Page 63 of His Accidental Duchess

“She doesn’t insist on formalities, and you can consider yourself her sister-in-law. I would introduce you to her, but I think Lady Tether has whisked her away to play parlor games before the music begins.”

“Goodness, I probably won’t see her for a while, then.”

Theo glanced around and spotted a familiar face in the corner. “Ah, there’s Stephen. We should join him.”

Celine pulled a face. “Ah, your old friend Duke Blackheart. Do excuse me, I shall leave you gentlemen to your rakish ways and seek out my mother. Find me if you can later on, or I shall call on you later. On Anna, to be precise.”

“I shall hold you to that,” Theo said with a smile, kissing his cousin’s gloved hand.

Celine melted into the crowd, a head and shoulders above the other ladies, and Theodore turned to find Stephen.

Before he could walk over to his friend, he saw something else, a familiar face in the crowd.

Anna.

For some reason, he found his gaze drawn to her, powerful as a magnet, and it was easy to pick her out even in the crush of people.

She was standing near the wall, halfway towards the refreshments table. The music began, so there was a general push towards the dance floor, leaving empty patches of space throughout the ballroom. Anna was standing in one of these spaces, talking to a man Theo did not recognize.

He was walking towards them before he even knew what he was doing.

Anna’s face, he saw upon closer inspection, was pale and drawn. She was leaning backwards, just a little, a sure sign that she was not enjoying the conversation.

The man glanced over his shoulder, and Theodidrecognize him. It was the Earl of Downton. Not a man he was particularly friendly with, and the fellow had an unpleasant reputation.

He eased closer through the thinning crowd and was able to catch snatches of the conversation.

“… quite the nerve,” Lord Downton was saying, his voice sibilant and unpleasant. “Do you truly think your debt can just melt away to nothing?”

“I believe it has,” Anna shot back, although her voice was shaking.

The Earl was backing her into a corner, utilizing her desire to keep some distance between them. As Theo watched, Anna’s back bumped against the wall.

“It has not,” Lord Downton said, and Theo couldhearthe smile in his voice. “I know things about you, girl, and I know even more about your hussy of a mother.”

Anna’s shoulders stiffened, and her face paled. “How dare you, Sir? How dare you speak of my mother in such a manner?”

“I’ll speak of her however I like, and if she has any sense at all, she’ll keep her flapping lips shut. I couldruinher with a single word. I could see her excluded forever from Society, penniless, friendless, and humiliated. My life, naturally, would not change,but hers would be ruined in the blink of an eye. Such is the nature of ladies’ reputations in our cruel, unforgiving times.”

Anna sucked in a shaking breath. “If youdareto?—”

“Now, my girl, if I were you, I wouldn’t make any threats. The only one with the power to make threats is me. You may think you’ve been very clever, marrying a wealthy man, but I can assure you that once he knows the truth, things will be very, very different. Here is what we will do, my girl?—”

“I’m sure you meanYour Grace,” Theo interrupted, striding forward and breaking free of the last few straggling guests.

Both Anna and Lord Downton jumped, spinning around to face him.

“Theo!” Anna burst out, relief crossing her face.

She scurried over to his side, and for a moment, he thought she might actually fling her arms around his middle. She’d certainly never looked so happy to see him before.

Lord Downton looked taken aback, but only for a moment. “Your Grace,” he said smoothly, executing a neat bow. “What a pleasure to see you. Your family is well, I trust? The weather has been?—”

“Let’s skip the informalities, Lord Downton,” Theo interrupted. “Shall we begin with an explanation of why you were threatening my wife,the Duchess?”

Lord Downton paled just a little. “Why, Your Grace, I believe you may have misunderstood the situation. Her Grace and I were just?—”

“I did not misunderstand. I was here, and I heard enough. No doubt you have wax in your ears, Lord Downton, and you believed you were being quite quiet, but I can assure you otherwise. An explanation, please. Immediately, or else I shall have to take action.”

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