Colin groaned. “No, Anna. You may have your portrait painted but I will not join you.”
“Why are you averse to it?” The manner in which she was gazing up at him made him wish to reveal the reason to her.
Colin did the only thing he knew could help him evade her questions. He lowered his head and kissed her.
What was intended to distract her, hadhimdistracted, and his hands cupped her soft posterior, pressing her into his hardening groin. Colin had known from the moment she walked into the breakfast room after she proposed to him, that bedding her would not be a tedious affair. What he never anticipated, however, was wanting her with ravenous desperation.
He trailed kisses along the elegant column of her neck, descending until he reached the mounds of her breasts. He found her nipples and brushed his thumbs against them, drawing a breathless mewl from her. He should not allow her to wear stays after her recovery because she looked wonderful without them.
“Colin…” He could hear the hunger in that single word. Dinner had to be postponed.
“What do you want, darling?” he asked, a nerve twitching inside him when he recognized the endearment he had used.
“You,” she whispered, and he thought his body would burn his clothes off with the way every part of him flared. He scooped her up in his arms and walked out of the gallery, heading straight for his bedchamber.
Chapter 18
I do not believe I have the keys to every room in the manor. I know this because I returned to the door that captured my interest on the first night I was here, but I could not find the right key. What secret does this door hold? I have also never seen a portrait of the late duke, but then there are many rooms I am yet to visit.
“Mrs. Willis,” Anna said as she handed her a teacup, “I do not believe I have the key to every room in the manor.” They were having tea together this afternoon.
“You do, Your Grace,” she replied immediately, and Anna heard the catch in her voice.
“There is one door on the second floor that no key matches,” she continued, watching the housekeeper’s smile falter. “The same door you found me in front of on my first night here.”
“That…particular door has no key, Your Grace.” Mrs. Willis concealed her face with her teacup, but Anna patiently waited for her to eventually take a sip and lower the cup.
“What door has no key?”
“This one. It is lost, I am afraid.”
“And no one thought to find it?” Anna had lived in the manor for some time now, and she had never observed the door open. As a matter of fact, everyone in the household avoided it. She wanted to know why, and Colin would rather kiss her than answer her questions.
“Yes.” The housekeeper’s discomfort was visibly increasing.
“I suppose there is nothing important behind it.”
“Not at all, Your Grace.”
“I see.” Anna allowed some time to pass before she asked, “Why did you draw me away from it then?”
“It is what His Grace wanted.”
“You are not going to tell me anything, Mrs. Willis, are you?”
The housekeeper shook her head slowly. “I fear it is not my place to tell you anything.”
Colin!she sighed quietly. Why did he insist on keeping her away?
A footman walked in then, with a missive on a small silver tray. Anna knew where it was from before she even picked it up. There had been several like it in the past month, and she had not replied to any. Nevertheless, she read them. She picked it up, thanked the footman, and broke the seal.
My dearest Anna,
I suppose you are taking a moment to enjoy the bliss that descends over every couple in the early months of marriage. That is very good.
We miss you, Anna. Your Papa and I rode through Hyde Park today, and everyone we met congratulated us on your marriage. We feel positively triumphant.
If there is anything you need, I will endeavor to provide it for you. Always remember that what gives you joy also gives me joy, and what pains you, pains me.
