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CHAPTER FIVE

“ C onfound it,” Julian grunted into his pillow as a child’s scream pierced the once-silent night air.

He had pondered about the little boy for hours into the night before he finally managed to fall asleep. Given how quickly he returned to the estate and the stressful conversation he’d had with his wife, he had been so exhausted, that he could not even eat dinner.

And yet, he couldn’t even rest in peace in his own home.

Julian tried to ignore the cries, but they seemed to be getting louder and all attempts to go back to sleep were futile.

“Oh, for the love of –” he grunted rising out of his bed.

He marched out of his bed and down the hall, heading to the duchess’ wing where he had been told a nursery had been set up for the child. It was ridiculous that such a small creature could make so much noise that could travel so far as to disturb his night’s rest.

It also irritated him how intent his wife was on punishing him for a sin he did not commit. He had expressly told her to care for the child, and yet the brat was throwing a tantrum over God knows what at such a late hour.

When he arrived at the nursery, the door was already ajar, so he pushed it open fully and met with the sight of the duchess cradling the boy in her arms gently.

He barely noticed that it had fallen silent as she carefully set him back in his bassinet, folding his arms as he demanded,

“What are you doing? I told you to care for the child appropriately, and yet you cannot seem to manage that singular task? How could you let him cry so loudly he woke me up –”

“Shh!” Anna hissed in a quiet tone. “Be quiet and get out of this room. Now.”

Heat flared in Julian’s veins, igniting rage within him. This woman seemed to have forgotten herself far too quickly, likely because of his absence. And he would have to remind her that no one could talk to him so rudely and get away with him.

“How dare you? Just who do you think you are? You forget, wife, this is still my house. No matter how much work has been done to change its appearance, it would not change the fact that the deed is still in my name. It would not take much to take it away from you and strip you of all that you have, leaving you to fend for yourself on the streets.”

Anna stared at him incredulously.

“You are so incredibly childish. Even more so than the actual child you ‘told me to care for’ – as though it is a simple task you can manage. You have quite the nerve to act as though we are not in this situation because of you!” she said in a hushed tone, pointing at him.

“Still?! You still blame me for this? I told you, that child is not mine. I had no mistresses – I have none. I do not know what sort of life you lived in our months apart, but do not make baseless assumptions about what you do not know,” He snapped.

“I am amazed that you expect me to believe your word. Do you think so little of me? You expect me to blindly trust you, after everything? You speak of respect, but you have not once respected me or my place here. Do not ask for favors you are not entitled to.” She said to him in the same tone, only quieter.

Rage was flowing freely within him now and he stepped toward her,

“You are really far too bold for –”

The little boy groaned and they flinched, both of them staring at each other silently. Julian kept his eyes on Anna, worried the child might start crying again. Thankfully, he merely fussed around for a moment and continued to sleep.

Anna pointed at the door and made a shooing motion and this time, he heeded her words, turning around to leave the room, with her directly behind him. Once they were outside and the door had been secured, Julian faced his wife once more.

“I do not want to argue with you. Not at this hour, when Nicholas or the rest of the staff could be awoken due to all the fuss. Nothing we say now matters more than how to care for this child while he is in our care. I can only do so much. We will need to hire a nursemaid for him, as soon as possible,” Anna told him calmly.

Julian could not deny that was right, but he was distracted by the sight of her, now that she was so close to him.

In the nursery, he had been blinded by his anger to notice that she had nothing but her nightgown on.

But with only a few meters of distance between them at that moment, he could notice how gently the silk hung over her curves, the lacy neckline dipping low enough to give him a teasing view of her cleavage.

“Your Grace?” she called, pulling his attention back to the present.

“Hmm?” he blinked and cleared his throat, raising his gaze back to her face.

“The nursemaid?”

“Ah – yes. Fine. I will look into it first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, do what you can to keep him comfortable. What happened tonight should not repeat itself,” he warned, trailing off slightly as his eyes couldn’t help but wander down her body again.

