Just then, as he considered his earlier thought of sinking to his knees to pleasure her, a voice rang out across the gardens.
“Has she agreed yet?” Colin’s voice. Surprisingly resonant.
Anna jumped back as if she’d been struck, her eyes wide with sudden panic, her hand flying to her chest as if that might calm her ragged breaths.
“Agreed?” she panted. “What is he talking about?”
“I don’t know,” Jeremy replied, as he quickly searched Anna’s appearance to ensure nothing was out of place.
Her face was flushed, but that could easily be explained as the anger from an argument or the chill of the cool evening air. The rest of her stayed perfectly pristine and resplendent as when she had entered the drawing room, with not a skirt or neckline out of place.
“Come out and tell us the happy news if you have some to give!” Colin called out again, adding a fresh layer of confusion to Jeremy’s dazed mind.
He took Anna’s hand and looped it through his arm, taking a breath before guiding her to the entrance of the trellised tunnel. She tried to pull away, likely worried about what awaited them outside, but he saw no other way.
I dragged her out here. If there’s gossip, it’s up to me to dispel it.
The moment they stepped out of the camouflage of tangled, mature wisteria, Jeremy noticed that Anna’s lady’s maid was standing nearby. For the first time, he was grateful for her presence, for it at least gave the illusion that Anna was being chaperoned and everything was above board.
Although he had to wonder how much Katherine had heard.
“What did I tell you?” Colin bellowed, drawing the couple’s attention to the rather crowded terrace.
Indeed, Jeremy doubted there were any guests left inside; evidently, they had all come out to see what was going on, drawn by their thirst for scandal. It sickened him to witness how ghoulish people could be, eager to attend the downfall of others. Of course, there were some people who warranted an audience to their downfall, but Anna wasn’t one of them. She had been through enough already, thanks to people like this.
Beatrice…
Jeremy noticed his sister-in-law off to one side of the crowd, her arms crossed, her eyes cold as they seemed to bore into him. An air of ‘I told you so’ or ‘you should have let me stop you.’ All too late now.
“I was just saying,” Colin continued loudly, “That it seems the Dowager Duchess of Stonebridge has finally found the right man for her!”
It sounded rather like a prompt, but Jeremy wasn’t sure of his lines.
Reluctant before, Anna now began pulling Jeremy toward the terrace, a frown upon her face that suggested she was about to make the situation worse. For herself, at least.
“So, is it happy news?” Colin asked, rather pointedly.
Anna shook her head. “Actually, His Grace and I are not–”
“We’re not only in possession of happy news, but we’re ready to share it,” Jeremy interrupted swiftly, noting the glittering eyes of the watching guests, how hungry they were for Anna to destroy herself, baying silently for her blood.
A ripple of confusion whispered up and down the terrace, the bloodthirsty gleam in their eyes dimming for a moment. Beatrice just shook her head in slow disappointment.
“What are you doing?” Anna hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
Jeremy ignored her, more focused on her safety and protection than on his own future vows. He could let her protest and wait for the scandal to break—that she had been seen alone in the gardens with the new Duke of Stonebridge—but he was not going to watch her endure more suffering than she probably already had.
“Ye might be confused, but we held this house party for a reason,” said Jeremy.
“Jeremy…” Anna whispered sharply.
“Her Grace and I are to be married,” he declared before she could think of stopping him. “And the reason ye’re all here is that we need guests, and I don’t know anyone in English society yet, so I thought… why not turn a house party into a wedding?”
Anna stared at him, her grip on his arm like a vise.
“It will take place in a week,” he added. “To those of ye who can’t stay, I will take nay offence. To those of ye who can, consider yerselves the first to know that the Duchess of Stonebridge, this lass at me side, will remain the Duchess of Stonebridge.” Though he didn’t have a drink, he raised his hand as if he did. “To me bride.”
There was a brief delay in the response, as if the guests were struggling to keep up with what was happening. But Colin didn’t miss the cue, raising his glass in the air.
