Which begs the question,he mused, tucking his beloved snuffbox back into his pocket.Why is she pretending that she does not know me?
“Your name is…” He struggled to remember it, wishing he had paid more attention during his blasted courtship with Alicia. “It begins with…”
“With all due respect, my name is none of your concern,” she said, beginning to step away from him, her hands raised in defense. She stumbled back into the wall and gasped, before she corrected course. “I am not George’s cousin. You and I have never met. And I doubt we will ever meet again, so…”
Her head whipped around suddenly at the sound of approaching footsteps and voices. They were coming from the boxes.
Philip understood the alarm in her eyes. If anyone from the toncaught them together, there was no telling what gossip they would spread about them—the returned Duke of Darkness and his chosen prey.
He was not in the business of manhandling women, but when she stood there motionless as trouble approached, he knew he had to do something. He wasn’t about to compromise himself for a woman he barely knew.
Glancing behind him, he saw a dark recess in the wall, leading only God knew where. He grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her there, even while one side of his body screamed in protest.
“What are you—” she tried to ask, cut off when he placed a hand over her mouth.
Just in time, too.
Concealing her with his body, Philip looked behind at the open hallway. A group of older gentlemen walked past, laughing amongst themselves. They didn’t stop, which meant they hadn’t seen him, and more importantly, George’s mad cousin.
Her breath was hot against his hand, tickling that naked stretch of skin. His body tensed in response, and he gently let go of her. His body kept them in shadow, barring her exit.
Philip looked down into her startled yet grateful eyes, then dropped his gaze to her mouth. It was stained pink around the edges, as if she had recently worn and removed a rouge. As if someone had just kissed her.
Every one of his hypotheses added to the mystery around her.
Despite the impropriety of their meeting, she didn’t look afraid. How could she not have been afraid of him?
Unless she is afraid of something worse than a scoundrel taking advantage of her.
“Please,” she whispered, so close that he could feel her breath ghost against his face. “Don’t tell anyone…”
Before Philip could ask what he shouldn’t be telling, the young woman pushed past him again, slipping between him and the wall. The faint lavender scent of her perfume clung to his clothes as he watched her leave, disappearing down the corridor toward the boxes without looking back at him.
For a moment, he debated going after her and pressing her for her identity.
Philip didn’t appreciate being lied to, but if she was who he suspected her to be, then he supposed her tyrannous father likely wouldn’t approve of her exploring the theatre without a chaperone.
Did she worry about the earl’s anger more than her own safety?
Could that be why she was so adamant about keeping her identity a secret from me?
He glanced down the corridor, watching her form retreat.
Far be it from me to tell George about her tonight. This will be our little secret. For now.
CHAPTER5
The 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—withhisscarred 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.”
