Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The flame of the candle upon his desk flickered, and Warren looked up moments before Anne entered his study.
“Still sulking, I see.” Anne left the door open behind her, casting a halo of light about her. She was no angel. In fact, the woman was the bane of his miserable life.
Anne stopped in front of his desk and rocked back and forth, heel-to-toe, just as she always did when she wanted something from him. With all his patience for women and their manipulations, he snapped, “I’m doing no such thing. What do you need?”
“Nothing.” She placed her hands behind her back.
Hoping to be rid of her, he replied, “Then I’d prefer to be left alone.”
“I doubt that is the truth.”
What had he done to be surrounded by difficult women? Fingertips pressed to his temples, he groaned, “I’m not in the mood for riddles, Anne. What is your point?
She leaned forward and planted her palms on the top of his desk. “I don’t understand you. Why are you holed up in your study when you should be off wooing Olivia and begging her to forgive you for your idiocy?”
“I’ve tried. She’s rejected me from the start.” He crossed his arms on the desk, laid his forehead upon them, and mumbled, “She doesn’t love me.”
“What makes you so certain?”
Of course, he was certain. Not once had Olivia uttered the three words he’d longed to hear.
He lifted his aching head and said, “When you love someone, you continue to try, regardless of the obstacles in front of you, which is why I coerced her into spending time with me. But I promised myself to never be like my father and force my will upon others.”
Anne stared him straight in the eye and asked, “Are you referring to the same Olivia that I know?”
“Do we know of another Olivia?”
His friend from childhood suddenly looked ten years older as she said, “The Olivia I know, the one I’ve become acquainted with this past week, is no weakling, and by all accounts certainly no coward.
And as far as I could tell, you certainly didn’t coerce her into doing anything she wasn’t willing to. ”
Flashes of Olivia's heated kisses and embraces were proof Anne was correct. He shifted in his seat and then sat up. Hell and damnation, Anne was right yet again. What the bloody hell was he doing? If he truly believed himself to be in love, he’d not sit here idly.
If Olivia’s primary reason for refusing him was due to his title, he’d happily renounce the bloody thing.
He jumped up to his feet. “I’m off to meet with the solicitor. ”
“The solicitor? What in heaven for?” Anne sidestepped and took a side step, blocking his path.
“I must find a way to remove Olivia’s concerns.”
“And how will the solicitor help do that?” Anne’s brows were knitted like he’d never seen.
“Ahhh, I see how irritating it is to counter question after question. I shall have to remedy that too.”
Anne placed a hand on his chest, preventing him from leaving. “Granted, you haven’t had much sleep, and you’ve weathered a fair amount of blows on my account, but that does not explain your behavior. Tell me exactly how the solicitor is going to assist you in addressing Olivia’s concerns.”
Consumed with his own misery, he hadn’t got round to talking to Anne about his kerfuffle with the Duke of Strandon, which was a conundrum of its own. Olivia was his priority. He needed to rectify matters with her first, then he’d deal with Anne.
“I’ve no time to waste.”
Anne pushed hard against his chest. “You are not going anywhere until you tell me.”
He’d had enough. “Fine, if you wish to know, come along.” He grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her out of his study behind him. Thankfully, the rest of the household was abed. With long strides, he marched down the hall, through the foyer, and out the front door.
“Slow down, or I shall trip and fall,” Anne ordered in a harsh whisper.
He released his grip on Anne and powered forward, not caring if she followed him or not. He needed to find a solution to address the issue of his title and prove his love for Olivia. Once they reached the street, he realized hailing a hack at this hour would require a stroke of luck.
Fingers pressed at the corners of her lips, Anne whistled.
He looked over at his childhood friend, yet the woman standing next to him did not resemble the ton’s finest diamond, renowned for her respectability and not a hint of scandal about her.
The question of who she was remained on the tip of his tongue as a hack appeared.
Anne pushed forward past him and jumped in. A moment later, she called out, “Are you coming or not?”
Yes, Anne was fond of ordering others about, but the woman in the hack reminded him more of an Officer of the Militia. Were all women enigmas or only those who surrounded him? He gave the driver instructions to take them to his solicitor's home and then sat in the seat opposite Anne.
