Anna’s eyes glazed over as she fell into her thoughts, seeing Jeremy towering over Benedict, ready to harm him in her honor. He had not hesitated, despite the difficulty of their acquaintance. He had not hesitated to catch her and pull her close when Benedict bumped into her, either.
I do not understand him…It perplexed her as much as knowing that he had kissed her so passionately, so intensely, while having a family. It no longer felt like some manner of game to frighten her off, but something she could not pinpoint.Thatwas altogether more frightening.
“He was only being polite,” she said defensively. “The new duke. When he… stepped in before. Do not mistake his actions; if he could, he would have kicked me out of the house before he arrived at Stonebridge.”
As the words left her lips, she was not certain if she was saying it for her own benefit or for Colin’s.
“I am not sure of that, Your Grace,” Colin replied, his gaze drifting to something past Anna’s shoulder, a slight smile playing upon his lips.
Anna concentrated on the next steps, a confusing sequence of hops, jumps, turns, and crossed arms. “Yes, well, respectfully, I am.”
There was no way that Jeremy actually cared about her. She would not believe it, and she would not be tricked into even considering it. After all, the very reason she was at the ball at all was that he had demanded it, so that she could find herself a husband and be out of his life for good.
The pair said nothing more as the dance went on, though the silence was an amiable one. She had never taken the time to get to know her neighbor, but maybe that was a mistake, because he seemed like he could be a good friend.
Soon enough, the music faded to a close, and the couples bowed and curtsied, respectively. Some would stay on for the next dance, while others would leave the floor to make way for new couples. Anna assumed she would be part of the latter category until Colin’s attention once again moved to something behind her, his grin widening.
“It was a pleasure, Your Grace,” he said with a dip of his head. “But it seems another is keen to take my place as your partner for the evening.”
Anna swallowed thickly. “What do you mean?”
Colin nodded to whatever had captured his attention, though Anna did not dare to turn around. She could not, not when she couldfeelthe presence of the man behind her; that sensationof the air leaving the room, her heart beating faster, her entire being responding as if Jeremy’s fingertips were already on her, touching her, caressing her, exploring her.
“I will be having this dance,” the Duke said, his voice making her shiver.
Colin dipped his head and stepped aside. “With pleasure, Your Grace.”
Anna struggled to catch her breath as Jeremy passed her to take his place across from her. Even with a mask on, she could not ignore the fire in his eyes or his unsmiling mouth, which was full and tempting.
Why did you kiss me?If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t still crave it, curious to know what might have happened if she hadn’t stopped the moment when she did. And, perhaps, she wouldn’t hate him quite so much.
The music started, and to her surprise, Jeremy seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He moved with incredible grace for a man of his size, his body swaying mesmerizingly from side to side. The crowd began to notice, especially the ladies, whose eyes were fixed on him as if they could not help themselves.
Well, I hate to disappoint you all, but he already has a family. Married, or so it seems.Anna tried to glare at him, but even she was captivated by the fluid motion of his powerful body. His elegance and poise did not weaken his masculinity, but rather made her think that he must be a formidable fighter. If he couldmove like that upon a dance floor, how agile must he be in a brawl?
Or in a bedchamber…
She nearly lost her footing when that thought slipped in unexpectedly. Regaining her composure as best as she could, she responded to the start of the dance, her heart pounding as they met in the center.
Her palms pressed to his. “You dance well. How can that be?” she asked, feigning indifference. “I thought you were Scottish. Are your dances not all wild leaping and flailing and jigging about in a most unseemly fashion?”
A quiet grumble of faint amusement sounded in the back of his throat. “Ye’d never want to dance an English dance again if ye were to ever dance a proper reel,” he replied, as he swept around in a circle and came back to her, his hands curving around hers. “Ye think me a heathen, lass, but I endured years of education at Eton. They made us dance there.”
“You went to Eton?” Genuine surprise colored her voice.
“Aye, unfortunately.” He sniffed. “Although me mother is also to blame for teaching us how to dance these boring English dances.”
Anna willed her curiosity to stop nagging at her mind, but it would not be quietened. “And… who was your mother?”
“A Scottish lass, but she wanted us to know how to be among ye English dullards.”
She could have sworn she saw a smirk lift the corner of his lips, but when he whirled around again and faced her once more, it was gone.
“If we are so boring, then why are you so insistent on remaining here?” Anna muttered. “Why not purchase a castle for yourself in your beloved, oh-so-thrilling Scotland?”
He ignored her question as he moved closer, far closer than the dance commanded. “Me mother was enamored by ye English,” he said. “She thought ye could not be anyone until ye knew how to move in English society. I suspect it is why she married me father, wooed by his English charm.”
Anna racked her brain for the entries on the convoluted line of inheritance that she had read. There hadn’t been any information on his mother, but his father had been no one of societal importance: the youngest son of three, belonging to a marquess whose name she was unfamiliar with. A title that had probably fallen into obsolescence, or had been inherited in a similarly convoluted fashion.
