The Duke's Love (7 page)

“Jake…”
s
he whispered when she got the chance. Jake became still and he put his hands back on the wall behind her. She dropped her own hands in sudden embarrass
ment of the impropriety of what they were doing in
a very public place.
Both of them were
laboring for breath.
Oh my god, she
could have been ruined!

“I’m sorry, that should not have happened,” Jake said slowly.

Ana could feel her cheeks blazing a
crimson red.
When she
looked around the vast hall,
she was
relieved to find it still empty. She had no idea how long they have been in the hall, but she could hear the sounds signaling the end of the third
act
. She was at a loss of words at what
had
just happened. Anyone could have seen them and
in that instant,
her
life would have been in ruins
.

“Stay away from me
,
Ana. I can’t control myself around you
,
and I will not have you ruin
ing
my chances at a happy marriage
,
”
h
e growled out, shoving himself
away
from the wall. He ran his hands through his hair, thoroughly frustrated with the situation he
had just
caused.

“You think you will be happy with Sarah and yet you came to me, so don’t take out your frustration on me
,
” Ana choked out in anger. Jake looked at Ana in obvious pain. He stared at her in silence. How dare
he act as if this were her fault
after what
had
just happened. Ana shoved him away and stalked down the hall.

“
Stay
away from me
,
your Grace
. I was happy without you in
London
. I do not want it to change. I have hopes of a happy marriage as well
,
”
s
he turned and said.
Thank goodness, no one had been there to witness them, she thought, as she
continued
walk
ing
out to the carriage. She was embarrassed and angry with him
,
and with herself
,
for letting him get to her. She willed herself not to cry.
Instead, she
laughed when she thought
of
the foolishness thinking
she could avoid him if he
were
ever
to return
. Now,
she knew
she
had been
deluding herself. Once she
was
safely ensconced
in the carriage, she allowed her tears
to
fall freely down her cheeks
,
knowing she
had
not
seen
the last of the blasted man. 

Jake went back to his box and found everyone waiting for him. He realized the third
act
of the play was almost over. How long had he been gone? He couldn’t believe
what he had
just
allowed to happen
. He
had
vowed to stay away from her
, but
he
had not been able to get her out of his mind
,
since the previous night in the carriage. He
had
noticed her with a man he hadn‘t met, but knew
he was
Viscount
Langley. The box she was in was directly across from his
, so
it
would have been
hard to miss her. He watched her throughout the first half of the play and when she left, he went after her with no regard to Sarah, her mother
,
or his manners.

Good g
od
,
he was a cad. He must have been staring down and frowning
,
because Sarah stood up and faced him with a polite smile in place.

“Your
Grace
, you seem angered. Have we done anything to upset you? You were gone for so long
,
I was afraid that you
had
forgotten
about us
,
” Sarah said coolly.

“I ran into an old friend out in the hall and we chatte
d for a bit, nothing to concern
yourself with, my dear.
I am being a poor host
,
am I not?” Jake smiled for her benefit
,
and
then
he felt rather than saw his brother’s bemusement.

“No
t at all,
I was just worried you were losing interest
already,
” Sarah seemed to purr her last comment. He was sure she meant
it as coyness
,
but he felt annoyed and irritated with her.
Ungraciously
, he
sat down and suffered her attentions until the play finished.

“Thank you for the lovely evening, your
Grace
, we would love to repeat the experience
,
” Lady Felicia said. He knew she had hoped to garner another invitation from him
,
but he
was not
ready to do that just yet.

“Yes
,
it was lovely, perhaps again
,
sometime. I’ll send you word when I will be available.” Jake was more than ready to go
.
He
knew he was being rude
,
but he turned without a word and waited until the play ended
before leaving
his box. Jake was anxious to leave and gather his thoughts. He left, leaving
Jordan
to escort the women out to their carriage.

