Page 20 of His Accidental Duchess

They had reached the carriage, and the Duke—Stephen—opened the door, making to hand her inside.

She paused. “What do you mean? About my predecessor, that is.”

A shuttered look crossed Stephen’s face. “Nothing, nothing at all.”

“I want to know.”

“No,” he said firmly. “And don’t talk to Theo about his first wife. Not if you want to be a duchess at all.”

Anna opened her mouth to say something scathing, but nothing came out. The next thing she knew, she was being hustled inside the carriage. The door was slammed shut, the vehicle lurched forward, and then she found herself watching Langdon House disappear in the distance and Stephen cheerfully waving to her.

Well,she thought, leaning back against plush, velvet-lined cushions.He doesn’t seem very black-hearted at all. I wonder where he gets the name.

Her head was still aching, her muscles were sore, and it seemed like her exhaustion had reached her very bones. To her horror, before she could start to puzzle out what had happened, Anna fell asleep before the carriage had even reached the end of the street.

“Ahem. We’re here, Miss.”

Anna jolted awake. Surely she’d only closed her eyes for a minute?

A footman was peering into the carriage, looking deeply uncomfortable, one gloved hand poised as if to shake her awake.

Behind him stood Octavia and Beatrice. Their faces were white and pinched, and Anna could have sworn that her mother had been crying.

“Look at the state of her,” Octavia ground out. “You need a bath—your dress is ruined.”

“I’ll get started on the bath,” Beatrice offered, “so that you can stay with Anna.”

Octavia threw her a quick, grateful look. “Thank you, my dear. You’re very kind.”

Still hazy from sleep, Anna stumbled out of the carriage. The door was closed, the footman climbed back onto the carriage, and the vehicle drove away, jolting miserably on the uneven gravel driveway.

Octavia’s hand closed around Anna’s arm.

“Where were you?” she hissed. “I thought… Anna, I thought you’d thrown yourself into the Thames! You ran out of church without a word to any of us, and nobody could find you! Your reputation is in tatters. Oh, I know today has been so awful, but howcouldyou? I thought I had lost you!”

A lump formed in Anna’s throat. “Oh, Mama, I’m sorry. I… I went to Langdon House. I wanted to find Henry, and I thought he might be there.”

Octavia’s expression turned stony at the mention of Henry. “And did you find him?” When she was met with silence, she gave a harsh snort. “Of course not. He jilted you, Anna. I hope he has fled England, because if I ever see him again, I will tear him limb from limb. He has ruined us. I did not think we could sink lower, and yet…” She drew in a ragged breath, shaking her head.

“Mama, I have something to tell you.”

Octavia closed her eyes. “Please tell me you are not with child.”

“What? No! Henry would never—” Anna broke off. “No. I am cold, though. Please, can we go inside?”

“Of course, of course. Come on, there’s a fire in the little drawing room. We’ll go there while Beatrice prepares your bath. She’s been so kind, and her maid, Phoebe, is still out searching for you. I don’t know how we shall repay them.”

Anna let herself be towed upstairs. She was shivering now—she had left the warm blanket in the Duke’s study. Thoughts ofhimmade her shiver, and not necessarily in a bad way. She assured herself it was plain, old dislike.

“Mama, I…” Anna stepped into the drawing room, intending to blurt it all out immediately, but stopped short at the sight of the letter.

It was a proper letter, sealed with a blob of red wax, and three words were written across the front.

Forgive me, Anna.

“The letter arrived a few hours ago,” Octavia spoke, her voice flat. “We wanted to open it, of course. But we waited.”

Anna swallowed. It was Henry’s handwriting. “Where are the twins?”

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