Page 68 of Wicked Is the Duke
Exasperated as the winds picked up, Henry nodded to the footman who'd accompanied them. The young man began to carry a wooden box of plates to the waiting wagon.
"What are you doing?" She asked, glaring at Henry.
"I'll not have you get soaking wet just because you couldn't quit. You can come back tomorrow, but for now, you'll come home," he replied.
He knew he was going to have to sit her down and tell her what he'd found out. He hoped she would take the threat as seriously as he did and agree to postpone her photographic interests.
Right now, she was angry with him, and given how he approached the matter, he couldn't fault her for it.
He accompanied her to their waiting carriage and handed her in. She had so far ignored him since they began walking to the carriage, and he wondered what reception he'd receive once the door to the carriage closed.
Deciding it might be good to avoid her wrath, Henry chose to sit across from his wife. She looked everywhere but at him, and when she did, her look said it all.
"How dare you humiliate me in front of all those people," she hissed.
"Anna, please. Give me a chance to explain."
She shook her head. "Why?"
"I think once you learn why, you'll agree with my actions."
He leaned back against the leather squabs and contemplated how to break the news to her.
The silence was deafening.
She turned her gaze from the window where she'd been watching the first rain drops hit upon the carriage. "Well, I'm waiting."
"I believe someone is out to do you harm," he said bluntly.
She cocked a brow. "Really? Who?"
"Carlisle, but until I can be sure, I need your promise that you won't fight me when I tell you that you must stay close to the house."
"You want me to remain in the house?"
"No. If you go out for any reason at all, you do so with me or a man of my choosing."
Anna studied his face for a moment. "You're serious, aren't you?"
He nodded. "Yes, quite serious."
He watched as she mulled it over in her mind. "You really believe Carlisle would harm me?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Can't you go to the constable and inform him of your findings?"
"And tell him what? That the earl plans to do harm to my wife? I doubt he'd listen."
"My God, Henry, he's here, in town. How much more coincidence do you need? Are you going to wait until he makes his move and tries to do me harm?"
He leaned forward and took her hands in his. "If the constable confronts him now, he'll simply lie about why he is here."
"He's here, isn't he? Isn't that enough?"
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it isn't."
"He can't be here visiting friends. He wouldn't be staying at an inn if he were."
