“I do not know,” Anna whispered, barely recognizing her voice.
“Poor dear.” Jemina clicked her tongue. “Are you still mourning your husband?”
Anna bolted upright and a wave of dizziness threatened to make her fall back onto the bed, but the burst of anger that coursed through her countered the dizziness. “Why would you say such a thing? Colin is not dead!”
Her mother pressed her lips together and looked away. “I meant to ask if you are still mourning yourmarriage.”
“I am, and I fear I shall mourn it forever.” Her mother was not showing as much sympathy as she ought to, and Anna found that disturbing.
“The fresh spring air will do you good.” She moved to draw open her curtains. “Come, my dear, get dressed and have breakfast. We can visit the modiste and have you choose lovely dresses.”
“I am not feeling well, Mama.”
“Yes, but you will feel better once—"
“My body is unwell!” she burst out, and Jemina stared at her with wide eyes. “Can you not see? My sickness is not in my mind. I can feel it.”
Her mother sat on the bed. “Heartbreak is very difficult on the body. Some say it is a malady that can kill.”
“Should you be saying that to me?”
“I am only telling you the truth, my dear. It can only kill you if you allow it. I want you to rise from this bed and fight the weakness.” She reached for Anna’s hand but Anna shrunk from her. Something was not right.
“You are disregarding what I am telling you.”
“I am not, Anna.”
“Where is Catherine?”
Jemina looked away again. “She sent word that she will be arriving tomorrow.”
Anna thought her sister would be in Bath with her. Her mother had told her that she would be, yet she did not find her when she arrived. They were in Hunter’s estate, but her mother had sworn that he was not in England and that she had nothing to fear. She was able to calm down when five days passed without seeing or hearing about him.
“I hope you are telling me the truth, Mama,” Anna said.
“Why would I lie to you?” Her mother rose and moved to the door. “I will have your breakfast brought up. Come downstairs when you feel better.”
Anna had also not seen her father since her arrival. In fact, the only people in the manor were her mother and herself, and some servants. When she was alone, she carefully lowered her feet onto the carpet and stood with the help of the bedpost, gritting her teeth to fight the dizziness that swarmed her senses.
She walked to the window and leaned against it, and as her gaze traveled over the lawn, she thought she saw Nathaniel walking across the grass. Anna blinked and pressed her forehead to the cold glass, following him. Suddenly, he turned around and saw her, his eyes widening in surprise. A knock at her door had her suddenly turning, as a maid walked in and curtsied. By the time she looked back out the window, Nathaniel was no longer there.
Had she imagined him, or had he truly been there? And what was he doing in Bath? Those questions returned Colin to her thoughts and she lowered herself onto the seat beneath the window.
“Would you like a bath now, Ma’am?” the maid asked, and Anna responded absently. She was not sure whether she nodded or shook her head.
She had dreamed of him every night, and she could have sworn she felt him running his hands through her hair while she slept. How long could she continue to bear this without perishing? How long before she could breathe without her chest aching?
“We are searching all over the country, Your Grace,” Frobisher informed Colin, and he nodded absently, swiveling his chair to gaze out the window. He never imagined he would still be searching for Anna after ten days. “If there is nothing else, Your Grace, I will take my leave.”
Colin waved his assent. He moved through his days like a ghost now. Rage still boiled in his veins but most of the time, he forced himself to be calm. This afternoon, he was merely exhausted. London had yielded nothing, and neither had Gloucestershire, Hampton’s country seat. He had involved both his solicitor and the magistrate’s office to search for her, and he vowed to bring her parents to justice when he found them.
Shortly after Frobisher’s departure, Nathaniel charged into Colin’s office, likely just returning from his search for Darpley, who had been just as evasive as Lord and Lady Hampton.
“Colin! I expected better from you. I see now you were going through some stuff, but how could you do that to her!?”
Colin looked absently away from Nathaniel, still silent. He had expected such a reprimand from his housekeeper and butler, after all, it was his own fault for sprouting the idea of having a child in Anna, and then causing her to go from misfortune to misfortune due to lapses in his judgment when hiring her lady’s maid. But of course, it was to come from his friend. Instead, he pressed tightly against the arms of his chair and prepared himself for what was to come.
“Have you got nothing to say, man? It is low, even for you, to sell her off like that!” Now he had rushed closer, slamming his hands on Colin’s desk.
