Page 27 of A Fake Courtship with the Duke
“That’s lovely to hear,” she said. “Now, you needn’t worry yourself with that awful cousin of yours.”
Anne nodded, but there was a shred of disappointment. She knew she could never consider the duke a true option for marriage for her. But did it hurt to entertain the thought sometimes, if only silently to herself?
She went downstairs, sensing the anticipation in the air before she reached the open door to the breakfast room. The paper lay on the table, but three pairs of eyes were focused squarely on her. She swallowed, entering the room timidly and taking her seat. Was the scandal sheet truly that bad this time?
Her mother studied her, her eyes filled with questions and her mouth not forming a single one. And her father kept glancing from the paper back to her, making her squirm.I think I should like another lecture instead of this,she thought as her cheeks grew hot. What could the paper say that would make her family so quiet?
Charlotte was the one who finally broke the silence. Her expression, unlike those of their parents, was clearly excited. She reached out and pulled the paper to her, only to press it into Anne’s hands immediately after.
“Sister, look,” she gushed, her eyes sparkling with mischief, much like the Duke’s had the night before. “Everyone is dying to know more about your dance with the Duke last night.”
Anne skimmed the scandal sheet piece, her heart racing as she looked for anything she had done that was unflattering or for which her parents might be upset. But each word in the piece was as kind as the scandal sheets ever were to any noble man or woman, and indeed, only centered around the dance and the pair’s recent interactions. Anne wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. But her parents were still watching her with a guarded wariness that Anne couldn’t understand. Why would they not atleast say something to her about the night before? Even if they were furious?
“I see,” Anne said, testing her voice to see if it worked.
“Well, aren’t you going to tell me all about it?” Charlotte asked, bouncing in her seat. “It was all anyone could talk about last night.”
Anne shrugged. She knew she had to answer carefully until she could explain to Charlotte what was truly happening. She couldn’t mention anything about marriage when they hadn’t even officially begun their fake courtship. But nor could she be too casual about the dance. She wondered if there was a right answer, with as strangely as her parents were behaving.
“It was a very lovely dance,” she said, trying to sound light and carefree, but not telling. “He is very charming and witty, and he said I was a very graceful dancer.”
Her parents looked from her back to one another, and Anne feared she would go mad. After a long, silent exchanged look between the viscount and the viscountess, the silence was finally broken once more.
“Well, in light of these circumstances, perhaps, we can halt the plans for your union to Albert,” her father said.
Anne was grateful to have not touched any food as she knew she would have choked. She knew that was the whole point of her plan with Richard. She just hadn’t expected it to work so quickly.
Knowing that her father would be expecting a reaction and a response, she looked up at him, hoping she didn’t look as terrified as she felt.
“Thank you, Father,” she said.
The viscountess looked at Anne again, and this time Anne understood what she saw in her mother’s eyes. There was a mix of hope and anxiety there, and she even offered Anne the firstsmile she had seen on her mother’s face since she was a child, albeit a very small one.
“This is a very interesting turn of events,” she said, glancing from the scandal sheets and then back to Anne. “And I agree with your father. Should things continue between the Duke of Calder and you, he would make a far better husband for you than your cousin. You just must ensure that you do not squander this unforeseen miracle.”
Anne’s mind was in a whirl. She had been fearful of invoking her parents’ wrath. However, instead they were quite taken with the notion that the Duke of Calder might genuinely find her captivating after merely one dance in their company. She thought back to the things they’d said about how a man of his prestige would surely never take an interest in her. Her emotions were a flurried mess, and she thought she might swoon.
When Charlotte began chattering away happily at the thought of having a duchess for a sister, Anne was more than glad to let her. It was a strange sight, to see her parents not looking at her with nothing but disappointment and disapproval. Even her father offered her a smile of his own, although he didn’t say anything else to her. She wondered if he felt ashamed of the mean things he had said the day before. But deep down, she doubted it.
After breakfast, Anne excused herself as quickly as she reasonably could, anxious to get away from her parents and be alone with her thoughts. She found herself in the drawing room, the glossy keys of the pianoforte inviting her to find peace and comfort there from the morning's overwhelming revelations.
She sat on the freshly polished bench, caressing the keys with reverence. It had been ages since she played, and right then she thought that would be just the thing to quiet her wild thoughts and soothe her rattled nerves. She closed her eyes, pressing the first few notes from the waltz from the night before.She smiled, letting her hands find the chords as she began to play.
Her fingers moved gracefully across the keys, creating a lively tune that filled the room. And as the music flowed, the renewed memory of the waltz with Richard roamed free in her mind. She distinctly remembered the feel of his firm, gloved grip, their synchronized movements, and the undeniable connection that had briefly isolated them from the rest of the ton. And the way he had smiled at her when she laughed could have made anyone think that they had a genuine interest in one another.
Beneath the grand instrument where she sat, she could feel Mischief begin to play around her feet. He pounced at unseen shadows and swatted at the hem of her dress which ruffled and rustled with each tap of her foot on the pianoforte peddles. Anne laughed, shaking her head as she kept playing. She pictured Mischief dancing along to the waltz in a little suit of his own, and soon she was having to force herself to concentrate on the music as she played.
She was vaguely aware of a presence behind her as Mischief untangled himself from the hem and skirt of her dress and meandered out from beneath the bench of the pianoforte. From the smell of the perfume, Anne guessed it was her mother, so she simply kept playing while watching what Mischief was going to do. He had jumped up onto the back of the pianoforte and become very interested in his tail.
She saw what was going to happen too late to stop it. Mischief’s tail flicked, drawing his eyes to it as he balanced precariously beside one of her mother’s prized, unique flower vases that was full of fresh gardenias. He dove for his tail which had ended up curled around the base of the vase. It teetered for a single second before it fell, crashing to the floor with a hollow thud. Anne was relieved that it hadn’t broken, but the flowersand water spilled, narrowly missing the back of the pianoforte. She grabbed the cat with amazing nimbleness, preparing to chastise him in her typical gentle fashion.
“Anne, that cat of yours nearly ruined yet another priceless item,” her mother bellowed.
Anne and Mischief both winced, and Anne held him tightly to her so that he wouldn’t escape and make matters worse. But before either of them could say anything further, the butler rushed into the room.
“The Duke of Calder has arrived to call on Miss Anne,” he said, his voice almost too calm in the echo of her mother’s reprimand.
Every nerve in Anne's body felt electrified. She pushed her disheveled hair back and straightened her dress, attempting to gather her composure. And then, Richard stepped into the room, carrying a bouquet of pink roses. Her favorite flowers.