Hands on either side of her legs, gripping the edge of the seat, Anne leaned forward and pinned him with her gaze. “I still do not understand how your solicitor is going to address the fact that Olivia believes you to be in love with me.”
“What?” He shook his head to clear it. Surely, he had misheard. “Repeat what you just said.”
“Why are we off to the solicitor’s when we should be devising a way to get you alone with Olivia?” She threw her hands up in the air and flopped back against the threadbare cushions. “I’m going to wring Marshall's neck for boxing you senseless.”
“Marshall? It was his brother who I knocked senseless, and you’d best leave the poor duke alone.” Warren ran a hand over his aching jaw. “And for the record, it wasn’t I who had to be carted home on a stretcher.”
“Thank goodness!” Anne held out her hands palms up and raised them slowly as she inhaled deeply and then turned them over and let them fall as she exhaled. “That was your only saving grace. If the both of you had ended up abed… Well, I don’t really care to ponder over the ramifications.”
“Why would Olivia suddenly believe I’m in love with you?”
“You really don’t understand women, do you?”
Finally, he knew the absolute answer to a question. “Not in the least.”
“Olivia and Ian grew up together, much like you and I did…”
“Why are you bringing up Ian?” The mere mention of the footman sent waves of jealousy through Warren.
“Argh. If you will cease interrupting me, this conversation shall be much more pleasant.” She waited for him to nod in acknowledgment before continuing.
“She shared with me that Ian confessed his affection for her not long ago. I believe she thinks your idiotic act with your fists was an act of love.”
“How is defending your honor an act of love? Any brother would do the same for his sister.”
Anne shook her head. “In my presence, you have been acting like a pure gentleman, but you need to act the rogue and show her how deeply you care for her. Have you even professed your love to her?”
“Not so much in words.”
“Warren Dowling!”
His name echoed off the thin wooden walls of the hack, setting bells ringing in his ears.
Eyes closed, he hadn’t expected the slap of gloves against his knee.
He deserved the attack, but he didn’t regret his actions.
He opened his eyes and glared at Anne. “I love her, and I fully intend to marry her.”
“Then why in heaven’s name haven’t you told her those three words? The most important three words between a couple. Good lord, Warren, a woman needs to hear ‘I love you’ before she agrees to marry a dolt like you!”
Damn. Damn. Damn. He was an idiot. Why hadn’t he realized sooner that Olivia wanted a man of his word?
He’d claimed to want to marry her, but he hadn’t expressed why.
Not out of gratitude for saving his life.
Nor out of responsibility for taking her maidenhood.
He wanted to marry her because he couldn’t fathom his life without her now that he’d found her.
Warren raised his knuckles to rap against the ceiling, halting the hack.
He stuck out his head and ordered the driver to take them to the Earl of Camden’s residence.
“It’ll cost ye,” the driver warned.
Warren sank backward and rested his throbbing head against the rumbling walls of the hack. “It’ll cost me more if I don’t fix matters now.”
“I think you are acting in haste,” Anne said curtly. “If you truly wish to win Olivia’s hand, you need to take control and think things through.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I can’t help you this time. Only you can devise a plan based on what you know of Olivia and the lengths you are willing to go to for love.”
A moment later, he rapped against the ceiling and called out, “Return to Guernsey Manor.”
The driver's muttered curses were all that filled his ears for the remainder of the ride home while Anne remained uncharacteristically silent. When the hack finally came to a stop, he opened the door for Anne and said, “Do you need me to escort you back to the door or will you be fine without me?”
“Where are you going?”
Aware of how annoying answering a question with a question was now, he vowed to break the habit. He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not certain, but I need more time to think through matters, and oddly, this hack has a calming effect upon my aching head.”
Anne’s eyes narrowed, and then she shifted to exit. “Don’t stay out all night.” She hopped out of the hack and looked up at the driver. “Make sure he’s back by dawn.”
“Are ye sure yer lordship ain’t needin’ to be getting to bed?” the driver asked.
“Drive him about a bit. He’ll make it well worth your time.” Anne closed the door, and Warren watched her race up the path. Once she was safely inside, he signaled the driver to be off with a click of his heel against the floorboards.
He replayed his conversation with Anne. He had made such a muck of courting Olivia, and now he needed to find a way to redeem himself. Olivia didn’t trust words; she placed her faith in actions, so what should he do to show her how much he loved her?