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“He does not have the way with words his brother did,” Elizabeth said.

Anne opened her mouth. Before she could speak, Elizabeth continued, “Aye, I know they were not raised in the same way.”

“Imagine leaving home at sixteen to go off to another country.”

“I left home at ten to escape the persecution of men who wanted my inheritance,” Elizabeth reminded her.

“But you were beloved and adored. And you were only gone a year. It sounds as if Lord Russell was left to fend for himself.”

“He was,” she agreed reluctantly.

“And he has honor, to risk his life to complete an oath made by his father to yours.”

“And the result will be my money, my castle, my father’s title, and me in his bed,” Elizabeth said sourly.

Anne smiled. “Not such a terrible prospect for you. You enjoyed his kiss, even when you knew you should not. Is that not the same for him?”

“I cannot stand when you make sense.” Elizabeth sighed. “Let me finish reading. ‘Although my estate has come to harm, I vow that I will rebuild it anew to be a shining jewel on the edge of the ocean that I bring to you in marriage. Please forgive my brother’s role in this neglect. He was always a man at home in the king’s court, and I am certain he thought he would have the chance to make things right before your marriage.”

Elizabeth looked up. “I don’t agree that poor William committed this sin!”

“But at least he’s defending his brother, and vowing to repair everything. Read on.”

“‘In closing, my lady, please believe that I am here with the best intentions. Forgive me that I could not arrive sooner and save you from Lord Bannaster’s machinations. I promise that with the aid of my men, I will do my best to free you and bring about our fathers’ wishes. Yours in peace, John Russell.’” She glanced at Anne. “He has a plan, but he doesn’t wish me to know it yet, not until he can say with certainty. And he didn’t tell me what was in the message sent by his friends!”

“He is protective of you.”

Elizabeth carefully put the letter on a table and looked at it with indecision. He expected a reply, but she didn’t know what to give. There was no poetry, no praise, no attempt to woo her, and no declarations of affection. She didn’t know what to make of it.

Yet the words sounded like the man she was growing to know, single-minded in his determination to make things right, a man who would have himself beaten as an adequate reason to remain at Castle Alderley.

“How are you going to respond?” Anne asked. “He seems to be trying to win your approval.”

“I know he is,” Elizabeth replied sadly. “He is trying by deed and now written word. But I have not grown to trust him, Anne. I have known him only a few days. How will I know when I can believe him?”

“My mother always said to watch a man’s behavior when he doesn’t know you’re watching. He’ll reveal all.”

“But he knows when I’m watching—we’re with each other all the time. Milburn is keeping us together. Surely I would begin to trust him if I knew absolutely he was who he says he is.”

“You still do not believe.”

“Perhaps I do, but I cannot trust my own intuition anymore. He made me doubt myself, and now I cannot resurrect trust in my impressions. But if I saw the ring, if I knew without doubt that he is my betrothed, perhaps I could begin to accept a future with him.”

“Then ask him to show it to you. If you’re worried about being a mere maid, say that I asked you to do this.”

Though the ring might help her believe, she could not ask him to show it to her. He might become suspicious, and she was not yet ready to reveal her identity.

“So are you going to write back?” Anne asked.

“Should I? What if he is caught with it? It will implicate him as a man against Lord Bannaster.”

Anne smiled knowingly. “I think you know not what to say.”

“But I have to explain to him my conversation with you. Believe me, that is far more difficult.”

But she was already thinking ahead to how best to look for the ring, as if that would magically solve all their problems.

Fourteen