Finally, she looked up at him. For the first time, she noticed that they were alone on the veranda. It didn’t matter if there were other people around. When she was with Lord Watson, they might as well have been the only two people on earth.
“It could be a difficult and long road ahead, Lord Watson.”
Bryan kissed her forehead and rested his against hers. He closed his eyes and wished he could read her mind. “I am willing to take the journey.” He murmured softly, just before touching his lips to hers in the first of many warm kisses that would send waves of pleasure through them both.
CHAPTER SEVEN
RIDING ON A COLD WINTER MORNING
RIDING ON A COLD WINTER MORNING
“Are you sure you want to go for a ride, cousin?” Elizabeth gazed out over the horizon. They were both standing on the front deck of the Worthington Estate, pulling on gloves, and securing warm bonnets over their hair.
Anna nodded. “I know it’s a bit chilly, Liz, but this is going to be a gorgeous day and I want to be out in it.”
Elizabeth raised one eyebrow and gave her a look of doubt. “I fail to understand why but I will be happy to ride with you anyway.”
“You are such a good cousin.” Anna laughed and pulled Elizabeth into a surprise hug. Elizabeth returned it but gave the woman an amused look when they parted.
“You are in a very good mood. What has caused this?”
Anna giggled, turning away without answering.
“Don’t you be that way, my dear.” Elizabeth followed her down the steps to go toward the stables. “Tell me, what progress have you made with your suitor situation?”
Again, Anna laughed aloud. “My suitor situation? Oh, Liz, you have such a unique way of looking at things.”
Elizabeth looked innocent. “Me? Whatever do you mean?”
They both laughed.
“You don’t mind being blunt, do you?”
They walked together down the path to the large stables tucked down in a small valley in the land. “Your estate is so very beautiful. Our home is large and well-kept, too. But I am always amazed when I come to visit and see how beautiful it is here.”
“Thank you, my dear. I wish that I could take credit for its beauty but, it certainly isn’t any of my doing. God made it the way it is and land keepers do the rest.”
“I promise we’ll just go for a short, slow ride, is that all right with you?” Anna smiled at Elizabeth, who nodded in response.
“Yes, that will be fine. We don’t want to catch our death in this cold.”
“No, we definitely don’t want that.”
They chatted as they waited for the horses to be brought to them.
“Especially not you, am I correct in assuming?” Elizabeth’s grin was sly.
“Oh, Liz, you aren’t going to let me think of anything else, are you?” Anna giggled, lifting one slender hand to cover her mouth.
“It is my solid opinion that you are not thinking of anything – or anyone – else anyway, dear.”
Anna’s cheeks turned the color of apples. She lowered her eyes. “No, I suppose I am not.”
“Tell me how things are progressing then.”
Anna waited until they were both seated in the saddles and ready to take their short, slow ride. She looked at Elizabeth. “You lead the way, Liz. We’ll keep it at your pace and this is your land so you can decide where you want to go.”
“All right.” She nudged her horse on. Anna followed her down a narrow trail that led into thick woods, cut back to allow their entry.
Elizabeth let Anna have a few minutes before she questioned her again. “I am so very curious to know what you are thinking about Duke Watson and Duke Doughtery fighting over you, Anna.” Elizabeth remarked. She made it sound casual and unimportant but Anna felt a jolt of anxiety at the thought of the two men having words because of her. She pulled in a deep breath.
“I do not like being fought over. I did not ask for such a thing to happen.”
“I know your father is very anxious for you to remarry.”
“He wants me to marry Duke Doughtery.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to marry him.”
“I know that, as well.” Elizabeth nodded, her face showing her sympathy for her cousin. “Do you think you would prefer to marry Duke Watson?”
The thought made Anna’s heart skip a beat and then pound in her chest, making her short of breath. She lifted one hand and rested it over her heart, as if the touch would calm it down.
“Are you all right?” Elizabeth noticed her sudden distress.
“Yes. I am nervous at the prospect of even being courted by Duke Watson.”
“Is it because of his age?”
“Yes, it is. There is no other barrier in our way. I feel a great connection to him.” Anna pictured his handsome face in her mind. She blinked slowly, remembering the way he kissed her on the veranda at the ball, wanting so much more from him.
“I spoke with him at the last ball we all attended. I noticed that he has similarly strong feelings for you.”
“The connection is truly undeniable.”
“How do you think Drake will feel if Duke Watson courts you, Anna?”
Anna shook her head. “There is no way for me to know. This is not a journey I have taken before in my life. I have done many things that proved to surprise my family. But this will be the first time for such a situation as this.”
Elizabeth nodded, keeping her eyes on the landscape in front of them, instead of staring at Anna. She didn’t want to give the impression she was being judgmental. “I need for you to be careful, my dear. There are so many ways this can go wrong. But I know the ways of the heart cannot be denied. I have seen it happen before. Two people who should not ever have a connection suddenly do, as if they had known each other in a past life. Do you believe that can happen?”
Anna thought about it for a moment. She remembered seeing Bryan come toward her the very first time they’d met. She’d thought from that moment on that she somehow knew the Duke. She was familiar with his movements, his smile, the look in his eyes. It truly had been as though they had met before and knew each other well.
