Page 43 of Corrupting his Duchess
That caught him. He turned to her, with intensity. “You’re not?”
Anna shook her head, still not meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry for the consequences. For how it complicates things. But the kiss itself… no.”
He let out a slow breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Neither am I.”
Now she looked at him. Her gaze wasn’t flirtatious or coy…it was steady, unflinching.
“It wasn’t planned,” she said. “I didn’t come to seduce you.”
“I know.”
“I just… wanted to be seen. For once. For myself. I thought I could say all I needed to say without…”
“Losing yourself?” he said quietly.
Anna could only nod, a dull ache hammered in her ribs. Anna nodded, slowly. “Yes.”
A moment passed.
Then, she added, almost to herself, “But I suppose I did lose something.”
Henry’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I let you see a piece of me I don’t usually show. And I didn’t know if I regretted it. Until now.”
He leaned forward slightly. “And now?”
She glanced at him, then away again. “Now I’m wondering what you saw. Whether you think I’m foolish.”
“I think,” he said, voice low, “you’re more than you let most people guess. And I don’t think I’ve earned the right to see that part of you. Not yet.”
Anna tilted her head, watching him carefully. “That sounds remarkably like humility.”
He smiled faintly. “Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation.”
She huffed a soft laugh, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You don’t need to lie to charm me, Your Grace. I’ve heard what you do to women. I know how easy it is for you to… play the part.”
“I’m not playing.”
That gave her pause.
He continued, more gently, “You think I don't know what it’s like to wear a mask? To give people what they expect and hide what you’d rather not name?”
Anna’s expression softened, something caught in her throat.
“I came here,” she admitted, “because I wanted to pretend, for a little while, that I could be something other than someone’s solution to a debt or alliance.”
Henry didn’t move. “And did it help?”
“A little,” she said. Then, after a beat, “Until the world reminded me otherwise.”
He looked at her for a long time. “Let it remind you all it wants. I won’t.”
That drew her eyes back to his. This time, she didn’t look away.
A knock sounded faintly at the far door, distant voices trailing down the corridor.
Anna stood. “I should go.”
