Page 6 of Corrupting his Duchess (A Duke’s Undoing #1)

“ Y ou’ve been awfully quiet, Anna,” Gretchen said, swirling her glass.

The morning had started rather slowly, Anna sat with her friends in the sunlit morning room, their needles flashing as they embroidered delicate patterns onto muslin.

A few ladies read quietly by the windows, their soft voices occasionally breaking the silence as they shared passages aloud.

Outside, the sound of hooves drifted in from the lane where several gentlemen had gone out riding, while others lingered in the library, deep in conversation over the day’s news. ”

“I’m just enjoying the morning.” Anna replied lightly, eyeing her discarded needlework.

“Enjoying it in silence?” Gretchen teased. “That’s new.”

“Maybe she’s thinking deep thoughts,” Sophia added, nudging Anna.

“Or plotting something,” Julia said with a sly grin.

“Ladies,” Nathaniel’s voice broke in as he strolled over, “conspiring without me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Your Grace,” Natalie said sweetly.

“I doubt I’d believe that,” Nathaniel replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Then don’t,” Gretchen said coolly.

“I won’t.” He smirked and sauntered out.

Anna stood, smoothing her skirt. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Where are you off to?” Julia asked.

“Just… needing a moment,” Anna said with a faint smile.

“Don’t disappear for too long,” Sophia called after her.

She slipped down the corridor and found the drawing room unoccupied. The pianoforte stood near the tall windows, light spilling in warm puddles across the floor. She crossed the room, sat, and lifted the lid.

The notes slipped beneath her fingers, soft and wistful, echoing through the drawing room as sunlight pooled across the keys. Anna’s mind wasn’t on the music. Not really. Every chord, every melody, was only an excuse to replay the moment she couldn’t forget.

Henry’s face, close to hers. His breath, warm and uneven. The way his gaze had dipped to her lips before he’d stepped away, so close, yet not quite.

She struck a wrong note. Grimaced. “Foolish girl,” she muttered under her breath, letting her hands fall into her lap.

“Far from foolish,” came a voice from the doorway.

Anna startled, twisting around and rising to her feet. There he was—Matthew Grayson, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a frown creasing his forehead.

“I wondered how long you’d keep hiding from me,” he drawled, uncrossing his arms and stepping into the room. “Seems I had to follow the music to find you.”

Anna’s fingers tightened around the edge of the piano. “Lord Vaun,” she said carefully, dipping a shallow curtsy. “I was wondering when you would eventually show up,”

His pinched face looked like it would crack if he dared smile. “I almost didn't. But then, I heard you might be…here.”

Anna quickly schooled her features, firmly looking into his piercing green eyes that looked nothing like that of his cousin, the Duke of Yeats Tall, on the thin side, his blond hair neatly parted, his green eyes sharp and cool, Matthew was the very image of calculated propriety.

Not handsome in any devastating sense, but polished, practiced, and watchful, a man who always measured the situation before he spoke.

Matthew stepped closer, his hands clasped deliberately behind his back. “Practicing alone. At a party.”

Anna forced a smile, light but strained. “It’s quieter here.”

“Quieter, yes.” His gaze swept the empty room, sharp and assessing. “But hardly appropriate. I hear you’ve been absent from the gathering for some time.”

“I was hardly gone for so long and besides I needed a reprieve,” she said, glancing at the keys.

“A reprieve.” He tasted the word like it displeased him. “From your obligations?”

“From company,” she replied, her attempt at levity soft, fleeting.

But Matthew didn’t smile. His expression remained unreadable, his tone clipped. “You should not make a habit of vanishing, Lady Anna. People notice.”

Her fingers drifted along the ivory keys. “Let them notice.”

“That’s unwise.” He stepped closer, his shadow stretching over her. “You underestimate how swiftly whispers spread. “That’s unwise.” He stepped closer, his shadow stretching over her. “You underestimate how swiftly whispers spread. Especially when your father left behind more scandal than legacy.”

Anna’s fingers stilled. For a breath, she said nothing, her profile composed, but her gaze fixed on a point beyond Matthew, as if bracing against something cold.

“Must everything be politics, Lord Vaun?”

His brows lifted, coolly. “Everything is politics. Whether you acknowledge it or not.”

She exhaled, weary. “You’ve come to scold me, then?”

“I’ve come,” he said slowly, “because you’ve ignored my last three letters.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to answer?” His voice sharpened slightly. “Too busy for courtesy?”

Her gaze met his, defiant despite the tightness in her chest. “Too busy for pretense.”

