The Duke's Love (16 page)

Slowly
,
she became aware of the sudden quietness around her. She saw Jake tense up. She looked around to see what caused this. She did not have to look further than the door. She saw Sarah and Lady Felicia walk in
to
the room. Ana’s stomach
lurched and she felt ill
.
Never had she experienced such a moment of sheer awkwardness.
Jordan
laid
his
hand on her arm,
giving her the support she needed
.

She watched as Sarah sat down right next to Katherine
at
the other end of table. The tension made the room even
stuffier
.

“Well,
let’s
not all talk at once
,
” Katherine joked.
The men sat and
Ana could plainly see Sarah was seething. Dinner was a long and horrible affair, hardly anyone spoke and everyone was aware of the reason why. Jake sat there and ignored everyone, brooding in silence. Sarah was trying desperately to start a conversation with the person closest to her,
and
when she failed
,
she
mostly just
talked to her mother. Ana
conversed for the most part with
Eliza, making sure to keep her voice low, as to not call attention to herself.

“I think it is past time for the men to retire to the billiards room
for a cigar and a glass of port,
”
Jordan
suggested as he stood up. The suggestion put the room in rapid motion, Ana noted wryly. The men stood up and gathered in the other room and the women stayed rooted
,
wondering what would happen next.

“What are you doing here? You have no right! No right!” Ana turned around to where Sarah was screaming
, k
nowing it was directed at her.

“The Duke
personally invited her here
,
” Eliza taunted broadly, as she delivered this information.

“
I realize that you are upset, but
what happened belongs in the past and I don’t think
we should be disrespectful of our host by losing our tempers,
” Ana stated bluntly.

“My temper? My temper! You haven’t seen anything. How dare you come in here and act as if you even have the slightest interest in being here. You just want to ruin this for Jake and me. I will not have it. Do you understand me?” Sarah screeched at Ana.

“This party is not about you
,
Miss Fairchild. I suggest you be polite to my guest and apologize for you behavior. I will not have this here. Next time, you will be asked to leave
,
” Katherine said coolly as she came forward.

The rest of the women stared and waited. Sarah clearly wanted to refute this, but having no other choice, kept her mouth shut. Ana saw the other women were positively entertained by this
.
By tomorrow, all of the ton
would
know of
the spectacle
.

“I will not apologize, she is the lowest of
women,
and I will not have her here. She has no right.
His Grace
specifically told me she would not be here and I demand somethi
ng be done.” Sarah continued on
now regardless of the co
nsequences.

“
Someone should go and fetch the
Duke
and expla
in to him that she has to leave,” Sarah said.
Someone must have already informed him
,
because Ana noticed that Jake was standing in the doorway watching the drama unfold. His tall frame leaning
to
one side with his arms crossed. He had a fierce expression on his face and it did not bode well
,
when he finally straightened and entered
the room
.
Briefly,
she
wondered how long he had been standing there.

"
I guess we shouldn’t have left,
"
Jordan
said when all the men gathered in the billiards room. Jake ran both of his hands through his hair. Dinner
had proven a disaster
. The tension
filling
the room was overwhelming. He had to make his escape, at least long enough to
determine how to unravel the situation
.

"Why did you invite Lady Carmichael here?"
Viscount
Langley spoke over the other men that were whispering among themselves. It was a bold comment coming from the man, Jake thought.

"I didn't, my mother did the honors. I didn't invite you either
, sir
." Jake saw the man was suppressing his anger.

"That’s too damn bad. Ana wanted me here. I know you did not invite me, nor do I care. I am not here to socialize with
the
likes of you. I am here for her." Greg
ory
tossed back
,
insulting the
Duke
in the process.
The situation was deteriorating rapidly and the men appeared
as if they were
waiting
for a fight to break out.

"Stop acting like a bunch of idiots. Get back in there before Sarah and Ana kill each other
,
"
Jordan
demanded.

"I would be
more
worried about Eliza getting to Sarah before Ana
,
"
t
he
Viscount
said under his breath, but not qu
ietly
enough.

"Why don't you come with me
,
Viscount
Langley, if you think you know everything?" Jake
said,
hating the man even more.

"No, Ana would not like my intervening. So let her hate you for it
,
"
h
e answered back.

Jake made his way back to his dining room. He could hear the argument. He went in quietly. It did not matter,
because
all the women were focused on Sarah ranting and waving her hands all around. He saw Ana, white faced and pale. He saw Eliza and realized the
Viscount
was right. She would be the first one to jump if he did not intervene.

