A giddy sensation swept through me at the prospect of soon having my own such moment. My heart beat rapidly as I descended the stairs and then questioned the first maid I encountered about Annette’s whereabouts.
“Saw her headed to the library earlier,” she answered. “Cannot say she is still there. Would ye like me to check for ye?”
“No, thank you. I will seek her out myself.” The library was the perfect place for a moment of privacy. For a conversation that would change everything.
I entered the library, and my smile faded when I found Apsley rather than his sister. He sat at an oak table, his auburn brows furrowed as he read over a piece of paper. Not wishing to disturb him, I backed out of the room to look for Annette elsewhere.
“You!”
My feet halted, and I met Apsley’s gaze. He had stood from his chair, and his fists were clenched at his side. Gone was the concentration in his expression, a look of pure fury having replaced it. A cold chill of foreboding rushed through me.
“I would like a word with you,” he growled, marching toward me.
I half expected the man to throw a facer with the tension rolling off of him, though I hadn’t any idea what I had done to catch his ire, but he gestured me back inside and shut the door once I had obliged.
“Is something ami—”
“Amiss?” He cut me off. “Oh, something is very amiss, Lieutenant.”
He spat my title with a snarl. My stomach knotted. I had never seen the man this angry, not even after the pranks he endured from his sister.
He paced away from me and snatched the paper he had been studying from the desk. “What do you have to say about this?”
Apsley extended the paper toward me, and I crossed to him in order to take it. Only a few moments were required for me to know exactly what it was—a contract. No,thecontract. The one meant to be burned when it arrived.
But the viscount could not burn something not in his possession. Russell Apsley had taken over management of the family’s assets with his father bedridden. It had not occurred to me that the document might wind up in his hands or that his father had not made him aware of the arrangement.
And given Apsley’s fierce glare, the man did not approve.
When I said nothing, Apsley stepped closer, his face inches from mine. “If you think for one moment I will allow you to marry my sister purely for money, you are sorely mistaken.”
Chapter twenty-three
Annette
Iwokewithasmile and a feeling of airiness, similar to the freedom that claimed me each time I rode across Kenwick’s estate, the wind whipping my hair into an untamed tangle. This, though, far exceeded that sensation. I could not erase the smile from my face, no matter how hard I tried, and my chest seemed near to bursting.
Edward had not spoken to my father last night to ask for his blessing; he’d informed me of that at dinner. But he intended to do so today. Was he with him even now, just a few rooms down, asking for my hand? I hoped that was the case.
Slipping from bed, I shook my head. How much things had changed in a matter of weeks! Where once I had been completely against marriage, now I was anticipating a proposal. Anticipating life with a husband and children. All concerns that my freedom would be constrained by tying myself to a man had vanished, leaving only hope of a happy future.
A future I could not wait to begin.
I rang for my lady’s maid and did my best not to squirm as she did my hair. It was almost torturous to sit still when I was so eager to leave and find Edward.
Eager. What a surprise it was to think such a thing. Months ago, I couldn’t wait to escape him. Although, were I to be honest with myself, even then I had experienced no small amount of anticipation each time he called. The man had frustrated me to no end, but I had been inexplicably drawn to him. Despite his teasing, I had preferred his company to all other gentlemen in London. I had looked forward to our verbal sparring. To vexing him.
Now, I looked forward to the warmth of his embrace, to kisses that set my veins on fire.
The feeling of his fingers on my waist and the gentle caress of his thumb over my cheeks lingered. Burned. The sensation was glorious, even in its ghostly state. I craved experiencing it all again. Edward had not said he loved me, but surely he must. How could he kiss me so fervently and not hold the deepest oftendres?
A team, that was what he claimed we would become, but it would be more than that. I knew it would. That Edward would even consider pursuing marriage reform proved he listened. Proved he cared for my opinions and wants.
And with my dowry, we would have the means to pursue both of our goals.
I had already offered to support him. I trusted him to use the funds with purpose. Perhaps that was why the thought of losing financial independence did not bother me as greatly as I might have expected. Everything would belong to Edward, but he would not abuse it or me.
Once I had dressed, I immediately went downstairs for breakfast, only pausing outside Father’s bedchamber for a moment. It was tempting to press my ear to the door in hopes of hearing a conversation between him and Edward, but I kept the child-like urge under control.
