Page 39 of Her Wicked Duke
But Anne snatched the letter from his hands. She did not need to hear it in his voice, not when she had foolishly suspected he was the one sending her the letters before.
With shaky fingers, she opened the letter and read it, her chest tightening.
My beautiful Anne,
And I must say, you dolook beautiful tonight. That pink dress makes you look like a petal fallen from one of the cherry blossoms outside. It seems the Hatsons do enjoy cherry blossoms, don’t they?
Anne whimpered, clutching the neckline of her pink dress. She felt so vulnerable, so exposed. Alexander took her hand, entwining their fingers, and she felt herself relax the slightest bit.
Perhaps we could have our own cherry blossom orchard one day, Anne. What do you think? Would that make you happy? I would promise you the world if I could. I do feel sorry for all these suitors, for I will have to eliminate them somehow. But do not fear, my dear Anne, I will work my way toward you soon enough.
As for if we’ve danced yet, as I am sure you’re wondering, I will leave that up to you to decide. Maybe we have. Maybe Iam biding my time. Maybe I am enjoying laughing at the men who think they have a chance with you. Maybe I am laughing at you for being oblivious to who I am. Perhaps we spoke and you enjoyed it.
Enjoy thinking about me, Anne. You consume my every thought. It is only fair, is it not?
Ever yours,
The Man Who Holds Your Heart.
Anne slid down the wall, her whole body tremoring. He had begun to twist her mind in the worst way. Now, she would never know if shehaddanced with her stalker or not. He was taunting her in the way he knew would work.
Who had she danced with tonight? She remembered faces, but what about those she hadn’t danced with?
“I never noticed anybody overly suspicious,” Alexander said, sounding a little guilty.
“Perhaps if you hadn’t been dancing with the other women and focused on me, danced withme, you may have noticed some more.”
She should not have snapped at him, but she did not know what else to do with her fear.
“Anne, I would like to take you home,” Alexander said.
Not knowing what else to do, only knowing she could not bear to go back into that ballroom, Anne stood back up and let Alexander take her home. Once in the carriage, she tried to calm her nerves to no avail.
By the time they arrived at Angleton Estate, she was positively a wreck.
“Goodnight, Anne,” Alexander said.
“Goodnight, Alexander,” she returned, but her mind was already far away, unfocused, feeling invisible eyes on her back.
Two days later, with no further letters, as the most recent one had been enough to scare her for now, Anne promenaded with Alexander.
They walked through a very public park, and Anne mostly hid behind a parasol and stayed close to him.
She had not received visitors the day after her sister’s ball, not able to keep up with the mind games and wondering which of her visitors was her stalker. She had told her parents she had a headache. By the time they expected to receive suitors, she’d told them she was meeting Alexander.
And wasn’t that what they wished for, anyway?
“I have reached a decision, Anne,” Alexander announced. “One that is beneficial for both of us, and I hope you will agree.”
“What is it?”
“I wish to openly court you.”
The words landed with as much weight as she knew he would want them to. She halted in her tracks before he pulled her along.
“You asked me to do so, did you not? Courting you openly will allow me to be close enough to you to watch your admirers. At best, the stalker will be discouraged and will back off.”
“And how does this benefit you?”
