shouts of permission echoing down the hall.
For a moment, Jeremy contemplated slipping out of the drawing room and going off to join his niece, but a voice stopped that thought before it could gather any momentum.
“You should make a speech,” Colin said, as he wandered up to stand beside Jeremy.
“Whatever for?” Jeremy replied tersely.
Colin sipped his drink, unable to hide a smile. “It is polite and expected. You are supposed to welcome everyone.”
“Didn’t I do that when I greeted them at the door?”
“That is merely the first welcome. This would be more of a... general welcome,” the marquess explained. “Although I must say, everyone seems rather content. It will be a splendid few days, I am sure.”
Jeremy cast his doubtful gaze across the gathered guests who stood or sat in clusters around the room.
Some were playing games, others were in deep discussion, some were gossiping, some were observing the room in much the same manner as him, and others were out on the terrace enjoying the fresh air.
Just then, the conversation stalled, a decisive lull that even the musicians quietened their instruments for. The gentlemen stared, and the ladies immediately raised their fans to whisper behind them.
“Goodness…” Colin remarked, his eyes following the same path as the other gentlemen.
Jeremy turned to see what had captured their attention… and understood.
Anna had just walked in through a different door, wearing a midnight-blue gown that shimmered in the soft apricot light of the drawing room, the dark fabric accentuating her creamy skin and teasing the eye with the suggestion of the figure beneath.
Her hair was pinned up, her face framed by wavy locks, her cheeks rosy, and her smile… irresistible.
She had entered with Katherine, the two of them talking to one another as if Anna had not commanded the room the second she stepped into it. Unaware of the attention, or ignoring it. Considering how beautiful Anna looked, Jeremy was willing to wager on the latter.
There were other ladies in attendance, but none compared to her. Even if Anna had been wearing a simple day dress, it would have been the same; she was mesmerizing, and that was part of the problem.
Jeremy sipped his drink and looked away quickly. If he didn’t look, he couldn’t be tempted.
“Have you quarreled?” Colin asked with a sly smile. “Or can you not bear to look upon such beauty? It is like looking into the sun.”
Jeremy glared at him, but the gentleman did not lower his gaze or flinch in fear. Instead, he chuckled to himself and kept sipping his drink, showing no intention of moving away from the duke he had clearly just annoyed.
“It’s none of yer business,” Jeremy muttered.
Colin gave a slow nod. “Quite right. Quite right. None of my business.” He smirked.
“But if I might offer a word of advice, if you have any inclination to marry her yourself, I would do so before one of these ravenous gents decides to steal that beautiful woman for themselves. Look at them. Look how eager they are.”
Jeremy didn’t want to heed Colin’s advice, but his gaze drifted to the other gentlemen in the room regardless. Sure enough, they had not stopped staring at Anna, their eyes gleaming with a hunger that Jeremy recognized and did not like one bit.
His skin crawled as he thought of their hands on her, their mouths kissing the lips that he craved, their too-eager fingertips fumbling with the fastenings of Anna’s midnight blue dress, peeling away the layers until they set their hungry eyes on her exquisite figure.
He had seen it but once and hadn’t been able to get it out of his head, that perfect body, those alluring curves.
Only I should know the softness of her skin. Only I should know how her body responds to pleasure. Only I should know the language of her bliss.
Anger prickled in his chest, a fist of sudden jealousy closing tight around his lungs. Why had he invited these men here? These Englishmen could never satisfy her, cherish her, or worship her. They would not nurture her wildness; they would want her tame.
And yet, what right did he have to keep her for himself when he could not give her what she needed?
She would be safe under his roof, of course, but there was no lasting security in that.
If anything happened to him, there would be no support for her, returning her to where she had started.
As for children, there would be none of those, legitimate or otherwise.
“That is why they are here,” Jeremy said grimly. “I need her married off and gone as soon as possible.”
To somewhere that she has a chance of gaining what she deserves: security, a family, and freedom to move in society again.
Colin shook his head, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Are you really determined to marry her off then?”
“Aye,” Jeremy replied tightly. “So, if ye know someone who–”
Colin left before he could finish his sentence, as the marquess walked straight over to Anna as if he meant to make an offer right then and there.
Watching with barely veiled contempt, it took all of Jeremy’s willpower not to march right after the marquess, grab him by the scruff of his collar, and drag him away from Anna.
Instead, he stayed where he was, reminding himself once more that he had no right to intervene. He had said he would not marry her; she had said she was leaving soon. But if she thought that marrying his neighbor would mean she was far enough away from him, she would be sorely mistaken.
I would ride there every day just to hear you cry out my name again…
“Your Grace,” Colin said brightly, extending his hands to Anna as he had done at the masquerade.
This time, she smiled back warmly and didn’t hesitate to put her hands in his. “I am glad you could make it, Lord Belford. I was worried the journey might be too long and arduous for you.”
He laughed, the sound so easy and comforting that she found herself relaxing in his company.
“It was a little troublesome by the wheatfield, near the stream,” he said with a wink.
“The rains made it terribly muddy and, though I try, I am afraid I am not yet much of a horseman. I thought my poor gelding was going to throw me off and continue the journey alone, to spare himself the indignity.”
