Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Graham
She hadn’t laughed at me.
Nor had she taunted me, been cruel or biting about how I chose to spend my morning. It hadn’t always been a choice.
In that split second when she had pulled open the door, standing there with utter bewilderment on her face, I expected her to turn on her heel and leave. A show of shock, pity, perhaps even disdain. She’d certainly given me scowls for less.
Instead, she’d stayed.
She’d looked surprised, but more curious than disgusted. She’d walked with me out in the field in her thin nightclothes covered with an equally thin pelisse. And my mind was still reeling from it.
On mornings such as this, I scrubbed the muck and dirt off my hands so thoroughly, no trace was left for anyone to see those parts of me. Likewise, I took great pains to bury our past. We left behind Father’s crumbling estate, relocating far enough away to live a quiet life. But no amount of scrubbing could erase the callouses and scars on my hands, nor the worries that kept me up at night. The parts of my past that weren’t worthy in the eyes of Society. I’d thought Anna knew some of where I’d come from. But now she knew everything.
That afternoon, I paced slowly, cautiously, down the hall and into the quiet, empty foyer, feeling like a fraud yet again. My clothes, the silver pocket watch on my fob, the shiny new boots I’d purchased not long after Anna had first berated my old ones—it was all an illusion. A means to an end. One day, after I’d secured us financially, I could strip myself of all finery and finally rest.
My carriage awaited us in front of the house, ready to transport us to the heart of Brighton. I planned to take Anna and my family around the town, stopping to visit both the lending library and marketplace, so she could see how lively and welcoming the people were.
After yesterday’s conversation, it seemed we’d formed a truce, but after this morning, I had no idea what to expect from her.
The drawing room sat empty, so I took a seat on the sofa, knees bouncing, facing the three paintings Ginny had painstakingly perfected over the last year. They brought color to the otherwise dull brown room. I’d not inspected my home with such a critical eye in some time, but now I noted the worn arm of the sofa, how the fabric had started to wear almost to a tear. What did Anna think of this room? Had she noticed the imperfections and stayed despite them?
Footsteps sounded in the foyer, and I jumped to my feet.
“Graham,” Mother said, Ginny and Tabs on her heels. She wore a wide-brimmed hat with roses bunched at the front that matched her pink-lined dress. Never once, not even in our dreariest of times, did she fail to impress when she wanted to. Because of my mother, no one knew how terribly we’d suffered.
“My husband is unwell,”she’d begun saying years ago. It was better than, “My husband does not want children, nor a wife, nor any responsibilities, and has decided to try his life over again in America.” Among other truths.
She kept the girls home, tutoring them herself. Having prepared for the worst, she’d had a meager savings. That, plus a small storage of goods, kept us alive until my first investment—funded by a small inheritance my grandfather left me in his will—paid out. If anyone saw the truth buried beneath my mother’s careful falsehoods, they were too polite to ask. And now we were well enough off to bury the past for good.
Why had I told Anna the whole of it? She’d seemed so willing to listen, and the more she asked, the more she waited, the more the words had flowed. And she’d stayed.
Mother frowned. Always aware, always measuring. “What is the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I raised my brows, instinctively defending against whatever ruffling she saw in me. She couldn’t possibly know that I’d told Anna everyth—
“Good afternoon,” Anna said at the doorway, and we all turned. Her cheeks were flushed, those thick, silky curls rearranged from the wild mess of the morning into a loose, delicate bunch atop her head. She held her hat in her hand.
Tabs swooped upon her, saying something that made Anna’s smile grow wide. Then her eyes met mine. Her smile started to fade as she examined me, and I her.
“Mr. Everett,” she said, then she did the strangest thing yet.
She curtseyed.
My lips parted, red heat burning up to the tips of my ears. A curtsey was nothing more than a social courtesy, but from Anna, it felt like the world on a platter.
Chin lowered, an easy, warm smile grew on her lips as she rose. “Are we ready?” she asked the room. “I am eager to see this place that you all have grown so fond of.”
Mouth dry, I could not speak. It was as though my senses had betrayed me, and every intelligent thought I’d once possessed had abandoned ship.
Mother drew her brows together and gave me a questioning look. “Yes,” she answered for me. “The carriage is waiting. And I see you have your things, Miss Lane. We shall have luncheon on the seaside.”
“Won’t you sit by me in the carriage, Anna?” Tabs tugged on her arm.
Anna held her close. “If you’ll have me.”
“Perhaps I should stay in, with the carriage so full,” Ginny said with a sigh. Strange, seeing as though she’d normally beg for an outing. Any chance for a glimpse at her latest blade, Mr. Anderson.
