Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

T heo backed away, hauling Anna down from the desk as he did so. Her eyes were wide with panic, and he didn’t blame her. Married or not, being caught in delicto in such a manner would be scandalous, indeed. Paired with his and Anna’s already shocking history, this could well be a fatal blow to their reputations.

Well, Anna’s, at least. Women’s reputations were always much more fragile than men’s.

Regardless, it was now fairly urgent that they were not caught in compromising positions when the library door finally opened.

Anna was frantically shaking out her skirts, trying to smooth down her bodice. She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear—despite their best efforts, a lock or two had escaped her updo—and fanned herself with her hands, apparently trying to cool the blush on her cheeks.

The doorknob jiggling was becoming more urgent, and there were muffled voices on the other side of the door.

Theo glanced at Anna, raising his eyebrows. She nodded in response to his unspoken question.

Theo strode over to the door, unlocking it and yanking it open in one swift movement.

Two footmen stood on the other side of the door. The one that had been jiggling the handle was pulled forward, nearly tumbling into Theo’s arms.

They straightened up, their eyes widening when they took in Theo’s height, breadth, and disapproving stare.

“Oh, Y-Your Grace,” one footman stammered. “I beg your pardon.”

“What is it, Sirs?” Theo snapped. “You seemed eager to enter.”

The first footman flushed, glancing at his friend for support. “Forgive me, Your Grace, but the door was locked. The library door is never locked. It is… ahem… off-limits to guests tonight. I do beg your pardon, Your Grace.”

Theo heaved a sigh. “I see. Her Grace and I came in here for a bit of cool air—it is so very warm in that ballroom—and Her Grace was a little faint. How are you feeling now, dear?”

He glanced over his shoulder to see Anna sitting demurely on the window seat, her face turned away to look out the window. She was as modest and cool as anyone could wish, and he had to bite back a smile.

“I am feeling better now, dearest,” she responded, without turning around. “I did not know the library was off-limits, although I’m sure our hosts will forgive us.”

The footmen flushed, shifting their weight from foot to foot. No doubt they were lower footmen, allowed to perform easier duties such as checking the rooms for errant guests, chatting and laughing as they went. They clearly hadn’t expected to come face to face with a duke and duchess.

“We will leave now,” Theo said, and he bit back a smile at the relief on the footmen’s faces. “Come, dear.”

Anna glided across the room, taking his proffered hand. They walked past the footmen without a second glance, and Anna managed to keep a straight face until they were out of earshot.

“Oh, Lord!” she gasped, leaning heavily against him. “Did you see their faces?”

“Well done for acting so haughty,” Theo whispered. “Acting entitled is, in my opinion, the best way to get what you want.”

“If you say so. Theo, would it be terrible if we went home? I… I don’t want to stay here.”

Her eyes were large in the gloom, fixed on him, and Theo felt a thrill of desire go through him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so aroused, and his groin was still tight. The arrival of the footmen, of course, had changed his mood vastly, and probably for the best. Opening the door with a bulge in his trousers would have been very difficult to explain away.

Perhaps it was best that they did not consummate their marriage in the Tethers’ seldom-used library. There must be better locations.

“Of course, we can go home,” Theo found himself saying, entranced by the way Anna’s eyes bored into him. “I shall call the carriage, and I’ll tell them all you have a headache.”

“Beatrice won’t be fooled, but I could tell her about the Earl. She… she understands some of what is happening. Not all,” Anna added quickly, “but some.”

Theo conjured up an image of Anna’s round-faced, plump little friend with sharp eyes that missed nothing. Yes, he did imagine she would see straight through any lies he might have to tell.

He collared a passing footman as they got closer to the ballroom, which seemed unbearably hot and obscenely crowded after the privacy of the library, and asked the man to fetch the carriage. The footman bowed and scurried away, and Theo had no doubts that his order would be executed right away.

“You go and find the carriage,” he whispered in Anna’s ear, “and I shall make our goodbyes and apologies to our hosts. It’ll look more believable if you’re not there, on account of your headache.”

She nodded eagerly, something that looked a lot like desire glittering in her eyes. Theo watched her weave her way through the ballroom, and let out a long, slow breath.

