He hoped that the same weight would apply now that he was confronted with a troubling conflict. He would never expect Lady Anna to accept a suitor, no matter what his age, if he participated in the lynching of her father. If the ministry found that Lord Duprey was guilty, his reputation would be ruined, his business bankrupt, and his business clients would demand their money, which would force him to sell his land and property, which could possibly create a very hazardous situation for him and Lady Anna. His instincts were telling him to fight for the real reason behind this discrepancy, with as little ado as possible. No one beyond those involved should be knowledgeable.
He vowed to resolve this, to discover the truth, while still protecting Lady Anna and Lord Duprey.
“We will not mention this to anyone in the bank, Lord Duprey. As far as they will know, we are just checking over some figures. I want to discover the truth, before this is the talk of the town. I do not want any rumors going around that could harm you or your daughter or grandson.”
Lord Duprey gave him a grateful look. “I appreciate your assistance, my lord.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ANNA FIGURES IT OUT
ANNA FIGURES IT OUT
Anna laced up her riding boots with more vigor than usual. So much vigor, in fact, that her foot raised up off the stool when she pulled on the laces. She was on the verge of tears. She would never believe her father was a thief. She sorted through her memories, trying to remember if there was ever a time her father seemed to have or spend more money than he should have. She couldn’t think of even one instance that struck her as odd. His reputation would be destroyed should something of this nature be heard by society.
She pulled the hook through the last hole and tied it tightly at the top. She set her foot on the ground and wobbled it around a bit until her foot felt comfortable in the boot. As she went out the door, she grabbed her riding jacket, which she had taken out of the box earlier, intending to wear it this afternoon for her ride.
She had thought for a moment about not taking her usual Thursday afternoon ride. However, after the events of the morning, she felt like she could do nothing else in good conscience. Going on a ride through the woods around Duprey Manor would help her clear her mind, help her think straight.
She breathed in the cool, crisp air, looking up at the clear sky. Though the sun was shining bright and there were only a few scattered white clouds in the sky, the air was chilled. She shivered slightly and pulled her large coat around her. Once again, she thought about not going on the ride. It would surely snow in the next week. If she didn’t go, she would not be riding for a long time. It would be her last ride for the winter.
She talked herself into going. She needed to, she thought. It would be good for her.
She let Gabriel, her horse, a majestic Norfolk Trotter, that she had come to love and adore, wander down the path at a reasonable rate. She wanted to escape her thoughts; but mulling it over was one of the reasons she’d talked herself into taking the ride in the first place. Conflicted, she allowed herself to wonder if Duke Watson truly believed her father could be a thief. The crime was a serious one. It simply couldn’t be true.
Anna didn’t want to think that Bryan could believe her father was guilty of this crime. She looked up and whispered a soft prayer, “The truth must be uncovered, Father,” She whispered. “Please, I beg of you, let it become known quickly.”
She crossed herself and kissed her fingers.
Urging Gabriel along with her heels, she rode a little faster up the path. They would soon come to the beginning of a maze her father had made for her when she was a child. She knew it from beginning to end. When she arrived at the maze today, she planned to stop Gabriel and go in it for a while. All her life, in times of trouble, that was where she found sanctuary. The air seemed clearer and it was easier for her to think.
She could see the entrance in the distance. As well as the area where the bushes and trees split off away in a separate path. She urged Gabriel to go a little faster once more. When they reached the door of the maze, Anna brought the horse to a halt, dropped down from him and tied the reins around the hitching post next to the door. She had to pull a bit hard on the wooden door and it creaked when it swung open. She poked her head in. The aisles were still visible, though the interior of the maze was somewhat overgrown. The pine trees kept a bright green in the middle of winter and today they looked extremely green against the bright blue sky. She looked up at the tops of the branches, taking a step into the maze.
She closed the door behind her and started to walk. It brought back immediate memories of the last time she had been in here and times before that. For many of her young years, she had come to this place and dreamed of the man she would marry and traveling the world and seeing everything there was to be seen and having many children.
Now those dreams seemed so far behind her. It saddened her. She had come here to think when she’d been asked by her late husband to marry him. She was happy with him but not sure she wanted to marry him. Her father had approved of the match, making it much easier to say her vows. She’d spent most of her marriage wondering where the adventure was. She wanted to do so much, yet she’d been kept in a box and put on a shelf to be looked at and fawned over.
It wasn’t what she wanted. She could picture herself traveling the world with Duke Watson. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss him, to feel his lips on hers, to feel his hands on her body in an even more intimate way than the dances she’d been blessed with. Her hips flashed with heat, remembering the touch of his hands as they danced.
She wondered what kind of lover he was. She imagined he was very passionate and giving.
She hoped he was.
She fully intended on pursuing the relationship as far as possible. Even to have the knowledge of his love and to never physically be able to receive it, would be good enough for her. She pondered the possible impact of a union between them on his business dealings. If her father didn’t give his blessing and others felt the same way he did, Bryan could be ruined.
