Anna hadn’t intended to stand up, or to put it more accurately, leap out of her chair as if she’d just discovered that Captain Delaney was Napoleon in disguise. She’d had no conscious intention of moving at all, only somehow she was on her feet before her brain had a chance to catch up with her body, which seemed to have been galvanised into action by the Baroness’s announcement.
The future Earl of Staunton.
She was vaguely aware of four pairs of eyes all fixed on her face, though she seemed unable to move or speak, her mind still reeling from the words. Instead, she took a deep breath, mentally reviewing all of the conversations she’d had so far with Captain Delaney, but nowhere, not once, never had he said anything to suggest that he was, could be, or had any intention of becoming an earl. It was a title, one of a collection of words that she loathed above all others in the English language. And not just the English language, either. In all languages. Conte, Comte, Graf, Conde... If she could have thought of any more examples, she would have hated them, too. It was bad enough that she was here in a house on the Circus, drinking tea with a baron and a baroness, but now one of them turned out to be an earl-in-waiting! All she wanted was to get out of the room and house as quickly as possible.
‘Anna?’ Her mother’s expression was shocked. Which was no surprise since she was being unforgivably rude, even more than she’d been when they’d entered.
‘I’m sorry, Mama, I’m just feeling...tired.’ She found her voice finally. ‘The shop was very busy today.’
‘Oh...’ Despite a valiant attempt to hide it, her mother looked embarrassed. ‘I suppose we ought to be taking our leave anyway.’
‘Well!’ Lady Jarrow’s voice conveyed exactly what she thought of her behaviour. ‘You must come again, Elizabeth.’
‘I’d be delighted, my lady, and thank you for the invitation. I’ve enjoyed our talk very much.’
Anna watched, horrified, as her mother bent to kiss the older lady on the cheek. Meanwhile, she was acutely aware of Captain Delaney standing beside her. He’d risen to his feet at the same moment she had, though she’d kept her gaze studiously averted. Even without looking, however, she could tell that he appeared sombre. Strange that just a few moments ago she’d been almost enjoying his company again, enough to agree to a parley. Despite all her anger and humiliation, she’d found herself noticing little details about him, too, the fact that one of his eyes was subtly darker in colour to the other, the way he tapped his foot on the carpet as he talked, as if he were full of excess energy, and the scent of his cologne, light and citrusy, with a hint of salt that made her think of the sea. Or was she just imagining that? Now she felt as though she’d been tricked yet again, as if every time she found herself relenting towards him he revealed something else detestable...
‘It’s been charming to see you again, my dear.’ The Baron stood and made a polite bow, causing her a sharp pang of guilt, then Captain Delaney himself stepped into her line of vision and she felt another pang of something more like regret, not for her behaviour, but for what she’d just learned about him. If it hadn’t been for that...
She refused to complete the thought. If it hadn’t been for that, then nothing. They belonged in different worlds. No matter who her mother was, or had been, she was a shopkeeper and she ought never to have agreed to come here. She might have known it would only lead to trouble.
‘Miss Fortini.’ His voice was even graver than his expression, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. ‘I believe this is goodbye.’
‘Yes.’ For some reason, she had difficulty uttering the word. It sounded so final, yet it had to be final, didn’t it?
‘Thank you for coming.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ she lied, so obviously and blatantly that his lips actually twitched upwards.
‘I think not.’
‘My mother’s, then, Capt—’ She corrected herself. ‘My lord.’
‘Not yet.’ His smile reverted to a frown instantly. ‘And perhaps never. Whether I inherit the earldom at all remains to be seen. There’s still one significant matter to be decided.’
‘Oh?’ She tried not to sound too hopeful. ‘What’s that?’
He quirked an eyebrow, as if he were surprised by the question. Even for her, she was aware it was too direct. Impertinent, even. Whatever the matter was it was absolutely none of her business and it wasn’t as if it would make any difference to her anyway. Yet for some reason she still wanted to know.
‘Such as the gender of the former Earl’s unborn child. I’m the Earl presumptive, but since the estate is entailed it’s being held in abeyance. Nothing can be formally decided until the baby is born. If it’s a boy, he inherits. If it’s a girl...’
‘Then you do?’ She felt genuinely shocked. ‘I didn’t know such a thing was possible.’
‘Neither did I until a few months ago. Frankly, I wish I didn’t know it now, but that’s the law. So, you see, it’s not as simple as just going back to sea. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations we didn’t expect or choose, but that we can’t run away from, either. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Fortini?’
His expression seemed far too pointed suddenly, so much so that she couldn’t think of an answer. Instead, she turned on her heel and fled.
‘What on earth...?’
‘I know, Mama.’ Anna put her hands up the moment they were outside on the street. ‘You don’t have to say it.’
‘I might not have to, but I’m your parent and I will say it!’ To her surprise, her mother stormed on ahead without taking her arm. ‘Your behaviour was appalling! We were there as their guests! Whatever must they think of me now?’
‘There was nothing the matter with you!’
‘Your behaviour reflects on me. They’ll think I taught you no manners at all!’
‘I never wanted to go there in the first place! You knew that.’
‘That’s still no excuse.’ Her mother whirled around angrily. ‘Your father would have been ashamed of you!’
‘What?’ Anna sucked in a breath of dismay. ‘That’s not true. Father hated the aristocracy!’
‘No, he hated the way my family treated me. He resented all the whispering and gossip from people who came into the shop, too, but he would never have behaved so rudely to anyone and as his daughter you represent him. You just reinforced all the mean-spirited, snobbish comments anyone ever made about us!’
‘But...’
