“Do you truly want it?”
She nodded.
“Then go to one hundred and ten.”
She grinned, taking it, and this time there was silence. There was a faint round of applause, and she had won. She wanted to exclaim about it, but she maintained her composure, which earned an approving nod from Spencer.
The auction continued, though none of the items were what Anna wanted. She watched as each was brought out and purchased, and each time she joined in the applause and smiled, but she did not engage again.
When a set of jewelry was revealed, Spencer nudged her again.
“I want to win this,” he whispered. “As long as it is something that you like.”
Anna looked at it more closely, her eyes sparkling. It was a ruby necklace with matching earrings, and they glimmered even though it was an overcast day. She looked at Spencer, nodding subtly. She did not want anyone around them to know that they were in competition with them yet.
As expected, Spencer refused to lose, which meant that they were to return home with a pianoforte and a beautiful necklace and earrings. Anna could not stop smiling, and as people came to congratulate them, she thanked them kindly, feeling Spencer’s hand on hers as she held his arm.
“You have done well,” he complimented as they wandered and spoke to others. “If this is what you mean by being a proper duchess, then I am most excited to go to other events with you.”
She did not want to love receiving the compliment, but she did. She felt like the most special lady there, and it was all thanks to her husband.
“I feel sad that you did not get a gift,” she said as they walked. “I got a pianoforte and some jewelry, while you got nothing. That is hardly fair.”
“And yet, I will be able to listen to you play, and I shall see you wearing the jewelry. If anything, it is a gift for me too.”
She blushed at the thought of it. He spent a lot of time looking at her chest, but it did not feel like an invasion. She liked it when he looked at her, and that was precisely why she preferred to greet him in looser clothing in the morning and at night. It led to himimagining what was beneath it, and she liked making him do that.
Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice and froze.
“How dare you have accepted that final offer!”
Anna turned and searched the small crowd, her eyes settling eventually on her father. He was purple with anger, berating one of the people hosting the auction. She wanted to leave, but she also knew that his outburst would affect her even though she was married, and so she wanted to know precisely what he had taken issue with.
“My apologies, Sir,” the man replied, “but the pianoforte was won fairly. The lady offered one hundred and ten pounds, and you did not offer more than that.”
“I know how auctions work,” he spat. “What I take issue with is the fact that you ignored me and allowed her to win.”
“We should leave,” Anna suggested, her grip tightening on Spencer’s arm.
“On the contrary. It is time for him to learn what happens when he undermines you. We all know that you won, and he will find out soon enough that he is no longer more powerful than you.”
Anna still felt unwell witnessing the whole ordeal, but then she wondered if her father was simply unaware that she had beenthe one to win it. After all, had he known, he was more likely to have gone to her and demanded that she give it to him. That was what he had done every time he wanted something of hers, and she had given him no reason to think that he would not be able to do it once again.
“I need a moment,” she said, letting go.
“Where are you going?” Spencer asked. “I can come with you, if you wish.”
“No, it is quite all right. I wish to go to the terrace for some air. I shall return soon.”
Spencer did not argue, and she left. She was pleased to be out in the fresh air, and it helped her to relax. She had been overly concerned about her father, and she knew that. She was a duchess, and that meant that she was powerful and protected. Her father had no control over her anymore.
Then she heard the door open, and she turned, expecting to see Spencer, but it was not him. Instead, it was a man that she had never seen before.
“Hello, Duchess,” he smirked, closing the door behind him.
CHAPTER 17
Spencer understood that his wife did not want to confront her father, but that did not mean that he felt the same way.
