Page 50 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
“Yes, Your Grace.” Tom immediately recognized the hint. He withdrew from the study, leaving Alexander alone with no solution to his troubles, other than the determination to face any challenges that lay ahead, guided by the unwavering strength of his desire to protect Anna at all cost.
Chapter 26
It had been only a day after the picnic, but Alexander had said he would send her a note quickly. That was why she was not surprised to have one delivered to her that afternoon, as she sat in the quiet solitude of her bedchamber. Eliza had brought it, but Anna quickly dismissed her, as it was rather late already and she wanted to relish the contents of the letter alone.
Her trembling fingers caressed the note as if it held the very source of her happiness. In a way, it did. His words and his companionship had brought her more joy in these past several weeks than she had felt in her entire life. She dared not even contemplate what would happen at the expiration of those three months.
Do not think about that now,she reminded herself. That was a bridge to be crossed at a later point. Now, she would drink in his words eagerly. However, her eyes widened with surprise as she read the contents.
Do not visit my residence until further notice. There are matters that require my attention, and it is in the best interest of us both that you refrain from coming to see me until I can assure your safety and well-being.
Anna frowned upon reading it.Do not visit my residence until further notice.She read it again, then once again. But every time, it said the same. There was no mistake about it. She had not misread it. He was instructing her to keep her distance from him. The letter cast a shadow over her world, filling her with dread and unease, and a million frightening questions started to form in the thick mist of her mind.
Why would he say that? Why the need for such a thing, when they had just started to become close? She couldn’t understand. But the words on the page were curt, devoid of any explanation that might have driven him to these lengths.
There were no details, no matter how many times she chose to reread the whole thing. She didn’t want to, but hope forced her, and every time she did so, her heart ached that nothing in the letter had changed. She was being banished from the confines of his home, and with that, his company.
She immediately thought that she must have done something to offend him. During the picnic? Was she too forward? Was she too open with him? Did she laugh in a manner that displeased him? She frowned at herself.
Stop it,that little voice of reason managed to find its way through the fog of her doubts and suspicions. She was behaving as she would usually behave. She did not make any false pretenses. She was absolutely certain of that.
Then she started thinking in a different direction. Perhaps there was truly some hidden danger that she was unaware of? Her eyes widened with shock at the next question. Had someone found out about their arrangement?
No, no.She shook her head at herself.That can’t be. We were careful.
Only, she didn’t manage to convince herself. She hastily folded the letter and set it aside.Out of sight, out of mind.Only it didn’t work like that. Just because it was out of sight didn’t meant it was out of mind. On the contrary, it was the only thing she could think about.
Fear reappeared instantly. She would recognize that cold talon anywhere. A gnawing sense of loneliness was eating up at her very soul as she grappled with Alexander’s message. Was this the beginning of the end?
There was no point in talking to herself silently. She needed someone to discuss this with and who better than Eliza. Several minutes later, her friend joined Anna in her bed chamber, and Anna quickly poured out her confusion and distress to her.
“I don’t understand it, Eliza,” Anna confessed. “What would have prompted him to say that? Three months have not yet expired.”
The truth was, Anna was not looking forward to the end of those three months. She hoped they would find their way to each other in a different manner, around their arrangement, but this letter proved it was exactly the opposite. Instead of coming together, they were being pulled apart by something she was not even aware of. The fear of the unknown was worse than any truth could be.
At that moment, Anna’s eyes fell on Eliza’s face. Anna knew her friend well enough to know when Eliza was preventing herself from speaking. “What is it, Eliza?” she wanted to know. “Tell me.”
Eliza locked eyes with her, but she still wasn’t speaking. It was as if she was in search of the right words. “Perhaps, my lady, the explanation is simpler than we think.”
Anna frowned. She did not think it was simple at all. “What doyouthink is that explanation?”
Eliza shrugged cautiously. “Perhaps this sudden request for distance simply has to do with him being a single man of noble birth. Such men usually prioritize the search for a suitable match.”
Anna’s nostrils flared. Did Eliza think Anna was not a suitable match for Alexander? Every fiber of her being wished to scream that question, but she prevented herself from doing so. Instead, she kept listening, at the same time keeping her composure.
“Who would he consider a suitable match?” Anna wondered, more to herself than to Eliza. The image of Lady Genevieve immediately popped to mind. Anna quickly banished it, refusing to accept that someone like Lady Genevieve, with her scheming nature, would be a better match for Alexander. Never.
“I don’t know,” Eliza took it upon herself to respond. “Perhaps someone who was not married before. Someone who can fulfill the important duty of producing an heir to carry on the family line.”
Anna’s heart sank at Eliza’s words. The truth was, she had never considered it before, the thought that Alexander’s affections might be turned elsewhere, toward some other lady who could offer him the promise of an heir. Why could she not do the same for him? Refusal to accept this raged on inside of her.
“If this was really the reason behind all this, I don’t see why he wouldn’t just talk to me about it?” Anna was slowly losing control of her emotions.
