Page 71 of A Spinster for the Cold Duke

“Who delivered this?” she inquired, already dreading the answer even as her fingers traced the expensive paper.

“A gentleman’s man, Miss. Said it was urgent.” The maid bobbed a quick curtsy before retreating, leaving Annabelle alone with the mysterious correspondence.

Her hands trembled slightly as she unfolded the note, though she could not say whether from anticipation or apprehension.The handwriting was unmistakable—the same bold, short strokes that seemed to command attention even from the page.

Meet me in the conservatory. Midnight. —H.

“Where does this man get theaudacity?” Annabelle breathed, though her pulse quickened traitorously at the sight of that single initial.

She crumpled the note between her palms.

To summon her like this, to assume she would simply comply with his imperious demand when she had spent the better part of a week avoiding him precisely because she could not trust herself around him was inconceivable.

The memory of his mouth on hers, of his hands worshipping her body with such consuming hunger, sent heat pooling low in her belly despite her best efforts to ignore it.

The clock on the mantelpiece chimed eleven-thirty, and Annabelle found herself rising from her chair as though drawn by invisible strings. She told herself she would go merely to end this ridiculous charade and to inform His Grace that she would not be commanded.

The conservatory stood bathed in moonlight, its glass walls creating a cathedral of shadows and silver illumination.

Annabelle pushed open the door with trembling fingers and stepped into the humid warmth that smelled of jasmine and night-blooming flowers.

“You came.”

His voice emerged from the shadows near the fountain, low and satisfied in a way that made her spine stiffen with automatic defiance. Henry stepped into the moonlight. His usually immaculate appearance was slightly disheveled, and his dark hair caught the silvery light.

“Only to tell you that this behavior is absolutely ridiculous,” Annabelle declared, lifting the note to his view. “What if someone sees us? What if?—”

“I came through the back entrance,” Henry interrupted, moving closer with that predatory grace she had come to recognize. “The staff have been compensated handsomely for their discretion.”

“You bribed the servants?” Annabelle’s indignation flared higher. “The sheer presumption?—”

“I ensured their loyalty,” he corrected, his eyes never leaving her face. “There is a difference.”

“There is no difference!” She turned toward the door and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “To think that you are supposed to be a man who follows the rules of etiquettestaunchly!” She sucked in a breath as her chest heaved. “You must leave. Now.”

But Henry’s large frame blocked her path to the door. His presence filled the space between them with an electric tension that made the air itself seem to crackle.

“You have been avoiding me, Annabelle,” he said, his voice carrying an edge that made her breath catch.

She did not want to feel that way. Not in this moment. So, she lashed out.

“So what if I have?” The words emerged more sharply than she had intended. “I told you before—I will not be some summer distraction.”

“And why are we still debating that?” His laugh was harsh and devoid of humor. “After everything I told you that night?”

“Words spoken in passion mean nothing,” Annabelle shot back, though something in his expression made her certainty waver. “Men say all manner of things when they’re?—”

“When they’re what?” His voice dropped to a breathy whisper as he stepped closer. “When they’re consumed by a woman who drives them to distraction? When they can think of nothing else?”

“Stop.” She lifted her chin even as her heart hammered against her ribs. “Your Grace, you have to stop. Please, just go. I can’t see you?—”

“I will not be ignored, Annabelle,” Henry said. His eyes searched her face with an intensity that made her breath hitch. “You want this just as much as I do. Why are you running now?”

“Because I know what this leads to!” The confession burst from her lips before she could stop it. “I know how this ends, Henry. I’ve seen it before.”

“No, Annabelle. You do not.” His hands rose to frame her face, and his thumbs traced the line of her cheekbones with a tenderness that made her knees weak. “The only thing you’re doing right now is cowering.”

“I am not a coward.”

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