I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees.
“During Henrietta’s first season, our aunt was not an attentive chaperone,” she began. “I took it upon myself to ensure Henrietta was behaving properly. At a ball one night, I lost sight of her. I went searching for her in the corridors, and I found her with the Baron of Daventry. As naive as she was, she didn’t understand his true intentions in leading her away from the party.”
Her throat shifted with a swallow, and she wrung her hands together. “When I sent her back to our aunt, the baron soon turned his advances to me. He was strong, and he had been drinking. I couldn’t push him away in time. He kissed me just as the Duchess of Thorne and several others came upon us through the nearby entrance. Being caught in such a public place, my reputation was at risk. The next day when his drinks had worn off, he did the honorable thing and proposed. My aunt and uncle gave me little choice in the matter. If I didn’t repair my reputation by accepting him, Henrietta and I would no longer be allowed back into their home.” She blinked fast, her jaw tight. “So I married him.”
My heart stung, and Anne’s words about her sister in the study rang through my mind.There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.
Anne had saved her sister from a dreadful situation, putting her own reputation at risk. A surge of anger rose in my chest. Had the baron been cruel to her during their marriage? She had already expressed that she never loved him, but the thought of anyone hurting her was enough to set my blood boiling. Why hadn’t Miles intervened? If he had cared for her at all, he could have married her himself.
Anne returned to her chair. Her cheeks were ruddy, her eyes slightly wet. She didn’t seem eager to look at me, or at anyone else. I reached over to her lap and took her hand, interlocking my fingers with hers. She finally met my gaze, her liquid eyes cutting a hole through my chest. I gave her fingers a squeeze. There wasn’t a need for words.
I knew which story was true, but the other guests were still deliberating.
“I think the first story is true,” Octavia said.
Victoria shook her head. “I disagree. I think it’s the second one.”
I didn’t give my opinion. I didn’t want Anne to have to pay a forfeit by having her true story guessed correctly. After a few minutes of discussion, the group settled on an answer.
“The second story is the true one,” Mrs. Pike said in a firm voice. “That is our final answer.”
Lady Tottenham wrote down the decision with a somber look. She must have sensed the truth in the story as well.
Mrs. Pike took her turn, but I hardly listened. I kept Anne’s hand wrapped up in mine, tracing my thumb across the back of her knuckles. She didn’t pull her hand away, but I had no way of knowing if she wanted to or not. Anything could be excused as part of our ruse. I wanted her to know that my choice to hold her hand in that moment wasn’t an act. But if I told her, I knew she wouldn’t allow it. So I held her fingers in mine while I could, my heart aching deep inside my chest—for her pain, and for my own. I didn’t know if my show of affection felt real to Anne, but it was real to me.
CHAPTER 17
ANNE
Rain pattered on the window in my bedchamber. I watched the droplets trickle down and drip to the ground below. I rested my elbow on the windowsill, my chin in my hand. After the game that morning, my mood had been somber, so hiding in my room had seemed the best way to spend my free hours of the afternoon. There were very few people I had ever told the story of how my marriage to the baron had come about. It wasn’t a subject I enjoyed dwelling on. A dull ache remained in my heart despite the hours I had spent trying to remedy it.
The guests had correctly chosen the true story. That meant that not only would I have to pay a forfeit that evening, but they all were able to see the truth about my past. I felt vulnerable, and that wasn’t a feeling I ever enjoyed.
I stared at the rain, counting the droplets on the other side of the glass. It didn’t seem to be a heavy rain. My restless legs twitched beneath my skirts. The unrest inside me needed to be expelled somehow, and a walk through the rain seemed to be the perfect thing. Before I could change my mind, I tied my bonnet and hurried down the stairs. I heard voices in the drawing room, so I sneaked past the doorway before making my way down the corridor and out into the courtyard.
The cobblestones were flooded with small puddles. I kept my gaze on the ground to avoid the largest ones. My bonnet protected my face from the rain, but the light droplets were refreshing against my arms and the back of my neck. I breathed in the earthy, fresh air, already feeling the slightest bit stronger than I had a few moments before—more capable of controlling my emotions. What had happened with the baron was a thing of the past. I had buried it long ago. Today, it had been unearthed, yet that wasn’t what bothered me the most.
Alexander’s face was burned into my mind. His gentle touch on my hand. The warm comfort that had flooded my soul at the gesture was difficult to understand, but it lingered with me. I didn’t want it to. I wanted my feelings of closeness to Alexander to go away, right alongside the painful feelings that were associated with the baron. I wanted all of itgone. It was all far too unwelcome.
I headed toward the grass. I kept my head low, watching for mud and puddles. As I rounded the corner of the house, a deep voice startled me.
“Anne?”
I jerked my gaze upward, jumping back a pace. Alexander stood a few feet in front of me, hands outstretched as if he had expected me to collide with him. His hair was damp from the rain, his shirtsleeves covered in small, wet dots. “I saw you from the window. I came to see if you were all right.”
I drew a deep breath, though my heart was already skittering. It was in search of a hiding place, but there were none. I looked down at the grass again, forcing a smile to my face. “Oh, yes, I’m well. I thought the rain looked inviting so I thought I might take a walk in it.”
“May I join you?” Alexander’s voice sent a spiral of nervousness through my stomach.
“Of course.” I glanced up at him as he offered his arm. We walked in silence for a long moment, our feet soundless across the sodden grass.
“The others wondered where you had gone…and why we were apart,” Alexander said.
“And you came outside to appease their concerns,” I stated with a nod.
He stopped walking, turning to face me. “I came outside because I was concerned about you.”
I swallowed, fiddling with the end of my bonnet ribbon. “There is no cause for concern.” I smiled, but he remained serious. I took a few paces away, but he caught up to me.
