“Please stay, and I will have you safely returned to your family in the morning.”
She stiffened when he said that, and her face tightened. Colin took her hand again and began to guide her back to the chairs, noticing the mark on her arm, and confirming it was a bruise now that he was close enough.
He did not think she would tell him what had happened to her if he asked. After all, she had refused to tell him why she wanted him to marry her. When she was seated, he said, “I will have your bedchamber shown to you in a moment. Please excuse me.” Then he strode out of the drawing room.
Anna watched the Duke of Ashden walk away, her chest clenching. She had wanted to beg him to marry her, even tell him the reason she wanted it, but he had made it rather apparent that he had no desire to marry her. From the little she knew about him, he was not the sort of man who easily changed his mind. Besides, she had her pride and dignity to keep intact, even though her reputation was tattered now.
She had risked everything to crawl out of perdition, but it seemed she was going to be sent back into it. Closing her eyes, she released her breath and let her shoulders fall. She could hear Ashden speaking with someone in the great hall, and a moment later, he returned to the room.
Anna straightened and raised her eyes to his. Desire might not have been enough to make her offer her hand to him in marriage but his mere presence affected her in a sensual manner. Another reason she had chosen him. Anna had felt his power from across a ballroom and wondered what his hands would feel like on her flesh.
“Miss Hampton, my housekeeper, Mrs. Willis, will be with you momentarily. I regret that I cannot keep your company for longer.”
“Yes. You must retire.” She inclined her head. “I thank you, Your Grace.”
He lingered, his keen blue eyes studying her. “I hope you have a pleasant night, Miss Hampton.”
“You as well, Your Grace.”
His lips parted as though he was going to say something more to her but then pressed them together and turned to the door, changing his mind.
Shortly after his departure, a stout woman walked in and curtsied. “I am Mrs. Willis,” she introduced. Her smile was warm and kind, something Anna was not accustomed to receiving.
With a lump constricting her throat, Anna stood, acknowledging her greeting with a nod, for she was gradually becoming more distraught. Then she followed her out of the drawing room and up the stairs.
They arrived at a bedchamber with pale blue walls and cream-colored curtains. A fire was already burning in the hearth, and several candles made the room bright and welcoming. A maid stood by the large four-poster bed in the middle of the room, drawing the dark blue covers and placing hot bricks underneath.
“I hope the chamber is to your liking, Miss,” Mrs. Willis said.
“Yes, it is,” Anna replied, standing stiffly. She wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath the covers and sleep, but she also wanted to cry. She had wasted her time by coming here, and now she was filled with regret. She might have found another way out of her predicament had she carefully thought about everything.
“Now, we must quickly free you from those drenched clothes before you catch a cold.” Mrs. Willis pointed toward a screen that stood on one side of the room.
“I might already have,” Anna said, mustering a small smile as she moved behind the screen. She was already feeling feverish.
“Oh my goodness!” The housekeeper placed a concerned hand on her chest. “Mason, have more tea brought up,” she ordered the maid by the bed. It was the same maid who had brought her tea in the drawing room.
Anna reached behind her to unfasten her dress buttons, and when Mrs. Willis’ hands joined hers, she started.
“Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss—"
Anna quickly shook her head. “Please do not mind me. I was only startled. The journey to the manor has been rather long.” And lonely.
Mrs. Willis gave her a commiserating look. “It must have been.” Then her eyes widened when Anna’s dress was pulled down and she got a good look at the bruises on her arms. Anna looked away, hoping the blank expression she wore was enough to tell the housekeeper that she did not wish to be questioned.
It worked, but Mrs. Willis continued to give her concerned and curious glances as she helped her out of her stays. When she had only her shift on, which was thankfully only damp, the housekeeper bundled up her clothes and asked her if she would like to eat, but Anna declined, too tired.
Alone, she got beneath the covers and drew the duvet up to her chin, wiggling her toes as the warmth all around her seeped into her body. She thought she would be able to fall asleep immediately, but she could feel the slumber moving very far away from her grasp.
Mrs. Willis and the maid returned, and instead of just tea on the tray, there was also soup and bread. “I will insist you have some soup, Miss. London is really quite far from Hertfordshire.”
Anna sat up, wondering if the woman knew that she had proposed to the Duke. The tray was set down on a table by the bed, and Mrs. Willis brought the bowl to her.
A taste of the creamy soup was all it took for Anna to realize how hungry she was, and within minutes, she had gobbled everything and was pouring some tea into a cup and adding sugar.
She looked curiously around the room as she took small languid sips, noticing a bookshelf between the two large windows on her left. She got out of the bed and went to it, examining the spines of the books there. A volume with the name of the manor in gold caught her attention and she selected it, moving to a chair by the fire. The rain was not as ferocious as it had been earlier, and as she thumbed the pages, she found her mood improving. Perhaps she could change the Duke’s mind.
A thud outside her bedchamber made her head snap quickly toward the door. Setting both her teacup and the book down on a lacquered table closest to the chair, she drew up the blanket that was draped over the back of a sofa and covered herself with it, and the curiosity her parents had spent years stifling came to the surface.
