“Well, if you will find it difficult to work with Bridget, I can arrange for her to leave the company,” Mr. Bamber said, as though this would be no trouble at all.
“Oh. No, Mr. Bamber, that is not necessary.”
“Good. Now, as to the other matter,” he continued, “I know that it does not seem so at the moment, but I think that this separation may be for the best.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I do not believe that the Duke had any intention of marrying you. As the dinner with his mother must have proved to you, no aristocratic family would accept a ballerina as a daughter-in-law.”
Anna scowled at this, “I know, but I really believe that the Duke loved me. He has tried to visit me, and has written to me.”
“I am sure that he loves you, or is at least smitten by you, but I expect that his proposal was intended to break down your walls. Trust me, Miss Conolly, I know how these gentlemen operate. I do not doubt that he would have made love to you at the first opportunity, and then spoken no more of marriage. Then he would make you his mistress, whether you consented to such an arrangement or not.”
Anna stared at him, dumbfounded.
Could this possibly be true?
She did not think that the Duke would do such a thing, but what did she really know of aristocrats? Her experience with Bridget seemed to suggest that she knew little of people, even of her own class.
“May I offer you some advice, my dear?”
“Yes, please,” Anna said, hoping desperately that he might be able to tell her something helpful.
“I think that you would do well to forget about the Duke of Yanborough entirely. Focus on your work, and do not allow him to distract you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bamber,” Anna said, not wishing to be impolite. She knew that it would be difficult to follow this advice, but resolved to try her best. Whether or not the Duke’s intentions had been honorable, they could not be together, and thinking about him instead of her work would do her no good now.
* * *
Nathaniel had received no reply from Miss Conolly after a week, and was forced to conclude that she did not wish to speak to him. He knew that he must respect this choice, but he could not bring himself to feel at peace with it. He longed to see her again, believing that their love could overcome any obstacle, including his mother’s disapproval.
He had not been able to maintain his silence with his mother entirely, now that he had returned to the townhouse, but he said as little as possible to her, and whenever possible asked his servants to deliver messages to her rather than speaking to her himself.
The Dowager Duchess, for her part, had given up on trying to start conversations, but she was still acting as though there was nothing wrong in their household. Nathaniel found this inexplicably maddening, but was doing his best not to let his anger show.
He spent as much time as possible away from home, but could not bring himself to leave London entirely. He needed to be in town much of the time to attend Parliament, but he was also reluctant to put more physical distance between himself and Miss Conolly.
The days passed in something of a blur. Nathaniel remained busy and tried to focus on his work in Parliament. He met with the Earl of Berwick both socially and for political meetings, and he spent time with David at the club. All the time, his attention was divided, with at least some portion of his thoughts devoted to Miss Conolly.
Finally, the opening day of the new ballet production arrived. Nathaniel had not tried to contact Miss Conolly since sending her the letter and receiving no reply, but he could not resist going to see her perform. To his surprise, his mother had announced at breakfast that day that she intended to go as well.
Nathaniel had merely nodded at this, and had said nothing as they traveled to the theater together in the carriage. He would not have chosen to sit next to his mother, but as she was the season ticket holder, he did not have much choice in the matter.
When the curtain was raised, he saw Miss Conolly standing on pointe, with her arms raised gracefully over her head. As the orchestra began to play, she lowered her arms and began to move across the stage. She was as beautiful as ever, and her movements were fluid and graceful. Nathaniel felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her.
During the interval, he heard some chatter from the audience around him suggesting that many people were not impressed with Miss Conolly’s performance. He had the sudden urge to argue with them, but he realized that there was something different about this performance.
Miss Conolly was exceptionally talented, but she no longer seemed to radiate the same warmth that she had given off on stage in the past. It was difficult to pinpoint what the difference was, exactly, but now that he had seen it, it became even more clear in the second and third acts.
* * *
When the final curtain call was complete, Anna returned to the dressing room with the rest of the company. She knew that she had performed adequately, but she did not feel the rush of excitement that she used to feel after every performance. She was finding it difficult to feel excitement about anything these days.
Dutifully, she changed out of her costume, cleaned the stage makeup from her face, and dressed for the party that would be held backstage for the company’s patrons. She could not help but wonder if the Duke of Yanborough would be present. She knew that it would be much easier for her if he was not, but some small part of her longed to see his face once more.
As she walked into the party, she realized that she was holding her breath as she scanned the crowd, searching for him. Just as she had reminded herself to breathe, she saw that the Duke was walking toward her.
“Good evening, Miss Conolly,” he said. “Congratulations on another wonderful performance.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Anna said, her voice quiet and uncertain.
