by Aubrey Brown
The duke slumped into his seat, dumbfounded. The contract had yet to end. Nevertheless, he was receiving probate from this mad man.
“Sir, with all due respect, the contract has yet to end. My time limit was before her birth date on New Year’s Eve.”
“Yer time started on her eighteenth year, boy. Her sisters married when they were eighteen or a little after. No’ almost three years later!” he practically roared.
“I have come for Anna’s hand now. May I know where she is, sir?” he stated through gritted teeth.
A light twinkled in his eyes as he sat backward in his seat and folded his massive arms across his chest. “Mayhap, or I may just let ye wallow about this estate and watch as I take back my investment ten times over, and ye return tae London in disgrace,” Grigor replied.
David looked at the man, dumbfounded. Apparently, Mister Snowe could see that.
“Ye be a smart, boy. I would bet ye have had a solicitor look over those papers carefully. However, it says nothing in there about whether or not my daughter consents tae the match. It just says ye have tae marry the girl before her twenty and one birth date.”
“What do you mean if she consents? I do not understand your meaning,” David said.
The man laughed at him and said, “Boy, do ye no’ understand? Ye ha’e tae marry me daughter before the New Year. Ye have to find her and marry her. The dicker diddna’ state that she had tae be made ready for ye. No matter who decides to end the betrothal, ye has to pay back the dowry tenfold.”
As the dawning horror registered in His Grace’s eyes, Mister Snowe laughed and slapped his knee. “Now ye get it, boy. My daughter has heard of ye through yer gossiping friends of London and doesna’ want tae marry ye. I have given her consent tae no’. She has run away and is now hiding until the New Year.”
David was in shock, and he knew the earl could see it. However, the other man seemed to be used to his father-in-law’s boorish manner and held his own counsel. Breandan then stood and walked to the door.
“I am going to go and check on Ada and Craig. If you will excuse me?” He bowed out of the room as quickly as the wind, and David was now left with a very angry future father-in-law. He had no idea that rumors and gossip had made their way from London to their country home. The matter could not be helped now. He needed to find out where Anna was so he could marry her before the start of the New Year.
“I beg your pardon, sir. However, I need to know where Anna is. I realize I may have dismissed her for too long, but I am here now and am ready to do my duty to her and your bargain with my deceased father,” David stated through clenched teeth.
“So ye father died, did he? When did he expire?”
“A few months ago, but he has been bedridden for the last five years.”
“So ye have been receiving my missives and ye yerself have been ignoring me?” The older man’s face became very red with anger.
David realized his mistake and tried to think of some fantastic lie to soothe the savage man.
“The estate has been in a severe state of disarray since you and my father made the bargain when I was eighteen years old. My father had excessive debts that needed to be paid, and when your bargain was made, my father did not pay all the debtors. When the estate came into my hands after my father took ill, I had much to do to bring the estate back into working order. The surrounding homes had been in ill repair for so long, I had to oversee the work. I…apologize that your missives went unanswered. However, my father left me in quite a spot. You must understand that, sir?” the duke asked.
“What I understand, is that ye ha’e been practicing duke since the time my daughter was eligible tae marry ye. A duke needs a duchess tae run an estate. Ye had my daughter tae help shoulder yer burden. And ye chose tae delay yer marriage until her twenty and one birth date. I give ye sympathies, young man, for the loss of yer father, but no excuse can quell my anger for the hurt me daughter has suffered.
David felt the frustration build within his breast over this man’s accusations. He was a duke, and no one spoke to him thus. This man should be happy he came for his country bumpkin at all. He could have paid the dowry tenfold. It would have been difficult, but he could have done it and kept the estate running. However, the disgrace would be too painful for his family to bear.
“Sir, my family has suffered enough humiliation from my father’s action…”
“I need tae consult with me wife. I will leave ye here tae finish taking tea.” The massive man stood and left the office, which left the duke alone with his own thoughts.
Chapter Three
David heard a cough come from outside the hallway and then the door creaked open. A woman came into the room. When she turned and made eye contact with David, his throat closed. She had hair the color of a red sunset, eyes green as moss, and lips perfectly bowed. She was stunningly beautiful. She was an older woman, with slight wrinkles around her eyes, but her complexion was creamy.
She approached him and said, “I am given to understand you have come for my eldest daughter’s hand?”
“I have, my lady.” It was all David could say.
“You have certainly taken your time, young man,” she added.
“I…uh…”
“You need not defend your actions. I understand what goes on in noble circles. I realize the men of the ton wait for marriage until an heir is needed, and your father has recently died. Your Grace, I am sorry for your loss, and I believe in time of grief certain aspects of life can be overlooked. So I have briefly spoken with Grigor, and I have decided to give you the address of where Anna is. She may be angry now, because of your abandonment up until this point, but the contract did state you had until her twenty and one year. It would be unfair not to give you a chance to marry her before that time. Rumor and gossip are a part of society. Unfortunately, the women of the ton can be vicious and cruel with their words.”
She walked over to the desk and wrote a script that she immediately handed to him. He took the note with gratitude.
“Thank you, my lady.” He folded the note and pocketed it.