‘I shall walk on my own, thank you very much. The Baroness offered her carriage to take us home, but I declined. I don’t believe that we deserve it.’
‘What about your ankles? You’ll hurt yourself if you’re not careful.’
‘I’ll manage somehow. At this precise moment, I’m far too angry to care!’
Anna stood on the pavement gaping after her usually serene and calm-natured mother for a full minute before remembering where she was. The Circus itself was intimidating enough with its three curved terraces forming a perfect circle, but the thought of all the eyes behind the windows made her feel even more self-conscious. Barons, earls, dukes...those were the sorts of people who lived here and she ought never to have come. Now look what had happened! She’d never seen or heard her mother so angry, though it took her several increasingly mortified laps of the central garden to concede that her accusations were true. She had behaved shamefully.
Unfortunately, that also meant there was only one thing she could do to make it right, though it took her another five minutes to summon the nerve. If she wasn’t careful someone would call a constable to shoo her away, she thought with bleak amusement as she finally trudged back across the road and stopped back outside the gold-hued frontage of Number Twelve.
The black door looked even bigger and more looming than it had the first time, the Palladian style more striking, too. The style of the house actually varied from floor to floor, Doric on ground level, Ionic in the middle and Corinthian on top, as if any one of those styles on its own wasn’t impressive enough! Even the butler who opened the door seemed more menacing than before, though he showed no sign of surprise and made no comment as he let her back into the hallway to wait while he checked whether the family she’d just left were still at home. Part of her hoped they decided they weren’t, but a few moments later he returned, allowing her to precede him back up the staircase.
The inhabitants of the drawing room were positioned almost exactly as she’d left them. Only Captain Delaney had moved to the window, standing with his face half-averted and his arms clasped behind his back. He didn’t bother to look around as she entered and she baulked at the idea that he might have witnessed her quarrel with her mother, but there was nothing for it now but to continue.
‘Miss Fortini? Have you forgotten something, my dear?’ The Baron greeted her with his usual kindly manner, and she dropped into a low, and this time sincere, curtsy.
‘Yes.’ She fixed her eyes on the carpet, deciding to get the worst of it over with. ‘My manners. I misplaced them earlier. In fact, I think I might have left them behind in the shop. My behaviour this afternoon was rude and ungrateful and I’ve come to apologise. I beg that you don’t take my actions as a reflection on either of my parents.’
She lifted her gaze slowly when she’d finished, surprised to find that Lady Jarrow had already risen to her feet.
‘Miss Fortini...’ the Baroness’s tone was stentorian ‘...I’ve never thought it fair to judge children by their parents or vice versa and you strike me in particular as being very much your own person. I would never hold your mother responsible for your behaviour, ungrateful or otherwise. Come here and let me look at you.’
Anna took a few steps forward obediently, letting the older woman study her face in silence for a few seconds.
‘You must take after your father in looks, although there’s something of the Holdens about you, too. It’s the curls, I suppose, and the stubborn streak. Still, I’m glad to see you have some spirit.’
‘I still shouldn’t have behaved so badly.’
The Baroness made a dismissive gesture. ‘It was most diverting. I can’t abide polite conversation. So many words and so little gets said. I presume that your mother just gave you a set-down? Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve had one, too. My grandson has just finished scolding me for chasing you away. He thinks that I behaved badly, if you can believe that.’
‘Oh.’ Anna glanced towards the window. Captain Delaney had finally turned around and was giving his grandmother a look that suggested his opinion on the subject hadn’t much altered, though there was a glint of dark humour in his eyes, too. It made him look faintly sardonic, making her breath catch and the hairs on the back of her neck rise in a new and startling fashion.
‘Perhaps we ought to agree that neither of us was at fault just to disprove them?’ The Baroness gave her a nudge with one bony, but surprisingly powerful, elbow. ‘Then we should become friends to spite them, eh?’
‘I...’ Anna felt her lips twitch despite herself. Being friends with a baroness wasn’t something she’d ever imagined, but it was hard to resist the idea of this woman as an ally. ‘I think that sounds like an excellent idea.’
‘Good, then it’s settled. We may consider ourselves friends. Although in that case, you’ll have to learn to how to ride. All of my friends ride. I insist upon it.’
‘But...’
‘I’ll provide lessons, of course.’
‘Thank you, my lady...’ Anna hastened to protest, ‘but I’m afraid that it would be impossible. I have a shop to run and no free time for lessons.’
‘Then we’ll just have to make you some time.’ The Baroness tossed her head imperiously. ‘Mornings would probably be best.’
‘I start baking at five o’clock, my lady.’
‘Then I’ll send a couple of my kitchen maids to you tomorrow. You can tell them what to do and then your mother can supervise, I suppose?’
‘Well, ye-es.’ Anna was surprised to find the idea decidedly tempting. She stole another glance towards the window, but Captain Delaney’s expression was inscrutable. She had no idea what he thought of his grandmother’s plan. Not that she cared about his opinion, either. It had nothing to do with him. With any luck she’d never have to see him again. He made her feel altogether too confused and distracted... ‘But I wouldn’t want to impose upon you.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I never allow anybody to impose, but if you want to be my friend...’ the baroness gave her a look that dared her to contradict it ‘...then you must learn to ride or I shall refuse to receive you again. Now come to the house tomorrow morning at six o’clock sharp. You can have your first lesson and then tell me how you got on at breakfast.’
‘Won’t you be teaching me?’
‘Good gracious, no. I have no patience with amateurs.’ Lady Jarrow’s eyes glittered with an expression that looked a lot like triumph. ‘Samuel will teach you.’