Page 22 of The Dark Duke’s Cinderella (The Untamed Ladies #1)

CHAPTER 22

W ith a quickness Philip hadn’t expected from her, Elinor snatched the goblet of punch from his hands. She clicked her tongue and snatched another goblet from Roger Courtenay, a bead of punch clinging to his mustache.

“Gentlemen, we mustn’t start drinking before the rest of the guests have gathered,” she cried over the tumult in the room. “Your patience will be fully rewarded once the Baron Henfield and his brother arrive. There is water and cordial on the side table by the door.”

“Your guests are dying of thirst, sister.” Philip gestured around the room, while Roger laughed. “A spot of punch to rejuvenate them would not go amiss.”

“From the sounds of things, they need no encouragement.” Elinor furrowed her brow. “I had quite forgotten how relaxed things are in the country…”

So far relaxed that Philip could barely hear Roger over the other guests. They counted over fifty heads that evening, neighbors and friends who had dispersed themselves over Cotoneaster, but were mainly concentrated in the drawing room Elinor had outfitted for their pre-dinner entertainment. The manor shined with candlelight that evening, the austere and lofty rooms giving off a surprisingly warm glow in anticipation of the final dinner guests.

“You should consider enlisting Lady Kirkby,” Roger joked, dusting his hands off now that his drink had been stolen. “A force to be reckoned with, certainly.”

“Elinor likes things done a certain way and takes no prisoners.” Luckily for him, she had been much friendlier since he and Anna had started to see eye-to-eye. Whatever made Anna happy made his sister happy too. “You should prepare yourself for the dinner. It is a martial affair, conducted with a precision that would make Nelson weep.”

“Speaking of martial affairs…”

“I see you are wasting no time, Courtenay.”

Roger raised his hands in defense. “Allow me this one impropriety before Elisabeth returns to me. I shall be a perfect dinner guest from here on out, with no more mentions of business and war.” He smiled when Philip gave him leave to continue. “Have you reached a decision concerning the commander?”

“Not yet.” Philip glanced over his shoulder, wondering where Anna was. “I must speak with Wellington first and iron out the details. My respect for the commander is limitless, but I cannot upend my life at a moment’s notice.”

“Of course.” Roger nodded, shaking out his shoulders. “Well, now I am satisfied. I see Elisabeth by Lady Kirkby’s beloved cordials. She enjoys a French grenadine—she has an insatiable sweet tooth. We shall reconvene later, Colonel—Your Grace.”

Philip watched Roger retreat with a spring in his step. He scanned the room for guests he recognized, surprised by the sea of familiar faces that greeted him. Some of these people had been close with his father, and he made a point of remembering their titles so he could avoid them later.

To his surprise, George stood at the back of the room beside Simon. He had known Elinor had invited his friends, but he had not expected George to attend the party that evening. He wore a tortured look, and Philip swallowed his pride, determined to make amends for the sake of Anna… just as Elinor swept back in beside him, tapping him on the shoulder.

“There will be time to air your grievances with Georgie later,” she said, with scary perception. “I don’t know what’s keeping Anna. Would you go and fetch her? First impressions matter, and the guests will be heartened to see her enter by your side. I take it you can suffer two minutes alone with her?”

“You’re a bad influence on her.”

“Oh, the worst.”

Philip hovered at the bottom of the grand staircase, listening to the muted conversations drifting from the drawing room close by. He imagined his sister putting her hosting skills to use, navigating the room with unparalleled ease, artfully dodging questions about Graham and his demise.

A sound caught Philip’s attention—a thud from the landing above. He took a few steps and waited for Anna to appear. When she did, unscathed, the sight of her took his breath away.

The ivory gown she wore that night would have suited a princess, let alone a duchess. Its sheer overlay shimmered in the light as she moved toward him, her hair pinned up in a way that accentuated the fullness of her face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked from above him, her hand sliding down the railing as she descended.

“Elinor’s bidding, of course.” Philip cleared his throat and looked away. “She was concerned you were taking so long to arrive and requested we enter the party together.”

He extended his hand when she reached the bottom, cursing his juvenile nerves as she waited for a few seconds before taking it.

They had been on much better terms recently, at the expense of a priceless Elizabethan rug. Philip had taken a few meals with his wife and sister, and had even taken Anna on that walk. She had been on her best behavior, telling him about her plans for Cotoneaster, overcorrecting her posture, not saying a word out of turn, let alone trying to hold him again.

