Page 5 of The Dark Duke’s Cinderella (The Untamed Ladies #1)

CHAPTER 5

T he next day, Anna squinted at the wintry sun above her. The gardens of George’s home were salted with frost, the frozen grounds extending far into the distance before her.

Downy Fields Manor was a long drive from London, but for her cousin’s birthday, she would have traveled miles. Even though her heart wasn’t in it today, not with her mind still whirring with the events of the previous night—with his scarred face.

She flicked away the blade of grass she had been playing with, leaning back on the steps of the old rotunda where she had found shelter from the birthday celebrations.

Her father was in one of his moods, and she wanted to avoid him as much as possible before the dinner party began in earnest. He had already interrogated her over breakfast that morning, filling her with dread from the moment she had woken up.

“I take it from the guilty look on your face that you did not socialize like I ordered last night,” he had said, his eyes fixed on his newspaper. “Why you insist on filling that head of yours with such nonsense as music, I shall never understand. A woman must make the appropriate connections if she is to ever make a place for herself in society. Do you hear me, girl? Or do my words go in one ear and out the other, on their way through that empty canal between your eyes?”

The countess had looked sheepish when Anna remained silent, picking at her breakfast with all the energy of a wounded bird. “There will be plenty of opportunities later today for us to continue searching for a husband for you.” The innocent remark had seemed to displease her father. “That is to say, so long as you remain on your best behavior.”

“And that cousin of yours,” her father had continued. “She is in the paper now, in the columns, in an article about her sordid company. You spoke not a word to her? You swear it?”

“I swear it, Father,” Anna had replied bitterly, moving her scrambled eggs around her plate. “I did not see Alicia but on the stage.”

In that regard, Anna did not feel like she was lying. The distant, panicked woman she had met backstage had not felt like her cousin at all. Alicia’s career was the most important thing in the world to her. Anna could only imagine how hard it was to maintain her renown as a woman when all of England seemed to scorn her. So, even though Alicia’s cold rejection had hurt, Anna tried her best to forgive her.

For all intents and purposes, it seemed that she and Alicia had gotten away with their ruse. Margaret had excused her convincingly, and neither Lady Jane nor her friends had questioned her disappearance. Though someone had mentioned seeing George with a few friends when they had gotten to their box.

Which lends credence to the scarred stranger’s story about him knowing George and recognizing me. But I do not know him at all. If the stranger told anyone that he saw me, it would not take long for rumors to spread about my disappearance—and the ton could come up with any number of salacious stories to explain it. So far, it seems like he hasn’t said anything.

She had barely slept that night, searching her memories for that formidable face. He was undeniably handsome despite the scar, with eyes the color of blue ice and hair that was dark like coal. He had the sort of aquiline nose that usually made her swoon.

But the way he had looked at her with superiority, as if he knew something that she didn’t, had left a sour taste in her mouth. When he had pushed her into that dark recess, he had awoken a terrible mix of pleasant and distressing feelings inside her—even though he had pushed her there to protect her reputation.

“If he is George’s friend, he cannot be a very good friend,” she whispered to herself, gazing across the garden. “Or else I would have recognized him too. Perhaps he was merely an acquaintance, and we will be like ships that crossed paths in the night, never to meet again.”

Convincing herself of that much, she rose from the steps and dusted off the back of her velvet evening gown. Her cheeks stung from the cold, and she breathed a cloud into the air, delaying her return inside for as long as possible. It was almost dark outside, and Downy Fields glowed with warm light in the distance.

A voice cut through the silence, shouting, “Annnnaaaa!” from the terrace behind the manor.

She turned around to see George waving from afar. Gathering her skirts, she rushed up the garden to meet him, smiling like a fool at the sight of her beloved cousin—second only in her heart to Alicia.

“You could have come and said hello when you arrived,” George said with a smile as she embraced him. He wore an exquisite outfit that evening, with a sage green waistcoat that matched the color of his eyes. “It is my birthday after all, lest you’d forgotten. And a man can’t suffer being ignored on his birthday.”

Anna smiled, grabbing his cold hands and squeezing them. “Happy Birthday, George,” she chirped, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

“How your affection warms me on this terribly cold night,” he drawled, grinning down at her before resuming their walk. “Why are you outside? It’s freezing.”

“I came out for air, chilling though it may be. Father insisted we arrive half an hour early so that he could oversee the final preparations for the evening, like always. I thought I’d get out of his way,” Anna replied, grabbing his arm as they walked toward the French doors on the terrace. “The butler said you were upstairs, getting ready for dinner. And I know how long it takes you to style your hair. I hope you aren’t terribly offended that I didn’t seek you out first.”

“Judging by your father’s mood today, I dare say you made the right choice. I like your father. You know I do. But I will never be happy with the way he treats you. If you feel you need a break tonight?—”

“Are you offering me the use of your library again?”

Anna laughed when George did, recalling their last dinner party at Downy Fields. George had strategically gotten her father drunk, allowing her to slip away to the library and lose herself in a Radcliffe novel.

“Usually, I would agree without question to an offer like that. But Father has been tireless as of late. I can’t risk getting on his bad side. There is talk of marrying me off again. But isn’t there always?”

“Hmm. Yet he can’t be that cross with you,” George said, pausing inside the doors. The warm air inside the manor enveloped her—until a chill shot through her bones at his next words. “I caught Uncle Magnus just before I came searching for you. He told me he had permitted you to attend Tancredi last night as well.”

Anna prayed she had misheard. The innocent glimmer in George’s eyes told her that she had not.

So, he had been there with that friend of his. Had his friend told him about their encounter in the hallway? It stood to reason that he had not, unless George was playing with her on purpose, waiting for her to slip up and tell him the truth.