Her heart ached. She was thinking words she didn’t want to hear, didn’t want to acknowledge. She didn’t want his business to be ruined. She wanted him to be happy and successful, achieving every dream he had ever imagined. What if she was the cause of his undoing? What if he was shunned and rejected because of their love for each other?
The words had remained unspoken. She knew what Bryan would say. Business be damned, he’d say. I cannot keep myself from you.
She could hear his voice in her mind. It gave her chills. It made her suddenly want to be with him, wherever he was.
And then her mind went back to the situation at hand. How could numbers in books show her father to be a thief? She shook her head. “No.” She said out loud. She reached out and ran her fingers over the softened needles. They were cold and felt wet to the touch. She pressed her damp fingers against the outside of her skirt and kept going, turning this way and that, making her way through the circular maze.
Her mind went back to the fact that the missing money seemed to have come from the accounts Duke Doughtery held with Watson Furniture. It seemed a great coincidence to Anna, who struggled not to feel egotistical by thinking the situation was about her or caused by her somehow.
But it seemed too much of a strange quirk. She walked along, narrowing her eyes as she went deeper in thought.
Duke Doughtery had rare personal dealings with her father in the past, but was never directly in business with him. It was strange that suddenly there was scandal. And for that to also include Duke Watson, whom Duke Doughtery was fully aware had his heart set on courting her.
Her thoughts wandered back to when Duke Doughtery had visited her and her father. There was something about that visit that triggered her feelings of alarm. She went through the memory as closely as she could.
When she remembered that the Duke had left the room for an extraordinarily long period, she halted in place. She stood blinking f
or a moment, wondering if it was possible the Duke had done something to create this scandal.
But why would he do such a thing? What would be the outcome that would favor him in any way?
Anna put the pieces together one by one. If her father was found guilty of the crime, he would be taken from her. His name would be ruined. She would be destitute in the aftermath.
She knew that Duke Doughtery would not let her and Drake become homeless beggars. He would offer to take her and Drake in and her father would have no say in the matter. It still didn’t make sense to her why the Duke would do such a thing, since her father was encouraging a courtship between the two of them.
She began walking again, slower than before, back in the direction she had come, feeling a bitter wind rush past her face.
If her father was not in the picture, Duke Watson would have no chance of changing his mind, charming him into giving his blessing to their relationship.
Anna clenched her teeth. Anger spilled through her. Overall, it was her father who would suffer the most, having built up such a legacy only to have it destroyed by the lies and deceit of a selfish monster.
Her steps became hurried. She reached the door to the maze and went through, turning to close it behind her.
Moments later, she was up on her horse, riding back toward her home. She would have to change if she planned to go into town. She intended to find Bryan and tell him her thoughts. He was surely still with her father. She would go to Watson Furniture first to see if they were there. If they weren’t, she would check her father’s office at the bank.
She rode fast and hard back to the house. She dismounted and ran up to the porch, leaving Gabriel in the capable hands of the groom and telling him to have the driver prepare the carriage, as she was going into town to Watson Furniture. She saw the look on his face as she turned away but said nothing. It didn’t matter to her.
She was going to make sure her father and Bryan knew about the incident when Duke Doughtery visited. There had to be a connection, though she knew it would be hard to prove. She didn’t even know if it was possible.
They would know what to do.
She thought about how warm she felt as she rode to town. After a moment, with a cold breeze brushing her bare cheeks and her lips, she realized it wasn’t that it had warmed up outside; but that she had warmed up inside. Her anger had warmed her. The tension she felt had caused her to stiffen and frown. She released the frown and tried to relax.
What would she do if she could not convince her father; that the scandal he was now caught up in was the direct result of Duke Doughtery’s deception? She knew the Duke wanted to have her as his own, but she would never have expected him to stoop to such levels to do so.
She shook her head, expressing her dissatisfaction with her own thoughts and her disappointment in a man she had once respected in at least some type of way. Now she barely wanted to speak to him, let alone see him face to face.
She prayed quickly and silently. It felt to her like an act of God would be necessary, a miracle in her favor that would turn the tide of the current events. She only desired happiness. She desired happiness with Duke Bryan Watson.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
IN HER OPINION
IN HER OPINION
To her great relief, Bryan and her father had returned to Watson Furniture, where they were pouring over three large books filled with names, numbers, figures, and charts. They looked unhappy. When Bryan looked up as she entered, she was grateful to see a look of passion cross his face. She couldn’t help but give him a quick smile to show him she was happy to see him. He responded with the same before dropping his eyes back to the book in front of him, where Frank was pointing at other accounts and number differences.
“These books are all messed up. It’s not just the Doughtery accounts.” Her father said to her, seeing that she had come in the room. She sat in a chair across from them and watched them for a moment, wondering if Bryan was truly on her father’s side. Could he be suspecting Frank of the crime of which he was accused?
