Chapter 33
Anne rose and dusted the grass from Margery’s gravesite off her skirts with no more answers than she’d had upon arriving. She stood for a moment and listened to the rustle of the trees and the sweet song of a blackbird.
The summer breeze caressed her cheek like a lover’s touch. And maybe it was her imagination, but she could swear an arm rested around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze, and someone whispered, Don’t give up.
“I won’t,” she said to the phantom voice. Determined to make the best of the situation, she reminded herself she had the girls, and if she wasn’t mistaken, a new life growing within her.
New hope surged. She wouldn’t give up without a fight. As she turned to go back to the girls, one of the puppies raced toward her. The girls and other two puppies chased after it.
“Floppy, come back!” Ellie called.
Anne scooped the puppy in her arms and gave it a kiss on the top of its head. “Have you been naughty?” The puppy licked her face. “At least you love me, don’t you, Floppy?”
After admiring the crown of wildflowers Cassie had fashioned, Anne ushered them all back toward the house.
When they entered, Mattie beamed at them. “My lady, Lord Manning requests you wait in the blue parlor.”
Anne handed Floppy off to Ellie, and the girls chased the other two puppies down the hallway. “Did he say what for?” Surely, if Colin had suspected she had planned to leave, Mattie wouldn’t be smiling.
“No, my lady.”
Loud bangs arose from the direction of the library. Tempted to go find out what caused such a commotion, Anne turned toward it.
Mattie’s smile disappeared, and she held her hands out to block Anne’s progress. “No, my lady. My lord specified the blue parlor.”
Anne squinted at the maid. “What’s that noise coming from the library? It sounds like someone dropped something heavy.”
Mattie’s face flushed, her gaze darting wildly and landing on anything other than Anne. “More repairs to seal the passageways.”
Mention of the treacherous passages reminded Anne to tell Colin about Greene and Mrs. Campbell’s plan to torment her. With her decision to stay, Anne would not abide being ill-treated even for a moment. “Very well.”
In the blue parlor, Anne paced the floor and waited. And waited. Would she spend her entire marriage waiting for Colin Bell? Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock on the mantel taunted her.
Thank goodness the banging had ceased entirely.
Until . . . Clank. Clank. Clank.
The rhythmic noise grew louder with each deafening clank.
She crept to the door and peeked around the corner.
She blinked, not trusting her eyes as the ghostly knight clanked toward her.
Racing back into the parlor, she grabbed a fireplace poker.
As if an invisible fist clutched at her throat and squeezed, she fought to pull air into her lungs.
With her gaze locked on the parlor’s entrance, she held the poker aloft and prepared to defend herself.
A foot appeared. Clank. Attached to the foot, a leg, also encased in metal, followed. Clank. With steps lumbering and noisy, the man in armor stopped in the doorway and turned toward her.
She swallowed. Was this truly the ghost of Blackthorne Manor come to haunt her? Or could this be Greene implementing his dastardly plan?
“Wh-who are you?” For once in her life, she wished she could summon some of Charlotte’s icy tone.
“Your knight in shining armor.” The voice, muffled and tinny, sounded familiar.
“Colin?” The poker dropped to her side.
Clank. Clank. In slow motion, the knight took two steps forward. “What dragon may I slay for you today, my lady?”
She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then pinched herself, although she did stop short of slapping herself. This can’t be real. “What are you doing? Are you mad?”
“Mad for you.” He flipped up the visor, and even from the distance she knew those lovely green eyes. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind coming over here. I don’t know how my ancestors managed this. The damned stuff is inordinately heavy.”
He held out his arms, although even that seemed to strain him, and she raced forward. Clank. Pushed back from the force of her hurtling herself into his arms, he stumbled, nearly falling. His arms flailed for a moment before grasping her around the waist.
Hard metal pushed against her, but she didn’t care. She stared up into the sliver of space where his eyes peered through. “Why?”
“Because I’ve been a fool. So what better way to admit it than to dress up like one?”
She laughed. “Knights aren’t fools. You should have dressed as a jester.”
“Ah, but none of my ancestors were jesters. At least, that I know of.” He chuckled, then took her hands in his, the metal of the gauntlets cold against her skin. “Ever since the day on the folly, I know I’ve pulled away, and for that I’m sorry.”