“I have never given it any thought.” She admitted. “If you were to ask me last month, I would have said no. If someone had told me then that I would be…falling in love with a man so much younger than me, I would have laughed. This is not like me, Elizabeth. I am usually not taken in so quickly or with such strength.”
“I agree.” Elizabeth nodded. Anna gave her a forlorn look. “Do not think it’s a bad thing just because I am agreeing with it, Anna. It may be a new situation, but it is not something insurmountable. You will, in the end, need to decide whether to please your father or to please yourself. His motives surround money and finances. Yours is according to love. Please tell me which one you are in favor of.” She smiled at Anna. “And I already know it is not finances you are interested in. The Watson Furniture company is a good business and garners the young handsome Duke quite a lot of money. But it is not for that purpose you are interested in him. It doesn’t take a person who knows you well to see how you feel about him when he’s around. It’s thick in the air when the two of you are together.”
Anna hadn’t thought about appearances as much as the fact that, as the older woman, she was at the disadvantage. There were many young, beautiful, charming ladies on the town. There was no reason for the Duke to be interested in, or stay interested, in her.
She narrowed her eyes, becoming suspicious. “Tell me, Liz, how well do you know Duke Watson?”
“He is the son of one of Shawn’s favorite men, I know that.”
“His father had his title withdrawn in disgrace. Yet Shawn holds him in high regard?”
“The withdrawal of the title was something the Prince Regent did without consulting anyone else – not that he had to consult with anyone. He is a man with his own ideas and thoughts. He held something against the former Duke and it caus
ed him to be stripped of the title. But it was with some regard to Bryan’s father that the Prince Regent turned around and gave the title to his son. It was to preserve the family lineage. He was unwilling to see the estate fall into ruins because he held something against Lord Watson.”
“You don’t know what it was that caused the withdrawal?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Would Shawn know?”
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Why do you want to know what happened with Lord Watson? Surely you do not suspect that the same thing could happen with Lord Watson?”
Anna shook her head. “No, it was truly only curiosity that made me wonder. I would like very much to show sympathy to Lord Watson, but I also do not want to say anything out of turn.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I suggest you avoid the topic of his father altogether; unless he brings it up to you. I am sure you don’t want to open any fresh wounds.”
“I do not want to do that, no.” Anna shook her head. The thought of hurting Bryan in any way made her chest hurt.
“Has he visited your estate yet?”
“No.”
“I expect he will find a reason to sometime soon.”
“When you spoke with him, did he seem genuine to you?” Anna nudged her horse to go a little faster to draw up closer to Elizabeth. A crisp breeze had picked up and she was regretting her request to go on a ride. She felt like they would need to turn back soon, though they had only been riding for fifteen minutes.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “Genuine? My dear, when he spoke of you, he might as well have been describing the richest treasure he had ever discovered on his travels. He has spent the last three years roaming the earth, seeking beautiful things, artifacts to bring back and display for all to see in his museum. It is easy to see he considers you to be one of those treasures. He is enthralled with you.”
Anna thought about it for a moment, self-doubt creeping into her mind. “I wonder…” she let her words trail off. Elizabeth glanced at her suspiciously.
“What in heaven’s name are you thinking, Anna?”
“What if I am another one of those challenges Lord Watson has faced on his travels? Perhaps I am a unique object that he wants to conquer.”
Anna was taken aback when Elizabeth threw her head back and laughed loudly. “Oh, my! Anna, you are overthinking this to a degree I have not seen in a very long time! He is not pursuing you because you are another rare treasure he wants to conquer. That is not what I saw when we spoke. Not in the least.”
Anna pressed her lips together. “Are you sure? I do not want to feel a fool by letting myself love him.”
“It is my opinion that you would be a fool not to seize this opportunity for love. You have been alone for a while. I must admit, I have not seen you this happy. Even when you were married. I know you loved your husband, but he did not bring the glow to your face that Duke Watson has. I know it seems a strange situation, but I think it is one worth exploring. Do you?”
Anna nodded. “I don’t think I will be unable to resist, to be perfectly frank with you.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
POKING THE BEAR
POKING THE BEAR
The pub was filled with murmuring voices, clinking glasses and moving people. Bryan looked around for his cousin. When he spotted Matthew in a corner, sitting at a table with a glass of wine in one hand and a large bread roll in the other, he made his way to him. There were several other people sitting with Matthew, listening to his raunchy tales of the exploits he’d been on while traveling. Bryan enjoyed listening to Matthew’s stories like everyone else. However, he was more than pleased that he had not been traveling with his cousin. Matthew was a character painted with a broad brush. He could alternately be serious and humorous. Bryan treasured the fact that he knew Matthew would always be honest, even if it meant hurting someone with that honesty.
“Cousin!” Matthew stood up, bowed to Bryan, and then pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back. “It is good to see you, Bryan. This is Lady Eppers and Lady Trundle. They are both here from Arlington visiting friends. I’ll just bet you don’t know who those friends are? If you think about it for a moment, you may grasp on to it, though.”