It was unsettling to her. When she looked at the young Duke, she was constantly surprised that they had the connection they had. It didn’t seem possible. He had a look of doubt on his face.
He shook his head and looked up at her, then moved his eyes to Frank and stood up. He went around the desk and walked toward the door. “Lady Anna, if I could speak with you for a moment.”
He held out his hand to her and she took it to stand up. His hand was warm. She felt a pleasant sensation when they touched but kept herself from smiling. Their eyes met and held for a prolonged length of time.
“Of course,” Without giving any regard to her father, Lady Anna followed him through the door and into the hallway. “What is it, my lord? What are you thinking?” She asked curiously.
He tilted his head and gave her an inquisitive look. “It is not so much what I am thinking but what you are thinking, Lady Anna. I haven’t been able to sort through this. What is your advice?”
Anna was a little surprised by his request for advice but her instinct kicked in and she spoke confidently to him. “There has been some sort of fraud perpetrated by Duke Doughtery, my lord,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes. “I am almost certain of it. You did not know this. But the Duke came by at my father’s request at the beginning of the week. We had brunch together and he stayed for a time talking to my father, my son and I. He was attempting to convince me that I should allow him to court me. I refused. He and my father are conspiring against me. But this is all his doing, I am certain of it. I don’t believe my father would have anything to do with a crime like this nor any other for that matter.”
“I agree, my lady. I did not know that he paid visit to your estate. How does that coincide with this situation?”
Anna felt her anger returning and stowed it as much as possible. “He left our presence for a short length of time. We were in the room across from my father’s study, where he keeps anything that might be related to bank business. I see good reason for Duke Doughtery to take advantage of the opportunity. He is trying to destroy my father to get control over me. It saddens me to say the words. I do hope that I do not sound egotistical. I do not mean too. However, it has come to my attention that the three-people involved in this situation are connected to me in some way. I cannot see another explanation.”
Bryan thought about it for a moment, running one hand over the short hairs of his dark beard. Anna watched him, wondering what it would be like to show him a more intimate kind of affection. He was staring at the floor and when he lifted his eyes and they locked with hers, it was as though the entire world disappeared around them. They may as well have been standing in a fog, invisible to the world around them.
Before he could stop himself, Bryan reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping his strong arms around her. She pressed her cheek against his chest, burying her ear into his jacket so that she could hear his heartbeat. It was pounding hard. He squeezed her tight and held on, not wanting to let go. He lowered his head, brushing her ear with his lips, long enough to whisper. “I’m sorry, my lady.”
Even as he apologized, Bryan still didn’t let go for another few moments. She closed her eyes and slipped into a blissful zone, listening to his pounding heart.
When he let her go, she felt a cold breeze blow over her. She shivered, immediately longing for the warmth of his arms around her once more. Pleasant surprise ran through her a second time when he pressed his lips against her forehead. She looked up at him.
Her eyes were soft and adoring. He recognized the look on her face as love. It made his heart hammer even harder in his chest. She was such a beautiful woman. Her mind was sharp and her confidence was apparent. He wasn’t surprised that she had not yet married Duke Doughtery, despite the urging of her father and the persistence of the Duke himself.
He was glad but he wasn’t surprised.
She was a strong-willed woman with a mind of her own. She wasn’t going to do
what she didn’t want to do. In addition, she would most likely do that which she was told not to.
“I should not have been so forward, my lady. Allow me to apologize.” He knew his cheeks were red and he lowered his head. “It is becoming a great struggle for me to hold back from my desires.”
“Do not apologize, my lord,” Anna whispered, gazing at his downturned face, thinking how handsome he was. “It was something I have been longing for myself. But we must take care, as this is a public hallway and others may see. I do not wish to cause harm to your business. I truly do not wish that.”
“I thank you for your honesty and wisdom. You are a remarkable woman.”
They stood there for a moment more looking at each other. Anna noticed when Bryan’s eyes moved from the soft gaze to a sharp stare. “We must find a way to prove the Duke has something to do with this. When your father and I visited him early this morning, he refused to hand over any of his account books. He would not let us see them, in fact. He was not willing to help, though it was in the words he said.”
“I understand. He often speaks with a forked tongue.”
“Indeed, he does. Will your father believe? He has always had a great deal of faith in Duke Doughtery. However, we spoke in the carriage earlier and I do think his faith in the man is waning. It seems the Duke’s reluctant behavior and obvious deceptions.” Bryan couldn’t think of even one question the Duke answered without deflecting.
“I do not know what father will think. I do know that Duke Doughtery is not good at acting a part. He would not make it in theater.”
“I agree.”
Anna’s light-hearted humor made Bryan feel a sense of positivity. It was a pleasant feeling. He allowed her to step in front of him, holding out his hand so that she would pass him by. They went back into the room, each feeling much better emotionally and mentally than they had when they left.
Regency Romance: Duke’s Forbidden Love (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (Historical Romance Fiction) Page 11