A faint smirk quirked his mouth. “Suggestions, not orders.”
“Well, your suggestions are not welcome,” she retorted. “And neither are you.”
He clawed a hand through his damp hair, as if to ease his frustration. “Why should it matter to ye at all?” he asked. “Pretty thing like ye could find a new husband and be situated in a new manor by the end of the month if ye so chose. Isn’t that how itworks in England? Don’t ye just pass from one man to whichever will have ye next?”
Fury bubbled over in her veins and, before she knew it, she was lunging at him, her hand shooting out to strike him for his insult. He had no idea what it was like in England. He had no idea what she had endured, or how little she had wanted her first marriage, much less another… to a man who might not have the misfortune of dying on their wedding night.
And, at four-and-twenty, the only daughter of a deceased baron, with one husband already dead, her suitors would all be of the Robert Holton type: the cruel, the perverse, the deviants—those bottom-of-the-barrel gentlemen who could not get anyone else.
The Duke caught her hand before she could even hope to slap him, and when she struck out with the other hand, he caught that, too. Stepping even closer, until there was barely a gap between them, he bent her arms behind her back and held them there.
Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “Now, that wasn’t very ladylike.”
“I am merely responding in kind,” she said curtly, as she writhed and tried to twist her arms free, all too aware of how every little wriggle of her body brought it closer to his. How she inadvertently risked brushing against him.
The Duke released her, though he didn’t step away. Instead, he drew in a slow, deep breath. “We have begun badly,” he said,his tone more reasonable. “I wouldn’t ask ye to leave yer home, lass; I didn’t even know ye existed until now. Butmyhome was burned to ash, and we need a fresh start. I will give ye the night to adjust, but Iwillreturn tomorrow.”
Anna stared up at him, uncertain of where to begin, though her throat was too tight to speak anyway. Who was the ‘we’ he was referring to? Did he think that a night would change her mind about giving up her peace and her sanctuary? And what did he mean when he said he had not known she existed? Had Mr. Phipps told him nothing about her?
One thing was for certain: when she saw that solicitor again, she was going to box his ears. And when she sawthisman again tomorrow, she would nothave changed her mind at all.
The beautiful creature with the chestnut hair, striking hazel eyes, and alabaster skin looked as if she might cry. There was fire in her, undoubtedly, more than one would expect from someone of such small stature, and Jeremy did not like to be the one to douse it. Yet, as he stood watching her, he could see it dimming, the fight draining out of her.
Ye’re not what I thought I’d find here, lass.
The solicitorhadmentioned a duchess by the name of Anna. A dowager duchess. As such, he had imagined someone… older; the kind of wizened and power-hungry woman who would cling to her title with talons, wanting the fortune for herself.
He had not anticipated this exquisite siren, who appeared more worried about her living arrangements than the wealth the late duke had accumulated.
“You cannot just oust me,” the Duchess murmured, as if to herself. “I cannot leave. I have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. I am a duchess. I cannot end up on the streets… some corner of Whitechapel… some bench by the Thames…”
“Where the witches congregate,” Jeremy said with a half-smirk. “But ye needn’t concern yerself with the streets, lass. The dowager house, if there is one, will serve ye well enough.”
Anna’s gaze flitted sharply to him as if she had suddenly remembered that he was still there. A tight, fake smile curved her full, perfectly curved, perfectly plump lips.
“If only Iwerea witch, I could turn you into something unpleasant.” She paused. “Before you return tomorrow, if you must return, I would urge you to learn how to speak to me appropriately. After all, I will not be leaving my home or my people, so it will be a worthwhile education if there are years ahead of us. You may intrude if you wish, but I am staying.”
I didn’t agree to a resident dowager…
But hehadintruded, and he felt somewhat responsible for the obvious upset he had caused. This was not at all the introduction he had intended when he had set out for England ahead of his remaining family.
Besides, it was a vast manor. What would be the harm in sharing for a while, at least until she found someone new to marry?
“Is that yer final answer, lass?” he asked.
She sniffed and stepped back, denying him the closeness he was just beginning to enjoy, every heave of her ripe bosomalmostbrushing against him.
“Yes,” she muttered. “And stop calling me ‘lass.’Thatis inappropriate.”
“Very well, Yer Grace,” he said, setting his top hat back onto his head. “I will see ye tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 3
The next morning, Anna had almost forgotten the Scotsman’s intrusion as she sat in her favorite spot, on a rickety bench in the kitchen garden. A proper duchess might have preferred the terrace, but she had always preferred this rustic garden, everything grown for a purpose instead of just beauty; it reminded her of her childhood home, and of her father.
A cup of tea steamed in her hands, the fresh scent of the world after a night of rain settling her restless soul.
“Will you have some breakfast now, Your Grace?” The cook poked her head out of the open back door that led down to the grand kitchens, her cheeks ruddy from the heat of whatever delicious thing she had been cooking.
