The Duke's Love (12 page)

“Don’t worry, it is only for a couple of days, then you will be back home and back to your old life.”

Ana already knew her life would not be the same after this weekend. “I think I am going to move to my house in the country and get a dog to keep me company.” On the other hand, she still had her cat. Jake was not a cat person and they
had
disagree
d at times
about what pet they
would
get for
the children
they would have together. It was a bittersweet memory the day he surprised her with a kitten and naming the precious thing together. Allie was now three years old.

Ana thought about other memories of Jake and
their time together.
They
had so many plans for the future. Even when she knew she would let Jake down in
her ability to produce a child
, she honestly thought he would have been happy adopting
. That is
until he firmly told her
that it was not an
option he
would be
willing to explore.

“A dog
, h
uh? That’s the life to have
,
” Eliza said with a smile.

“What will you name it?” One of the maids asked.

“I think I will name him Jake. It would be fitting, no?” She said smiling. 

“At least you could train the dog to
do your bidding,
”
t
he other maid exclaimed and
then
they
all
started giggling.

“I can just see how the
Duke
of Ashbury would react to a dog being named after him
,
" Ana stated merrily.

“I’d wager he would find it amusing
,
”
Eliza shared with confidence. Ana slouched in her seat in a very unladylike fashion and closed her eyes
,
hoping to get some sleep, letting the other wom
e
n
continue to contemplate
what her imaginary dog’s name should be.

Sarah took one last look at the items her maid
had
packed. She wanted all the revealing gowns to come with her and anything else that
would help
get what she want
ed
. They
would
be leaving in the morn
ing. Only her mother and
herself
would be traveling to the estate.
Her father
had begged off, citing business appointments. In all honesty, he had
never
really
liked social affairs to begin with.
Th
at worked out perfectly
, since her m
other
was the one who
let her get away with things. Her father was
strict and
did not tolerate disobedience of his rules
. Not for long, she thought smugly to herself. She was looking to get an offer by the end of the weekend. Why else would the
Duke
extend a personal
invitation?

She was
ecstatic that
Ana
would
not be
around to mess up her plans.
How lucky that
Ana did not
measure
up to the
Duchess
' standards. Sarah was raised with
proper
training and background to take on such a position as Jake’s wife. Wom
e
n all over
the countryside would
envy her
and then it would all be worth it
.

It was
all
Ana’s fault. She
had
put her hands on something that did not belong to her.
She was nobody, coming out of nowhere and way too old
for
having seasons in town. Her chances were up
, now it
was Sarah’s time to shine. She
had
heard the whispers behind her back
and she
was seething with anger and revenge. How dare these people treat the future
Duchess
with such disdain? She
would
show them and she
would
show Ana. The sooner she
could get
Jake hooked, the happier she
would
be.
After
all,
she
was beautiful
, had
the
finest
gowns
and a generous dowry.
However,
now she
needed to start plotting and planning.
S
he needed
a
backup plan
just in case
her pedigree or her beauty did not work to
reel him in
.

Word was that
Jake was a man with a strong sexual appetite
, so she
could just sneak in his room and throw herself
at
him.
There was no doubt in her mind that he
would take the bait. After all, he would not be the first man to do it. She was not ashamed. She knew men like the
Duke
would appreciate the fact
that
she had experience in carnal delight. She was not a virgin and she liked to think herself adventurous in the bedroom. Jake had kissed her a couple times. Granted it had been years
ago
and right out of the schoolroom, but she still remembered how it felt
being
kissed by him. Her stomach fluttered just thinking about
those kisses,
and other things she would love doing with him. She shivered with her
naughty
thoughts. She could not keep the anticipation up much longer. She wanted him and she deserved him. Mother was wrong when she said he gave no indication
that
he
was
considering offering for
her.

Sarah went downstairs
to say goodnight to her father.
She went past the new footman her mother
had
just hired. He was a handsome man, older than she was
,
and
he
had been giving her sly looks most of the day. She was flattered
that
he was interested.
Well, she
could use some practice before the weekend. Why not him?
He was just what she needed to keep her mind off Jake. She went up to him and offered a silent invitation. As she knew he would, he jumped at the chance.
An hour
later,
he
came to
her room and
she
locked her door.

