Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

“ W hy can’t I come?” Kitty asked, her lower lip sticking out.

Anna paused, a sudden stab of homesickness shooting through her chest. She’d heard this refrain from her own two sisters over and over again, during the Season, in their better years.

“Why can’t we come, Anna?”

“I’ll be ever so quiet, Anna, I promise.”

“I’m grown enough for a ball! Aren’t I, Mama?”

“You’re just a little too small, Kitty,” she responded, forcing herself to sit still while Esther coiled and pinned her hair on top of her head.

It was a much more elaborate style than Anna was generally comfortable with, but since her dress was such a remarkable, intricate affair, a simple knot would just look silly.

Kitty stood on her tiptoes. “I am not too small. I am quite grown. Aren’t I, Martha?”

Martha smiled indulgently. “A little while longer, Lady Katherine, and then Her Grace will take you to parties of your own. Won’t you, Your Grace?”

Anna bit back a smile. It reminded her painfully of Daphne, standing on her tiptoes and informing her mother and sister that she was grown up. Children were the same everywhere, it seemed.

“I certainly will,” Anna said, meeting Kitty’s gaze through the mirror. “We’ll throw the best parties right here, and you’ll be at the center of it all.”

Kitty smiled a little at that. “Will I wear a dress like you and have my hair curled? You look like a princess.”

That gave Anna a little bit of a jolt. She glanced at her reflection and was a little shocked at the unfamiliar beautiful woman staring back at her.

“Of course, your hair will be curled,” she answered absently.

There came running feet outside, and a footman tapped on the door.

“His Grace wants to know when Her Grace will be down,” the man said, sounding breathless. “The carriage is waiting.”

Anna winced. “Tell him I’ll be down shortly.”

This was probably not the answer the Duke had hoped to get, but he was going to have to do with it.

Martha at last succeeded in marshaling Kitty out of the room, although Kitty was allowed to give Anna a kiss on the cheek before she retired to bed.

With the little girl gone, Anna finally gave herself a good, long, thorough look in the mirror.

She looked, in a word, fabulous .

The dress was divine—mostly silver, with gold threads running through it, cut in the latest style that managed to give Anna quite a remarkable bosom and a wasp-thin waist. The skirt was brocaded, wide and heavy and stiff, and entirely impractical for anything beyond floating through a ballroom or sitting demurely on a couch.

There was lace at the half-sleeves and neckline, shockingly expensive-looking, and matching gold-and-silver hair ornaments were used to pin up her hair. With her new, swept-up hairstyle, which had taken the best part of an hour to complete, Anna looked more mature and adult than she had ever seen herself before. Like one of the clever, knowing courtesans in the books she was not meant to read. The ones that floated around in the background and knew everybody’s secrets.

It was shocking. And just a little thrilling.

“You’re ready, I think, Your Grace,” Esther said, sounding a little pleased with herself. “I don’t think there’s any need for rouge.”

Anna, who had not even contemplated using rouge, bounced up at once. “Thank you, Esther. Now, I had better go before my husband leaves without me.”

Theo was already waiting in the carriage, leaving Anna to scuttle across the darkening courtyard in her flimsy, beaded golden slippers, a footman sheltering her from the mizzling rain. With the ridiculous skirts of the dress, getting into the carriage was something of an ordeal, but she managed it at last, plopping down into the seat opposite Theo. With a lurch, the carriage moved forward.

“Good of you to join us at last,” Theo said, smiling frostily.

He tore his gaze away from the tip of his glove and looked at her properly. The smug expression on his face wavered.

“I am sorry for my lateness,” Anna answered primly. “And I thank you for your patience.”

He was staring at her ever so oddly. It was dark, of course, but light shone from the lantern hanging on the side of the carriage, illuminating the side of his face.

She fidgeted under his stare, longing to pull up the neckline of her gown. It was low-cut, almost scandalously so, and it had seemed so perfect in the safety of her room. Were people going to stare? Was Theo wishing he hadn’t bought the dress for her?

Oh, heavens, was it not as flattering as she thought?

“Not at all,” Theo said quite suddenly. “We are a little late, but not shockingly so. I would describe our arrival as fashionably late, and as everybody there will want to see us—or, more to the point, you —I think that a little lateness will be tolerated.”

“I see,” she managed, at last. “And the dress—it’s not inappropriate, is it? I won’t look silly? I can’t remember the last time I was among very fashionable people.”

He looked at her again with that level, unblinking stare, and Anna felt the urge to wet her dry lips with her tongue.

“You look entirely presentable, Duchess,” he said, a tinge of frost in his voice.

Anna colored but was relatively sure that the darkness of the carriage hid it.

There was no more conversation about that. Theo stared out the window determinedly, his chin resting in his hand, and did not address her again. Anna shifted and shifted, trying and failing to find a comfortable position in the dress. It was beautiful, certainly, but already she was looking forward to taking it off.

