The Duke's Love

Thank you to my husband
for loving his
crazy
wife
every day
.
You are
a good
Elephant.

To my children
who love their crazy mommy, I love you guys too.

Thank you to Carol Green for the beautiful Cover art.

Thank you to Frankie Sutton for bein
g an awesome editor, mentor,
and friend.

By

Stephanie
Maddux

Although
Ana
had managed to leave the
ball undetected
,
here she was
just a bit later
,
stranded,
and alone
in her carriage
.
Well over a hundred guests were in attendance, all crammed in a small room. It was easy to sneak out, since no one had paid much attention to her. The ball was just one of
the
many that started the season, and Lady Stanton had started in style, at least with the ball she had just left.

The driver
had been
going
at a ra
pid pace
,
when the wheel
became stuck in one of the many mud holes in the streets of
London
,
and the carriage refused to budge.
Ronald, the driver,
attempted to push the carriage out of the muck, but he couldn’t dislodge it.
At least, she
wasn’t injured
when the carriage jolted to a stop. However,
the streets of
London
were not where a
lady should be alone at night.
They
were dange
rous
,
especially at night,
and eve
n though Ana knew this, she
could
not
summon up enough energy to care.

She had grown w
e
ary of living in
London
;
it was boring and bothersome
, just like the ball she
had
just left
. She peered out the window. There was a dim light flickering in the distance,
but
it was
dark,
and she could barely see anything other than unlit
town homes
. For once the streets were clear and the air was somewhat diluted
.
The
stench
of the city wasn’t as thick at night as it was
in the daytime hours.

Well, there was nothing to do
,
but settle back and wait
for her driver to
return from fetching help. Ana pulled her legs up under her
ball gown
and leaned against the side of the carriage, intending to rest while she
waited
.
She was having a hard time trying to get comfortable in her
lavender
ball gown
,
the
fluff,
and lace
,
scratching her skin.
Her eyes had just closed
,
when she thought she could hear
a carriage approach from
the distance. She knew that her driver had not been gone long enough to find help.

It was
also
too early in the night for
it to
be any of the other guests from the ball. After all, it
was hours
from being over.
She
could hear
the carriage
getting closer, so she pulled
the thick velvet curtain aside to
peer
outside
, but
it was
too
dark
and difficult to see
.
Suddenly,
the carriage stopped beside her,
she waited
for the
customary
polite knock on the door
.
However, the light
courteous
tap did not happen.
Instead,
the carriage door
was
jerked open with
vicious
force
.
Even through the darkness,
Ana
had no problem identifying the man
who
stood in front of her
with an angry scowling face
.

“What the hell do you think you are doing
here b
y yourself in the middle the night
,
and with no protection?
A
re you
just
going to sit there and ignore me? Of course you are
. You have always been
quite good
at
doing so
,
haven’t
you?”

The anger was evident with each word that came out of his mouth
. Oh, how she remembered that mouth.
He spoke each word with
a
hatred
that
he
obviously
felt toward her. She felt the lash of his words strike her
,
reminding her
self
that she deserved ever
y
one of them.
Of all
the
people
in the world to stop
,
why
him?
He was the very last person she ever wanted to see again.  Jake Trent
,
the
Duke
of Ashbury
,
was
standing in the door of her carriage, angry and frowning.

“
Your Grace
? What are you doing in
London
? I thought…I thought you
left for
Scotland
?"

Suddenly, she felt vulnerable
,
so she
tightened
her
wrap around her shoulders
, as if she could
shield herself from his view
and
her
feelings
.

“You would like that
,
wouldn’t you, to never see me again?
Do you honestly think so
little of me
,
my Lady
?” He asked, his eyes intense
as
he watched her every move.

Looking up at him, she ached to explain what had happened two years ago, but she knew that
he
wouldn’t
listen
,
nor
would he
care.
Therefore,
she said nothing
.

She loved him as much as
a
ny
person could love another. He was the only person who knew everything about her
.
Well
,
almost everything
.
It
was truly a shame that she could not say the same about him. He
was
always a mystery, keeping to himself, ensuring no one got too close, including her.
Unable to think of an answer
,
she just
stared at him
,
wondering if fate was
trying to tell her something
.

Finally,
she spoke up and said,
“
You
may
leave
, for
I have no wish
for anyone to find me
alone with you in my carriage
.
”

“
Ana
,
you
may not
care for
me anymore
,
but I will not leave you stranded
and
alone. If you prefer
,
I
will
not
speak again.
Nonetheless,
I will wait until your driver is back
, and
only
then
will I
leave.
”

The Duke of Ashbury
bounded into her
coach
and
took the seat across from hers.
She
turned from him and
stared out the window
into the darkness,
not seeing anything
, but
not really knowing what to say.
Ana could feel him
watching her.

When she
dared a glance
at him
, she realized that
he
looked more handsome now
,
than he did two years ago. His dark brown hair
was
cut short,
and
his green eyes
were
staring at her intently. She had forgotten how tall he was.
At six and a half feet
,
with h
is legs taking up the space in the small carriage
, it
was hard
not
to
notice
.
The
chiseled features
of his face
made him look rugged.
There was no other word to describe him
; he
was handsome. She remembered his firm muscled body lying
alongside
hers
,
and she thanked god
that
it was dark
, so
he could not see her
sudden
ly
blush at her thoughts
.

“I’m to be married
,
didn’t you know
? After all, you are the
toast of the season and all
. I would have thought you would have been told.
” His sarcastic words
stung her.

“Really?
I had no idea that you had
found a woman
who was
willing
to marry
you.
Oh how
I pity what her life will be like with you.
Since you
are betrothed, th
en you really should leave. After all, someone might see us alone. Then, g
od forbid
,
I'd be the one marry
ing
you.” She hoped her jealousy would not show in her voice.