Their evening was not over. He could not wait to get his little wife alone in the carriage. It wasn’t his imagination—she had enjoyed what they’d done together in the library, and that made it all so much easier. They might be destined for separate lives, but in the meantime, why should they not enjoy each other for a while? A frisson of desire rolled through him, quickly smothered when he was obliged to plow through a noisy crowd to get to Lord and Lady Tether, who were holding court in the middle of the ballroom.

Lady Tether was understandably disappointed—she seemed to have taken to Anna nicely, and was exactly the sort of friend a new, young duchess ought to have—but was mollified when Theo promised that she would be invited to their home soon. He felt eyes on him when he turned to leave and found Miss Beatrice Haversham watching him, her eyes narrowed.

He flashed her a quick, tight-lipped smile and did not speak as he passed by. The woman didn’t have the gall to follow him, but it was fairly clear that she, as Anna had warned him, did not believe the megrim story.

Or so he thought, at least.

“Your Grace! Do wait a moment.”

Theo was obliged to stop, very nearly at the door, his hand extended to take his coat, gloves, and hat from a footman. He forced a smile and turned to face Miss Haversham.

“Miss Haversham. Beatrice, is it not? What a pleasure to see you. However, we are leaving. As you may have heard, Anna is quite unwell, and so…”

Miss Haversham folded her arms tightly. “If you make my friend unhappy, Your Grace, you will be sorry,” she said stoutly.

He blinked, sure he must have misheard. The words refused to rearrange themselves in his head, however, and Miss Haversham held her ground.

He took a few steps forward, just close enough to loom a little over the short woman.

Again, she conceded no ground.

“Is that a threat, Miss Haversham?” he purred. “I am not the sort of man to tolerate threats.”

She did not even blink. He was reminded, suddenly, of Lord Downton’s sweating and fidgeting under his stare, as opposed to Miss Haversham’s smooth brow and steady gaze.

Anna chooses her friends well, it seems.

“It is not a threat,” Miss Haversham said, at last. “But a promise. Anna is like a sister to me, and if you don’t mind my saying, you have a rather fearsome reputation.”

He inclined his head. “And so do you, Miss Haversham.”

“They call me a bluestocking if that’s what you mean. I’m quite proud of it.”

“As you should be.” He put his hat on his head and flashed her a mirthless smile. “Forgive me if I do not quake in my boots, Miss Haversham. Good night to you.”

“People underestimate me,” she said suddenly, stopping him as he turned to leave. “It’s generally not to their benefit.”

“No,” he said thoughtfully. “I can imagine that it is not. Let me assure you that I do not intend to make my wife miserable, and I do not believe Anna is the sort of woman to allow herself to be bullied. Now, I suppose Anna has already told you, but feel free to call on her at any time you like, Miss Haversham. A new duchess, especially one in her position, requires all the friends she can get.”

He gave her a frank nod, feeling the strange urge to reach out a hand for her to shake, as he would with a man. He turned on his heel and marched away into the night, feeling the eyes of Beatrice Haversham on him all the way.

Outside, the night was cold and clear, but it did nothing to dampen Theo’s desire. A shiver of anticipation ran through him as he spotted his carriage down the sleek, even lines of waiting coaches. The coachman was ready, their footman on the back, and a lantern was lit on the side. Anna had already seen fit to draw the curtains.

“Now, my dear,” he said, flinging open the door and clambering in. “Where were we?”

And then he saw that Anna was fast asleep, slumped sideways against the padded side of the carriage.

How wonderful, he thought glumly, banging on the roof of the carriage to signal to the driver to move on. Just my damned luck.

Anna jerked awake just as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of their house.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said groggily, rubbing her eyes. “I am sorry.”

Theo’s desire had long since wilted away along with his erection. He knew from experience that waking a sleeping woman to engage in any sort of activity was a mistake, more likely to earn him a slap on the face than a passionate kiss.

He had used the time to pen a quick note to Stephen, a brief request for all the information he could find on Jacob Ponty, the Earl of Downton. He would send the note tomorrow morning.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, smothering a yawn. “We’re home now. Come, I’ll walk you to your room. I suppose Esther will be waiting for you?”

Anna blinked as if she hadn’t considered that. “Yes, I suppose she will. I can’t get out of this gown alone, at any rate.”

That sparked interest deep in Theo’s gut, at the very least. The gown was a miracle of laces and buttons, and he imagined it was quite a trial to get into it, but perhaps a little more fun to remove.

