Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Anna stepped out of the carriage as they arrived at Silas’ home.
She was shivering against the cold wind.
Silas was already striding towards the grand steps of Fallenbrook, shouting something unintelligible, leaving her by the carriage.
Despite the blowing wind and the pelting rain, Anna couldn’t help but stand and stare up at the grand estate.
It was more of a castle than a mansion, with dark brickwork and crenelated walls and towers.
With the black clouds gathering above it, it loomed so large and ominous above her that Anna suddenly longed to be back in the carriage, driving back towards the safety of the city.
“Mrs Klane?”
She jumped to find Silas’ bodyguard, Giovanni, standing by her elbow, holding an umbrella over her head. He had such a friendly smile.
“Intimidating, isn’t it? Fallenbrook had laid untended for years before Mr Klane bought it.
” Giovanni offered Anna his arm and they walked across the cobbled courtyard, and up the impressive stone steps, under the arched frontage.
“It had a reputation as a haunted mansion, but that did not deter Mr Klane. I think it might have encouraged him if I am honest.”
I imagine it did, Anna thought, stepping into the grand, oak-paneled hall of Fallenbrook. Silas stood at the bottom of the main staircase, shouting upward through the great belly of the house.
“Bea!” he bellowed. “Beatrice, where on earth are you?” Silas turned his eyes to Giovanni and Anna saw a flash of real worry there.
“You are sure they got home safely?”
“I’m here! I’m here! Calm down, brother!”
Anna tilted her head up and twisted around, catching sight of a woman in a blue dress running down towards them.
Anna saw a brown-haired blur before a young woman launched herself into the arms of Silas.
Anna expected to see his dark face break into his customary glare and was astonished when Silas’ face split into a delighted grin.
“There you are!” Silas laughed, lifting his sister off her feet and spinning her around playfully. Anna’s heart constricted, reminded of the casual affection between siblings which she missed so much in her own life. “When I didn’t see the carriage, I worried you had not made it home!”
“There is nothing wrong. It’s only I needed some packages retrieved from the village.” She smiled up at her brother. “I hope you don’t mind, but I could hardly send poor Marion out walking in this weather.”
“You sent your maid to the village in my four-horse coach?” Silas shook his head, but he still didn’t look upset. “Honestly, Bea, what am I to do with you?”
“You’ll think of something.” She turned to Anna. “I think we require a proper introduction. I barely saw you at the wedding!”
“Yes, Anna, this is my sister, Beatrice Klane. Beatrice, my new wife, Anna.”
Beatrice smiled and curtsied very charmingly.
“It is so lovely to meet you. I did so want to stay for the reception today but someone,” she rolled her eyes comically at Silas, “insisted I come home!”
“You are not out to society yet, little Bea.” Anna was astonished to see Silas gently tug his sister’s long, brown locks. “We have to do things the right way.”
“Oh, there are so many rules!” Beatrice furrowed her brows intently. “It all seems dreadfully silly and confusing to me, but Silas says that you know everything about it and are very refined and distinguished.” Beatrice seized Anna’s hands with wide eyes. “Now we are sisters, will you teach me?”
“Of - of course I will,” Anna stammered, overwhelmed by this generous welcome from such a sweet, lovely girl. How could such a woman be related to the dastardly Silas Klane?
“But my dear, you are frozen!” Beatrice exclaimed, rubbing Anna’s cold hands against her own. “Silas, how could you allow such a thing?”
“The weather was poor in London and we left in a hurry.” Silas frowned, looking at Anna’s hands.
“You simply must have a hot bath! You are soaked to the skin! We should not want you to catch a cold!”
Anna looked down at herself and blushed furiously.
The thin, muslin bodice of her wedding dress was damp and transparent, and her stays were visible through it.
She instinctively crossed her arms over herself, shivering.
Then suddenly, she felt the warmth of wool fall on her shoulders.
Silas had draped his jacket over her shoulders.
Anna looked up into his face as his warm hands pressed against her upper arms, and his eyes met her own.
“That will have to do for now.” His voice was soft. “Beatrice will find you something suitable.”
“Thank you,” Anna whispered, pulling the coat across her chest. Silas’ eyes followed the movement of her hand and his eyes widened before darting away. Anna saw his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard and stepped back.
“Come with me.” Beatrice tugged her hand, pulling her up the stairs.
Anna couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder to the tall, handsome man who stood at the foot of the stairs, his dark wet hair flicking in his face and a brooding expression in his eyes as he watched the two women ascend above him.
“This is the west wing, Silas’ wing of the house,” Beatrice said, leading Anna down a long corridor lined with lovely paintings.
Anna noticed that there were no portraits, except for one at the end, which was a lovely family portrait of Beatrice and Silas as they were now. There were none of their parents, wider family, or brother and sister when they were children.