“All right, I will take a guess.” Bryan nodded at the two lovely young ladies sitting with Matthew. “Are you visiting the Worthingtons?”
The ladies looked surprised and then laughed, both covering their pink lips with their small hands. “Yes!” Lady Trundle replied. “Yes, we are! However, did you guess? Are you in touch with the spiritual realm?”
Bryan laughed. “My lady, if I was, I would be faring much better financially.”
The four of them laughed as Bryan took a seat next to his cousin and Matthew sat back down.
“But how did you know, Your Grace? Truthfully.” Lady Eppers looked amazed. She was a small young woman. Her slender features gave her the look of a delicate china doll. Her skin was smooth and pale. Her lips a deep red, with eyes a blazing blue. Her dark hair piled high upon her head. With spirals of soft curls around her face in loose strand. This making her features stood out in contrast.
Bryan chuckled. “Everyone comes here to visit them. I would have been quite surprised if it had been anyone else.”
“They might have come to see me, you do realize.” Matthew pretended to be hurt. “I am their friend, too.”
Bryan raised his eyebrows. “No one comes to see you, cousin.”
Matthew opened his mouth in mock surprise. “Well, I must say, dear cousin, that you are very rude.”
The women looked at each other and then at the two men. Bryan shook his head. “Do not fret, my ladies. We are truly cousins. Lord Tudor is a fine man, is he not?”
Matthew rolled his eyes. “Now you are being condescending. I swear, Duke Watson, if I thought you were being serious, I would challenge you to a duel.”
“That’s a duel you would lose.” Bryan replied. “Shall we go through it and make a wager on the winner?” He looked at the ladies in turn. “Would you ladies like to get in on this bet? I am willing to put up a fine sum that, I would win any type of duel my cousin decided upon.”
“Oh, this kind of talk bothers me.” Lady Trundle frowned and shook her head. “I don’t want to think about the two of you dueling. What would be the point in such a thing? Someone will get hurt or die while the other gets to put a few pounds in his pocket?” She continued shaking her head, looking down at her hands, which were folded in her lap and kneading each other nervously.
Her companion reached over and rested one hand on Lady Trundle’s worried hands. “Now, now, Victoria. He is only speaking in jest.” She looked up at Bryan with a grin she was obviously trying to hide. Bryan didn’t hide the one he returned. “Tell her you were speaking in jest, Lord Watson, if you in fact, were.”
“I was truly only speaking in jest,” Bryan obeyed. “My cousin and I would never duel for any reason. We are good friends.”
“That is correct.” Matthew leaned across the table so that Victoria would lift her eyes. “My cousin is a jester. Do not trouble your heart with this.”
Victoria pulled in a deep breath and nodded. “All right. I am sorry.”
Matthew shook his head and stood up, crossing to her chair. He bowed to her and held out one hand. “My lady, would you care to dance? It will get your mind onto more productive and enjoyable things.”
Victoria looked surprised. She smiled. “I would be happy to dance with you, Lord Arlington. Thank you.” She lifted herself gracefully from the chair and the two of them swept onto the dance floor, joining the other couples easily.
Bryan looked at Lady Eppers. “Is your friend always that sensitive to trivial matters?”
Lady Eppers lifted her eyebrows. “I am sorry, Your Grace, that the thought of killing someone in a duel is a trivial matter to you.”
Bryan’s high spirits plummeted. “That is not what I meant, my lady. I apologize. I did not think of it from that perspective. As I mentione
d, Lord Tudor and I often banter in such a manner.”
“I am sure.” Lady Eppers left the serious look on her face for a few more moments before her features softened and she smiled at him. “And now I must confess, that I am teasing you, my lord. I find it somewhat irritating that Victoria overreacts to the words of others. She is a sensitive creature, as you say, and it can be a bit of a burden to me, as I am quite the opposite.”
“What caused you to be companions?”
“We met last year at my sister’s wedding. She is my sister-in-law. The story is that up until that point, Victoria’s brother, my sister’s husband, acted as companion to her. He was the protective older brother. He realized very quickly that she was afraid of almost everything. Our parents pushed me to become her new companion, so that my sister could enjoy her husband without Victoria’s interference.”
“She is still in need of a constant companion? She must be in her early twenties at least.”
“It is never polite to ask a lady’s age, my lord, but I realize you are not doing that.” She smiled at him. He’d been about to defend himself, but let her continue instead. “She is 25, as I am, and yes, she needs constant reassurance that nothing is out to harm her.”
“That is sad. You are good for taking on the task.”
“I was resistant, I must say. But I have come to truly care for Victoria, which makes it so much easier. She is a sweet soul. She is just too nervous. She is not the only one of her kind.”
“I admire your fortitude.”
Lady Eppers lifted her head and pulled in a deep breath. She moved her eyes from his face out onto the dance floor, where Matthew and Victoria were spinning and twirling. “They look so comfortable together. Do you have a lady, Your Grace?”
Bryan blinked. Did he have a lady? He wondered it himself. His heart was no longer his, he knew that. But he wasn’t sure if he could consider Lady Anna his just yet. “I am tied to no one now.”
Regency Romance: Duke’s Forbidden Love (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (Historical Romance Fiction) Page 5