“Did you knock into something?” Philip asked to fill the silence. “When you were upstairs, I heard a sound.”

“Oh…” Anna huffed, gesturing vaguely behind her. “I was checking my buttons on the way down and bumped into a table in the hall. I think something came undone once Cari left. But it’s too small for me to grasp, and I can’t…”

She huffed, reaching behind her. It felt like a trap—probably was a trap—but defenseless Philip saw no other option than to step right into it. He pulled Anna to a stop, signaling her to turn around with a flick of his hand.

Anna accepted awkwardly, turning in a half-circle. Philip’s breath came in ragged bursts at the sight of her exposed neck, soft strands of chestnut-brown hair curling against her pale skin. He slipped his fingers between the layers of fabric of her bodice, unsurprised when she tensed beneath his touch, the downy hairs on her neck standing on end.

He wasn’t oblivious to the strain between them even now. They were finally being cordial with one another, making the darker parts of him grow restless.

Which is why our efforts are ultimately pointless, he sighed inwardly, his thumb lingering on a final pearlescent button. I doubt I could ever stop wanting to please her, to hold her. It is a temporary fix in the hull of a sinking ship.

“Philip?” Anna prompted.

He had paused long enough to worry her.

“My apologies,” he said. “I was lost in my thoughts.”

The drawing room was packed even more tightly with guests, laughter and chatter bouncing from wall to wall. In his absence, Elinor had started serving the claret—which meant the last guests had arrived. He took Anna by the hand and swerved through the footmen, snatching a glass for them each.

Twenty minutes later, Philip was discussing the sale of the farms at the southern border of Cotoneaster when he felt someone approach. George stood behind him, peering at him beneath his low ginger eyebrows. Philip brightened at the sight of him, but George didn’t look nearly as happy to see him.

Excusing himself from his conversation, he took his old friend aside. If Anna could make amends with her sister, he had to try and fix things with George, who was all but a brother to him.

“You came,” Philip said, once they had relative privacy by the fireplace. “I would not have begrudged you for ignoring our invitation.”

“This is as much Anna’s party as it is yours and Elinor’s.” George licked his lips nervously, making Philip nervous too. He looked across the room, angling himself toward where Anna stood speaking with a friend. “But that’s not the only reason I came.”

Before Philip could ask what he meant, the dinner gong sounded. Guests filed out of the drawing room, shepherded by Elinor. Anna cast a glance back at him as she left through the doors.

“Whatever the reason, it seems most pressing.” Philip watched the last guests leave. “We will not be missed. Tell me now.”

* * *

Anna hesitated outside the doors to the dining room, casting her eyes back toward the drawing room, where Philip had remained with George. She shot Elinor a side glance as she passed by, ushering the last guest inside. The heat from a nearby sconce blazed against Anna’s face.

“What’s the matter, love?” Elinor asked, taking Anna’s arm once everyone was settled inside. “Dinner will be served shortly. You should go in and find your seat.”

“It’s Philip.” Anna swallowed as her throat ran dry. “He’s remained behind to speak with George. George must still be quite cross with him, don’t you think? I tried to speak with my cousin, but…” She frowned, thinking back to their interactions in the drawing room. Her seeking him out, George avoiding her. “Something is wrong.”

“Just the old boys being boys.” Elinor didn’t look as convinced as she sounded. “Let them hash things out in their own way. Your cousin loves you, and Philip… Well, my brother is a strange man, but despite his claims to the contrary, I think he cares a great deal for you too.”

“You overestimate his affections for me.” Anna shrugged one shoulder. “Not that I mind. He has been much more accommodating lately.”

“Something he would not have done unless he genuinely sought to please you.” Elinor dragged her further away from the doors for fear of being overheard. “I know I have been hard on my brother. Frankly, I have had all the patience of an executioner with him. It wasn’t fair. I was the chief advocate for your marriage, before he rushed off to ask you for your hand in the middle of the night. We all agreed to accept a match of convenience… But there is nothing convenient about the way the two of you have been going on. If he wanted to leave, he would. And now with this offer from Wellington…”

“You know about it?”

“Philip speaks to his valet, and his valet speaks to my maid, and my maid speaks to me.” Elinor smiled at her tact. “It would not be the worst thing if he left. The ton would not look sideways at a colonel leaving on a military errand. You would stay behind, but such is the life of a woman married to an officer.”

