Page 15 of The Trouble with Anna

“Julian?” The Dowager’s voice sounded far away and tinny, or perhaps the problem was her heart, beating much too loud.

“Hmm?”

“You’re not teasing me about you and Lady Anna? There’s no news you’d like to share?”

He snorted. “Nothing at all, Gran.”

The Dowager’s hand quivered as she thrust her copy of the paper at him. “Then why is your engagement announcement printed in theTimes?”

Anna sat in her grandfather’s study at Chatham, staring at a footman from Mayne and stewing. She’d stewed quite a bit since yesterday, a particularly noxious brew that tasted like stale well water and mortification.

Oh, she was beginning to loathe Lord Ramsay! She hated his mouth and the sharp indent above it that seemed such a tempting fit for the pad of her pinkie finger. She hated how his eyes, such a warm whiskey color, made her stomach swoop. Most of all, she hated the horrible things he said.Damn it, Lady Anna,Iam meant to do the rescuing.

Anna had to admit he’d looked astounded afterward, as if surelyhisperfect lips hadn’t formed such stupid words. His eyes had crinkled up at the corners and warmed with amusement.

Blast him!There was nothing more devastating than a man who could laugh at himself, so Anna shut her eyes and hated him harder.

She had more pressing things to do than lose her head overearls! She needed to come up with a plan for Chatham, for protecting the servants and tenants from her cousin, and, of course, for her own uncertain future. It wasn’tusefulto have Lord Ramsay’s low voice thrumming deep in her belly over and again, sayingLady Anna, take off your skirt.

Anna clenched her teeth. “How good of Lord Ramsay to inform me he is planning to call,” she said to the footman from Mayne. “Unfortunately, I am unavailable today.”

“Unavailable?” The footman’s eyes bulged, the braid on his livery trembled. “ToLord Ramsay?”

Anna clenched her teeth harder. If someone were bold enough to stuff a nut in her mouth, she would surely crack it. “Especiallyto Lord Ramsay.”

The footman, with a last aggrieved sniff, took his leave and Anna returned to Chatham’s ledgers. For the next few hours she flogged them, but they only yowled back at her, revealing all sorts of problems and not a single solution. When another knock came at the door, she looked up, eager for distraction. “Yes?”

Hutchins pushed the door open and his eyes softened. “Still at the books, my lady?”

“Yes, and I’ll stay at them until I find a solution for us. Did you need anything?”

“Lord Ramsay is here to see you.”

Anna rubbed her nose. “I specifically told him I wasn’t available. Send him away, please.”

“I tried, my lady. He said he’s your guardian, staying longer than he planned in Suffolk on your account, and told me to inform you he is not to be ignored.” Hutchins paused and his eyebrows quivered high with hope. “May I send him in?”

“Hutchins, you coward!” Anna laughed. “No, you may not.”

The butler’s eyebrows sank back into place. “Very well, my lady. But I don’t like your chances.”

“My chances at what?”

“Chances that a man of his rank and temperament leaves instead of deciding to come look for you.”

Anna jumped to her feet. “Excellent point. Hutchins, I believe it’s time for tea. Please have it delivered to me in the library, on the balcony, in the wing chair that faces the window. Let him try to track me down there.”

There was a harsh laugh in the hallway. “And if I’ve tracked you down already?”

Anna froze mid-scuttle, looking past Hutchins and hisI told you soexpression taken straight from the School of Wronged Butlers, to where Ramsay lounged against the corridor wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a newspaper gripped in one hand.

She straightened. “As you can see, my lord, I’m quite busy. Perhaps you might call tomorrow?”

Ramsay pushed himself off the wall with a shining boot and strode into the study. “I’m afraid tomorrow won’t work. We have urgent matters to discuss. Besides, I know your secret spot in the library now. Where will you go to hide next? The attic? The roof? I begin to fear for your safety.”

It was a quip, but Anna didn’t feel like laughing. Not when Lord Ramsay’s eyes were molten. His face was impassive, his shoulders showed no sign of strain, but his eyes couldn’t hide the furious heat of his anger.

“Hutchins, please bring us tea in the library,” said Anna, with as much dignity as she could muster. “Lord Ramsay, you may follow me.”

---