The Heart of a Duke Bundle by Christi Caldwell

Author:Christi Caldwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Regency
Publisher: Christi Caldwell
Published: 2017-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

The only silence amidst Lady Westmoreland’s entire hall happened to be with the five people seated in the very last row.

Mother broke the awkward pall. She rose in a flutter of silvery-grey skirts. “Your Grace,” she tittered behind her hand. “What an absolute pleasure.”

Anne winced and reluctantly came to her feet wishing she could dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment at Mother’s clear grasping.

Polite greetings were exchanged between Katherine’s husband, the Duke of Bainbridge and the young Duke of Crawford.

She waited for a hint of jubilance at the duke’s seeming interest, yet as she studied him conversing with her brother-in-law, she felt only a bored disinterest in what matters the two young dukes cared to discuss.

The heart of a duke. This is what you want. You’ve dreamed of the title of duchess and with it the security and stability represented in that lofty ascension of rank.

With pleasantries aside, the Duke of Crawford turned the full force of his ducal regard on Anne. She shifted at his intent scrutiny, while fingering the ribbon woven through her hair. The duke’s gaze drifted lower and her cheeks burned.

She released the satin striped fabric. “Your Grace,” she murmured and sank into a deep, respectful curtsy.

The duke claimed her hand. “Lady Anne,” he said quietly. His lips hovered above the inner portion of her wrist and he raised it to his mouth.

Disappointment surged through her at her body’s total lack of awareness of that slight caress. He released her hand and she fisted the fabric of her skirts. From the corner of her eye she detected Harry’s hot, furious stare. What did he have to be angry with? He was the cad who’d been eying her sister in the midst of the recital, which only mattered because he was supposed to be feigning interest in Anne.

The Duke of Crawford looked between them.

Liar.

He settled his autocratic gaze on Harry. “Not your usual entertainments for the evening, Stanhope, eh? I thought you made it a rule to avoid all respectable events.” He chuckled at his own charge.

Annoyance churned inside her. She knew the man was a duke and surely had been reared to believe he could say anything without fear of rebuke, but really, his words were borderline crass.

Harry’s hard muscles went taut, straining the fabric of his expertly tailored black coat. But then his firm lips turned up in a half-grin, an insolent smile for the other man, proof that she’d merely imagined his reaction to the duke’s words. “Some rules are meant to be broken. And,” he looked to Anne. “Some people are worth breaking rules for.”

Her breath caught. And she knew his words, the look in his eye was merely part of his efforts to help her secure the duke’s hand, yet, in that moment everything, everyone melted away so that just they two remained.

“Indeed,” the duke murmured. He shifted his attention to Anne, promptly dismissing the earl. “My lady, may I request the pleasure of calling on you?”

Anne looked around, uncertain why her sister, mother, and Harry were staring at her.

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