Anna hesitated. Her heart screamed to be listened to. And Elinor, despite her other engagements that night, seemed inclined to listen. If she couldn’t tell Philip about the feelings gnawing at her, his sister would just have to do.

“But that’s just the thing. I don’t care what the ton thinks. I would rather he remain here with me, and we be miserable, and everyone know it.”

“We are talking about my brother, yes?” Elinor smiled incredulously. “Grouchy, mostly silent Philip? You would sacrifice your freedom and happiness just to remain by his side?”

“Why must it be a sacrifice? If Philip would just let me in…” Anna clenched her fists, unsurprised by the torrent of emotions that flooded to the surface.

“You love him, don’t you?”

Anna looked up at Elinor, her chest tightening with fear.

“Of course, you do. I can see it in your eyes.” Elinor sighed, her body sagging. Her chandelier earrings twinkled as she shook her head. “Oh, what has he done to you? None of this is right.”

“It’s not Philip’s fault. He has tried tirelessly to push me away.” Anna thought back to his week’s long silence—how she would take a lifetime of arguing with him to never have to go through that again. “But it’s no use. I am doomed to be married to the man I love.”

“A stranger statement has never been spoken.”

“I don’t want him to go to France. But I won’t embarrass myself either by asking him to stay. And where does that leave us?” Anna laughed mirthlessly. “He’ll be gone for years at a time, and I’ll stay here in England, worrying that he has taken on a horde of French mistresses to occupy himself, while I cannot countenance the thought of loving anyone but him. I’ll be alone forever, watching him live a single life while I live mine, devoted but loveless.”

She couldn’t cry if she wanted to. The irony was too sweet.

“Did you know that you felt this way before you agreed to marry him?” Elinor asked, tilting her head to the side. “I cannot in good conscience blame my brother for this unless I know the truth.”

“I had affection for him. I worried it would grow.” Anna felt ashamed. “But it was only once he forbade me from loving him that I realized how much I did.”

“Heavens…” Elinor looked up and squeezed her eyes shut. “This is worse than I ever thought. You must tell him these things, Anna. Before he makes a decision neither of you can take back. This love you have for him won’t fade with time. We always want what we can’t have. It will drive you to insanity.”

“But how? And when?”

Her sister-in-law glanced back into the dining room, where the conversation was still alive and vibrant. The footmen had gathered by the entrance to the servants’ stairwell, carrying bottles of wine they couldn’t serve until someone gave them permission.

“A wiser woman would tell you to wait. But as your sister…” Elinor grabbed Anna’s shoulders. “Go now. I will keep the guests busy.”

“And George?”

“Your cousin has never been one to stand in the way of true love. Tell him to leave and come to me.”

It was a foolish plan, destined to end in tears. But Anna tingled with excitement at the thought of baring her heart to Philip. The longer she waited to tell him the truth, the harder it would be.

With a determined nod, she turned and retraced her steps back to the drawing room.

Male voices were rising from within. She crept toward the door, deciding how best to interrupt them without immediately ruining her chances with Philip.

But the way they were speaking, the seriousness of it, gave her pause.

“… enough trouble between us already,” she heard Philip say.

Anna pressed herself against the wall, just out of sight of the doorway. Someone was pacing inside. It was impossible to tell which of them it was.

“It is not my intention to create more friction between the two of you, believe me.” That was George, his voice pitched anxiously. “And if I had felt I could wait for a more opportune moment… There will not be one. I had planned to skip this dinner party altogether until I received word of her insanity this morning.”

Her heart clenched.

“I have been irreconcilably frustrated with you since you trapped my cousin in this marriage, and I wanted to believe the girls over you because, shame on me, they are my family,” George continued. “And logic does not always prevail with family. But what Alicia told me cannot be true. I see the truth for what it is now. She is a liar, willing to do anything to protect herself.”

“I will not fault you for defending your family.” A glass clinking against marble—a sound that made her bones quake. “Tell me what Alicia has done now before Anna starts to wonder where we are.”

A tear fell from Anna’s eye. She reached up in surprise to wipe it away. Was it the mention of Alicia that had made her cry? Or the softness of Philip’s voice as he spoke her name when he thought she couldn’t hear him?

“It is a terrible thing, Philip. So terrible I can barely bring myself to say it aloud.” George paused long enough to take a long, deep breath. “Alicia is with child and has been for some time. I have known this, and I have kept it secret to protect her. But now…” He sighed. “Now she has claimed that the child is yours.”