Page 61 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
She couldn’t believe that he truly could not comprehend the simple fact that she was jealous.Perhaps it is for the better,she thought. This had to be proof that emotions had never even crossed his mind in this game that they were playing.
“Yes,” she said more determinedly. “She wishes to speak to you. I… do not.”
That was a shameless lie, but she would rather die than tell him what lay in her heart. Ashamed and hurt, all she wanted right now was to be alone.
“I do not believe that,” he said softly, refusing to raise his voice to match hers. Instead, he lowered his own little by little. As he did so, he also took small, barely perceptible steps toward her.
“You may believe what you wish,” she spat, on the verge of tears. Everything was threatening to crumble around her.
The little dignity she had left would be swept away and her shame laid bare for the world to see. As if that were not enough, Alexander was openly conversing with Lady Genevieve, a lady who had been competing for his advances for longer than Anna would be able to count. It was all too much, and she would crumble sooner or later. She preferred to have it happen at a solitary moment and not in front of him, but she was having less and less control of her own emotions.
“Anna,” he spoke softly, tenderly even, “there is nothing going on between Lady Genevieve and me. You know that.”
She swallowed heavily, but this time, she did not spit back at him venomously. The monster was slowly calming itself down, and it was all because Alexander had the patience to speak to her with a gentle hand.
“How am I supposed to know that?” Anna asked, feeling that her voice might break at any moment.
He shook his head at her somehow incredulously. “Lady Genevieve is utterly irrelevant, and she is the last thing I wish to discuss right now. There are much more important things to look into.”
Anna took a step back. “What do you mean?”
Doubts seized her once again. What was he referring to? Was he talking about the solicitor blackmailing her? Did he know anything about that? Jealousy fueled this suspicion even more, and now, her entire body was trembling with fear.
No, no, it can’t be.She tried to reason with herself. Alexander would never do anything to hurt her. Never. She trusted him. She knew him. If word had gotten out regarding their affair, he would be as hurt by the aftermath as she.You know this is not true,that treacherous little voice reminded her. Women always bore the brunt of all such situations, and this would probably be no different.
Despite fear and jealousy poisoning her mind, her heart remained steadfast in its belief that Alexander would never do something as wicked as blackmail her. It could not be him. Not in a million years.
Alexander looked around as if in an effort to assure himself that they were alone, that there were no curious ears eavesdropping on their conversation. Once he was satisfied, he locked eyes with Anna once again. He seemed hesitant to reveal what he knew, and this only made her more concerned, more frightened.
“What is it, Alexander?” she asked, her voice trembling. She knew now that things were far more serious than Lady Genevieve’s desire to become his wife at any cost.
“The reason why I sent you that note, to stay away from me and my home, was to try and keep you safe from what was going on, Anna,” he explained. Only the more he spoke, the more confused she was becoming, until, finally, he revealed the truth.
“I am being blackmailed by a man named Sir Rupert Harland, who claims that he knows everything that has been happening between us.” He paused for a moment, mustering the courage and the strength to continue. “He demands money and land in exchange for his silence.”
Anna gasped, pressing her hand to her lips. But that was a futile effort, because she had no voice. She lost it the moment she heard the truth. The earth around her was spinning faster and faster, and she needed to sit down. Before she knew what was happening, she felt Alexander’s strong arms around her, keeping her propped up.
“Anna?” His voice was trying to reach her, but it sounded as if he were too far away, lost in a deep, dark cave, and she wasn’t able to find him and bring him back to the surface. “Anna, are you all right?”
She was far from all right. She doubted that she would ever be all right again.
***
Everything about this was hazardous. He was with Anna in a secluded section of the garden, with his arms around her, preventing her from falling down as she could barely keep herself standing. She needed to go home so that she could be tended to.
But for the time being, he was the only person who could do that—and that was why, regardless of the perils that surrounded their current situation, he refused to release her from his embrace until she could at least stand on her own two feet.
“Anna?” he whispered her name once again, hoping she would hear him this time. “Can you hear me?”
She inhaled deeply, blinking heavily with those long eyelashes. Once she gazed at him again, it seemed she did not recognize him at first. A few more blinks rectified that.
“Alexander?” she said weakly. “I… I’m all right.” She nodded, looking about. At that moment, she noticed a bench and pointed at it. “Set me down there, please.”
He immediately did as she bid him. Several moments later, they were seated on a marble bench, hidden from plain sight. However, they were still not safe. And he worried about her much more than he worried about himself.
“A solicitor came to see me as well,” she told him, shocking him to his very core. She was looking down at her hands, cracking her fingers nervously. Every time she paused, she would bite her lower lip without realizing that she was doing it. He wanted to grab her and tell her that everything would be all right, but how could he promise her something he wasn’t certain of himself?
“What did he tell you?” he asked cautiously, his voice down to a whisper now. The situation had become even more perilous, but he had to find out who this solicitor was and what he wanted of Anna.