Anna covered her mouth with her hand as she chuckled, the image in her mind quite amusing.
“I know the place well,” she told him. “I confess, I have slipped there a few times when the weather has been bad and almost ended up in the stream once or twice. And that was without the additional struggle of guiding a horse.”
“Ah, yes, you are fond of walking, are you not?” Colin said as he politely let go of her hands. “I have seen you occasionally, from a distance.”
She nodded. “There is nothing as soothing as a walk through the beautiful countryside here. I think it is my favorite thing about my home, that I can be surrounded by such peace.” She fought to avoid casting a look in Jeremy’s direction.
“At least, when it was peaceful. I cannot recall the last time there were so many people here.”
“You are not enjoying this gathering?” Colin asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I have not been here long enough to know.”
“Then, what do you say we take ourselves over to that table over there and play a game of cards?” He nodded toward an empty side table by the terrace doors. “An oasis of peace amidst all of this chaos.”
Anna considered the offer. “Why not? Although I should warn you, I have never been much good at cards.”
“All the better for me,” Colin said with a grin, as he gave her his arm and led her over to the table.
He took control of the deck and distributed the cards evenly, while Anna did her best to ignore the stares she had actually wanted to garner. Wasn’t that why she had chosen the glittery gown and had Katherine style her hair into a new style? Yet, she felt more like a rabbit spotted by foxes.
“We shall play a simple game,” Colin said breezily. “A swift game.”
He explained the rules of a game she had never heard of, where she had to place the card either above or below the center card, or play the same number in a different suit to change suits.
The goal seemed to be to play cards as quickly as possible, hoping to trick the opponent into not noticing that the card might be wrong.
And so, they began.
Within minutes, Anna forgot about the intense stares and why she had come down to the party, as Colin punctuated each fervent turn with a funny look, a dramatic gasp, or a playful accusation. Her laughter shook her shoulders and made her eyes stream as she slammed another card down.
“Minx!” Colin cried, grinning. “That card before was a spade, not a jack!”
He put down two cards as if she wouldn’t notice.
“Sneak!” she accused, snatching up the offending cards and tossing them back across the table to him.
“Ah, too keen-eyed by far,” Colin replied, as she rushed to place a heart on the center deck, their hands brushing as he tried to place his card down first.
There was no awkwardness at the accidental touch, just a fresh ripple of merry laughter.
On and on they went in their bubble of giddy mirth until there was just one card left to play. On the top of the middle deck was a two of hearts… and Colin observed her with curiosity, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Will she be victorious, this lady who says she cannot play cards?” he said, as he sucked in a breath.
With a smirk, Anna slowly put down her final card. “The ace of hearts, Lord Belford.”
“And with that, mine is broken,” Colin sighed, clasping a hand to his chest while his eyes twinkled with mischief. “A splendid victory, Your Grace. Yes, you cheated, but you did it so excellently that I would doubt what I saw.”
Anna laughed. “I thought that was the purpose of the game, to cheat discreetly?”
“It is indeed. I am just envious of your talents, and something of a sore loser,” he replied, his manner so friendly and welcoming that she wished she had befriended him sooner.
He had been her neighbor for all these years, and she was only now discovering how pleasant he was. Not a romantic prospect, not at all, but something akin to the brother she had never had.
“Shall we play again?” he asked.
Anna nodded. “I should like that.”
“Splendid!” He scraped up the messy middle deck and began to shuffle the cards, his gaze wandering around the room as he did so.
Without thinking, Anna followed his gaze…
and gasped softly when her attention settled on Jeremy.
He stood on the opposite side of the room, leaning against the bookshelves, a half-empty glass of amber liquid in his hand.
She noticed the whiteness of his knuckles and worried he might shatter the glass, before her gaze flicked up to his dark eyes.
He watched her with such intensity that her skin started to flush, half-remembering their encounter in her dressing room, half-worrying that he might stride over to repeat the sentiment that had caused them to part ways: “… just because I won’t wed doesn’t mean I will let ye belong to anyone else.
I can’t let anyone else have ye. Not as long as ye stay here. ”
Truly, from his grim expression alone, she feared for Colin’s safety. As if to confirm her worries, Jeremy’s black eyes turned toward the marquess, glinting with such danger that Anna’s heart lurched in her chest.
“Lord Belford,” she said, struggling to keep her voice steady.
Colin looked up from his card shuffling, oblivious. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“I have a sudden need for fresh air,” she told him. “Do you think you might excuse me for a few minutes? It is suddenly too warm in here. But I promise, I shall return to continue our game.”
Colin glanced at Jeremy, and the faintest hint of a smirk lifted his lips. “Of course, Your Grace. Would you like me to accompany you? Bring you a refreshment?”
“No, thank you,” Anna said quickly, as she rose from her chair, beckoned for Katherine, and headed out into the cool evening air.
Hopefully, that would be enough to ensure Colin’s safety for a while, though she did not look back to check. She could not, worried she might meet those shining black eyes instead… and forget that she was supposed to be concentrating on everyone but the duke.