The pale skin of her arms and legs seemed to glow beneath the low lights in the hallway, and he absentmindedly wondered if she felt as warm as she looked.

Anna, confused by his silence followed his gaze down, her cheeks filling up with heat when she realized what was happening.

Julian, feeling caught like a child with his hand in a cookie jar, cleared his throat and ripped his eyes away from her form.

“Henceforth, wear less indecent nightgowns. It is not a good look for someone of your title to… expose so much of yourself.”

Anna exhaled deeply, clearly exasperated.

“Whose disappointment might I be risking? This is my home and I shall dress however I please.”

This woman and her need to challenge me at every turn , Julian groaned to himself, stepping towards her and leaning forward to whisper in her ear, his tone low and menacing.

“If you wear this gown again, I will not hesitate to rip it off of your body.”

Anna inhaled sharply, her chest heaving as her breathing sped and Julian smirked, feeling victorious over how easily he could affect her. With her so close, he could see how her cheeks filled with color, the staining red dropping as far as down her neck.

Suddenly, he was tempted to see how far the flush would go, wondered what she would look like, writhing beneath him, eyes wide and lips slack with pleasure.

Without realizing it, he had reached out for her neck, his eyes locked on hers. But, he caught himself before he could touch her, clenching his hand into a fist before pulling away.

“Good night, duchess,” he muttered, turning away and returning to his room.

Anna’s heartbeat continued to echo in her ears, long after she had gone back to her own bedroom.

She was already feeling drained from having to cater to Nicholas so late at night, but arguing with her husband took even more of her strength.

He was just so… frustrating. He spoke thoughtlessly and demanded so much from her without understanding that he was in no place to do so.

How dare he speak to her as though she was beneath him? How could he sound so ungrateful after what she was putting up with, thanks to him and his infidelity?

And… why was he looking at her like that?

As though he was moments away from swallowing her whole?

Her skin still burned as though his gaze had was still fixed on her and something about the look in his eyes had filled her with both terror and strangely… anticipation.

When he had reached for her neck… she had considered letting him, wondering what his touch would feel like against her skin.

“I must have taken leave of my senses, truly,” Anna muttered to herself as she pulled her covers over her head. “I am likely just too exhausted from taking care of Nicholas for hours. Some sleep ought to fix whatever is wrong with me.”

With determination, she squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to rest.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to forget the disappointment she had felt when her husband had pulled away and left her standing alone in the hallway.

“We will need a nursemaid for the child. One with experience who can be trusted to watch over the child and behave rightly within the estate and outside. We need to be discreet about our search – we do not need anyone hearing about… the current circumstances and making up stories as they wish. Try to find a suitable candidate as soon as possible,” Julian said to the butler.

Ernest nodded sagely. “Very well, Your Grace. I shall begin the search immediately. Breakfast has been served in the dining hall if you are ready to take your meal.”

“All right,” Julian nodded, rising from behind his desk.

As he left his study and walked in the direction of the dining hall, he could not help the strange itch of anticipation brewing beneath his skin.

He had thought of his wife, a lot more than he was willing to admit even to himself after they had gone their separate ways the night before. He had not been able to snuff out the twinge of regret that had echoed in his chest as he pulled away from her.

He blamed it on her revealing nightgown that had haunted him, even when he had finally managed to fall asleep. It was ridiculous, how annoying she was with her need to fight him on everything, yet he could not seem to ignore her completely.

Julian arrived at the dining hall, surprised to find that although the table had been set for two, he was the only one who was ready for breakfast.

“Is the duchess still asleep?” he had asked a maid who came forward to serve him.

She glanced over her shoulder nervously, before shaking her head.

“No, Your Grace.”

The duke shrugged, assuming that she was perhaps running a little late and might eventually arrive, settling down to eat his own meal.

But Anna never came down for breakfast.

As Julian wiped the corners of his lips, he could not help but stare at the empty spot that had been set up for her, completely untouched.

“Where is the duchess?” he voiced without thinking.

“With little Nicholas, Your Grace.” The maid who had served him replied carefully.

“Who?”