The Duke's Love (3 page)

The coach
came to a stop in front of her
town
home
. “Thank you, your
Grace
,
for escorting us home.”
s
he said stiffly
,
and then stepped out without another word
,
and without waiting for
him to walk her
to the door. Jake allowed her this
,
and waited until she
was
safely inside
,
before he instructed his driver to
take him to
his own
town home
, which ironically was
only
two blocks away. He vowed
that
he would do whatever it took to forget her.
Of course, he would have to start forgetting
tomorrow, because
tonight
was
already
shot to hell.

Ana
closed
the
front
door behind her and leaned
against
it. Her palms were sweating and she was flushed. She could not believe he was here in
London
. Jake
had
said he was looking for a bride. She wondered if she would ever get that chance again
,
and if she did
,
would she ever take it. She shook her head, not believing what she was thinking. She was not stupid
;
Jake would
certainly make every effort to
avoid her every chance
possible
. Ana
had
never told Jake the real reason why she cried off
their betrothal
.
There was no way he
c
ould ever understand.
After all, he
was a
Duke
and his family line was impeccable. His family stayed away from scandal
,
and with her background, it was sure to cause one. If she
had
married him
,
and
then
he found out she was born a bastard child
,
and could never have children of her own, it would have ruined him
.

She knew how much he wanted children. They
had
talked about it several times, but
she could
never
bring
herself
to
confide in
him
about her condition. Hearing him make plans for a little girl or boy almost destroyed her.
No good could
ever
come of
Jake
knowing.

Slowly
,
she walked up the marble staircase
,
taking in everything that had happened in the last few hours.
Ana went up to her room undressed, slipped into
bed,
and tried to sleep.
However, sleep
had
escaped her
. At
three in the
morning,
she was still awake and
exhausted
from all the tossing and turning.
The servants would be up and sc
urry
ing about in
just
a few hours.

Allie, her beloved cat jumped on the bed and curled up next to her. Jake had given her the cat when
he started courting her.
She petted her long sleek hair and
Allie
rewarded her
with
soft purr
s
. She glanced around her room that once belonged to her mother. She loved the warmth and feelings the room inspired.

Ana
loved
the
independence
that had been afforded her
. She lived in the elegant town home that
had
once belonged to her parents.
Even the décor
that her
mother
had
painstakingly picked
out
remained
.
Her
father’s
study
had been kept
just as
it was
if he were expected home at any time
.
Only
a few servants
remained;
a wonderful cook, a
lady’s maid
and her elderly butler
that
she
had
kept on from her parent
’
s employ.
How could she feel alone in her home surrounded by the
very people she grew up
around?
 

However, for
the first time since her parent’s death
,
Ana felt
very
alone. Her closest relative was her aunt and uncle who lived in
America
.
When Ana’s parents died, she had
sent
a message to them,
but
she had
not
yet
receive
d
a response.
Her uncle
had
married an American woman and moved to the continent when Ana was
a small child
. She kn
e
w they had a daughter
who
was a year or two younger than she was, but they had never actually met.
Now her
uncle was the Earl
, and so they
were
needed back
in
England
. Her parent's estates and finances were still in limbo.

Jake had never met her uncle
,
but he got along well with her father.
She thought
back to when her father
had
first met
Jake
.
He
had
liked
the
Duke
tremendously, not just because of his title, but also for his demeanor and character.

They went hunting together and played chess against each other.
Knowing that
Jake’s own father had died in the last year, she wondered
how he had dealt with it
. He
had been so
upset when her
parents
died
,
and she
remembered how he
had taken
care of her after the
ir
accident
and death
. He was gentle and tender with her through
out
the ordeal
,
and it only reinforced her decision about not marrying him.
Occasionally
,
she
had
pangs
of guilt that she had not sent any
flowers or a letter
when
his father had died
.
The least she
should have
done was to
acknowledg
e it, especially since
Jake had done
so much for her when she
was
in the same situation
.

It had been a
fter
Jake approached her parents for her hand,
when
they decided
it was time
to tell her about her parentage.
Since
,
he had a right to know before they marr
ied
.
Especially, since
Jake’s mother, the
D
uchess, was a stickler for
the
rules
and strictures of society
.
Of course, The Duchess
had
disliked
Ana
from the start
,
and
she
had never
attempted
to disguise that
fact
.
However
,
A
na
took the coward's way out and never let Jake or anyone else know the truth. The ton would not be accepting of her
as
they
were
now
.
If they knew
the secret, her
friends would abandon her, and her life would be in shambles
,
even more
so
,
than it was now. 
Scandal would follow her no matter where she went and everyone in society would shun her.
Her place in society would
end
and she would not be welcomed in any of the finer homes.

When Jake
had
proposed,
she accepted
,
because she loved him and she foolishly thought she could go through with the marriage. 
However,
Ana knew deep down
that
she was only putting off the inevitable.
Deeply
ashamed
,
she just couldn’t tell him about her past, but when
he
began
talking about
the
children
he wanted
, she knew she had to
end it before it was too late
.
Therefore, she had
walked out and Jake
had
not stopped her; he was too
proud. It took all
the fortitude she could muster,
not to look back.
Never would she forgive herself for letting her pride and fears get in the way of her love for Jake. If only she had told
him, then
Jake
could have made
the decision of whether he wanted her
,
regardless
of her secret
.

Now
,
Jake hated her, he was to marry someone else
,
and it hurt. She discovered he still had power over her
and her feelings
.
Her love for
him
was still strong
and that hurt most of all. She
had
fought her feelings for two years
,
and she
had
convinced
herself that
they were under control.
After seeing him again,
she knew what was missing in her life.
If she was ever
to have happiness
, s
he knew
she had
to tell him what she could not two years ago.
Although it would
not make a
ny
difference now
, he
deserved at least an explanation
.
Maybe then,
she could close that
chapter in her life
and maybe, just maybe she would be able
to move
on
. Ana tossed and turned for what seemed like hours
,
before she finally
succumbed to
a fitful sleep.

Waking up late the next morning,
Jake cursed at himself
, because
there was
much
for him to do, so he
had
no time for
lying
in
bed all day
. He had meetings in Parliament
,
had to go to his tailor for new clothes
,
and then
he
had to pay calls
on
old friends. He
had
neglected his duties and obligations
for
far
too long.
Even though he knew he
had to start his life over
, he could not get Ana out of his thoughts
. He threw the
bed
covers off and jumped out of
bed
.
Most of his luggage had yet to be unpacked
, so
Jake quickly dressed with whatever clothes he could find.

As
Jake made his way down
the
stairs
, he
could hear
his brother
Jordan
and
the
butler arguing back and forth.