“I never understood why. Then you were so angry at me when I became trapped in the passage.”
His head gave an almost imperceptible shake.
“I wasn’t angry with you. I was angry with myself for not protecting you, and I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.
It was wrong and stupid of me, I’ll admit, but I thought if I pretended I didn’t feel what I did, it wouldn’t hurt if you were taken from me. I was afraid.”
Her heart gave a sharp thump at his implication. He cared for her. For her. Not simply as a baby maker, but as a person. As his wife. But she needed to be sure. To hear him say it. “What did you feel that made you afraid?”
“Love. I love you, Anne, and it terrified me because how would I cope if I ever lost you?”
“Oh.” Breathy and faint as fairy wings, the word was all she could manage. Her. Anne. Woman of a thousand utterances.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I would love to take off this God-awful helmet and kiss you.”
Tears blurred her vision, and she nodded. “Please.”
Sweat matted his hair, but to Anne, he never looked so handsome. He stood silently before her as she waited for the kiss.
“Well?”
“First, I want to give you goo-goo eyes. I practiced on Fitz, which made the man quite uncomfortable. You’ll have to tell me if I’m doing it correctly.”
As much as she disliked pain, she welcomed the sweet tug on her heart as Colin gazed at her as if his whole world revolved around her. “Perfect. And Colin?”
“Yes, my love?”
“I love you, too. Now, that kiss, please.”
“My pleasure.”
Rather than the shame of appearing as a fool, Colin had never felt so free. She loved him! He didn’t deserve it, but she did. Despite the heavy armor, lightness buoyed his heart as he held Anne in his arms and gave himself to her, flaws and all.
When they finally broke apart, which was much too soon for his liking, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m not perfect. But with you, I can face my failures. Don’t ever leave me.”
She stared up at him and made the same goo-goo eyes. “Never. But this armor is hard and cold and in my way. Would you please remove it? I want to get closer.”
Ten times faster than Fitz had managed to get the armor on him, with Anne’s help, Colin stripped it off, allowing it to clank—piece-by-piece—to the floor.
“Better. But there is still this.” Anne tugged at his linen shirt.
Free from the restraining weight of the armor, Colin raced to the door and locked it. “Anything for my beautiful wife.”
Some time later and fully sated, they lay in each other’s arms on the sofa, and Anne ran her fingers through the hair on his chest. “You mentioned slaying dragons.”
He chuckled, his breath ruffling her hair under his chin. “A metaphor, my love.”
Her clear-blue eyes peered up at him, all innocence. “Actually, we have two. Greene and Mrs. Campbell. When I was in the passage, I heard them conspiring against me in the library. They said as soon as I gave you a son, they planned to torment me and get me to leave.”
He jerked back. Although he knew Greene and Mrs. Campbell didn’t approve of Anne, he didn’t expect them to be so devious and hateful. Pulling aside the blanket covering them, he gently removed Anne from his arms and strode to the door. “I will dismiss them at once.”
Anne’s giggle stopped him, and he turned back to her in question.
“You might want to get dressed first.”
Colin stared down at his naked body and couldn’t resist the laugh. “Of course.” So much for dignity and appearances. Anne had completely discombobulated him. “On second thought, I have a better idea.”
Once they both had dressed, Colin took Anne’s hand and led her to his study. After seating her at his desk, he rang the bell pull. As expected, Greene appeared.
“Find Mrs. Campbell and return here with her immediately.”
Positioned behind Anne, Colin waited for his soon-to-be-former servants to return.
Upon their arrival, he crossed his arms over his chest and adopted his most fearsome glare, no doubt similar to the one he’d given Anne when they’d first met. “Greene, Mrs. Campbell, my wife has something to tell you.” He nodded toward Anne. “Go on, my love, deliver the news.”
Before him, Anne squared her shoulders. Pride swelled in his chest as his always-sunny wife adopted a commanding air. Her voice, clear and strong, had a trace of power he didn’t realize she possessed. She was an excellent viscountess and, when the time came, would be an exceptional marchioness.
“Greene, Mrs. Campbell, you may recollect how I was trapped in the hidden passageway. However, what you may not realize is I overheard a particularly interesting conversation regarding your plot against me. No doubt, Mrs. Campbell, your tale of ghost knights roaming the manor seeking revenge was deliberately meant to frighten me on my very first day here. In addition, you expressly disregarded my husband’s order not to have The Muckraker in our home.