“I have the East wing, which serves me well. I am learning the harp, and Silas prefers not to hear me playing at every hour of the day, and I prefer not to hear him stalking about at every hour of the night!”
“He keeps odd hours?”
“Oh yes! He has never been a good sleeper. He has a room adjacent to the library that suits his needs. No matter how much I plague him about it, he refuses to sleep a night in the master suite; however, perhaps now that he is married…”
Anna blushed at the mention of potential marital relations between her and Silas, but before she could deter Beatrice, she opened the door to the master suite and Anna gasped.
“Oh, it is lovely!” Set on the east side of the house, the beautiful suite had wide bay windows that overlooked the expansive gardens and rolling hills of the countryside. “The view is so lovely.”
Beatrice smiled. “Yes, it is. Here is the bathing room.”
A maid had already been busy in the small adjacent room, and the large copper bathtub was full of steaming water, and warm, fluffy bath cloths were sitting on a stool nearby.
“This is Lena. She will be your lady’s maid.”
“How nice.” Anna nodded to the maid. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, my lady.” Lena curtsied. “May I help you prepare?”
Lena approached, smiling cautiously, and Anna hesitantly handed over Silas’ coat and held out her arms so the maid could undo her gown.
Anna was a little surprised when Beatrice stayed in the room and seated herself on a chair by the fire, but was relieved when a low, Chinese screen was pulled across the bath, and Anna could lower herself into the delightfully warm water with some privacy.
She let out a reflexive groan as her hands and arms began to thaw.
“That sounds like it’s doing the trick!” Beatrice laughed from the other side of the screen. “You know, I was surprised when Silas told me he was going to be married.”
“Oh yes?”
“Yes. Of course, he’s terribly handsome and wealthy, so he’s not been short for offers, but even the loveliest of girls he’s turned his nose up at. He says work keeps him too busy, but I don’t believe him!”
Beatrice’s voice was open and friendly, and Anna felt herself relaxing in her presence.
“I have heard that he is… a powerful businessman.”
Anna struggled to put into words what she knew of Silas. After all, surely Silas would have kept his infamous reputation away from his innocent sister. As much as she disliked Silas’ brash, cold, and notoriously ruthless nature, she felt respect for the way he treated Beatrice.
“I am sure you have heard many things!” Beatrice laughed. “But here is something only I will tell you: the reason that Silas is unmarried is not that he is cold or unloving or even too particular, it is because he is protective.”
“Of you?” Anna frowned. “He thinks a wife would be a threat to you?”
“No, not at all, if anything, I’m the main motivation for him marrying, I think!
” Beatrice clucked disapprovingly. “I mean that Silas chooses his confidantes carefully. You’ll notice that everyone at Fallenbrook is loyal to him, loyal to a fault in most instances, and that’s because Silas never leaves a friend behind.
You’ll notice he didn’t berate me for lending the carriage to our servant - it’s because he’s done the same and much more for Marion and her family.
Silas protects those he’s close to. I think he is worried that he would be overprotective of a wife. Especially a wife he loved.”
“That must be a lot to bear, caring and protecting for so many people.” And now I am one of them, Anna realized, her heart thumping heavily.
“It is, I think. Though he never speaks to me of it,” Beatrice sighed. “I hope, in time, he may come to share his burdens with his wife. I do not want him to be lonely.”
Anna sat in silence for a moment. Silas Klane, Lucifer of London, was lonely?
It seemed impossible, almost laughable, and if someone had suggested it yesterday, she would have thought that person was talking about the wrong man.
Today, it was much harder to dismiss. The idea that Silas might be more than the sneering, cunning man of shadowy dealings she had first met was mostly impossible now, especially when faced with how he tenderly interacted with his younger sister.
“Neither do I,” Anna felt herself saying quietly.
Anna understood loneliness: it had plagued her every day since her brother's death. Perhaps easing someone else’s isolation might ease the pain of separation she felt in her own heart, too. “I hope I can bring some comfort to him.” Anna bit her lip. “But I would not even know how to do so.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Beatrice’s voice was comforting. “Silas is comforted by you already, I can tell.”
“How?”
“Well, he never talks to me so freely in front of company. Usually, I am all lightness and ease and he is as stiff and poker, hissing to me to quieten down! But with you, he seemed… like himself.”
Was that who Silas really was? Anna felt her heart lighten at the prospect.
The idea of living with and comforting the harsh, callous man she had met at her family home had seemed untenable and a little terrifying.
The idea of learning the secrets and being a source of succor for the lighthearted, generous, and attentive brother she had seen today - was much more alluring.
Yet how could she trust this version of Silas?
How could a loving, sweet man also be the most feared man in London?
Anna didn’t know but resolved to find out the true identity of her new husband.