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CHAPTER TWO

“ I cannot believe you would do this to me! I tried to have some faith in you — I have asked you countless times to let me approach my courtship for myself, with my wants in mind but you have chosen to disregard all that I have said. And now look — you have ruined me!”

Anna’s mother, Sally Munro, baroness of Hayward, sighed deeply, as though Anna’s plight was nothing more than an inconvenience.

“I have told you, several times already. It was never my intention to put you in a compromising situation! I only wished for the Duke to get to know you in a private setting. I expected that you would grow closer and he might be interested in you. While this outcome might have not been ideal, it worked out perfectly! A man of his status will have no choice but to take responsibility and ask for your hand!”

Anna stared at her mother, disappointed and disgusted.

“Can you hear yourself, Mother? You had me locked in a dark room with a strange man. What if he hurt me? Or worse? And what if you are wrong? What if he doesn’t care about his reputation and refuses to marry me?

All of this will be for naught because you have chosen to want more than you already have! ”

Sally looked offended and she stepped closer to Anna.

“I am doing this for us. For the sake of our family. You think too small and want too little! I tried to respect that which is why I wanted you to meet the Duke first and introduce yourself, away from all those attention-seeking vultures. I didn’t want you to be found out the way you were.

But perhaps we should see it as a blessing.

We are deserving of much more than we have!

You know that. And now, you might have gotten us closer to our goal. ”

“Your goal, you mean. This has never been about me. You have never listened to what I want, what it is I truly dream of having in a marriage. All you’ve ever cared for is yourself —”

“Enough,” Anna’s father Percival Munro, Baron of Hayward, cleared his throat as he stepped closer towards them. “We have only just arrived home. Perhaps we should rest now and discuss this further later.”

“Not until Anna understands that we have only her best interests at heart. All I’ve ever done was try to help you —”

“But ruining my reputation? Our reputation? Because I do not know if you have realized this yet – if things had gone awry, our family could have been destroyed. Not to mention the fact that you also endangered me as well. You do not understand what my best interests are, Mother. Because you’ve never listened to me anyway. ”

With a frustrated sigh, Anna walked away before her mother could respond.

The walk to her room gave her time to reflect on all she had endured at the hands of her parents.

She had suspected for quite some time that she had no control over her life.

Even as a child, all the interests and hobbies she had taken up were chosen by her mother who stopped her from doing anything she might have liked.

Anna had hoped that as an adult, she would gain some sense of freedom, but now her mother was willing to go as far as risking her whole life on the basis of her own aspirations.

If the tides were to completely go against them, Anna could be completely ruined and end up as a spinster for the rest of her life, depriving her of the peaceful, loving home she had always dreamed of.

Things were less constricting when Leah was still around. She was their success at perfection, the one who raised no questions whenever they instructed her, the very picture of their dreams come true.

Her marriage to a Marquess only seemed to serve as proof that Sally and Percival were right in their ways. For months since her sister’s wedding, all she had heard was how important it was that Anna marry a man of even higher social status than her brother-in-law.

Anna had voiced, multiple times, that she did not need anything that came along with a high-standing man — she certainly wouldn’t put it above love and respect. But each time, her protests fell on deaf ears and now her mother had gone as far as to anger a Duke.

She had no idea that he had such a high rank. After they were found, he had wordlessly slipped past the crowd of people, ignoring everyone, including her.

Her mother had tried to speak to him but her face was colored with shame as she approached Anna after he walked away without looking in her direction, although the humility didn’t last very long, as Sally was soon praising Anna for doing better than she had expected.

Then the people around them began to mumble and murmur,

“Was that the Duke of Morland?”

“I believe it was! How shocking, to find him trifling with a young maiden in the dark.”

“You know what they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. With his haughty, prideful attitude and stance on propriety, I must say, I am not surprised to see the duke finally caught in the act!”

For a moment, Anna had stood there as the realization dawned on her.

A duke. It had been a duke. She had spoken to him so disrespectfully and now her mother had gone as far as to trap him in a scandal with her.

