Page 82 of His Accidental Duchess

The Duke of Langdon and his controversial new Duchess appeared at a showing of Die Zauberflöteonly last night. To the curiosity and shock of many, the pair disappeared before the interval and did not return for the rest of the opera. Witnesses remarked that the Duke and Duchess seemed frosty with friends and acquaintances, as well as with each other.

As all dedicated readers of this journal will know, the scandalous wedding between the Duke of Langdon and Miss Belmont took place shortly after Miss Belmont was shockingly jilted at the altar by Lord Henry Stanley—the Duke’s brother. Lord Henry has since fled the country. Society had barely recovered from such shocking behavior before the Duke wed the girl.

This ill-matched pair continues to inspire speculation wherever they go. This author can only assume that the good Duke was keen to avoid scandal, and so he stepped in to cover up the sins of his brother. Wary, perhaps, of a scandal from seven years repeating itself?

Anna blinked down at the lurid column, trying to make sense of it all. “I don’t understand.”

Theo crumpled the paper in one hand, his fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. He crossed the room in three strides, hurling the paper into the fire so hard that it bounced straight out and he was forced to shove it back in.

“Wretched gossips,” he hissed, his teeth clenched. “If I find whoever wrote that paper, I’ll tear their head clean off!”

Anna frowned, watching the paper burn. A quick scan of the other gossip sheets in the pile revealed no mysterious ‘seven years’ remark, although they did mention Anna and Theo’s disappearance from the opera.

“Theo, what does this mean? What happened seven years ago?”

Theo did not respond, and it was clear that he was not going to. Martha was looking distinctly uncomfortable, but Kitty glanced from face to face, full of childish confusion.

“I am seven years old, Papa,” she piped up in a moment of silence, broken only by Theo aggressively stirring the fire with a poker. “Is it about me?”

Anna opened her mouth to tell Kitty no, of course not, why would it be about her? Then she saw the white, frozen look on Theo’s face, and her heart sank to her feet. She felt sick.

Martha met Anna’s eyes over Kitty’s head and immediately averted her gaze, crimson-faced.

Anna closed her mouth with a click, summoning the dignity a duchess ought to have. A duchess should never be discomposed, should never flounder, never wonder what her place was in a room, in a house, in the world.

She was the subject of envy, not because of beauty or a rich husband or many jewels. No, she was envied because she wasconfident,and there were few things more attractive than confidence.

Anna tried to remind herself of that.

“Martha,” she heard herself say, her voice reassuringly even, “why don’t you take Kitty out for a walk if she’s quite finished breakfast?”

Martha got to her feet so abruptly and with so much relief that she nearly tipped her chair backward.

Kitty blinked up at her nursemaid, not understanding. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, of course not, dear,” Anna said at once. “I just want to speak with your papa for a moment.”

“Will we look at the stars again tonight? I like it better than chess.”

This was punctuated by a nervous glance at her father. Theo had his back to the room and was now leaning against the mantelpiece, his hands planted firmly on the ledge, staring into the fire. He did not move or acknowledge anyone around him.

“I’m sure we will,” Anna said firmly.

She smiled down at Kitty as the two hurried past, reaching out to run her fingers through Kitty’s soft hair, not yet wound into twin plaits.

When they were gone and the door was closed behind them, she turned to Theo. “You have to tell me, Theo. Tell me everything.”

CHAPTER 23

There was a long pause after Martha and Kitty had left. Long after the echo of the door clicking shut had died down, Theo kept his back turned to Anna, his shoulders tense and lifted around his ears.

She had intended to wait until he spoke first, but the quiet dragged resolutely on, and it became obvious that Theo would wait until doomsday before speaking.

“What happened seven years ago?” Anna asked again. Her voice was overloud in the silent dining room.

“A great many things, I should imagine,” Theo shot back, his lip curling. “Kitty was born, for one.”

“That scandal sheet was hinting at something. You said yourself that they are often accurate. The truth will get out, you know. Mama always used to say that. How accurate was that remark?”

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