Jake arrived before his brother and
he
went to
find
where his mother was. He wanted
to familiarize himself
with the guest list. Who was sleeping where and what activities were planned. He wanted to organize some alone time with Sarah and her parents, not that he already
had
decided on Miss Fairchild, which he had not. He had to keep reminding himself of the fact.

“There you are mother
,
”
h
e said
,
as he bent slightly and kissed his mother’s cheek
after finding her in his study
.

“You beat your brother
,
” She said.

“I knew I would. I have responsibilities
,
which I need to see to before the guest get here
,
”
h
e said distastefully
. It annoyed him that
his brother did not take his own duties seriously.

“Your brother has his own responsibilities too, dear
,
”
s
he chided gently.

“Yes
,
well, you should leave us be and forget about this bloody party
,
”
h
e snapped. He did not mean to
, it was just that he
was already feeling the rope tighten around his throat. 

“Jake
Trent
! I do not care
a whit
if you are the
Duke
.
You will not speak to your mother like that again,
”
s
he
reprimanded
.

“You
’
r
e
right mother, my apologies
,
” Jake felt
con
trite. He knew he was on edge when
he spoke to his mother in such a manner
.

“Jake?” Katherine hesitated.

“What is it
, M
other?” Jake looked at his mother’s face. She looked worn and tired.

“There is something you ought to know
,
” s
he said
softly
. Jake frowned.

“And that would be?” He watched as she wrung her hands together and avoided his
gaze
. He knew whatever was
coming;
it would not be to his liking
.

“I invited Lady
Ana
to come
here
for the
weekend.
In fact, she
will be part of our
party
. I have already spoken to her and she is coming.
Of that,
I’m certain
,
” s
he
was speaking so quickly that
Jake had to decipher what she
was telling him
. She looked at Jake and watched as his features and stance hardened.

“Congratulations,
thanks to that invitation
you have
just made my weekend an utter
hell
,
”
h
e said through clenched teeth. “May I ask why you felt the need to include her?” He
asked after getting his voice under
control
and remembering that this was his mother
to whom
he was speaking
.

“I thought
that perhaps the two of you might be able to work
things out
,
”
s
he answered.

“Mother, if I really wanted to work things out
,
I would have
gone
after her two years ago. I do not care about her. I thought you didn’t care for her either
,
” Jake said. He ran his fingers through his hair
.
“
I do appreciate you
telling me before the guests arrive so I can make certain to avoid her
somehow,
”
h
e said
,
before she got the chance to reply.
He fully knew that he
would have a devil of time staying away from Ana.

“I thought I was doing you a favor.” She looked at him with a hopeful expression.

What was his mother thinking? Sarah was going to throw a fit, he could see it now, especially when he already assured her that Ana would not be here. Why had Ana even accepted the invitation? What game was she playing now? He went over and picked up
the
accepted
invitation
s
. She wasn’t even on the
list his mother
had written
out for him.
He decided he had better look over the list to see if there were any more surprises and he
was studying it
,
when
his mother told him the rest
.

“She will be here later tonight
,
Jake. The invitation I sent her was a little different from the others
,
” Katherine shrank back from her son’s
angry
gaze
.

“I will just avoid her another day. Miss Fairchild will be arriving in the morning. It shouldn’t be too hard to ignore her for a few hours
,
” Jake said as
he
straightened.

He was in turmoil. He was mad, hurt
and
having
every other emotion a man is not
supposed to
feel rushing up to the surface. He hated
feeling those things
of vulnerability
. It wasn’t in his nature. He prided himself on his cool and
detached
demeanor,
but it
was quickly being thrown out the window. Ana was and still is the only woman he knew that could make him feel like
that
. She was like a disease living under his skin. He wanted to run as far and as fast as he could to get away from her. Only he had r
u
n out of places to go.