“I know that you may not wish to speak with me, but I must ask, could I please just have a moment of your time?”
Anna stared at him for a moment, wondering what she ought to do, but before she could respond, the Dowager Duchess approached and stood next to her son.
“Come, Your Grace,” the Dowager Duchess said, putting her arm through her son’s. Anna saw him stiffen at her touch, and a flash of anger in his eyes, but he said nothing to his mother. Perhaps he did not wish to cause a scene in such a public setting.
Knowing that this would be her best chance to excuse herself from the conversation, Anna turned and walked away, as the Dowager Duchess led her son in the opposite direction.
Anna soon found Bridget, and breathed a sigh of relief. She was still hurt by Bridget having kept such a huge secret from her, but over the course of several weeks of rehearsals they had begun to rebuild their friendship. The truth was that the misery of losing the Duke was much more bearable with Bridget there to support her.
“Were you just speaking to the Duke of Yanborough?” Bridget asked, looking shocked.
“He wanted to speak with me, but the Dowager Duchess pulled him away before he could say anything,” Anna said. “I wonder what he wished to discuss?”
Bridget looked around, as though to make sure that no one else was listening. Seeing that there was no one else in their little corner of the room, Bridget said, “I think that I may know the answer to that question, but I am afraid that you will not like to hear it.”
“What is it? Please tell me.”
“I overheard some of the other dancers talking earlier today, and it seems that the Duke has taken Elen as his mistress. He is buying her a house. I think that perhaps he wanted to tell you about it himself, so that you would not have to hear it from Elen.”
“What?” Anna said, louder than she had intended. She could not believe such a thing, but perhaps that was only a foolish wish. As she looked about the room, she was horrified to see that the Duke was talking to Elen and her friend Camila, while his mother spoke to Mrs. Bamber on the other side of the room.
Chapter 36
Anna had left t
he party the night before in a complete daze. After her conversation with Bridget, she had felt faint, and Bridget had brought her outside for a bit of fresh air. In the end, she had placed Anna in a hackney and directed the coachman to bring her home to the boarding house.
Mrs. Hughes had helped her to bed, and she had remained there all night and much later in the morning than she would normally have done. She slept fitfully, tossing and turning for hours on end. When she finally woke in the late morning, she resolved never to think of the Duke again.
She had spent too much time chastising herself for being a fool, and she knew now that it would do her no good to continue. Instead, she got out of bed and splashed her face with cold water from the washbasin before getting dressed. She was not hungry, but she went to the kitchen and forced herself to eat something before going to the theater.
The walk to the theater, stretching with the rest of the company, and getting into costume and makeup were all things that Anna could do without much thought, and she found that her mind was curiously blank as she did them today.
Her mind remained in that blank state throughout the evening’s performance. Anna felt confident that her body knew the choreography well enough that this would not be a problem, and she made no errors as she moved across the stage.
Perhaps the blankness of her mind was visible on her face, for Mr. Bamber and Bridget both appeared to be watching her closely at the interval, and again after the performance. At another time, she might have wondered about this, but she was suddenly devoid of all curiosity.
“Anna, will you come with me, please?” Bridget asked.
Anna did not know why she might need to go with Bridget, but saw no reason to object. She nodded to her friend and stood up to follow her. Bridget led her to Mr. Bamber’s office and they both sat down in front of the desk facing the director of the company.
“Miss Rowley and I are worried about you, Miss Conolly,” he said.
“Why?” Anna asked, though she found that she did not much care about the answer.
“You do not seem like yourself,” Bridget said calmly. “Is it because you are upset about what I told you last night?”
“What you told me last night?” Anna repeated.
“About the Duke of Yanborough?” Bridget prompted, sounding a bit alarmed now.
“Why should I be upset about the Duke of Yanborough?” Anna asked.
She saw that Bridget was looking at Mr. Bamber, quite bewildered.
“Come now, Miss Conolly,” Mr. Bamber said, in a kindly voice. “Miss Rowley has told me everything. I know that you have been upset about your broken engagement with the Duke, and now to learn that he has started an affair with another member of the company? And that he is buying her a house? I should think that would be most upsetting.”
* * *
Nathaniel had returned to the ballet on the second night, this time without his mother at his side. He was determined to speak to Miss Conolly after the performance without interference. Once again, he saw that she danced gracefully, and looked beautiful, but lacked the glow he had come to recognize from her earlier performances.
After the performance he rushed to the backstage area where the salon was held, but he did not see Miss Conolly among the group of dancers who entered the room. He searched for her for several minutes before concluding that she was not there, realizing that Miss Rowley also appeared to be absent.
