“Wise woman. But to be certain.” He lowered his mouth to hers, and what started as a gentle kiss grew hungry and needy. Until she pulled back and yawned in his face, neatly extinguishing his ardor.
With a sigh, he admitted it was for the best. Rather than ask the obvious, he pulled her against his chest and stroked her hair. “Get some sleep, Anne.”
She curled against him and before long had drifted off, and with her safe in his arms, he found himself lulled into a peaceful slumber free from ravenous beasts and impending danger.
He woke early in the morning with Anne still nestled in the crook of his numb arm. Soft rays of the sun peeked through the curtains. Careful not to wake her, he slipped his arm out from under his bride and rose.
Muffled voices drifted in from the hall, and he frowned. Servants were usually as silent as the dead when they made their morning rounds. Still in his banyan, he opened the door, and his stomach dropped when he witnessed two footmen carrying a traveling trunk.
Although he fully expected many of the guests to return to their homes, something about the early morning activity set him on high alert. Guests usually left later in the morning after breakfast. Intuition told him something was amiss.
Not waiting for Fitz, he threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. In the morning room, Honoria spoke in hushed whispers to Lady Montgomery. Ashton leaned against one wall; his medical bag lay open on a table next to him. Burwood had a hand on Montgomery’s shoulder, which drew Colin’s attention to Montgomery’s distraught expression.
“What’s happened?” Colin choked out the words, grateful at least it wasn’t Honoria who was upset or ill, but his mind reeled at the thought it might be one of Montgomery’s children.
Montgomery lifted his gaze toward Colin. “I received word that my father has died.”
Colin’s knees grew weak, and he grabbed the doorjamb forsupport. His mind reeled back to his father’s mention of Easton’s poor health.
Was Easton’s death a portent of what lay in store for his own father?
“My condolences, Montgomery, or I should say, Easton.”
The man winced at his new title. “I didn’t expect it so soon. If I had known...” He shook his head, and his wife left Honoria’s side to comfort her husband.
Colin stepped aside when Frampton, the butler, appeared. “The trunks are all loaded, my lord.”
As the new Lord and Lady Easton made their way out of the room, Ashton pressed something into Lady Easton’s hand. “Make some tea for Laurence with this. Margaret and I will leave later today, and if there is anything I can do, Bea, say the word.”
Easton stopped in front of Colin, his gaze serious. “If there is anything you can do for your father while he’s still alive, do it.” With a nod, he escorted his wife from the room.
Absorbed in his morbid thoughts, Colin barely registered when Honoria took his arm. “If it helps, Father seems much improved this morning. He even took a light breakfast in his room.”
“No gooseberries, I hope.” He flashed his sister a grim smile and hoped to ease her mind with his jest. When she returned an equally rueful smile, he excused himself and returned to his room to tell Anne the sad news.
CHAPTER 24
From the carriage window, Anne waved goodbye to Honoria and Burwood. The morning had been one of turmoil and activity. She regretted not being able to bid Bea farewell and express her sadness at Lord Easton’s passing.
The house party had ended on such a sour note, and as the other guests prepared to depart, Anne couldn’t help but wonder if her marriage, too, had been one of the unfortunate events. However, per usual, she preferred not to dwell on it.
After Colin had explained the news to Cassie and Ellie about their grandfather and poor Lord Easton, he excused himself to speak once again with his father, and Anne spent time with her stepdaughters while the servants packed their trunks.
During the first hour of their journey to Blackthorne Manor, Colin remained unnervingly silent, his black mood transferring to the girls, who stared blankly out the carriage windows.
She slipped her hand into Colin’s. “Will you tell me what’s on your mind?” Part of her didn’t want to ask; something guarded and heavy had replaced the warmth in his expression. She clung to the memory of the smiling, teasing man who had made love to her withsuch unrestrained passion as the darker version of him reasserted itself. Had it only been one day?
Although his mouth curved upward in the semblance of a smile, the bright sparkle in his lovely green eyes was absent. “Father and I drew up the request for a writ of acceleration. We should receive word in a few weeks if it’s issued.”
“If you didn’t want to do it, why did you?”
He pulled his hand from hers and turned toward the window. “Because it’s expected of me. I must be the man my father wants me to be.”
“But what about the manyouwant to be?”
A chill raced down her spine when he turned back to her.
“I don’t even know who that man is.”