She tilted her head and walked to the door and stopped. “A room has been readied for your stay, Your Grace. I expect you want to rest before journeying back to Wales.” With that statement in the air, she quit the room.
David groaned and ripped the paper out of the breast pocket inside his waistcoat. It did indeed state the address of Wales. David walked to the door and was greeted by the butler.
David walked through the home and noted it was decorated and warmed with holiday cheer. Christmas was clearly close, which meant Boxing Day was coming, following with the New Year. The thought depressed him, the holidays begotten nothing but heartache and contention for himself and his family. A twitch came to David low in his belly. The holiday season was a very difficult time for reasons he rather not think about at the moment. He had a wayward bride to chase. David was led out of the room and placed inside of his carriage. It was bloody cold and starting to snow once again. Sighing into his bench, he wrapped his arms around his midsection and settled in for a long, uncomfortable drive.
* * * *
Wales, Aunt Gwylan’s estate
One day passed into another, and Anna felt herself relaxing. Ruttles clearly did not divulge her location.
Anna ate her evening meal with her aunt with many a thought flying through her brain. Any girl who knew a duke was coming for her hand would be overjoyed and waiting obediently at home for his arrival. Anna had been educated by the best tutors and social etiquette teachers her father could afford. She was proficient in several languages, and she could dance and sing, and play the piano beautifully. This whole adventure went against her upbringing. She was raised to be the wife of a duke, but she wanted romance. She wanted love. She wanted what her sisters had. She wanted a mad passion that she knew existed within a marriage bed. And that was not to be with the Duke of Kingsberry. He clearly did not want her.
“What has ye in s
uch deep thought, child?” Aunt Gwylan asked.
“I am missing my family, Auntie. I would love to be holding my newest nephew,” she answered.
“Or perhaps your own babe, Anna?”
She was very perceptive. Anna’s face flushed at her assessment. “I would love to have a family someday, Auntie. When I find the right man,” Anna replied.
“Ye will be married someday, child, perhaps sooner than ye think.”
“Auntie, what you are suggesting, I…” Her aunt held her hand into the air to stop her sentence.
“I am no’ suggesting anything, just makin’ conversation, child.” They finished the rest of the meal in peace.
As another day moved on, so did Anna’s fear that the duke would be coming for her. She had taken a stroll in the now dead gardens. The fresh cold air bit into her lungs, and the sensation felt wonderful. Her breath tickled the wind and rose above her head. She loved the holiday season. The singing and the decorating. Her auntie allowed her to decorate her home with wonderful ribbons and freshly cut trees. The home smelled of baking pastries and candy, for the neighborhood children. Anna loved to bring out fresh batches of sweets as they played in the snow. It was a joyous holiday, and she wished desperately for her family to be with her.
She knew her sisters were gathering their very small children around the piano to sing carols and to eat sweets. Anna loved this time of year, but she hated her birthday since her eighteenth year. She waited for the duke and saw nothing from him. No gifts sent to her to show his token of esteem, not even a letter asking if she was in fine health. She felt bereft and lonely. She had spent a better part of her life training to be David’s duchess, and he had given her no thought or concern. She felt a fool, and she did not like feeling foolish.
Anna felt a single tear escape her right eye. It sent a cold shiver down her body as she wiped it furiously away. She promised herself she would not spare another tear for a man who had no interest in her, whether or not she built dreams around the picture she was shown of him when he was sixteen years of age. Anna walked back into the home and removed her boots. She was becoming bored. She had noticed the small pond on which she used to skate as a child, just past the woods. Perhaps her auntie had skates she could borrow?
* * * *
Just outside Wales
David had been on this bloody road for what seemed to be forever. The snow had come down in sheets, and the duke was extremely cold, tired, and half out of humor. If it weren’t for his beloved sisters, he would have told Mister Snowe to go hang. He then would have returned home and gladly paid the debt, and married another chit. However, he had his mother and his sisters to consider. They would be shunned from the ton. So he was honor-bound to chase a girl he had never met before and marry her and provide his estate with an heir.
David was pulled out of his thoughts as the driver yelled down that they were almost there. They were an hour’s ride away from the home. David was glad, for he had never been so cold in all of his life!
* * * *
Wales
Anna placed skates on her boots when she reached the pond’s edge. She was finally alone for the first time in hours, and she was excited to skate after so many years. She placed her feet on the frozen water and started off.
She was not sure how much time passed, but she was enjoying herself for the first time in days. The cold air was not as bad as it was earlier when the snow had fallen. The day was crisp, and the sun was finally out. It was warm against her face as she skated. She was lost to time as she felt her blades glide along the pond’s edge. She always loved to skate here as a child. She felt as if she were flying through the wind. She used to have day dreams about her skating here with the duke. However, like most of her dreams, they shriveled into her frozen heart.
Shaking out of her musings, she concentrated on the blissful afternoon, and she placed her hands into the air and sighed.
* * * *
David arrived at the home and dashed to the door. He knocked once and then twice, and waited. The door creaked open to an older butler, who looked at the duke in distaste. He knew the state of his dress was less than proper, but he was in a hurry.
