Page 15 of A Duke, a Virgin and a Baby
Ultimately, she just wanted peace.
“What if… what if we have to hold onto Nicholas for a long while? What happens then?” Anna voiced quietly, unable to keep her uncertainty and fear from seeping into her tone.
“We just have to make sure we all do our best to cater to him. But worry not, it will all be fine.” Mrs Lawson assured, bowing to the duchess before leaving the room with Ellen.
Now alone, Anna gingerly settled onto the side of the bed, careful not to wake Nicholas.
He looked… so small and at peace, sleeping without a care in the world, even though his life was not as peaceful as it seemed.
Anna reached out to pat his head, hesitating before she touched him and then she lowered her hand, rose to her feet, and walked out of the room.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Confound it,” Julian grunted into his pillow as a child’s scream pierced the once-silent night air.
He had pondered about the little boy for hours into the night before he finally managed to fall asleep. Given how quickly he returned to the estate and the stressful conversation he’d had with his wife, he had been so exhausted, that he could not even eat dinner.
And yet, he couldn’t even rest in peace in his own home.
Julian tried to ignore the cries, but they seemed to be getting louder and all attempts to go back to sleep were futile.
“Oh, for the love of –” he grunted rising out of his bed.
He marched out of his bed and down the hall, heading to the duchess’ wing where he had been told a nursery had been set up for the child. It was ridiculous that such a small creature couldmake so much noise that could travel so far as to disturb his night’s rest.
It also irritated him how intent his wife was on punishing him for a sin he did not commit. He had expressly told her to care for the child, and yet the brat was throwing a tantrum over God knows what at such a late hour.
When he arrived at the nursery, the door was already ajar, so he pushed it open fully and met with the sight of the duchess cradling the boy in her arms gently.
He barely noticed that it had fallen silent as she carefully set him back in his bassinet, folding his arms as he demanded,
“What are you doing? I told you to care for the child appropriately, and yet you cannot seem to manage that singular task? How could you let him cry so loudly he woke me up –”
“Shh!” Anna hissed in a quiet tone. “Be quiet and get out of this room. Now.”
Heat flared in Julian’s veins, igniting rage within him. This woman seemed to have forgotten herself far too quickly, likely because of his absence. And he would have to remind her that no one could talk to him so rudely and get away with him.
“How dare you? Just who do you think you are? You forget, wife, this is still my house. No matter how much work has been done to change its appearance, it would not change the fact that thedeed is still in my name. It would not take much to take it away from you and strip you of all that you have, leaving you to fend for yourself on the streets.”
Anna stared at him incredulously.
“You are so incredibly childish. Even more so than the actual child you ‘told me to care for’ – as though it is a simple task you can manage. You have quite the nerve to act as though we are not in this situation because of you!” she said in a hushed tone, pointing at him.
“Still?! You still blame me for this? I told you, that child is not mine. I had no mistresses – I have none. I do not know what sort of life you lived in our months apart, but do not make baseless assumptions about what you do not know,” He snapped.
“I am amazed that you expect me to believe your word. Do you think so little of me? You expect me to blindly trust you, after everything? You speak of respect, but you have not once respected me or my place here. Do not ask for favors you are not entitled to.” She said to him in the same tone, only quieter.
Rage was flowing freely within him now and he stepped toward her,
“You are really far too bold for –”
The little boy groaned and they flinched, both of them staring at each other silently. Julian kept his eyes on Anna, worriedthe child might start crying again. Thankfully, he merely fussed around for a moment and continued to sleep.
Anna pointed at the door and made a shooing motion and this time, he heeded her words, turning around to leave the room, with her directly behind him. Once they were outside and the door had been secured, Julian faced his wife once more.
“I do not want to argue with you. Not at this hour, when Nicholas or the rest of the staff could be awoken due to all the fuss. Nothing we say now matters more than how to care for this child while he is in our care. I can only do so much. We will need to hire a nursemaid for him, as soon as possible,” Anna told him calmly.
Julian could not deny that was right, but he was distracted by the sight of her, now that she was so close to him. In the nursery, he had been blinded by his anger to notice that she had nothing but her nightgown on. But with only a few meters of distance between them at that moment, he could notice how gently the silk hung over her curves, the lacy neckline dipping low enough to give him a teasing view of her cleavage.
