Ducal Encounters 02 - With the Duke's Approval by Wendy Soliman Page B

have to abduct her? Besides, she was the one who insisted upon walking outside. He had advised against it. He was an honourable man, albeit a slave to duty. He could not even attend a ball without matters of state intruding upon his leisure time.
    She thought about their lively discourse during their dance together and, joy of joys, heated invaded her insides, helping to counter the increasingly frozen state of her limbs. An odd, pleasurable sensation spread through her mid-section as she recalled Lord Romsey’s shy, lopsided smile when he corrected her about the colour of her own eyes. No one had ever done that before. Of course, he was a diplomat and, as he had said himself, trained to notice small details. She should not read too much into his powers of observation.
    Her brothers were all disgustingly handsome, self-assured hellions. Anna thought Lord Romsey to be just as handsome, but she doubted whether he had ever acted spontaneously in his entire life, even as a child. He was self-contained, as though he had never learned how to have fun. Every word he spoke was measured, carefully thought through. Except when he danced with her. She was perfectly sure he had enjoyed her society and allowed himself to relax.
    But his fleeting pleasure would now be tempered by her brothers’ anger. They would hold him responsible for her disappearance, which would have an adverse effect on their already rocky relationship. If Anna got out of this unharmed, Lord Romsey would not wish to know her. She had already caused him quite enough trouble, and nothing could be permitted to come between him and his blasted duty.
    “We shall see about that,” she said aloud, more determined than ever to broaden his horizons.
    Anna rubbed her hands together, stood up, and stamped her feet in a futile effort to restore some feeling into them. She waved her arms around and tried to get the blood flowing through her body. Her efforts proved woefully inadequate. She paused when she heard voices on the other side of the door. She thought it was the two men who had brought her here, but she couldn’t hear what they actually said. Perhaps that was not such a bad thing. Ignorance was sometimes bliss. She had obviously been abducted by order, otherwise why would someone be coming to talk to her? What possible information could she possess that required such dangerous, daring, and drastic action?
    Anna kicked off her damp slippers. They were making her feet even colder. She felt about until she found the old sack they had used to cover her head. Using all her strength, she rent it in half, and then half again. She tied a piece around each foot as tightly as she could manage. Wiggling her toes, she felt a little, a very little, warmer. She managed a wry smile as she imagined what she must look like. A beautiful but torn ball gown, sacking on her feet, her hair falling all over the place, her lip cut and caked with dried blood, and her entire body blue with cold.
    But she was alive.
    Never lose sight of that fact, she told herself repeatedly.
    Anna was unsure how long she sat there, her arms cuddling her upraised knees beneath the ratty blanket, colder than she had been in her entire life. To her astonishment she must have dozed because something, some sound, woke her. No, not a sound, she realised, but lack of it. The storm had passed, the wind was gone, and it was now deathly quiet. She opened her eyes and gasped with relief. There was some light in the room. She could see the shape of the boxes stacked all around her quite clearly. It took her a moment to realise the light was coming from the window. The sky was now crystal clear, lit up by a near full moon.
    She moved slowly and awkwardly on stiff limbs, shuffling across to the window. Yes, she was definitely close to the wharf. She could smell the rancid river and see other large warehouses looming nearby. What had actually woken her was the sound of a branch knocking against her window. It must have been