Page 61 of The Trouble with Anna

The Dowager did not hold with arrogance—it was so often just idiocy dressed up in fancy clothes—but she excused it in Julian, and not simply because he was her grandson. After all, it was his arrogance, his sheer bloody-mindedness, that had saved them all from the wretched mess his father had left behind.

Her heart gave a stuttering kick, as it always did when her thoughts turned to her lost son, and her aches began to yowl at her once more. Each day gravity pulled her down a bit lower, and soon it would—gently, she hoped—lay her in the ground to rest. The knowledge didn’t scare her much, unless she thought of her boy. Strange how joy let her face the prospect of leaving the world with peace, while her one great sorrow anchored her so firmly here.

Never mind!

The Dowager pulled back the piles of covers, lowered her legs carefully over the side of the bed, and rang for a pot of chocolate. She hadn’t seen how brilliant the match was, not at first. What would a man as guarded as Julian do with someone like Anna, who’d arrived at Mayne so prickled up and wary, with such flashing hurt in her eyes that the Dowager had to fight the urge wrap her up in cotton wool, put her in a little box, and nurse her carefully with dropperfuls of sweetened milk?

Imagine her surprise when Anna grew stronger every day and it was Julian who got the worst from their skirmishes. Not that the Dowager wanted him hurt, of course, so much as shaken up, forced to see beyond his own rigid perspective. There was no faster way to ruin a man than for the world to agree with him all the time.

Don’t be ridiculous!she told herself sternly.Julian’s far from ruined.

She couldn’t bear to watch another bright boy begin to harden in the name of strength.

She shook the thought away.

Poor Julian, he didn’t even know how besotted he was.

Or how much worse it could get, before it got better.

Now the silly boy insisted he and Anna were engaged, while the poor girl insisted they were not. The Dowager wondered what London would make of that—and better yet, how she could make use of it.

A dark head peeped in through the drawing room door. “You asked to see me, my lady?”

The Dowager was pleased to see that Anna was pink with embarrassment already, which would only make her easier to manage. Even though the embarrassment, by rights, belonged to Julian. It was shocking how often women leaped up to shoulder blame that belonged to men.

Still, one must make the most of one’s opportunities.

“There you are, darling. I’ve been waiting ages. Come sit by me and be sure to close the door.” The Dowager gave the pillow next to her a weak pat. “The servants got an earful last night and I couldn’t bear for them to hear any more.”

“I’m so sorry, my lady! I can’t think what came over—”

“I know, darling, I know.” The Dowager squeezed Anna’s arm, but gently, as if her gnarled old hands were barely strong enough to pick up a teacup. Oh, how fun to play these tricks again! Charlotte had gotten wise to them years ago.

“It won’t happen again, I promise!” Anna said. “Julian and I settled everything last night.”

The Dowager sat up straighter. “Oh?”

Anna nodded miserably. “I told him very firmly we wouldn’t suit, and we agreed to end the engagement.”

“No!” cried the Dowager, much more forcefully than she intended.

She rallied at once and gave Anna a small, brave smile. Anyone could resist tears, but it took a hard heart indeed to resist a small, brave smile. “Darling, I understand your feelings, I do! But your engagement was printed in theTimes, twice, and Julian confirmed it to a room full of people last night. It would be a dreadful scandal to withdraw right now! I doubt my heart could bear it.”

“Surely we can repeat what I said last night? That Lord Ramsay is an overzealous guardian, but there’s no real need for an engagement?”

“I see. Do you want Julian to be called a fool—or perhaps you fancy the title of jilt?”

Anna went an alarming shade of white, but she squared her shoulders. “You must call me a jilt, of course. I’ll leave for Chatham immediately.”

Oh dear.The child was just as dreadfully honorable as Julian. No wonder he was so smitten. The Dowager rolled her eyes at the thought of the noble sacrifices they would make together.

“It’s out of the question for you to leave! It does me a world of good to have you and Charlotte bustling about, and you’ll have a place here as long as you like. You’re Charlotte’s friend and you’ve become very dear to me as well.”

Tears filled Anna’s eyes and she tried hard to blink them away. “I couldn’t bear to bring shame to your family, not after all you and Charlotte have done for me.”

The Dowager pressed her handkerchief on Anna, conscious of a faint frisson of guilt. These things were so difficult! It would be much easier all around if the children simply did as they were told.

“Dearest, you mustn’t cry. If you and my grandson truly don’t wish to marry, all right! But I suppose you want to avoid a scandal as badly as I do?”

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