Deciding that he ought to go off and search for her, Nathaniel sneaked into the corridor whence the dancers had just come. As he walked down that corridor he thought that he heard voices ahead of him, and realized that he must be approaching an office or changing room.
Soon, he found himself standing outside of Mr. Bamber’s office, wondering if Miss Conolly and Miss Rowley might be in there with him. He was about to knock on the door when he overheard what was being said. It took him a moment to understand what was happening, but once he did, a surge of anger welled up inside of him and he threw the door open without knocking.
“What the devil?” Mr. Bamber exclaimed, and then his face turned bright red as he recognized Nathaniel.
“I might ask you the same question, Mr. Bamber.”
“What do you mean by barging into my office, unannounced?”
“I came in search of Miss Conolly, in order to tell her that I still love her, and I still wish to marry her, no matter what anyone else thinks.”
Miss Conolly looked up, her eyes darting from Nathaniel, to Mr. Bamber, to Miss Rowley. She looked utterly bewildered, but she could not hide her smile when Nathaniel approached her, knelt down, and took her hands in his.
“I only speak the truth, Miss Conolly. I do not care what anyone else says, I love you and I wish to marry you. As for these two,” he gestured to Mr. Bamber and Miss Rowley, “I cannot understand why, but they are lying to you. I do not even know who this Elen person is, and I am certainly not having an affair with her.”
“You were talking with her last night,” Miss Conolly said, sounding skeptical.
“She is a member of the company?” When he saw Anna nod at this, he continued, “I spoke to many members of the company last night.”
Nathaniel stared into Miss Conolly’s beautiful eyes, and willed her to see the truth in his own gaze. He saw that there were tears welling up in hers, and he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them gently away. She sighed happily at his touch.
“Now,” he said, “what I should like to know, is why these two were telling you lies about me.”
Mr. Bamber and Miss Rowley were both looking away from him and Miss Conolly. It was Mr. Bamber who finally spoke.
“The Dowager Duchess offered to pay us both a substantial sum of money, if we would ensure that Miss Conolly did not marry you. I am not proud of it, but I admit that I took her payment. And I also hoped to keep my prima ballerina, for I knew that she would need to stop dancing if she married you.”
“If she marries me, she will be free to continue dancing for as long as she chooses. Though I cannot see why she would choose to work for someone like you,” Nathaniel sneered at Mr. Bamber, who had the good grace to look ashamed.
“Bridget,” Miss Conolly said, her voice shaking slightly, “Why would you do this to me?”
“Oh, Anna,” Miss Rowley cried, “I am truly sorry. I feared losing you. If you were to become a Duchess, we could never be friends. And I had to think of my own future as well. My current arrangement will not last forever, and then what shall I do? The money from the Dowager Duchess would be enough to live on for several years.”
Nathaniel saw a flash of anger in Miss Conolly’s eyes, and was thrilled to see any emotion there. Perhaps this meant that some of her old, passionate self was returning.
“Miss Conolly, I am so terribly sorry about the things that my mother said to you, and the things she has done since. If you will agree to be my wife, I promise that I will never let her hurt you again. I will send her to live at our country estate when we are in town, and we will hardly ever see her.”
“Oh, Your Grace.” Miss Conolly said, tears brimming over once again. “Yes, yes, of course I will marry you. I have tried so hard to fight my love for you, thinking it was impossible, when the truth is that it is impossible to deny it. I love you, and nothing would make me happier than to be your wife.”
“Thank you. You have made me happier than I can say. And please, call me Nathaniel.”
“All right, Nathaniel,” she said, smiling at the sound of it. “And please call me Anna, as well.”
Chapter 37
Nathaniel had said that he could not wait to be married, and Anna quite agreed, so he had made a generous donation to the bishop for an expedited marriage license. They were married only a week later in the small church near the boarding house where Anna had lived. Mrs. Hughes and Daisy and Lily were there.
Anna had insisted that the Dowager Duchess be invited, though Nathaniel wished to send her to the country even before the wedding. In the end she had decided to
leave London immediately, and Anna had to admit to herself that she was rather relieved.
Not only did this mean that she would not be present at their wedding, it also meant that she and Nathaniel would have the townhouse all to themselves afterwards.
I expect that we shall make good use of that privacy. Waiting, even just a week, since accepting his proposal has been a sort of torture.
Nathaniel had surprised her by sending the carriage to Wiltshire to fetch her mother and bring her back to London for the wedding. She had arrived at the boarding house the day before, and had helped Anna to prepare her gown for the following day. She would be staying with Mrs. Hughes, in Anna’s old room for a few days after the wedding, and would finally see Anna perform in a few days’ time.
The Art 0f Pleasuring A Duke (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 26
