“I think he believes he is kind to Julia and Garrett. Or at least, he believes he has acted without reproach toward them.” He looked back toward his sister. “But I don’t think you’ll find she agrees with him.”
“I’m sorry.”
He placed his hand over mine. “You are the last person who should feel the need to say that to me. From the first moment we met, you helped me.”
That summer blurred into a stream of memories with him, and I couldn’t remember which of my memories were the first ones. “When did we first meet?”
“You don’t remember?”
I shook my head.
“It isn’t a happy story. You found me with a young hound.”
Oh, that story. Ididremember. It was near the beginning of my visit. I had happened upon David—not this confident young man in his prime but the poor child with ragged clothes and words that only left his mouth if dragged—holding a dying pup. It was the first time I’d learned to hate Lord Murphy. The poor thing had been injured past the point of recovery, and it hadn’t been an accident. “That poor little thing.”
His voice was soft. “So, you do remember.”
“I do. I forgot that was the first time we met.”
“Do you remember what song you sang to her?”
My face grew unbearably hot. “I sang? I have the most unfortunate voice. I must have been too young to realize it then.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m fairly certain you knew it. But you sang anyway. I even remember the song. Well, the gist of it. Something about being poor and needy and yet the child of a king.”
“‘The Child of a King.’ Our congregation in London would sing it at times. I couldn’t believe Lord Murphy would treat his own hound that way.” David looked down, and I sucked in my breath wishing I could return the words to my mouth. Lord Murphy was his father, even if he had disparaged him, I should be more careful with my words.
In a few more steps we reached the oak tree, and my eyes immediately went to the branch I had been dangling from. It didn’t look as high from here.
David glanced behind him at his sister and then back at me. “You really won’t allow me to tell the story of how I found you?”
“Not if you want to be engaged for more than a day,” I said. His eyes narrowed, and he pressed his lips together. For whatever reason, it seemed like he was bound and determined to continue with the engagement.
A crunch of boots behind us announced the arrival of Mama and Miss Tate.
“This is it?” Mother asked. “I don’t see anything spectacular about this tree. Although it looks like one Anna would have wanted to climb when she was a child.”
David’s eyes sparked at her comment, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I could see how badly he wanted to tell them what he had found me doing, but I couldn’t allow it. Not if he wanted me to look anything but a fool to his sister.
He took a moment to swallow down what must have been a laugh. “She climbed trees?” he asked, eyes wide and innocent.
Mama shook her head. “So often I threatened to take away her pin money. She continued the practice long after it was appropriate.”
If she only knew I’d been in this very tree a few short days ago. “Mama, please,” I said. “Mr. Tate doesn’t need to be informed of all my wild ways.” He would enjoy it far too much.
Mama paused, looked back and forth between David and me, and nodded her head. “Quite right.”
Miss Tate’s eyes were on the oak, her eyes roaming the possible routes to the top. I did the same. It truly was a wonderful tree for climbing. A bit more treacherous than it had been eight years ago, but it still had some relatively low and thick branches that made it easy to scramble up.
I jutted out my chin and found David’s eyes. I could see what he was thinking. He wanted his sister to have some enjoyment in life, and he thought the story of me helplessly dangling from this tree might bring her some.
You sang anyway.His words seemed to vibrate between us, a reminder of the young lady I’d once been. The young lady who’d so intrigued him that he’d proposed to her before she’d left.
Me.
Blast him. Giving in to David was starting to become a habit. I took a deep breath and turned to Mama. “Actually, Mama ...” I began, and David raised an eyebrow. “I was climbing this very tree when Mr. Tate found me a few days ago. So I suppose you can tell him all you want.”
“Anna!” Mama’s hand flew to her chest. “You weren’t!”