When the carriage began to slow down, joining the queue of other carriages dropping off their illustrious cargo at their destination, Anna had finally had enough. She leaned forward, tapping Theo hard on the knee.

“Look, something is clearly wrong. Do you want to tell me what it is now before we go in, or would you rather we seem like an awkward and distant couple, hopelessly unmatched?”

For a moment, she could have sworn that Theo was looking at her bosom.

“It’s nothing,” he said, at last. “I have had a long day, that’s all. And… and would you like the truth?”

“Well, obviously, I should prefer that you do not lie to me.”

He rolled his eyes. “I wish I hadn’t made quite so many rules between us.”

Well. That was unexpected.

Anna sat back, frowning, trying to decide how best to respond to such a remark.

There was no time, in the end. The carriage jerked to a halt, and the door was flung open, revealing that they were at the bottom of the ornate Fairhaven steps, and there was nothing to do but to climb out and make their entrance.

“I shall follow directly,” Theo drawled, inspecting his nails.

Anna stared at him, probably upset that her husband was not entering with her. It was a breach of etiquette, but sashaying into a genteel party with an erection of all things was certainly a breach of etiquette.

Muttering something under her breath—that girl did like to mutter—Anna climbed out, maneuvering her rather fabulous skirts around herself.

With the door closed, Theo sat back with a sigh, deliberately thinking of the coldest and most unattractive things.

She’s so beautiful.

More than beautiful, though. Anna’s neckline was daringly low, revealing the creamy swell of her breasts, the tops pushing against the lace and beads. He imagined himself leaning forward, pressing his lips to that flesh, feeling her heart rate quicken under his cheek.

She’d looked at him with those large eyes, curious and a little heated, dark in the carriage, and he’d wanted nothing more than to take her face in his hands and kiss her until she was too red and disheveled to climb demurely out of the carriage.

This , he thought furiously, is not helping matters. Not one bit.

In the end, he conjured up the memories of a conversation he’d had with an old, moderately senile gentleman at a previous party, who had collected coins for his entire life and carried the cream of his collection around to show to unsuspecting dinner partners. He had talked to Theo for an hour and a half about one single coin, hardly stopping to catch his breath.

It worked. Theo’s arousal subsided, as did his erection, until he was finally able to straighten his waistcoat and climb out of the carriage, the cool air fanning his flushed cheeks.

“Wait a moment,” he called, jogging to catch up with Anna, who was a little way down the row of carriages.

Sliding his arm through hers and forcing himself to recount the details of Mr. Dapple’s coin collection, they entered the party as a duke and duchess ought to do.

The Duchess of Fairhaven, Anna soon learned, was newly married. She was a bright and bubbly girl of about twenty, with glossy, tight black curls and a round pink face that made her look even younger. She had unfortunately chosen a ruffled pink dress that made her look a little like a ham, but Anna could not have cared less. The Duchess—she had insisted on Anna calling her Lady Tether as an informality, as they were of the same rank—had a knack for making people feel welcome.

The long-faced Duke of Fairhaven did not seem particularly interested in Anna, preferring instead to stand in the corner with Theo, sipping brandy and eyeing the guests as if he could not wait to leave. Already, the vast ballroom was full to the brim, and guests were still arriving.

Beatrice was there, and Anna felt a little better upon seeing her friend. She wished that her mother was there, or her sisters. But this was not a party to which the widowed Viscountess, brought so very low, would be invited.

Not until Anna turned her mother’s fortune around, of course.

“Everybody is staring at me,” she murmured, giving an awkward little laugh.

Lady Tether tittered. “Of course, they are, my dear! You’re a new duchess, with such an interesting scandal behind you. Everybody is going to want to talk to you, to see if half the rumors are true.”

“Oh,” Anna murmured, a little downcast.

The evening stretched out before her, long and full of opportunities for her to make a fool of herself.

Lady Tether paused, tilting her head and looking hard at her. “I think perhaps you need a little respite before the evening starts in earnest. A little fun, perhaps. Do you play cards?”

“Cards? I, uh, not particularly, no.”

“Never mind, neither do I. I propose a different sort of game with them. Miss Haversham, why don’t you take our new duchess to the card room, and I shall round up some likely young ladies… and a pack of cards.”

On this mysterious note, Lady Tether flashed them both a wide grin and dashed into the crowd.

“Do you have any idea what she means?” Anna asked, following her friend out of the crush and into narrower, cooler hallways.

There were hardly any people back here, only a few footmen stationed at intervals.

“I think she is talking about a new game all the ladies of Society are playing,” Beatrice said a little acidly. “One withdraws three cards from a pack, and it is meant to tell you what sort of man you will marry. Three cards, three things about him. It might be a quality, or something he will do, or something like that.”

“Oh, I see. Do you remember when we peeled apples and threw them over our shoulders to spell out the first initial of the men we would marry?”

Beatrice gave a hoot of laughter. “And neither of us could get the peel off in one go, and we cried ourselves to sleep thinking that we would die old maids? I remember.”

