“Oh.”
The little noise left her with all the breath in her lungs as she realized what had happened. She wasn’t sure what made her feel worse, her sudden jealousy over Philip’s high praise of Alicia or her embarrassment for thinking he had been talking about her.
“I see what has occurred. I… I am not who you believe me to be, my lady.”
Elinor narrowed her eyes, confused. Meanwhile, her brother approached them, his chest heaving with a quiet sigh. Anna couldn’t look at him, even when he started to speak. She was stupid for thinking that he had said such lovely things about her.
This was exactly the kind of foolish behavior that had led her friends to found their league. A mistake she would not repeat.
“You have allowed your imagination to run away with you,” the duke said to his sister, more softly than Anna had anticipated, as if he was trying to spare her feelings. “This is Lady Anna Walford, the Earl of Bristol’s daughter, not…”
“Not my cousin, Miss Alicia Walford,” Anna finished for him, finally meeting his eyes defiantly, “whom I presume you and His Grace had been discussing before our arrival. It appears there has been a mix-up between us.”
Lady Kirkby could not have looked more horrified if she tried. Her pale cheeks flamed with color as her grip loosened on Anna’s hands.
“Oh, how odious of me. How could you have allowed me to ramble on for so long, Philip?” she hissed at her brother. She lifted her hand to the side of her face, then returned her pleading gaze to Anna. “I am so very sorry, Lady Anna. When the butler said that George’s cousin had arrived, I assumed… Ah, but you know what I assumed.”
“It is of no consequence.” It was, after all, a harmless mistake. Or would have been harmless, if Anna hadn’t allowed her imagination to get the better of her too. “I am only glad to know that His Grace holds my dear cousin in such high esteem,” she lied.
Before Lady Kirkby could say more, Anna opened her hand and revealed the duke’s snuffbox, keeping it steady despite the indignation coursing through her.
“I only came to return this.”
It took a moment for Philip to realize that she had addressed him. When he did, his gaze dropped to the palm of her hand.
“You have it?” he asked. “Heaven and earth, where did you find it?”
“In the library at Downy Fields, on the night of George’s dinner party. I assume you left it there by mistake. I kept it so I could return it to you.”
Philip crossed the entrance hall until he stood directly before her. His presence was overwhelming. When he plucked the snuffbox from her hand, the tips of his fingers grazed her gloved palm, making her knees go weak.
He grabbed the box tightly, his fingers flexing around the case. She noticed a small scar between his thumb and forefinger she had never seen before, then promptly turned her eyes elsewhere.
“You have done me a great service,” he murmured. “I believed I had lost it for good. Thank you, Lady Anna.”
A moment of silence passed. Anna felt George shifting uncomfortably. She communicated with a look that she wanted to leave.
For once, George was inclined to indulge her, as he nodded. “Perhaps we should?—”
“Walk with us,” Philip said, cutting him off. He had taken on the dark, serious air of a duke who would not be refused. “You have come all this way. I should express my thanks in a way befitting a lady of your good standing, Lady Anna, for recovering my belongings. Allow me at least to show you the grounds as a gentleman should when one enters his home.”
“And allowmeto organizetea,” Lady Kirkby chimed in. She patted her brother on the shoulder. “I will call for something now. Unless…” She looked troubled. “Your appointment with Mr. Hill…?”
Anna didn’t know who Mr. Hill was, but the duke seemed to know. He pocketed his snuffbox, then offered her his arm, his mind made up. It was a forced gesture, something he felt he needed to do more than wanted to do. And in the same way, she forced herself to accept.
CHAPTER9
Philip led Anna through the rose garden as Elinor occupied George with tea closer to the house. Despite the landscaping, the garden behind Charleton Manor was mostly a flat, open field, allowing George to chaperone his cousin from a safe distance.
All the better for me to speak frankly with her.
Anna had walked ahead of him, leaning over to inspect a dormant Damask rose by a trellis. He could tell from her troubled expression that she was feigning interest to avoid having to speak with him. Elinor’s comments had obviously unsettled her.
No woman wanted to be on the receiving end of compliments meant for someone else. Even if, in Philip’s eyes, she was more agreeable than Alicia in every way.
“It has been many years since I have walked through these gardens with a lady,” Philip said to get her attention. His hands were clasped behind his back, where she couldn’t see him picking away at the scar beside his thumb. “But to the best of my recollection, the woman should not storm off in anger ahead of her companion.”
He had hoped he sounded unbothered, maybe playful. Anna didn’t react with a smile.
