Page 17 of My Demanding Duke

Dash that man, she thought darkly; her resolve to remain aloof with her new husband had faltered at the first hurdle. One touch and she was a quivering mess. She could not allow his handsome face to distract her from the hurt he had caused her. The wound of her father's absence still throbbed fresh; what kind of man bet his daughter’s hand in marriage, then didn’t even have the decency to see her wed?

Anna did not have time to nurse her hurt, for the duke slid into the compartment beside her, his imposing frame making the carriage feel suddenly smaller. Another mark against him, she thought irrationally; he was inconsiderately large.

"Comfortable?" Falconbridge enquired with what sounded like genuine concern.

"Quite," Anna replied, primly.

She would not let him see how unsettled she felt. The expensively outfitted carriagewascomfortable, but also a reminder of how drastically her circumstances had changed in a matter of hours. She was now the Duchess of Falconbridge. She had married a man she barely knew…

The carriage lurched forward, and Anna instinctively gripped the seat. Through the window, she watched as Berkeley Square receded from view. Though she held no attachment to the house, it felt strangely like watching her old life disappear before her very eyes.

"It's not far to St. James' Square," the duke offered. "A quarter hour at most."

Anna nodded, uncertain how to respond. How was she supposed to pass fifteen minutes alone in this small space with a stranger?

"The staff will have prepared your room," Falconbridge continued, filling the silence. "You'll have your own chambers, of course, adjoining mine."

The implication of his words hung in the air between them. Anna felt heat rise to her cheeks despite her determination to remain composed.

"How kind," she managed, fixing her gaze on the passing scenery rather than meeting his eyes.

"Anna." Her name on his lips compelled her to look at him. His expression was gentle, but there was a steely determination in his blue eyes. "I know this is not the marriage you would have chosen for yourself."

An understatement if ever there was one.

"How astute you are, your Grace," she replied, her voice cooler than she intended. "Few women dream of weddings where their father is..."

She paused, unable to say the words. Missing presumed drunk? Gambling away what was left of his estate? Perhaps lying dead in the gutters of St. Giles?

"Hugh," he corrected for the second time that day, his voice tight. "Iamsorry, Anna, your father wasn’t there, but I did what I thought best. Lord Mosley’s complete disregard for your safety necessitated a hasty wedding. And it was you who broke our agreement. If you recall, I had allowed for a long engagement butyoureneged on our deal."

"How magnanimous you sound, allowing us a lengthy engagement," she replied, turning to face him fully, “Though you conveniently left out the part where you made our getting married a unilateral decision."

Falconbridge’s jaw tightened. “You are safer in my care than in your father’s.”

There it was again, Anna thought with irritation, that high-handed belief that he knew what was best for her. Rather than argue with him—for she sensed the duke was not a man to back down easily—Anna folded her arms across her chest and directed her gaze outside.

“Anna,” Falconbridge called her name, refusing to be ignored. She turned to look at him, hoping that he might see the contempt in her eyes.

“Our union may be unorthodox,” he continued, unabashed by her glare. “But I see no reason why it cannot evolve into something more... mutually satisfying.”

The way his gaze dipped to her body left no doubt as to his meaning. Anna felt a strange flutter in her stomach that had nothing to do with the carriage’s movement.

“You presume much about my willingness to be satisfied,” she replied, surprising herself with her boldness.

A slow smile spread across the duke's face, transforming his aristocraticmieninto something almost boyish.

"On the contrary," he murmured, leaning in so she was cornered by him, "I presume nothing. But I look forward to discovering what might bring you satisfaction, should you allow me."

Anna turned away, flustered by the heat that unfurled within her at his words. She would never manage to keep the duke at arm’s length, when his every word stirred desire.

Dash him to hell, she thought again.

“And what else is expected of me?" she queried sharply. “Do you require heirs, your Grace? Will one spare suffice, or do you wish for two? I’m afraid that you may later regret your choice of a bride; my father’s side has an unfortunate habit of breeding daughters.”

“If an heir had been my only concern when picking a bride, I would have gotten married years ago,” Falconbridge replied, his tone mild but his eyes dangerous.

"To someone more biddable, perhaps?” Anna suggested, arching a brow.

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