Anna chuckled, shaking her head. “And in the morning, Mama was furious because we’d peeled all the apples and they’d gone brown! What fools we were. Is this game like that, do you think?”

Beatrice shrugged. “Of course. It’s a craze, and all the young ladies are playing it—and some of the gentlemen too, I wager—but soon, everybody will have forgotten about it.”

She led the way to a neat little card room with green baize tables set up and ready to be used. Lady Tether wasn’t far behind, bringing with her a little gaggle of young ladies, twittering and laughing. Introductions were made, and then Lady Tether produced a pack of cards, shuffling it meaningfully.

“I think we should let single ladies go first. What do you say, ladies?”

“No, thank you,” Beatrice said, laughing. “One game has already condemned me to spinsterhood, I think I shall sit this one out.”

“Ah, spoilsport. Miss Padder, you shall go first.”

Miss Padder, a tall, hook-nosed redhead with uncommonly beautiful eyes, squirmed in her seat. They all watched Lady Tether shuffle the cards ostentatiously and hold out the pack to Miss Padder.

“You must pick the three cards that call to you the most,” Lady Tether said, only half-serious. Miss Padder did and placed them face up on the baize table, one by one.

All the girls leaned forward, cooing under their breaths as if they knew what the cards meant.

“Four of clubs, the Jack of spades, and ten of diamonds,” Lady Tether announced solemnly. “Now, the four of clubs means that he will be a very kind man, sweet and sensitive, just as any woman would want.”

Miss Padder let out a sigh of delight. “And the others?”

“Jack of spades means that he will be very handsome, but a little bit of a rogue.”

“Perfect, perfect! And the last?”

“Well, diamonds always mean wealth, and the ten of diamonds… I think it fair to say that you’ll be marrying a rich man. Miss Padder, you will snatch up a remarkable catch this Season, I think!”

There was laughter and scattered applause. Anna glanced at Miss Padder’s flushed face and could tell that the woman half believed what the cards had told her. Then Lady Tether’s eye landed on Anna, and she knew exactly what was coming next.

“I think our new duchess should go next,” Lady Tether said, grinning mischievously.

This was met with cheers, and Anna had to speak up to be heard over the noise.

“But I’m already married, Lady Tether. What is the point?”

Lady Tether shuffled the cards, grinning wickedly. “Perhaps we would like to know what sort of man you have married.”

Color rushed to Anna’s cheeks, and she allowed herself a fantasy of telling Lady Tether to mind her own business.

That would be impolite, of course, and rather pointless, as she was currently making more friends at this party than she could have hoped. In short, she was doing well and did not want to ruin things.

So she obediently reached out when Lady Tether offered her the pack, plucked out three cards at random, and laid them face up on the table.

She had chosen the ten of diamonds again—clearly, Lady Tether had not shuffled the cards very well—the queen of spades, and the ace of hearts.

Lady Tether sucked in a breath, leaning over the cards. “Well, well, well .”

“What do they mean, then?” Anna asked, trying not to sound eager.

“Well, we all know what the ten of diamonds means… you shall marry a rich man, and so you have. The queen of spades means that he will be the most charming rogue you’ve ever met, but he will be hopelessly devoted to you. You shall be the queen of his heart. And the ace of hearts … well. It means he is madly in love with you, head-over-heels deep in passion, quite irrevocably.”

There were oohs and laughter at this reading. Anna felt her cheeks redden. She fanned herself, hoping the others would think that it was just the heat.

“How insightful,” she said, but the women were already moving on to the next reading, with each girl eager to have her marital fortune read.

Anna sat back, her heart pounding, and tried to swallow back a sudden rush of annoyance.

It was just a silly game, no need for her to be so disturbed. She knew the game would never be accurate, but to have it so painfully opposite to the facts was nothing short of misery.

Excepting, of course, the ten of diamonds, which implied she would marry a rich man, which she had.

He was not a charming rogue, she was not the queen of his heart, and he did not love her passionately. He had made that abundantly clear.

She wondered if the ladies gathered around her would be quite so happy and giddy if they knew just how bleak her marital situation was, married to a man who only married her out of the thinnest sense of duty and desire for a male heir.

He’d bought her, in other words.

In the distance, music started up, and Lady Tether got to her feet, clapping her hands together. “Oh, ladies, the dancing! We must hurry and join in. Come on, everybody!”

The ladies filed out of the room, talking and laughing, but Anna lingered behind. Beatrice was accosted almost as soon as they stepped into the ballroom by a man who had arranged to dance with her, but there had been no time for Anna’s card to be filled. Not a single name graced her card, not even her husband’s.

She went straight to the punch bowl, but a familiar, sickening voice stopped her in her tracks.

“What a delight to see you here, Miss Belmont. Although, it is no longer Miss anything, aha? Your Grace , I should say.”

Very slowly, feeling like a cornered animal, Anna turned to face the smiling Earl of Downton.