“Good. We will travel, and we will put the horrid fight we had behind us.” She raised her face and pressed her velvety lips to his. “I read your letter. I hope you will forgive me, too.”
“Of course, I have.” He pulled her close and kissed her deeply for what felt like a whole minute. It was so much better than kissing her farewell. “We should go now before I am further tempted to carry you to my bed.”
“I would not mind that,” she purred, the minx that she was.
“Our journey would be delayed,” he pointed out.
“And keeping to time is important to you,” she finished for him. Shaking his head and taking her hand, he began to lead her out of the room. “Wait! The cat!” She stopped and scooped the creature up with one hand and they headed downstairs.
Her lady’s maid and Bishop were already waiting by the carriage when they stepped out, and Anna’s baggage had been loaded onto the carriage. He glanced at Bishop, who bit back a smile, unintentionally revealing that he had been involved in Anna’s schemes. Well, she had won. She was going on the journey with him, and God preserve him, but he was glad.
They settled into the carriage and their journey began. The first hour was quiet with both Colin and Anna reading, and the cat asleep in a basket beside her. He appreciated the silence but he expected her to speak. She did not.
The second hour passed, and she continued to turn the pages of her book, her dark eyes curtained by her long dark lashes. Colin would look at her for a while, thinking she would notice and return his gaze, but she was utterly lost in the book. Occasionally, her eyebrows would furrow or she would smile.
“What has you so diverted?” he asked at last, and she looked up.
“You would not want to know,” she said smugly, placing a dark blue ribbon between the pages.
“Why do you suppose that?”
“It is a romantic tale, and I know you are not fond of those.”
“You are right, however, I find myself curious at this time. I want to know what you are reading.”
She smiled. “The heroine fell in love with the lonely dark lord of a castle. He is unable to return her love, and now she is about to fall off a cliff.” On hearing that, Colin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Do not worry. This tale has a happy ending. I am sure he will save her at the last moment, and then realize he is in love with her, too.”
“This is precisely what makes love unrealistic,” he muttered.
“I did warn you, did I not?” She opened the book and lowered her eyes back to it.
Colin pulled out the watch in his waistcoat to check how much time had passed and to determine when they should make their first stop to eat and change horses. The weather was quite nice, and Bishop and Mason were riding out.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the watch. “That is a fine watch.”
“It belonged to my father. I am not attached to it but I keep it as a reminder,” he replied without thinking, and only when she closed her book and tilted her head with a curious gleam in her eyes, did he see what he had let slip.
“What sort of reminder?”
“To—" Something pounced onto his lap and he saw it was the cat. He tried to scoop him up but it nipped his hand. “For heaven’s sake, Sir Nips!”
“Oh!” Anna yelped, and his head snapped up, his heart racing, while the cat got startled and rolled off his lap, falling on the carriage floor. Anna was clapping, her eyes alight. “That is the perfect name! Sir Nips!”
Colin closed his eyes and let his head fall back, cursing inwardly. “You startled me, Anna,” he growled. “I thought you were hurt.”
“Oh, forgive me!” she giggled. “I got very excited.” She picked up Sir Nips and held his nose close to hers while he wriggled. “Did you hear that? You have a name now. Do you like Sir Nips?”
Everything about her right then moved his heart, and an unfamiliar tenderness unfurled within it. As he watched Anna, he realized the extent of what he had allowed her to do to him. Colin was in grave danger of losing his heart. Would that be such a bad occurrence?
Yes, absolutely.
Chapter 23
Edinfield is quite terrifying. Even in the brightness of summer, the manor stands gloomily on a hill. Inside, it is dank and cold with the wallpapers peeling, and the wood rotting. There are some rooms that have been looked after, and they are tolerable. Still, I cannot stay here. I will not!
Edinfield hall was a darkly intimidating place, and Anna felt a shiver run through her when she climbed down from the carriage and looked up at it. It looked more like a castle than a manor, and dry vines crept up the single stone tower.
Some of the windows were broken, and she thought she saw the east side of the structure lacking a roof. Taking her hand, Colin guided her up the stone steps to the open oak doors. The foyer looked no better than the exterior, with the wooden panels on the walls scuffed and faded, but it was clean.