“You’ll join us,” I directed, but the words came out weak. What was wrong with me? Was I catching cold? I cleared my throat. “Shall we?”
I motioned to the door, and Anna stepped aside to let me lead. She was letting me lead. I nodded, walking past, acutely aware of the scent of jasmine and cherries permeating every space, then nodded again as Roland opened the door.
Steps had been laid at the carriage door, and I stood beside them, offering my mother a hand, then Ginny, then Anna, who’d pinned on her hat. Something in my chest constricted when she took my gloved hand with hers. Her long brown lashes, the peak of her upper lip, the smooth skin on her neck were like sparkling treasures, rare and priceless, as was the feel of her fingers as they softened their grip and then pulled away.
She situated herself on the bench opposite my mother, leaving space between herself and Ginny. She touched the curls framing her face. If she permitted, I could sit right there, beside her.
“Ahem.”
I looked down to find Tabs, hands on her hips with one of her little eyebrows raised. Foot ready to stomp.
“You’re acting strange.”
Ah. How could I forget? “Well, someone woke me in the middle of the night,” I said, offering her my hand, which she took as she stomped up the stairs.
“I had a bad dream. Likely from all your harassment of late.” She cast me a disparaging glance over her little shoulder, then huffed and plopped between Anna and Ginny.
Well. I tempered my humor as I took my seat, then knocked on the roof and set the carriage in motion.
“You’ll wrinkle my skirts,” Ginny whined, shoving Tabs to the side.
“No more than they already are,” Tabs retorted, pinching Ginny’s leg.
Anna started to smirk but seemed to think better of it. “What shall I expect today, Tabs? My gracious host has yet to inform me.”
Anna flicked her eyes to mine. Again, I struggled to think. She was looking at me. Really looking at me. Me, despite knowing everything. And she was teasing. Smiling. My heart stammered in my chest.
“Anything. Everything,” I said.
“I believe,” Tabs enunciated, “she asked me.”
Anna and I shared a look so full of the same thought, we burst out laughing.
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“We shall start at the haberdashery,” Tabs said matter-of-factly, “where my brother will buy me three new ribbons.”
“And me!” Ginny added brightly.
Still laughing, I said, “We most certainly will not.”
“I want three new ribbons,” Anna said with a beguiling look that always seemed to work in her favor.
I cleared my throat, my smile waning. Anna wanted me to buy her something?
“You will love the lending library, Miss Lane,” Mother said, and soon the four of them were absorbed in conversation of books and stories.
Soon, the edge of the Steine came into view. Situated at the heart of Brighton, the Steine was a wide, expansive, and fashionable green lawn, along which an L-shaped row of shops bustled with customers. One could find just about anything desired, as well as one of the finest lending libraries in all of England. At the head of the Steine, the Marine Pavilion loomed over all. I could just make out its edges. I hadn’t yet received an invitation to one of Prinny’s parties, but perhaps after I secured this investment ... I’d longed to see inside those walls.
We stopped at the southernmost border, and while Mother quietly whispered reminders to Tabs about proper behavior and propriety, I advised Brunner of our afternoon plans.
“Come, Graham!” Tabs tugged on my arm. Distant music, merry and cheerful, from across the Steine carried on the wind as we made our way toward the shops.
And I wasn’t proud of it, but somehow, the three of them wore me down, much to Mother’s chagrin. Our first stop resulted in a rainbow of ribbons, which all three girls let fly in the wind as we walked down the footpath.
The afternoon crowd bustled in every direction, some on horseback, others in gigs or phaetons, many by foot. I noted every man who tipped his hat at Anna. Per my duty as her host, of course. Not smiling or being overly friendly to tourists was my duty these next few days.
Mother walked beside me. She slipped her arm through mine, pinching the sensitive skin of my underarm. I groaned, giving her a fierce look, but she leaned in close.
“You are much too quiet. Walk beside her. Speak with her. Encourage her, if you want to secure this deal,” she whispered.
“Miss Lane is not her father. She will not like my interference.” Especially not after all I’d revealed that morning. Besides, we’d made a new agreement. She’d promised to form a fair opinion of Brighton, and I wanted to make that task as easy as possible for her.
“She is a woman. She may not want to talk numbers and calculations, but she’d rather have you as a companion than Tabitha.”
“I highly doubt that,” I muttered. Things were shifting between Anna and me, but not quite that much.
Mother, unfortunately, was set.
“Tabitha, come,” she said, releasing me and reaching out for Tabs. Then her eyes widened, and she nodded purposefully toward Anna.
Without Tabs, she was left with Ginny, whose morose attitude could send even the cheeriest of tourists running. I braced my shoulders, took a few calming breaths, then stepped forward to Anna’s side.