Jake almost made an escape out of the theater. Several men from Parliament stopped to make
themsel
ves
known to the powerful
Duke
. He did keep up with politics in his absence and he was well aware of the problems these men were talking about
. The problem was that
he was
just
not listening.
Politely
Jake let the me
n prattle on about some charity event.
Viscount
Langley came around the corner and the sight he saw made Jake stand straighter. The man was handsome enough
and he
seemed
very
interested in the woman he had at his side.

"Who is the chit with the
Viscount
?" He asked the men surrounding him
,
after he watched the woman grab the
Viscount
’s arm, pressing herself on the man.

"
Not anyone who should be in public
, she is his mistress
,
" Lord Stanton
chuckled, clearly amused, whereas he was not.

The
Viscount
himself seemed enchanted by the
girl
. Jake was growing more outraged by the minute. Ana deserved someone who would
love and
cherish her, and this
was not the
man.
His first thought was to
wring the man’s neck, but
then he
thought better of it. The problem was not his to deal with. Ana would get what she deserved after all. With that thought in his mind, he said his goodbyes and joined his brother in the carriage.  

Jordan
was silent and preoccupied when Jake entered the carriage
. He had changed his mind about going home because it was early, so he told the driver
to take them to his club.

“
Lovely story you told Miss Fairchild
.
I’ll say you were talking to a friend, more like ravishing her against a wall from where I was standing
,
but that was my observation. What do you think? 
Am
I accurate?”
Jordan
taunted him after a
few minutes of silence. Jake stilled and saw his brother was vastly amused
about
his situation.

“Did anyone else see us?” He asked quietly, not wanting to know the answer.

Jordan
stayed silent for a moment
too
long. “Yes. Miss Fairchild had gone to check where you went
,
I followed
her,
and we both saw
,
”
h
e said
.

Jake rubbed his eyes
,
trying to ease the headache that was threatening to start.

"Damn, I’m an idiot
,
” Jake swore at himself.

“I agree
, but
Miss Fairchild
seemed to take it fairly well I’d say
,
”
Jordan
said quietly
,
although Jake knew
Jordan
must
have been
lying about how Sarah took it.

“Do you still love her then
,
Jake?”
Jordan
continued to ask.
There was no need for him to say
to
whom
he was speaking.

“I don’t know what I feel for her anymore. We had our chance
,
but I can’t help but think I am missing something important
,
or else she would have been married by now
,
”
h
e said.
It
disgusted
him
just thinking about how much
Sarah
must
have seen
. Sarah was an innocent
and he
was sure she got quite the show. The things she saw probably would have her scared of what
might happen
on the wedding night
.
She
would probably go home screaming to her father
,
and
then
he
c
ould be expecting pistols at dawn.

“You need to make up your mind. You messed thing
s up with Miss Fairchild
years ago
,
and
you are not making a very good impression
on her this
time around either. Not th
at I care about the chit’s
feelings
,
”
Jordan
stated.

“I know. I just saw Ana with the
Viscount
and I was livid. Who does she think she is? Does she think she can just go from me to him and expect
that I will be
okay with it?” Jake muttered.

"It's been two years. It was obvious she was not pining for you. Lady Ana would be foolish not to accept the
Viscount
if he ever
gets
around to proposing to her
,
"
Jordan
said.

The carriage came to a stop
outside
the club. They made their way inside. Jake knew the majority of the men here.

“Well, look is who back in
London
. I thought they were lying to me about it
,
”
s
omeone called out. Several men came up and shook his hand.  They made their way through the club, sat down, and began to play cards.

“Heard you're looking for a wife to warm your bed?” Lord Matthews said crudely. 

“Not warm my bed, just need an heir, just once or twice will do. I don’t need to like the chit
,
” Jake stated rather coldly. He was in no mood to converse with the same men who had also gone after his woman when he was out of the picture.
His woman?
Ana was not his anymore
,
and he was tearing himself up inside trying to figure everything out. He thought he was over
her
. Apparently not.

“He is in a
foul
mood
,
because
he ran into his ex-fiancée tonight
,
and he didn’t like
seeing
another man pawing all over her
.
He
just doesn’t want to own up to it
,
”
Jordan
spoke up
,
trying to break the sudden silence.