“I am David Winthrop, the Duke of Kingsberry. I am here for Miss Annabella Snowe. May I be seen?” he asked.
David slid his card into the older man’s palm and was granted entrance. He was shown to a lady’s parlor and waited. A time later the door opened and admitted an aged woman.
“Ye be the duke, I see. Well, it took ye long enough tae come for yer bride’s hand,” she stated.
“And you are, my lady?” David asked in shock as he stood to greet her.
“Misses Ackland, my first name is Gwylan. Ye may refer tae me as auntie, everyone does,” she stated.
“You are the lady of the house then? Where might I find Miss Annabella Snowe, my lady?” David asked, barely hanging on to his temper.
“She is here, Yer Grace. I will tell ye where in due time. First, ye ha’e come tae marry her, yes?”
He nodded his head, and she continued on. “Ye be almost out of time, Yer Grace. I mean no disrespect tae yer station, but ye have much work tae do tae win the fair lady’s heart.”
With that piece of sentiment hanging in the air, the older woman moved from the room and walked toward the kitchens, expecting David to follow. They reached a back door, and she pointed out the window. “Walk past the gardens and go tae the woods. Ye will immediately see the small pond. She is ice skating, Yer Grace. A word of warnin’ tae ye, lad, she is as stubborn as her father. She has been taught what is expected of a duchess, but her fire’s spirit follows the Welsh side.”
He took a deep, fortifying breath and exited the house and walked through the woods.
* * * *
The ice pond
Anna was just about to come off the pond and return inside when she heard a limb snap and saw movement in the surrounding woods. She stopped and waited and watched, her heart beating heavily in her breast. She skated away from the sound to the other side of the pond. She was terrified, and she was ready to yell out when a man came into view. He stood there staring at her. It was the most unnerving feeling she had ever experienced. She was too far away to fully see his face, but his clothing revealed he was of noble birth. Her heart stopped. She was ready to flee when she noticed there was nowhere she could flee to. She was wearing skates, and he was standing in front of the house. She swallowed the lump inside her throat and tried to skate as far to the side as she could.
* * * *
David walked through the trees and saw his quarry skating upon the ice. He made no sound to alert her to his presence. He wanted to see what his future bride looked like before she saw him. He was stunned at her beauty. She was almost a replica of her mother, but younger, with softer features. Her hair was unbound and displayed in beautiful red-russet locks. Her figure, mostly concealed by her cloak, was at a guess to be tantalizing. She spread her hands through the air and smiled up to the sun’s rays, and his body was arrested by her brilliant grin. She had perfectly straight white teeth and pouty lips, which practically begged him to be kissed. His body reacted readily and quickly. What a boon to be attracted to one’s wife. He had not expected this, but this development was welcomed. An heir would be no hardship for him.
He made a move toward the pond, and a limb snapped beneath his feet. He looked up and grabbed the side of a tree. She stopped skating and watched the general area from which he was standing. She then moved quickly to the other side of the pond. She was a smart girl to be wary of him. Why was she unescorted? When she became his wife, such folly would not be permitted, and she would be his wife.
He came out from the trees and remained standing at the pond’s edge. He had no skates, so therefore he would have her come to him. He was about to speak when he saw her staring at him. He was enraptured by her hair. It was long and silky and curled beautifully around her heart-shaped face. The locks flowed freely down her back in delicious red curls. He wan
ted to run his fingers through the tresses and lose himself in her celestial body.
“Who are you?” she yelled.
Her question brought his spine up sharply. She knew of who he was. “I am the Duke of Kingsberry, your intended. I have come to escort you back to London, so we can marry before the New Year.”
Did he hear a snort? Did the chit snort at him?
“My lady, come off the ice and let us talk.” David extended his hand to her, only to watch her skate further off to the side of the pond. “Anna, please come in from the ice. The day draws toward a close.” He extended his hand again.
“My name is Miss Snowe, Kingsberry. And I will not be escorted by you,” she bellowed.
David was brought up short at her retort. He felt his blood heat at her words as he was only just capable of holding his temper. Who does this chit think she is? He was a duke for Christ’s sake. No one spoke to him thus, no one. With the exception of recent events, people groveled at his feet. This girl should be happy that he had come for her at all! He should leave her to rot on the ice.
She was skating around as if she had not a care in the world. She was deliberately ignoring him and being difficult. David sighed internally as he felt his blood boil, not only in rage, but with lust. It would seem her deliberate treatment of him at the moment was…arousing. Damn.
Right, if she wanted him to use her surname, he shall. He tried once again. “I beg your pardon, Miss Snowe. Please come in off the ice for a chat. We have much to discuss.”
“We have nothing to discuss, Kingsberry. I do not wish to marry you, and you do not wish to marry me. Why do we not part company now, and you can go and find a new duchess? I grant you release from your duty.”
She was releasing him? “My lady, you cannot release me of my duty. We have a matter of business to discuss. We have a contract. I have a right to marry you before your next birthday. And I intend on fulfilling the terms of that contract. Now you can come off the ice willingly, or I shall bring you in,” he threatened.
