Page 66 of His Accidental Duchess

But if he follows you, you’ll have to tell him the truth.

She shivered at that idea. How much of the truth would he want to hear? What if he was angry or disgusted? What if…

What if, what if, what if. None of that matters if he just shrugs those broad shoulders of his and goes on with his evening, enjoying himself without me.

She just had time to imagine herself sitting alone in the library like a child in a sulk, ignored by all while her husband laughed and drank and danced, before she heard the distinctive sound of footsteps outside.

For an instant, she thought it was the Earl, and her heart plummeted into her stomach. The door creaked open a little further, and the Duke of Langdon appeared in the doorway.

Anna almost wept with relief.

“A library,” he remarked after a moment. “I thought I might find you here.”

She sniffled. “I shouldn’t have run off like that.”

Glancing around the room, perhaps double-checking that they were alone, Theo stepped in properly, before closing the door behind him. After only an instant’s hesitation, he turned the key in the lock. The metallicclickmade Anna shiver for some reason. Not an unpleasant shiver.

The silence seemed to settle more heavily over the room once the door was closed. Suddenly, there seemed to be far more space between her and Theo than she had initially thought.

Too much, in fact.

“Who is that man to you?” Theo spoke up, breaking the silence.

Anna dropped her chin to her chest. “I hate him.”

“That was clear. Go on, tell me.”

She closed her eyes. “I believe I said that he was one of my father’s creditors. You know the state our finances were in. After Papa’s death, the creditors descended on usen masse. Almost every penny we had went to paying them off, aside from the house and a thin trickle of income Papa had had the good sense to put aside for Mama, as her widow’s jointure. It wasn’t enough, of course, but at least we weren’t starving on the streets. Other people have it much worse.”

Theo crossed the room, his polished Hessians stepping like velvet on the carpet, even though this was a ball and dancing slippers should be the order of the day, notboots. He settleddown beside her on the window seat, so close that their shoulders almost touched. Anna could feel the warmth radiating from him, along with that intoxicating smell of crushed grass, tempered with cologne.

She cleared her throat, squaring her shoulders.

Focus, woman.

“Go on,” he said after the silence had dragged on for too long.

She shot him a look that she hoped said,I wasn’t waiting for your permission, then took a breath and continued.

“All of Papa’s debts were called in, and Lord Downton showed himself last of all. He turned up on the day of Papa’s funeral, as a matter of fact, like a hungry bird of prey. Awful man.”

“He certainly chose his moment poorly,” Theo agreed.

“He chose it well, rather. He spoke to me first. He made me feel… itchy. Do you know what I mean? When a man looks at you a certain way, you just know he’sthinkingthings, and there’s not a thing you can do to stop him from thinking or looking.”

Theo winced. “Not a feeling I am familiar with, but I know what you are talking about. The man sounds viler by the minute.”

“Mama turned him away,” Anna continued, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. “The debt wasn’t called in. But it wasn’t canceled either. It hung over our heads, like an ax waiting to fall. I almost forgot about it—and him—until I caught him at home one night, with Mama.”

Theo stiffened. “Ah.”

“I think… I don’t even want to say it,” Anna managed, her voice quivering like a child’s. “I think there was a price to pay for him not calling in the debt, and I think Mama was paying it. But it was me he wanted—it has always been me. And I kept worrying about Daphne and Emily. They’re so young and naive… what if he started looking at one of them? He’s such a vile man, and he seemed toenjoyhow debased we were.”

Abruptly, Anna dropped her face into her hands, groaning aloud.

There. She’d said it. The whole, awful story was out, and Theo could not fail to understand what she meant. She longed to glance at him, to see what he thought of all this, but she didn’t quite dare.

“Only a depraved man would prey on a woman and her children at such a time,” Theo said after the silence had stretched out a little longer. “I am sorry for you, and your mother, for having to endure such a thing.”

---