Neither I nor my husband will tolerate such machinations and disobedience from our staff.
As of this moment, your services are no longer required in our home. Good luck seeking other positions.”
Ghost knights? Oh, his poor, sweet Nymph. No wonder she appeared terrified when he surprised her.
Greene’s gaze darted to Colin’s, but he remained silent.
Mrs. Campbell’s hand flew to her mouth and muffled a pitiful gasp. “Sir, I assure you. That is simply not true.”
Blood pounded in Colin’s ears at his housekeeper’s accusation. “Are you calling my wife a liar, madam?”
The woman had the audacity to appear affronted. “No, sir. I’m merely suggesting that your wife misconstrued what she overheard, as many do when they eavesdrop on others’ conversations.”
The nerve of the woman! Arms still crossed over his chest, he clenched his fists so hard the nails dug into his palms as he tried to restrain himself.
Anne, however, handled it calmly, her voice like honey. “What might that be? Was it when you called me a title-seeking lightskirt and planned to torture me and drive me away once I gave Lord Manning a son? Would you care to explain how I have misconstrued that?”
Lightskirt! Colin wanted to leap across the desk and strangle the woman.
When Mrs. Campbell opened her mouth, Greene put a hand on her arm to stop her.
“Surely, many years of service are worth something, my lord.”
“They are worth precisely what you have already been paid. No more. I owe no loyalty to disloyal servants. My wife’s instructions are perfectly clear, Greene.
You both are dismissed. Permanently. I never want to see either of your faces again.
And don’t expect letters of recommendation as none will be forthcoming. ”
As the two slithered from the room, Colin squeezed Anne’s shoulder. “How did that feel?”
“Wonderful. No wonder you like being grumpy.”
He laughed, and moving from behind, crouched beside her. “And no wonder you like being optimistic. Perhaps we’re rubbing off on each other and finding a happy meeting place.”
Anne glanced at the letters he’d left strewn on his desk when he went searching for her. “What’s this?” She lifted the one from the Crown first. “The king wrote to you?”
“He did. About the writ of acceleration.”
Anne’s gaze returned to the letter, and Colin knew the precise moment she read the most important detail. “This Thursday? As in two days from now? Is he mad?”
Colin pointed out the date at the top of the missive. “Delivery must have been delayed.”
“Greene?” Fire flared in his beautiful wife’s eyes.
“No. As much as we’d like to blame him, he would have been one to support my acceptance into Lords. He always did have a bit of snobbery about him.”
Anne rose so quickly from the chair, it tipped into him. “What are you still doing here? You need to leave right away.”
Colin shook his head. “That’s not all.” He pointed to Sedley’s letter.
Anne’s hand moved to her throat as she read. “Oh, Colin. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I left to find you to ask your opinion. When I discovered Joan packing your trunks, I panicked because I couldn’t bear to lose you. Not without telling you how I truly felt.”
Tears misted her eyes, and he credited her reaction to his declaration of love.
Which she completely dispelled. “You wanted my opinion?”
He took the letters from her hands and laid them on the desk. They didn’t matter. Only she mattered. One after another, he kissed her palms. “You’re my wife. My heart. Any decisions I make affect you. Of course, I wanted your opinion.”
“I want what makes you happy. What do you want?”
“To be your husband.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you are. No, you ridiculous man.” Picking them back up, she shook the letters under his nose. “About these. Whatever you choose, I will support you. But make sure it’s what you want. Not what others expect. Including me.”
Oh God, how he loved this woman.
“Trust yourself, Colin. What does your heart tell you?”
He stared at the letters much longer than Anne could probably tolerate. But she remained quiet and waited. “The MP position.”
The most beautiful smile lit up her face like the early morning sun creeping across the horizon as it did the morning he went searching for willow bark. “Then you should write Mr. Sedley back immediately.” She glanced back at the letter. “It says he thinks I should accompany you.”
Damn. “I would be proud to have you on my arm, but only if you wish to. Don’t think for a moment that I would expect you to do anything you don’t—”
She cut him off with a kiss. A long, sensual, and satisfying kiss. “Haven’t you learned anything, Lord Grumpy-Trousers? I never do anything I don’t want to.”