Once they were inside, Anna headed to the stairs. She paused with her hand on the banister and glanced back at him, her eyebrows raised in invitation. Smiling, he followed her.

Not that it mattered—he had already decided what he would do.

The household was mostly asleep by now. Only Briggs and Esther would be awake, most likely, and possibly Mrs. Haunt and Timmins. Theo had always thought it very ungentlemanlike to keep one’s servants up till the late hours. So, the house was silent, except for their padding footsteps along the hallway. They reached the door to Anna’s bedroom, and she paused, turning to face him. She drew in a deep breath as if to begin a rehearsed speech.

“I’ll dismiss Esther, and you must come in. You see, I want to do something for you, Theo.”

He arched an eyebrow. “ Do something for me? How thrillingly vague.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. You… did something for me in the library, remember?”

“I vaguely recall.”

She let out a breath. “Well, now it’s my turn. It’s only fair.”

“Only fair,” he echoed thoughtfully. “We are taking turns, then?”

She blinked. “Well, yes, I suppose so. Why not? You’ve been very good to me, and so…”

“Ah, now we get to the crux of the matter. You feel as though you owe me. This offer is fueled by duty.”

She looked thoroughly disconcerted now. She at least had the sense not to say something like well, so what if it is ?

“I don’t understand you, Theo.”

He took a step closer, and she bumped back against the wall. He lifted a hand to her cheek, and she tilted up her face, her eyes fluttering in expectation of a kiss. He let his fingertips ghost over her soft skin, his thumb running over her plump bottom lip—stained with wine and probably tasting of champagne, if his memory served him correctly.

“I am your husband, Anna. You are the Duchess, I am the Duke. It is my responsibility to protect you. I have a double responsibility, in fact—a husband must love his wife as his own flesh, as the Good Book says, and a duke must cherish his duchess as an extension of himself and therefore as valuable as one of his eyes. Not every man takes his marriage vows quite so seriously, but I certainly do. You do not owe me anything.”

Anna pouted, perhaps beginning to understand her husband would not be warming her bed tonight.

Regardless of whether he wanted to or not.

“But I would like to, Theo. I’m not obliged to do anything.”

“Aren’t you? You feel grateful, don’t you? It’s your turn , you said, as if the great scales of justice are out of balance.”

She looked even more annoyed now. “That is not what I said. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

He removed his hand, although the feeling of her smooth lip under his thumb lingered. He wanted to touch her again, taste her, see her head tilt back and her eyes close in ecstasy.

“Don’t take it personally, wife,” he said, grinning. “I thought you had a megrim, after all.”

She groaned at that. “You wretch , you know we made that up. Why must you be like this, Theo?”

That took him aback a little. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that every time something happens between us, a… a moment, or something intimate, something happens. You walk away, or there’s a jest you take too seriously, or… or you see a wretched letter from your brother and decide that I’m secretly in love with him , of all things!”

“That’s hardly a great leap,” Theo said, offended despite himself. “You were going to marry him first, remember?”

She plowed on as if he hadn’t spoken. “Why can’t you just be with me, Theo? Why all this complication, all these rules? Why can’t you just trust me?”

He flinched back at that. She was more upset than he had thought. He tried for his usual sardonic smile, but it wouldn’t come, and he was left with a faint grimace that looked like he was in pain.

“Trust?” he echoed. “No. I’m sorry, wife. Anna. Things are more complicated than you realize, and it’s better, in the long run, if we stick to the way things are. Rules give life structure, you know. It’s good to have something to rely on, don’t you think?”

He tried for a smile again, but once again, it fell flat. Anna was just staring at him, her brow furrowed, confused.

On impulse, Theo leaned forward. He half expected her to flinch away or turn her head so that he kissed her cheeks instead of her lips.

She did neither, only tilting up her chin to meet his lips a little better. He kissed her softly, almost chastely, stroking his thumb over her chin as he pulled away.

“It’s better this way, I’m afraid,” he repeated, trying not to look at the strained, hurt expression on her face. “Goodnight, wife. Sleep well.”

Before he could let himself change his mind, Theo turned and strode down the hallway. He didn’t have to turn around to know that she was still standing there, looking after him, full of questions for which he did not have the answers.