Page 68 of A Duke's Sinful Bargain
As she was absorbing all of these shocking revelations, Anna felt a mixture of all sorts of emotions. There was surprise, betrayal and a lingering sense of disbelief. Secrets had finally been exposed. Alexander had kept his word. But Anna could not have imagined that the tangled web of this betrayal went so deep as to involve Lady Genevieve, of all people.
“I am giving you one last chance to admit to all of this, Lady Genevieve.” Alexander’s words pulled Anna out of the tangled web of her own thoughts. She found herself once again in the parlor, standing by his side, opposing the two people who had conspired to make their lives a living hell.
“I do not care one bit about this scoundrel,” Alexander continued. “He will get what he deserves. But you… you are a lady. A lady who has broken her mother’s heart by behaving like the most vile of criminals.”
“No, no! That’s not true!” Lady Genevieve finally broke down. She turned her attention to Anna. “This is all your fault! You don’t deserve him! What could he possibly see in a lame widow?”
Anna had been silent up until that moment, although her own rage had been simmering just beneath the surface. Lady Genevieve’s harsh words pushed her over the edge, and she knew she could not be silent any longer. Indignantly, she stood tall, delivering her words with a measured yet cutting cadence.
“Your actions reek of jealousy.” Anna spoke slowly and calmly, surprising even herself. “They are a pathetic attempt at tarnishing what you cannot possess, what you always wanted but knew would never be yours. Your desperation is as transparent as your deceit, and by the time you leave this parlor, I will make sure that everyone knows what you have done.”
Lady Genevieve was stung by these accusations, and she immediately retorted with fiery determination. “Jealousy? Who are you to speak to me of jealousy? Do you know what it feels like to be invisible to the only man you have ever loved? Do you?”
Anna shook her head. “Unrequited love does not provide you with an excuse to ruin other people’s lives.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want!” Lady Genevieve was now shouting, having completely lost control of herself. “And I will! I will not let any of you treat me in this manner! I will expose the truth, and you and your precious duke will not escape unscathed. Thetonwill revel in the scandal and your lofty reputations will crumble like a house of cards!”
Each word cut as deep as a knife, and despite the truth being out, Lady Genevieve still had the power to destroy their lives. It seemed Sir Rupert had completely withdrawn, leaving Lady Genevieve to do the talking for them both.
A coward,Anna thought. It seemed it was Lady Genevieve of whom they should be scared. The mad fire in her eyes assured them all that she meant every word of what she said. The desperation in her voice resonated with the intensity of all her conflicting emotions.
Caught in this crossfire, Anna couldn’t help but reflect on the complexities of love. A pang of sympathy emerged within her. Lady Genevieve’s desperation, born from unrequited love, revealed a vulnerability that Anna could not completely ignore, no matter how hard she tried. After all, she too had feared that her love would be the same, projected at a man who wanted nothing to do with her after the expiration of the designated three months.
A momentary softening shifted Anna’s perception until she almost felt sorry for the woman standing across from her.
***
Alexander had wanted to interfere the moment the two ladies began their heated exchange, but he could see that Anna needed this closure for her own sake. He could not take it away from her, no matter how desperately he wanted to execute the second, more important part of his plan.
So he tried to remain patient for as long as possible, observing the escalating tension with a furrowed brow. When he was unable to remain a passive observer any longer, he stepped forward, reminding the two ladies that they were not alone.
“Before you decide to share the truth, as you call it, with the rest of the world, Lady Genevieve, there is something else you should know,” Alexander said, his presence commanding attention.
The room instantly fell into a hushed silence as he took a deep breath, preparing for a reveal that had been his plan all along. He’d thought that, when the time came for it, he would be hesitant, that he would be afraid to speak. But the truth was exactly the opposite. He could not wait to share his plan with everyone, especially Anna.
“What is it?” Lady Genevieve asked, her expression a mix of shock and anticipation. But his question would not be aimed at her. In fact, she was here only because of her involvement with Sir Rupert and her treacherous desire to reveal everything to theton. Otherwise, her opinion was irrelevant to him. He hoped she knew that much.
“Patience, Lady Genevieve.” He toyed with her just like she had been toying with him and Anna for the past several weeks. He wanted to return the favor, and it felt good. “All good things to those who wait.”
He inhaled deeply. He was in a good mood. He still wanted to give them both the opportunity to go away, to disappear and leave him and Anna alone forever. He wanted to do the next part in privacy, without any witnesses. That would have made it perfect.
“I have never cared for you, Lady Genevieve,” Alexander clarified what had always been painfully clear. “Not in the sense you would like me to. I hate to see what you have become, this bitter version of the happy child you used to be. Is this truly the path you wish to take?”
Lady Genevieve swallowed heavily, her eyes shooting poison arrows at both him and Anna. There was no changing her mind. If he let her go, the entiretonwould know by the following day what had transpired between him and Anna.
Not that any of it would matter, because his mind had already been made up. In fact, his heart had made this decision the moment he laid his eyes on Anna. His heart knew she was the one. But he needed reassurance. Now, he had it. And he would never let her go.
“There is a reason I have called all of you here,” he revealed, speaking slowly, as if taking a great effort in selecting each word carefully. “I wanted to prove to you that scheming machinations always end in disaster, but not for those against whom they were set—rather, for those who set them in motion themselves.”
Alexander cleared his throat a little. That sounded a bit more confusing than he’d wanted it to. The words as gotten a bit jumbled up in his mind, which was understandable. After all, he had never asked a woman to marry him, especially not in front of his worst enemies. In fact, if someone had told him this was what his marriage proposal would look like, he would have told them they were stark raving mad. And yet… there they all were.
The parlor hung in suspense, collective breaths all held in unison, waiting for Alexander’s revelation. He smiled, locking his gaze with Anna’s. There was so much love and tenderness he could see in her eyes, regardless of the pain and anguish he had put her through that afternoon.
“It would seem that the timing is perfect to disclose my plan,” he said, turning his entire body to face Anna and proceeding to take her hand into his own. Hers trembled slightly. He squeezed it reassuringly. He wondered if she could anticipate what he was going to ask, or if it would be a complete surprise. Either of the two would be fine, as long as the answer was a resounding yes.
“Lady Anna Ravenscroft,” he spoke her full name, accentuating the solemnity of the moment, “will you make me the happiest man on earth by doing me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Chapter 36
