Page 21 of The Trouble with Anna

Anna felt her face go scarlet and she shot a mortified glance at the footman. “Oh?”

He waited until she raised her eyes to his. “I am courting you. Relentlessly. I’m going to ask you to marry me again, quite soon. Next time, I expect a different answer.”

He handed her down into the care of the footman and rapped the carriage ceiling to signal the coachman to drive on.

CHAPTER10

THAT NIGHT, LORD RAMSAY’S FACEappeared on Anna’s pillow. She saw his profile in the froth of her chocolate at breakfast, and the glossy bronze coat of a yearling at morning gallops reminded Anna of the fascinated gleam in Ramsay’s eyes as he’d bent his head toward her.

Almost as if he was going to kiss her.

Kiss her!

Anna squeaked at the sheer absurdity of the idea and buried herself deep in her ledger books, scowling for all she was worth.

I do not want to kiss Lord Ramsay!Anna thought fiercely, ignoring how her stomach leaped and panted like a puppy.

I do not want to marry Lord Ramsay!Anna waited for a response from her belly, but none was forthcoming. For once, she and her inner organs were in perfect agreement.

Which left her in a pickle.

Lord Ramsay, for his own ridiculous reasons, was determined to court her, and she was just as determined not to be courted. It seemed a war she could easily win, except that last night had forced her to take a hard look at her vulnerabilities. All he had to do was make her laugh, or, god forbid, lower his head toward her, and she laid down her arms faster than Napoleon after Waterloo.

Don’t give in, she told herself firmly.Resist!

As a strategy, it seemed rather feeble.

Well, then what did she want?

The problem was she wanted her old life, but that was no longer an option. She also wanted the horses, but her grandfather had signed them away in his horrible will. So she supposed she wanted her independence and to keep the people of Chatham safe.Thatwas starting to seem possible, if only she kept her head on straight.

Focus on your ledgers.They held the answer and she would find it.

Call a truce with Lord Ramsay.Let him play his ridiculous games while she played another one entirely.

There was a clatter of footsteps outside the study and Charlotte burst in. “There you are! Ready for good news?” She pulled a chair up, plonked herself down, and tossed bits of paper across the broad desk. “Look what I’ve brought.”

Anna picked one of the papers up and frowned at it. “What’s this?”

Charlotte leaned her elbows on the desk, propping her face in her hand and grinning wide. “It’s money, Anna. A good deal more of it than I expected.”

Anna inspected the paper again. “A voucher! My goodness, Charlotte, how have the bets come through already?”

“Julian has couriers galloping up and down from London every day and I slipped them a letter to carry on my behalf. But look!” She gathered up the slips of paper and handed them to Anna. “My friend Marby placed eight bets for us, andsixcame good!” She beamed. “At this rate, I’ll quite double my allowance.”

Anna laughed and examined each of the vouchers. “I can’t pick the right horses every week.”

“That’s the beauty of it. I specified that Marby only place long-shot bets, so we only lose a little when your picks don’t win, butwe get fat stacks of money when they do. You see? You’re a genius with horses and I’m a genius with everything else.” She squinted over at Anna. “I only wish we had more money to gamble with. I don’t suppose we could use Chatham’s?”

“Absolutely not!”

Charlotte made a face. “I thought you might say so. But I would argue that your grandfather broke his promise and borrowing from Chatham would simply balance the scales. You’d pay it all back, of course.”

Anna considered. “The problem is I need everything in Chatham’s coffers plus heaps more to pension off the servants. I can’t risk their security.”

Charlotte sighed. “I suppose it’s more prudent to start small anyway. We wouldn’t want Gran and Julian catching on.”

Anna’s eyes kindled. “Your brother doesn’t have the right to judge anything I do!”

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