A faint flicker crossed his face, quickly suppressed. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Lady Ana. You know how this ends.”

“I don’t intend to play at all.”

Matthew’s lips pressed into a thin line, his tone cooling further. “Then you’ve left me no choice but to remind you, silence is not a shield. It’s an invitation.”

Anna’s lips pressed together, her gaze falling to the keys again. “And here I thought tonight might be free of such talk.”

Matthew straightened, smoothing an invisible crease in his cuff. “You’re too clever for that hope.” His eyes roved the quiet room one last time before settling on her.

He inclined his head stiffly. “Enjoy your reprieve, Lady Anna. But do not expect it to last.”

And with that, he turned, his steps precise and measured as he left the room.

She watched his retreating back for a beat, her posture still. Then, with a quiet breath, she lowered the lid of the pianoforte. So much for the notion of finding a moment’s peace.

“Anna!” Gretchen’s voice rose softly as Anna stepped into the corridor. “Where have you been hiding?”

Anna turned, managing a smile. “I wasn’t hiding. Perhaps…I needed a breath of air.”

“A breath of air inside the house?” Gretchen teased, linking her arm through Anna’s. “Come now, you’re not fooling me. You've been needing a lot of air today.”

“I wasn’t in the mood for more conversation,” Anna’s smile thinned.

Gretchen paused, watching her closely. “With everyone?”

Anna brushed her hand along the wall as they walked. “He found me,”

Gretchen's eyes widened as realization dawned, “Lord Vaun? Again? Of course he did, he always does.” Her voice turned dry, “I saw him earlier, looking like a man hunting quarry.”

Anna’s smile tightened. “Yes. He’s… attentive.”

“You could do far worse, Anna.” Gretchen’s voice was practical, gentle. “He’s sensible. Well-positioned. And devoted, clearly.”

“Devoted,” Anna echoed softly.

Gretchen tilted her head. “You don’t sound convinced.”

“I…” Anna hesitated, then shook her head. “No, I suppose I am. I just… didn’t expect it to feel so… inevitable.”

Gretchen smiled. “That’s what good matches are, aren’t they? Settled. Certain. Not all fire and fancy.”

Anna gave a quiet laugh, though it felt hollow. “Yes. Quite.”

Gretchen’s smile softened, but her tone remained gentle and practical. “Anna, he’s a good man.”

Anna looked down. “I know.”

“He’s polite, respectable, thoughtful,”

“I know.” Anna’s voice came quicker. “I know, Gretchen. Everyone says the same.”

“Then why do you sound as though that’s a bad thing?” Gretchen tilted her head, concern flickering across her face. “Don’t you like him?”

“I don’t dislike him.” Anna’s lips pressed together. “That’s the trouble.”

“The trouble?”

Anna looked away. “I can’t find a reason not to accept him… but I can’t find a reason to do so, either.”

Gretchen was quiet for a moment, then spoke carefully. “Does there have to be a reason, beyond what he offers? A stable home, a respectable name, a man who clearly favors you?”

Anna’s throat tightened. “Shouldn’t there be?”

Gretchen’s hand squeezed her arm lightly. “Not every marriage begins in… in great passion, Anna. Sometimes affection grows. Sometimes it’s enough that he’s steady.”

“Steady,” Anna repeated, the word heavy on her tongue.

Gretchen hesitated. “You haven’t told your mother he’s courting you, have you?”

Anna’s gaze flicked toward her friend. “No.”

“Why not?”

Anna let out a quiet breath. “Because the moment I do… it won’t be just him asking.”

Gretchen’s expression softened with understanding. “You’re afraid she’ll press you to accept.”

“She’ll expect me to.” Anna’s voice dropped low. “And I… I’m not ready.”

Gretchen nodded slowly. “I see.”

Silence stretched between them as distant laughter floated from the other room.

“You’ll have to decide soon, Anna,” Gretchen said gently. “He won’t wait forever.”

“I know.”

“And your mother.”

“I know,” Anna interrupted, closing her eyes briefly. “But just for today, can we not speak of it anymore?”

Gretchen smiled faintly. “Of course.”

Anna leaned into her, grateful. “Thank you.”

“Now,” Gretchen said lightly, tugging her arm, “Come, let me take you to your room, you have a terrible headache.”

Anna let herself be led, her smile returning, but somewhere deep inside, the knot remained.

It was already well into the morning before Anna finally drifted back to the gathering.

She had spent most of the day tucked away in her room, feigning headaches, grateful for the excuse to retreat.

But in truth, rest had been impossible, her mind was a restless tide, pulling her from one worry to the next.