Just enough to make him believe he still had ground to stand on.“Good afternoon, my lord,” she greeted as he closed the distance.
Anna could feel Pere’s attention on her, and she gave her friend a reassuring smile, and quickly scanned the periphery for Henley, but he wasn’t nearby unfortunately.Or maybe fortunately, Anna wasn’t certain at this point.She wasn’t certain about anything except that this was now going to be awkward.
Terrific.
“Lady Anna, you look lovely.”
Lord Devon took her hand and brushed it with his lips—the perfect suitor’s gesture, delivered as if he hadn’t just been rejected hours ago.Odd.Or perhaps telling.
“Thank you.Are you enjoying the picnic?Your mother’s arrangements are charming.”Keep it light.Unemotional.Safe.
Edwin was standing too close.
Henley was nowhere in sight.
Anna kept smiling, sweet and brittle, while the storm inside her gathered speed.
He still held her hand, hovering like a man about to offer his arm.As if she’d accept it.Pulling away now would cause a scene, so she waited.Looking for a seam in the moment—a way out that wouldn’t be noticed.
“I was hoping for a moment alone,” Edwin murmured, his voice honeyed.
He leaned in slightly, tugging her hand—a gentle pressure, coaxing her closer.
Holding her ground, Anna tugged on her hand slightly, and though his grip intensified for a moment, he released her.A tightening in his eyes displayed his irritation at her independent nature.
“We are not alone, my lord, and I’m quite certain that anything you need to speak to me about can be said here.”Her tone was pleasant.
Firm.Just enough steel.Glancing around, she looked for Pere but couldn’t find her.Had she darted away?Why?
“Perhaps not alone… now.”His gaze flicked left, and he stopped.
The irritation in his face appeared and vanished in a blink—like a crack smoothed over before anyone could see.
“Lady Anna.”Henley’s voice slipped through the tension, warm and grounding.“My sister and I were just heading for the Skyline walk.She insists you join us.”
Anna shifted her position and noted that Pere stood beside Henley, her eyes wide and far too innocent.She must’ve fetched him the moment Edwin approached.Bless her clever soul.Henley’s expression was all civility—but in his eyes, a simmer.He glanced at Edwin, then at her, a silent acknowledgment passing between them.He knew.
“She’s quite insistent,” Henley said, a keen awareness in his eye.He nodded toward Pere.“You’d be doing me a kindness, Lady Anna.”Henley’s expression shifted into a teasing grin as he nodded at his sister, as if to prove his point.
Brilliant.A perfect, effortless out—and a way for the three of them to speak freely without raising a single eyebrow.
Anna nodded to Edwin.“If you’ll excuse me, my lord.It seems I’m needed.”She smiled at Pere, playing into the innocence of the setup.
“Later, Lady Anna.”Edwin bowed.
Or not, Anna thought as she took her leave and directed her attention to Pere, who was already starting to chatter like a songbird.“You’ve never seen the park view, have you?I thought you mentioned that the other day, and it’s really a view that must be appreciated, and the weather is so perfect!”
“No, you remember correctly.I look forward to it,” Anna replied, catching Henley’s eye and holding his gaze.
His eyes darted to her lips and then back before he gave a flirtatious grin that he quickly hid with a meaningful glance at the meadow.As they skirted the edge of the circle of blankets and tables, the sound of clinking glasses faded and was replaced with the sounds of birds singing, and the wind tickling the leaves.The air was fragrant with sunlit pine, and air freshly cleaned by the rain.
“Allow me.”Henley stepped to the side and held out his hand for Pere to hold as she stepped over a stubborn root that had risen in the middle of the path.
When Pere had cleared the smallish root, Henley offered his hand to Anna.“If I may?”His words were perfectly polite, but as Anna offered her gloved hand, his fingers slid over hers, gripping gently, lacing his fingertips with hers ever so slightly, ever so scandalously.
The intensity of his gaze speared through her, warming her belly and sending it to fluttering like mad.Anna couldn’t glance away, didn’t want to, rather she breathed deep for the first time that day.
“Thank you,” she whispered breathlessly.