Anna huffed and set her quill down, unable to finish her letter to Catherine. She needed her sister’s presence and support, but she did not quite know how to ask her. Anna did not want to burden her sister with her troubles.
She could visit Catherine but she did not want to be away from Colin, and he was too occupied to travel with her. He had continued to insist that he was not expecting a child soon, but Anna refused to slow her pursuit. She had read his mother’s journal—and still had a lot more to read—and she knew he deserved to have what he wished for after all that he had suffered. This would be Anna’s gift to him. A symbol of her devotion.
She stood and walked to the window where she saw Colin and Nathaniel walking in the garden, talking. Suddenly, her head felt light and the room began to spin. She gripped the ledge of the window to steady herself. The weariness she had felt months ago was returning, and she did not know what the issue could be.
Anna returned to her seat at the escritoire, then she opened one of the drawers and pulled out the pair of socks Mrs. Lander had given her, slowly tugging at the wool.Someday, this will be worn by little feet, and my heart shall be complete.
“Have you decided?” Nathaniel asked Colin as they stood beneath a tree in the gardens. He had delayed this moment for a while but he knew he must give his friend an answer now.
Nodding, Colin said, “I am afraid I cannot invest in your steel factory at this time.” He still did not want to tell him the reason for his refusal.
Nathaniel frowned, disappointed. “You do not mind sharing the reason you are declining the offer, do you?”
“No, I do not. It is a hazard I am reluctant to take.” Colin hoped that was convincing.
“I find this very surprising. You are passionate about technology, yet you do not want to partake in its development.” Nathaniel shook his head. “Forgive me. I think I am more disappointed than I thought I would be if you declined.”
“Perhaps my decision will change in the future,” Colin said to salve some of his friend’s disappointment.
“I dearly hope so.” Nathaniel plucked a dry leaf from a low branch that had not been shed naturally and twirled it between his fingers. “How is Anna?”
“She has been very quiet lately,” Colin admitted, “and I do not entirely know why.” Something had changed in her when they visited Edinfield. She spent most of her time with Sir Nips and her lady’s maid, and her conversations with him were not as lively as they were before. He knew part of the reason was her desire to have a child, and he did what he could to reassure her.
Her restrained curiosity also bothered him. She no longer asked him questions about his past or himself. He still could not answer some of them, but it was Anna’s declining spirits that disturbed him.
“Have you told her?” Nathaniel asked, and Colin’s jaw clenched.
“She does not need to know.”
“You are making a mistake, Colin,” his friend warned. “You told me she found Edinfield frightening, forcing you to abandon your plan to send her there. You have to tell her the truth.”
Colin was now planning to have her stay in Norfolk. “I do not want to worry her, considering the change in her mood.”
“What if she discovers it herself?”
“She will not.”
“What gives you that certainty?”
“Everyone who knows has given me their word.” Colin, Mrs. Willis, and Nathaniel were the only ones who knew his family’s story. “Unless you decide to betray me.”
Nathaniel shot him a displeased look. “I disagree with you, but I am powerless to do anything. I hope there will be no consequences for your actions.”
Colin glanced up and saw the skies darkening. “She will be happier away from me and my family’s plight.”
“I hope you are right.” Nathaniel looked up, as well, and squinted at the sky. “We should go inside before we freeze.”
“Yes,” Colin agreed, turning and heading toward the terrace that led into one of the drawing rooms from the garden.
Later that evening, as he was eating dinner with Anna, he said, “Nathaniel wishes to host us for dinner.”
“When?” Her tone remained unvaried, and she was eating very slowly.
“In five days.”
She uttered a low, “Hmm,” and drank some of her wine. Her melancholy tugged at his conscience.
“Anna,” he said, and she raised her eyes to his, saying nothing. “Is something the matter?”
