Jeremy guessed it was the latter.
“I could not remember which one was yer study,” he replied, shrugging as he closed the door behind him.
No one else needed to hear whatever she had to say to him.
“You knew very well which one was my study,” she shot back. “I know you have been wandering my halls, taking inventory of every room. But I suppose I should not expect you to tell the truth when lies trip so easily from your tongue.”
He sauntered across to a side table adorned with two decanters: one containing a deep red liquid, and the other full of a rich, enticing amber. He picked up each one in turn, removing the crystal stopper to smell them: port and brandy, respectively.
“Might I know what lie I am being accused of?” he asked as he settled on the brandy and poured out a small measure. “Drink?”
“Drink?” she parroted, her hazel eyes so wide he could almost see the little skulls of his death warrant dancing in her pupils. “No, I do not want a drink, and I did not give you permission to sample a measure ofmybrandy!”
He knocked back the measly mouthful. “Me sincerest apologies.” He paused. “But are ye sure ye will not have one? Ye might not be so tense if ye had a wee dram.”
He knew he should not antagonize her, but if the rest of this meeting was going to be a dressing down for a crime he had no knowledge of, then he figured he might as well make it interesting. Not to mention, her anger had a peculiar effect on him, stirring him into a frenzy and stoking desires that would lead to a much pleasanter outcome.
If he could not calm her ire with words, he would redirect it into more passionate pursuits, soothing her through actions instead. First, he just needed to make her angry enough to draw her closer, wild enough that when he kissed her, she would kiss him back twice as hard.
“I ought to knock you out with the whole bloody decanter!” she seethed, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts that did nothing to temper his desire.
“Language, lass,” he scolded mildly, as he poured out two small measures and held one out to her.
“I do nothavethe language for the things I wish to call you right now, you… you… philandering beast!”
Instead of approaching him, Anna turned and marched over to the French doors, as if she knew she might get in trouble if she stepped into his proximity. He should have guessed she would be a step ahead of his… particular way of mediating, given how their last two arguments had played out.
But her words brought a frown to his brow, one that a mouthful of brandy could not soften. “I will tolerate ‘beast,’lass, considering I have not shaved since I arrived here, but philanderer? Nay, I will not accept that.”
“You must have thought yourself very clever, using my inexperience with men against me,” she continued, regardless, her eyes shining fever-bright. “Did you think you could trick me into your bed before your wife arrived, so that I would leave this place from the shame of it? Or did you think you could have me as a… lover, so you might have your cake and eat it too? A wife and a mistress, under the same roof?”
He set her untouched glass of brandy down and took a step toward her. “What are ye talking?—”
She did not let him finish. “Come a step closer, and I shall start throwing things!” she warned, reaching for a rather hefty-looking inkwell on her desk. “You kissed me when you were already married, when you were already a father! You kissed me, knowing that your family would be coming here imminently!”
“Anna, what–”
“What is worse, you have made a wretch out of me, because… I kissed you under that tree in Lord Belford’s gardens, whenIknew you might have a wife and children,” she rasped, her free hand clawing at her chest as if she could not breathe. “You seduced me, you tempted me, you kissed me, and I could not resist, and then… There they were, your family, arriving atmyhome to make it theirs, and now I wish the ground would open and swallow me whole!”
Jeremy’s mind grew hazy, fogged with confusion. It could not be the brandy, not so soon and not after just a couple of tiny measures.
What on earth was she talking about? What wife? What child? As for the seducing and the tempting… he could not much argue against that part, but there was another sentence that pulsated in his head, more insistent than the rest.‘Using my inexperience with men against me.’
She had told him in the Belford gardens that her husband had died on their wedding night, but he had assumed the man diedafterclaiming certain privileges.Becauseof certain privileges, in truth. With the knowledge that the previous duke had died of a weak heart, he had put two and two together, thinking he had made four. It seemed he had not.
He never lay with her.
He had thought she was fearful of such things because of a terrible first experience with a husband she had not wanted, who had not cared much at all about her introduction to pleasure. He had not thought she had no experience at all.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she snapped. “Ihave not said anything untrue.”
“What did ye mean by inexperience? Did yer husband die before ye could consummate?” he asked, unable to continue with the conversation until he had scratched that mental itch.
“Yes, thank the heavens!” she blurted out, the pink of her cheeks darkening a shade, her feverish eyes burning even brighter. “My goodness… You really are a beast.Thatis what you reply to?Thatis what you concentrate on? Not the fact that you betrayed your wife with me, and turned me into your fellow traitor against my will?” She faltered. “Mostlyagainst my will.”
Jeremy leaned back against the liquor table, his mouth curving into a smile he could not help. “Calm yerself, lass. Come and have this brandy and calm yerself over here with me.”
“I shall not go near you,” she retorted. “And I certainly shall not calm myself when you have done this to me. If I had known that you had a wife when you first intruded, I would never have permitted myself to be alone with you.”
