Page 50 of My Demanding Duke

"Good morning," she offered by way of greeting. Her tone was cool but at least she was speaking to him.

"This is unexpected,” Hugh noted, as he took his seat.

A footman poured coffee for him, then quietly withdrew, closing the door behind him.

"I wished to speak with you," she said, her fingers fidgeting with the white tablecloth.

"About Lord Gravesend, I presume?” Hugh guessed, meeting her cool gaze with one of his own.

"Yes." Anna took a fortifying sip of tea, while Hugh wished that his coffee was laced with something stronger. "I do not understand your objection to him. He seems perfectly amiable.”

It was almost a pity that the question was so reasonable, for Hugh’s visceral response to Gravesend was anything but. He knew his feelings about the lad were based on a hunch and a word of caution—from Bartie of all people—but he knew too that his gut instinct was correct.

"Gravesend is not to be trusted," Hugh said simply, setting down his fork.

"So you have said,” Anna noted, “But that is not an explanation. I require more than vague pronouncements, Hugh. Why should I not speak with him?"

Hugh leaned back in his chair, studying her. He could see the determination in the set of her jaw, the stubborn tilt of her chin. She would not be put off with half-truths.

"Because he has a vendetta against me, and he will use you to exact it," he said finally. "He bears me ill will for reasons of his own making, and I fear he means to hurt me through you."

Her expression softened slightly. "What reasons?"

“I exposed him cheating at cards,” Hugh said with a shrug. “It may not sound like much, but men don’t take kindly to having their reputations ruined.”

“Nor do women,” Anna was dry. “Has he threatened you at all? Has he expressed these plans of revenge to anyone, or..?”

Anna allowed her questions to trail off unanswered. She lifted her tea again to her lips, her eyes regarding Hugh shrewdly over the rim.

"He is not the type to openly threaten," Hugh set down his coffee cup, a little irritated that she did not believe him. “But his intentions are clear; his sudden interest in you is no coincidence."

"He was there the night you won my hand from my father,” she answered, after a slight pause. “He told me that he was there to witness it. Perhaps that is why he has taken a sudden interest in me?Youmade me interesting.”

Hugh felt a cold weight settle in his stomach as he envisioned Gravesend whispering in Anna’s ear during a privatetête-à-tête.He opened his mouth to defend himself, but Anna continued before he had a chance.

“He also claimed that you spent our wedding night gambling at The Bird's Nest. Is that true?" she added, delivering her final blow as swift and calm as any pugilist.

The question hung in the air between them. Hugh hesitated, caught between the truth that would damn him and a lie that would insult her intelligence.

His silence was answer enough.

"I see," she whispered, her lips pressed thin. "I do not know who to believe anymore. My father abandoned me. You purchased me like chattel. You claim that it is you who speaks the truth and not Gravesend, and yet you would lie to me too. Tell me this, your Grace, who can I trust?"

She stood abruptly, trembling with indignation.

Hugh rose as well, fighting the urge to reach for her. "You can trust me to protect you, Anna. Whatever else you may think of me, believe that."

"Protect me?" A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "From whom? The man who might tell me the truth about my husband?"

"Gravesend is dangerous—"

"And you are not?" she challenged. "A man who won my hand in a card game, who spent his wedding night at the card tables instead of with his bride?"

“I did not want to take you until you were ready,” Hugh reminded her—he had told her as much. Surely she could see that this is why he had sought distraction in a gaming hell.

He had not wanted to force her into his bed. He had wanted her willing, he had wanted her ready…

He had wantedallof her, heart included.

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