Page 117 of The Trouble with Anna

Like a tiger with a fresh kill in her jaws.

Later that night, Anna put aside the thin lawn nightgown that Ivy had laid out for her, reaching into the back of her wardrobe for one of the thick, comforting flannels from home. She lay in bed and stared up at the canopy as panic sneaked up and nipped at her toes.

Julian marries you for duty, nothing more.

It might have started that way, but surely everything had changed? She twisted her ring and the flat diamonds winked up ather. Surely a man who commissioned jewelry that could be worn in the mud must have at least a little affection for her?

But was it love?

Who cares!cried a voice inside.Marry him! Choose bliss!

As the witching hour ticked closer, the gremlins grew bolder. They attacked from everywhere, digging their sharp nails deep into her heart, poking cold fingers into all her weakest places. They found her vulnerabilities and feasted.

No, no! Stop it. You suffered for months thinking your grandfather didn’t love you and he did. See?

Shefeltloved by Julian, yet it was also true he wore his duty much too heavily, like a suit of chain mail. Could she marry Julian, if he was only making the best of things? Could she do that to him, when she loved him so madly?

The gremlins snickered and moved in for the kill.

Oh, hell. I do believe I’m panicking.

Anna waited for the first rays of sun to peek through the damask curtains, then burst out of bed and ran downstairs in her nightclothes.

“Levy! Levy!” she cried, nearly crashing into the butler. “Call for a carriage! I must leaveat once!”

CHAPTER45

ANNA TRUDGED THROUGH A FIELDunder a low, sulking sky that pressed heavy on the earth. The trees were bare, their trunks iron gray, and the patchy grass beneath her feet was dying in the winter cold. Even colder was her heart. Each time it beat, it pushed needles through her.

A gust of wind whooshed by and the clouds split open, rain pouring down like a river. It beat the ground into a thick, icy soup and flooded in through the collar of Anna’s coat.

Oh, blast!Was she going to have to turn back? When she was so close? Anna couldn’t bear it.

She huddled under a yew tree, clutching a sodden package to her chest and weighing her options, when hoofbeats sounded from across the field. A horse and rider thundered toward her.

Julian.

Even in the distance, even through the driving rain, she knew his form.

“Here! Over here!” she cried, waving her arms madly. The mud slurped at her feet as she ran toward him.

Julian was almost on top of her before he reined in. The horse reared up, his dark coat steaming and his eyes wild in the rain.

“ANNA?” Julian shouted incredulously. He vaulted out of the saddle and yanked off his greatcoat, wrapping it around her as rain smacked down on his jacket and plastered the lawn of his shirt to his chest. “Why are you… Good god, you’re soaked through!”

She tried to look up at him, but the rain fell so hard it stung her face. “I—”

“Shelter!” Julian shouted above the storm. “Now!”

Before Anna could blink, he scooped her up into his arms and marched into the woods, leading the horse as well. She shoved a hank of dripping hair out of her eyes and fought the urge to burrow into his warmth, even as her lungs filled with despair. It was so tempting to stretch up and kiss his jaw, or lay her cheek against the width of his chest and marvel at the even pace of his heartbeat.

But she hadn’t come to torture herself.

A small structure appeared through the sheeting rain and Julian kicked the door open and marched inside, pulling on the reins when the horse balked at the entrance. Muttering curses, Julian tugged on the throatlatch and his horse burst into the hut, his hooves clomping hollowly on the old wooden floor.

“Christ, Anna. You’re freezing.” He set her down on her feet, although he kept her tight against him, warming her with his own body heat. Half the windows were gone in the hut and the roof leaked badly. Still, it was mostly dry.

Anna wiggled away from Julian, standing opposite him in the dim light as the rain tried to drown the world outside. “Julian, I—”

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