“No,” she blurted out, before realizing how stupid the lie was. She needed to compose herself, and quickly, unless she revealed everything. “I mean, yes, I did go to see Alicia perform. Did you… Did you not know?”

George shook his head, continuing through the house. “Not ahead of time. I met some friends of yours on my way to our box, and they said you had retired ahead of the show with an… upset stomach.” He cleared his throat, and Anna inwardly bemoaned the excuse Margaret had used for her.

“I would have offered to chaperone alongside Lady Jane if Magnus had told me earlier. I was with a group of my friends, though I wasn’t able to inspire much interest in them for the opera, not in the way you can. You should have said something, written to me—we could have joined groups.”

Anna nodded, hoping she didn’t look as anxious as she felt. While it was safer not to ask questions, she couldn’t help herself. “I see. The girls did mention something about seeing you, but the timing must not have been right for us to meet… Who were they? These friends you attended the opera with?”

By that point, they had almost reached the entrance hall, where her parents and the first guests awaited, given the cacophony of voices beyond. Anna stopped in her tracks, forcing George to stop too.

“Well, Stockton was there, of course,” he explained. “Though it took some convincing to get him to attend. You know how Simon is when it comes to the arts.” He paused, looking through the archway to the entrance hall. The wait for his next reply was torturous. “My other friend… I don’t suppose you remember the Duke of Wells?”

For the life of her, Anna did not. There were many dukes in London, but she had socialized with none of them.

“I hadn’t known you were friends with any dukes. You’d think that’s something you would have mentioned.”

“He hasn’t been a duke for very long, and he has been abroad for many years,” George continued, encouraging Anna forward as they sought out her parents. “Does the name Philip Wilmington ring a bell?”

“Wilmington…” Anna started. It rang not one bell but many . “He was the man who courted Alicia long ago. And yes, I remember now. His father was the duke.”

She licked her lips, feeling even more nervous than before.

Philip had looked so different with his scar. His hair had been longer before, his eyes even lighter. And she supposed, given how afraid and panicked she had been last night, she hadn’t been thinking clearly enough to notice the resemblance between her mysterious stranger and Alicia’s former suitor.

“But I thought you hadn’t seen him in years,” she continued. “He was with the army.”

“He was a colonel, yes. He returned home after Waterloo, oh… a month ago? He retired to his country seat for a time with his sister, then came to London a few days ago for the Season, I imagine. Though we didn’t discuss his prospects overlong, I floated a few ideas, but I’m not convinced they stuck with him.”

Anna slowed her breathing as George led her into the entrance hall. The room was quickly filling with guests. Her mother and father were already greeting some of the early arrivals. Foreign smells, colognes she didn’t recognize, made her feel dizzy. The buzz of conversation around her wasn’t helping either, and she looked up at the large chandelier overhead to ground herself while George went on.

“He’s a decent fellow. He… Well, he looks quite different from before, but I believe he is still the same Philip underneath his new scar. If you’re curious about his service, you should ask him yourself. He could use a friend.” He patted her on the back. “I believe that’s him arriving now.”

Like a ravaging storm she could see coming but couldn’t stop, the Duke of Wells walked in through the front doors. He sported a fine, midnight black overcoat and a matching outfit beneath. His dark hair curled around his ears in a pleasing way.

If he had been anyone else, she might have felt a little romantic at the sight of him.

But he was not just anyone . It was him . The stranger from the night before. He had come alone. He spoke briefly with the butler before handing him his coat.

Anna stood there helplessly, glancing between the duke and her distracted father.

This is it . My retribution, delivered by a duke. He will see me and know that I lied, and it won’t take long for him to take the information to my father. He is a military man, and they are all paragons of honor and truth. I should have stayed outside, disrobed myself, and frozen to death instead.

No sooner had the idea formed in her mind than the duke smiled at George and began walking toward them. His expression shifted when he caught sight of her. She could see the moment recognition dawned in his eyes. Her heart raced in her chest, beating loudly in her ears, making her feel sick.

The duke’s brow creased with confusion, then what she perceived as amusement, before he turned from her to George.

“You’ve arrived just in time,” George said, shaking his hand in a friendly manner.

The duke responded in kind, all but ignoring Anna as she trembled beside her cousin.

“I don’t remember you being so punctual before. From my memory, you and Simon used to try and see which of you could be more fashionably late to all the events we attended together.”

“Many things change with time.” The duke gave a smile that illuminated his otherwise gloomy face. “Some for the better.”

“You needn’t remind me.” George rolled his eyes. “Today of all days, I cannot escape the passage of time. Thirty years old, God’s wounds. And what do I have to show for it?”

“Your enviable connections and large family, evidently. The lovely young lady beside you, for one.”

Anna’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the flirtatious note in his voice. Her mouth fell open as the duke stared at her daringly. She gave what she hoped was an imperceptible shake of her head, begging him not to reveal that they had met. If he understood her plea, he did not show it.

“Ah, of course,” George said, laughing. “It has been some time since you have seen one another. But I am certain you remember my cousin, Lady Anna Walford. In fact, she attended the opera last night. It is a shame your paths did not cross then.”

“A shame, indeed,” Philip murmured. He looked down at her hand, reminding her to extend it for him to take.

His fingers clamped gently around hers, the pressure comforting her somewhat. His touch made her throat close up, just like it had the night before.

So , he does not intend to expose me. But why? What does he stand to gain by keeping my secret?

Anna suddenly heard her father’s voice calling to George. Philip dropped her hand immediately, turning to the earl.

When they were distracted by their own introductions, she stepped away and disappeared into another room.

Please, oh please, let him ignore me for the rest of the night.

But Anna had never been that lucky.