Another chuckle rumbled in his chest.No, little sprite. I’m usually so much worse.
And wasn’t that a surprising thought?
Anne staredat the rude man’s retreating back. “Is your brother always in such a foul temper?”
“Forgive him, Anne. Colin has secreted himself away for so long, I fear he’s forgotten how to behave in polite company. He truly is an extremely kind man,” Honoria said.
“Why is he so grumpy, then?” Indira asked.
Not one to be bothered by a child’s direct question, Honoria smiled down at the girl, kindness radiating in her eyes. “Well, my dear, his wife died. He misses her terribly.”
Oh.Of course.How could Anne have forgotten? Lord Manning’s wife died around the same time that Honoria’s daughter, Kitty, had been born. “But that’s been more than three years ago. He must have loved her very much.” Anne sighed. If only she could find a husband who would grieve her so desperately when she died.
Goodness!What was she thinking? Although Andrew implied thather age made her nearly unmarriageable, she was nowhere near ready to expire!
“For an arranged marriage, they became remarkably close.” Honoria shook her head. “I hope he will find someone who will help him heal.”
Discomfort shivered up Anne’s spine from the expression on Honoria’s face when their eyes met.Oh, no.Surely Honoria doesn’t think...?She pulled in a steadying breath. “Your brother doesn’t like me.”
Honoria waved Anne’s objection away. “Pish-tosh. Of course he likes you. You’re a spirited and charming young woman. We shall simply have to give him an opportunity to become better acquainted with you.”
Somehow, Anne didn’t think spending time with Viscount Moody-Manning was one of Honoria’s better ideas. “If you’re matchmaking, it might be best to concentrate your efforts on Miranda.”
A smile flickered across Honoria’s lips. “Why would you think I’m matchmaking?” When she turned and walked back into the house, a trill of laughter trailed behind her.
“We found an adult,” Eleanor said.
Anne’s niece jolted her attention back to reality and away from the infuriating man who knocked her off balance—figuratively and literally.
Indira nodded. “Notjustan adult. A duchess. We should each get two extra pieces of cake.”
“Well, I found an adult, too. A grumpy viscount. And who is to say I didn’t find him before you found the duchess? Perhaps I’m the one who should receive the extra slice of cake, especially considering Lord Grumpy-Trouser’s foul mood.” Her lips twitched as she fought a teasing smile.
Being the more sensitive of the two, Indira gazed up at Anne, a glassy sheen misting her blue eyes. “But...but...”
Eleanor patted her twin’s shoulder. “What Indira is trying to say is, we know where the girls are! And wasn’t that our task, Auntie Anne? To find an adult who knew where theother girls were?”
Was anything more humiliating than being outsmarted by a nine-year-old? Anne thought rather not. Still, she refused to let them know they got the better of her. A woman had her pride after all. “Very well. Where are these mysterious girls who belong to the mean ogre of a man? Shall we seek them out and see if, like their father, they are hideous trolls?”
Indira’s mouth gaped open. “Do you think they really are?”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Of course not, ninny. Aunt Anne is teasing us. And I didn’t think Viscount Manning was so hideous. I would be cross, too, if my wife died.”
Her worry forgotten as quickly as it had appeared, Indira placed her hands on her hips. “You’re the ninny. You don’t have a wife.”
Recognizing an escalating argument ensuing over wives, imaginary or real, living or deceased, Anne intervened. “Enough! Are we to stand here and bicker or go find the girls?”
“Her Grace said they went to the lake behind the house.” Eleanor pointed to the back of the enormous home.
Excellent! Anything to put more distance between her and the house where stuffy Viscount Manning recently entered. “First one there gets the largest piece of cake.” Anne lifted her skirts to her calves and raced off.
The girls shrieked with laughter behind her, and Anne could already taste the delicious sweetness of cake—and she dearly hoped it would be chocolate.
In the lead, Anne rounded the corner of the house and glanced over her shoulder to gauge the distance between herself and her nieces. A shiver of excitement propelled her forward at the sight of the girls several yards behind. Without warning, the ground beneath her feet sloped, and she jerked her attention back in front of her. Why hadn’t she remembered the lake was situated at the bottom of a steep hill?!
Thanks to the downward momentum the decline provided, Anne’s already rapid pace increased, and—much to her dismay—her feet failed to gain purchase on the soft grass.
Even more to her dismay, not only were the two other girls at the foot of the steep hill, but their father was as well.
