“Maria,” Theodora continued, “you have a wonderful and exciting marriage, one filled with love and passion. I may sound cruel, but I do not want Anna to be hurt because she has been kissed once and now thinks that the same awaits her, even though her husband has made it clear that he has no such interests.”
Part of Anna wished that her friends would encourage her hopes, but she knew that her friend meant well. She had to know what her husband wanted, and though he would not be inclined to tell her, she had to force him to do so.
If another year of solitude awaited her, she had to know before she fell for him completely.
CHAPTER 12
In spite of himself, Spencer found that he rather liked his wife’s friends.
They were very different from other ladies he had met, but he appreciated the fact that they were not in agreement with everything that he said simply because of his title. It helped, of course, that one was a duchess herself, but the other two were perfectly fine, too. One of them even seemed to interrogate him, and perhaps he should have taken offence to that, but he could not.
He was rather deserving of it, he reasoned.
The following morning, he thought it would be a good time to tell Anna what had happened, for he had been scarce after their meeting. He wanted her to enjoy her company, but he had missed her presence more than he dared to admit. He knocked on her door, and she opened it, wearing her sleeping gown, her hair not yet done, and her eyes not yet awake.
She was marvelous.
“Did I wake you?”
“You may have,” she replied, leaning on her door. “That is my fault. I should have been dressed by now.”
“I am not complaining. I wanted to talk to you about my discussion with Walter yesterday, if you were ready.”
“Give me time to dress. I shall meet you in the dining room for breakfast.”
He nodded, leaving her be. They did not share meals together, but he supposed that one would not hurt, as long as it did not lead to her having any expectations of him.
When she arrived, she was, as always, immaculately dressed, ladylike, and prepared for the day ahead. She looked lovely, but Spencer longed to see her in a mess again. She was most herself then, and that was what he could not help but be drawn to.
“You will be pleased to know that he is no longer a concern to us,” he began as she took some fruit. “I have ensured it.”
“Might you and I discuss something else first?”
He was rather taken aback by the request, but he gestured for her to continue regardless.
“I have been wondering, since your return, what living with you might be like. I do not have anything to compare it to, and so I do not have any assumptions. What I know is that you are yet to make an appearance at dinner, and thus far you have not mentioned–”
She stopped, and he knew what she wanted to say. He was not going to give her an easy way out, however. He wanted to hear her say what she was thinking.
“The sleeping arrangements,” she said at last, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
“I see.”
“And I cannot remain in the dark about this anymore. I have been waiting for you to discuss this with me yourself, but I cannot wait any longer. I am your wife, and I deserve to know your position on such things, as well as your expectations for our marriage.”
Spencer thought for a moment and then cleared his throat.
“I have not yet decided what I want from this marriage. I had arranged with your father to have a marriage in name only.”
“Was that so that you could see other women?”
“Not at all. It was so that you could be granted your freedoms if you so chose. I did not think a great deal of your father, and so Iwanted to find a way for you to be happy, even in a marriage that I could tell you had no say in.”
“You assumed correctly. I did not even know that I was to be married until the last moment, which I suppose you noticed.”
Spencer blinked. He thought back to their wedding day, where he had thought she was a pleasant enough young lady, but one who was ill at ease. He had assumed it was who she was, but with her confession, it was clear to him that it was because she was unprepared.
“Is that to say you did not know that you were to be a duchess?”
