“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 butmany. “He was the man who courted Alicia long ago. And yes, I remember now. His fatherwasthe 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 justanyone. It washim. 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.