“Ana will stay here, where she is my guest and you will accept this fact or you and your mother
may
leave
,
” Jake leveled
at
Sarah
,
making his presence known to everyone.

“Your
Grace
, I do not understand. You told me she was not invited, yet here she is.” Sarah bit out, barely holding in her fury. Her face was getting a botchy red and
her
cheeks were becoming swollen. She was heaving in deep breaths. Sarah clearly was not aware of how she looked to the other people in the room. Jake still could not feel bad for her. She brought this on
herself
with her
public
tantrum.

Jake stared down at the women
who were
making a scene in his own home and in front of his guests. He was disgusted
at the fact that
she could throw such a fit over something
so
trivial. “You have succeeded in giving the gossipers something to talk about for the next year or so. I do hope you are happy with yourself. Plans change. Deal with it and I do not want to hear another word about it
,
” Jake stated blandly.

“Your
Grace
, you have to understand how I feel about this. Can you really blame me?” Sarah said in a low voice.

“I do understand, but it wasn’t my choice, it was my mother’s. I would hope you would respect that
,
” Jake said in a condescending voice. Sarah opened and closed her mouth several times, but remained silent. “I think it is time for everyone to retire and get a good night sleep. We have a lot planned for tomorrow and everyone needs a good rest after the long travel today
,
” Jake said. He spared a glance at his mother, th
e
n at Ana.

Ana wished she could leave
and
return to
London
immediately
to get away from
all the chaos. However, she was determined not to
take the cowardly way out
. Ana and Eliza went to the library
to get a book
. She wanted to read
in an effort to
take her mind off all her troubles. Eliza opted to pick out a book and read in her room alone. Ana stayed in the library by the fire where it was cozy and peaceful. Ana nearly knocked the books off the shelf when
Jordan
startled her.

“Nasty temper Sarah has
,
”
Jordan
said as she was reaching for a book.
Jordan
came over and helped her pull it down from the shelf.

“She has always been that way
,
Jordan
,” s
he said as if he did not know. He smiled showing his humor in the situation.

“I agree with you. You have to admit it was rather humorous
watching someone throw
a fit in front of everyone
,
”
h
e said. She laughed and agreed with him. "Don't let her run you off. She embarrassed herself rather badly tonight
,
"
Jordan
continued.

"At least Jake knows I wasn't the one who ruined dinner. You should have seen her face when she realized Jake
had come
into the room
during
her tantrum
,
"
h
e laughed. Ana's eyes
laughed until tears were pouring from her eyes.
They talked for a while and she was surprised to see how alike the two brothers were.

“It is getting late
, so
I am off to bed.
Tomorrow will be a long day
. Hang in there
,
dear
,
”
h
e said.
Jordan
got up and stretched, stirred up the fire and then he bid her good
night
. She was
too excited for going to sleep
,
so she decided to stay up and read. Everyone would be in bed by now, so it would not hurt for her to stay here. She got comfortable on the couch and started reading a Shakespearian play. 

Jake sincerely hoped his mother was happy with the havoc she ha
d
brought into his life. Having seen Sarah all fired up in front of everyone
,
opened his eyes a little. He could not have a wife
who threw
a fit when things did not go her way or could not
control
her temper. He was humiliated for his mother and Ana as well. What did Sarah know of their past relationship? She had no hold on him. He was disgusted with the whole ordeal and it was only the beginning of the weekend.

Jake recalled the horrified look on Ana’s lovely face when she realized who
had
walked in at the beginning of dinner. She
had taken
it all in stride and kept a smile on her face.
For some reason, he
had wanted to shield and protect her.
He could not stop watching
Ana like a hawk throughout dinner. He has always felt drawn to her and having her in close proximity was frustrating. Seeing the two women in the same room helped him make his decision about Sarah. They were
as
different
as
night and day.

Sarah was a complete snob and spoiled brat, while Ana could charm a rattlesnake if she wanted too. Jake knew he could never tie himself
down
with Sarah. He now knew why she was not married. No one would have her. One would think her parents would have done something a long time ago.

“This was not how you wanted your weekend to start
, is it?
”
Jordan
came upon him in the hall as he was going to his room.

“What am I going to do?” He asked.

“I suggest you politely ask Lady Felicia and Sarah to leave and call upon them some other time
,
”
he suggested
.