Pembroke’s brow lowered in confusion and Oliver wanted desperately to step in front of Anna and protect her from the embarrassment her confession obviously caused. Since her husband’s death, he had watched her sense of self-worth and dignity be stripped away, by cruel design, little by little.
And he hated every moment of it. Hated even more that he was in no position to stop it.
Pembroke said nothing to address that fact, though, only nodded. “Then I will leave you to prepare. If you have any need of assistance, just ring.”
He held Oliver’s gaze a moment, then backed from the room. Anna gripped the edge of the mattress when he was gone and let her breath out like she’d been holding it. “I’m so sorry, Oliver,” she said.
He shook his head. “Why are you sorry, Your Grace? Not only was I the one driving, but I planned the trip. I should have—”
“Should have what?” she interrupted, her tone suddenly bitter. “We both know there were no options. The new Duke of Sedgewick has ensured that for his own reasons. There was no place we could have gone, nothing we could have done. You saved us from a terrible fate by spotting Mr. Pembroke’s home in the dark and bringing us here. By convincing him to take it a lost, foolish woman.”
Oliver took a step toward her. “Don’t say that,” he said softly.
She lifted her gaze, and for a moment her lips parted. Then she blushed and turned her face. “I…I see that my trunk is already here, which is wonderful. Mr. Pembroke’s people do not hesitate. But…”
“But?” Oliver asked.
She blushed almost plum-colored and refused to meet his gaze. “I-I think I’m going to need some help. I wore this gown assuming we would make it to the new duke’s estate tonight and that he could provide a servant to assist me in changing.”
Oliver’s mouth went dry. “Shall I…shall I call for someone?” he asked.
She was silent for a long moment, her hands gripping and releasing the edge of the coverlet. Then she lifted her gaze to him once more. “I really don’t want more witnesses to my humiliation, Oliver. Will you unfasten me? I can do the rest. I have a gown here that I can do myself and I’ve gotten very good at fixing my own hair since my maids were stripped away from me one by one by that horrid man.”
Oliver stared. “Unfasten you?”
She nodded. “It’s not fair or proper, I know. But we both know…” She trailed off and shook her head. “If you don’t want to, I will figure something else out.”
“I will,” he said softly, and reached back to close the door.
Suddenly the cozy closeness of the room felt very plain. Even plainer when he moved around the bed to where she stood and slowly put her back to him. He could hear every shudder of her breath, every whisper of her damp clothing brushing against her legs when she moved.
Her hair was done loosely, and Oliver could hardly breathe as he lifted his hand and gently pushed the weight of it aside to reveal the first button of her gown. She caught her breath at his touch and he was torn back to a stolen moment in the past. One he tried to forget again simply because if he thought of it, he would do things they would both likely regret.
He steadied his suddenly shaking hands and unfastened the first button. She gripped the edge of the bed tighter with a soft sound in her throat. He unfastened the second button, breathing in the soft scent of her skin: lilac and citrus. Something so incredibly perfect that he could have sunk into it and her and never come out again.
He unfastened the rest of the buttons, noting that her chemise beneath looked a little thin. Thin enough that he could see the pink of her skin through the semi-translucent fabric. There was no denying how much he wanted her in that moment. How much he wanted to turn her around and kiss her. Touch her. Have her.
He blinked those thoughts away and backed up. “Do you need further help?”
His voice sounded so rough, and he cleared his throat in the hopes it would make the desire coursing through him a little less obvious.
She turned to face him, holding up the gown by pressing her hand to her chest. “No, I…I think I can manage the rest. Thank you, Oliver.”
Her pupils were dilated, her own voice shaky, and she let her gaze move over his face slowly. He could see that the want he felt for her was reflected in her own desires. And that was heady.
It was also impossible. So he did the thing he had to do and jerked out a quick nod before he moved away from her, moved to the door, where he hesitated. “I am close by if you need me, Your Grace. If you don’t feel safe, I will come.”
She nodded. “Yes. You always do, Oliver. Good—good night.”
He turned away, hard and unsatisfied and burning for her. What he needed was to find his chamber, take care of this erection that was making itself painfully known beneath his trousers, and then remember his place. Which was not in her bed. No matter how much he wished it could be.
CHAPTER2
Ezra
It had been almost an hour since Ezra had been witness to the crackling tension between the Duchess of Sedgewick and her remarkably attractive driver, and yet he couldn’t get it out of his mind. It stirred something in him, something that hadn’t been awake for a very long time.
There was a soft sound at the door to the parlor behind him, and Ezra turned. His butler, Iverson, entered the room with a swift nod. “The Duchess of Sedgewick, sir.”
