Page 56 of His Accidental Duchess

That was exactly what Theodore had been imagining. An uncomfortable coil of desire had lodged itself in the lower part of his gut and was not to be shifted.

“No, of course not,” he lied. “But you’ll come round, sooner or later. I might add that your month—that is, the month in which we will start trying for a child—has not yet begun. It would be cheating, otherwise. I despise cheats.”

He wasn’t sure what he expected from Anna. Some more of that adorable, flushed stammer, perhaps? Forced outrage, barely concealing her simmering desire?

Down, boy.

He glanced at her in the mirror, and his half-baked hopes were immediately dashed. Anna looked merely annoyed.

“It’s also rather bold of you to enter my chamber,” Theodore added. “I believe that was against the rules.”

“And I believeyoujust said that we hadn’t started yet.”

“That is not what I meant.”

“Well, I’m here, so you can assume that it’s important, can’t you?”

His cravat was arranged well enough. Theodore had the impulse to stare a little longer at his reflection, tweaking the linen until it lost its starch and began to droop, forcing him to call back Briggs.

Instead, he forced himself to turn around, meeting his wife’s eyes squarely.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re here, or shall I guess?” he said, at last. “Before we begin, I ought to ask after your mother. That’s what a good husband would do, isn’t it?”

It was meant to be a joke, but Anna did not smile, and Theodore heard the irony in his own voice. Her mouth turned down at the corners, and he wished he didn’t say the words.

“She misses me,” Anna said, at last.

Which means that you miss her,Theo thought.

“I took Kitty, by the way,” Anna added. “She had a good time. Martha came, too. I… I meant to ask you about my allowance.”

“Ah yes, Mrs. Haunt mentioned it. You’ll have your allowance from tomorrow, and please feel free to ask my steward for extra money if you need it. It’s not as though we have to live frugally. In fact, I would recommend the opposite—a duchess must live an opulent life, after all.”

She drew in a breath. “Actually, I hoped to ask for some extra money. For my mother and sisters, that is. The garden and house need a great deal of maintenance, and if they could open up more rooms in the house, they could entertain more. My sisters will debut soon, after all. If you don’t want to use your money, I can use my allowance.”

“Why would you use your allowance?” Theodore shot back, irritated. “Tell the Viscountess to commission whatever repairs she thinks necessary and send me the bills. Hire more servants if you wish. You’ve come up in the world, Anna, and you’ve towed your family along with you. You ought to be pleased with yourself.”

She didn’t look pleased with herself. Anna looked unhappy, keeping her gaze trained on the rich carpet at Theodore’s feet. He felt the urge to kneel in front of her so that she would be forced to look at him.

He didn’t, of course. A man had his pride. He settled for clearing his throat pointedly until Anna jerked herself out of whatever thoughts kept her wrapped up and looked up at him.

“Was that what you came here to discuss?” he asked, a trifle more sharply than he had intended. “Money for your mother and sisters? I made it clear, I think, that if you hold up your end of the bargain, I will hold up mine.”

She pressed her lips together in a thin line. “That wasn’t what I wanted to discuss. I… while I was at my mother’s, I received a letter. I haven’t opened it because I wantedyouto open it and read it first.”

Abruptly, she pulled a small envelope out of her pocket and shoved it at Theodore. He took it automatically and glanced down at it.

It was from Henry, addressed to Anna, of course. Theodore noted the use of her maiden name, as well as the fact that it was sent to her mother’s home.

“You could have read it yourself,” he said acidly. “I don’t intend to go through your personal correspondence.”

Anna folded her arms tightly across her chest. “You are Henry’s brother. You have as much right as I to know where he is and what he is doing.”

“More, I think some would argue.”

She ignored that. “I’ve been dying to read it all the way home, but I waited. So go on, open it.”

Theodore was briefly tempted to do something shocking and infuriating, like tucking the letter in his breast pocket and saying he would read it later, or even tossing it in the fire.

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