“I didnotstorm off,” she rebutted, continuing her perusal of the garden, leaning down to look at the metal plaques interspersed between the plants. “Why would I storm off? There was no reason for me to abandon you. You walked slowly, and I did not notice until we reached the roses.”
“Lady Anna, I walked at a perfectly normal pace behind you. I would have had to sprint to keep up. Meanwhile, you took off like a mare at the races.”
He winced at his inelegant comparison. It was easy to forget his manners around Anna. The secret they shared had already blurred the lines of propriety between them.
“Not a mare?—”
“No? Not a mare, but some other impetuous animal? A monkey, perhaps?” She straightened then, looking over the cold grounds. “You were kind to invite me on this walk, Your Grace. But we needn’t talk for your sister’s benefit. I can tell you are worried that she will be upset with you. You may at least take comfort in the knowledge that you have not upset me.”
He didn’t believe that for a second.
“Whatever bad feelings exist between my sister and I will quickly pass. She is not my concern at this moment.” He paused, feeling a cold breeze wrap around him. It blew a few strands of chestnut-brown hair from Anna’s bonnet, and he watched them lap at the side of her angry, delicate face.
“Elinor has been away from society for too long. She was overcome that a woman had visited us and allowed her joy at seeing you to compromise her judgment. There is little more to it than that.”
“But there is. For she was not excited at seeing me… but seeing whom she thought was Alicia.” A devious smile played on Anna’s lips. “The object of a recent, most passionate conversation, by the sound of things.”
“And if she were the subject of such a conversation?” Philip challenged. “A passionate conversation does not imply a positive outcome. Quite honestly, I have heard enough about your cousin to last me a lifetime.”
“If you say so, Your Grace.”
Philip bristled at her tone. “Do you purposefully incenseallthe gentlemen in your life?”
“Only you,” she replied.
He believed her. He started to smile and stopped himself before she could see how she amused him and take it as encouragement.
“That was beneath me. I apologize,” she relented. “No, I do not purposefully try to enrage you, and neither have I purposefully caused our paths to cross if that is what you are thinking. The other night, and then at George’s party, and now today… You must be growing weary of me.”
“Not yet. Though you might have had George return my snuffbox alone, that much I must admit. That would have been the wiser thing to do, considering our previous entanglement,” he countered, wanting to see whether she was lying. “Why didn’t you?”
“Believe me, Your Grace, I agree with you, and I tried.” She groaned and sat down on a nearby bench, smoothing out her skirts. The cold air had nipped her cheeks pink like the nearby roses in summer. “I even suggested that he call upon you with Alicia and return it. But George is funny sometimes. He insisted that I come with him, that we did not play a trick on you and lie.”
Philip studied her. Was Anna like George, honorable to a fault? Or was she more like Alicia, only doing things if they benefited her?
The more he learned about Anna, the less he understood. From what George had said, she was a shy, scholarly young woman who avoided confrontation at every turn. With him, she had been completely different, like he brought out the worst in her.
That did not bode well for either of them.
“Well,” Philip continued, “I for one am glad that it was you.”
Anna jerked her head up, her small, rosebud lips parting in surprise. She shook her head softly, as if she didn’t trust him.
“Had it been Alicia, my sister would have jumped to all the wrong conclusions and forced us into an even worse situation. Between the three of them, I would have been outnumbered.” He paused, not sure whether that made her feel better. “Forced to select between Walfords, you are the lesser of two evils. Even when you go galloping off ahead of me, making me feel like an old man. You are tolerable, at least.”
“And incensing,” she reminded him.
“Precisely. I assure you that is high praise coming from me.”
He settled against the trellis, looking out over the gardens further afield. They were close to the center of London, but the woods at the bottom of the estate enveloped the manor in silence.
Alone with Anna, Philip let himself relax. It was far from the worst way to spend an afternoon, walking the grounds, avoiding estate matters—he had been a duke for all of a month, and he wasn’t exactly excelling at the post outside of parliament.
Better yet, George would be pleased. When the ton caught wind of his promenade with Anna, gentlemen would be lining up outside her house for a chance to walk with her too. There would be no more time for chance meetings between them once that happened.
“Why the snuffbox?” Anna asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. “I am not questioning your habit. You may have any vices you desire. I was just thinking aloud… The way you looked at it when I handed it back to you, the way you held onto it made me curious. Did it cost a lot of money?”
“Its price is insignificant.” A familiar face flashed through his mind. “It was a gift from my brother-in-law, the late Lord Kirkby. George may have mentioned Graham in the past, or maybe not. We had been friends for many years… I could not bear to lose it.”