“Why does she not understand that this has gone too far? Why are her desires more important than my well-being? Than my needs and wants?” Anna asked herself quietly, blinking back tears of frustration.

No matter what, she could not see this situation resolving easily. Not when they were dealing with a Duke. His attitude was telling that he was the worst person to make as an enemy and his words to her said that he might not care for propriety.

So, if he did not propose to her, her life and name were ruined. No man would ever look at her again, not when the whole ton knew by now that she was locked in a room with a man. If she was disliked before, she must be abhorred now.

If he did propose…

Anna shook her head, unwilling to think about it.

She slipped beneath her covers and squeezed her eyes shut.

“I wish this nightmare would end soon,” she muttered quietly, her chest feeling heavy with unease and discomfort.

But as she beckoned sleep to find her, she recalled how the duke had touched her, and she shivered, her body recalling the warmth that had radiated from his body and the feel of his breath against her ear.

One way or another, she had been ruined by this man.

Morning greeted Anna with a headache.

She could tell by how bright the rays of sunshine streaming into her room through the windows that she had woken up later than usual. Thoughts of what had transpired the day before haunted her well into the night, preventing her from falling asleep.

“My goodness,” she groaned as she sat on the bed.

Anna made her way around her room moments later, trying to get ready for the day that lay ahead of her, working up some courage to speak with her parents about their recent behavior.

“What happened yesterday was dangerous. Surely, they understand as much. Perhaps if I stand my ground, they will understand my feelings… I hope.” She said to herself quietly as she walked downstairs.

Right into a flurry of maids walking about in a hurry.

“Pardon me, Miss,” one of them curtsied apologetically before continuing on her way, leaving Anna in her haze of confusion.

She looked around, noticing that it seemed as though the whole house was bustling with activity, with maids and valets running about.

“Ah, darling! You have finally woken up! I was worried we would have to call the physician to check on your health.” Sally beamed, looking far too happy for the time of the day.

“I-I’m sorry,” Anna said, unsure of what she was apologizing for. “I couldn’t sleep much last night, but – what is going on?”

Sally clapped her hands with glee as her husband joined them by her side.

“I have the most wonderful news! The duke was here earlier to ask for your hand! We agreed and you will be wed by the end of the week!” the baroness announced.

It felt as though a bucket of cold water had poured over Anna’s head.

“W-What do you mean? That’s –”

“He was here first thing in the morning. A man of honor, that one. I was already thinking I might have to march down to his dwelling to do the right thing but it would seem he already had an idea of what that is and had no problem fulfilling his duties. He wanted the wedding to happen as soon as possible and it was a perfect idea – as we do not want people talking about your honor and reputation –”

“Father, stop,” Anna said in a cold tone, cutting her father off.

Percival stared at her, his brows pinched together in confusion as she tried to gather her wits, unable to breathe in deeply no matter how hard she tried because her lungs felt heavy.

“Please,” she gasped. “Please tell me you jest. You didn’t – you did not accept his proposal. You did not arrange my marriage, just as you had for Leah.”

“Of course we did! What else was there to do? He is a duke! This is even better than we could have ever imagined! We did not even need to prey on his conscience. He showed up on his own accord to do what’s right.

It would seem that I made the right call after all. ” Sally said, raising her head proudly.

It saddened and horrified Anna to no end how her parents truly believed that they had done nothing wrong.

“Why would you think this is right? You do not know who that man is – what sort of person he is, besides his title. How could you stand to give me away so easily?” Anna asked, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

Percival sighed and waved Sally forward, as though he couldn’t be bothered to address his daughter’s concerns.

“Darling,” Anna’s mother smiled placatingly, stepping forward, “Your sister also had a marriage based on mutual agreement and necessity. And things worked out perfectly for her. You have no reason to worry or fear. You are so close to spinsterhood, Anna. You haven’t had many men look your way all season.

This is the best thing that could happen to you because, at the end of the week, you will have a husband! ”