In the end, Percy simply inclined his head as the door opened and he practically fell into the drawing room. However, as he took a few moments to gather himself, and to cool the heat of such an intense encounter with a glass of lemonade, his foggy mind cleared. And what was left behind was a burning ball of fury, with Simon’s face at the very center of it.
Unworthy.Heis unworthy of her.He simmered with the realization, and he did not care if Simon could see “the majesty of what was in front of him,” because he had seen it first.
An icy sort of dread ripped through him, his lips frozen on the rim of the lemonade glass as he clumsily strung his thoughts together. What was he saying? What was he thinking? He was not falling for Anna Dennis. It was impossible. She was his best friend’s sister, she was someone he had known for two-thirds of his life and almost all of hers, she was “Catchweed”, and he was a thorn in her side.
She was the very last woman in the world that he would fall in love with, even if he believed in love.
He brought the heel of his hand to his chest, pressing hard to ease the tight, burning feeling where his heart should have been. Yet, thinking back to all of the gestures and moments that the Countess had noticed, he could not deny that he had done those things. Nor could he deny that when he had leaned in close to Anna, whispering in her ear, there had been a second where he hadalmostwanted to kiss the curve of her neck.
But it had passed so quickly that he had forgotten about it. Now, it was all he could think about.That, and what on earth he was supposed to do with this ache in his chest.
“Stay away and let her be happy,”the countess’s words rang in his skull.
He downed the rest of his lemonade and took a steadying breath, determined to prove that he did not have to stay away to let her be happy, determined to show the Countess that he and Annawerejust friends, and all of this was nothing more than a passing effect of the blow to his head.
It had to be. For both their sakes.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
“Ithink everyone is forgetting that some of us live an eternity away, have only just arrived, and must be informed of the situation before they explode with confusion!” Matilda said, pouring champagne from the bottle she had brought with her from Albion’s prize collection. “Who the devil is Simon?”
Anna opened her mouth to reply, but Leah jumped in ahead of her.
“The Earl of Luminport. Very handsome, very kind, very pleasant, and absolutelybesottedwith our darling Anna!”
Olivia nodded eagerly. “Evan knows him, so I made some enquiries. Apparently, he is just lovely. He has two sisters, neither married, and I hear they are delightful too, so our sweet Anna will have ladies to keep her company at her new residence instead of being surrounded by men all the time.”
“Max and Dickie seem to approve, too,” Phoebe chimed in, offering an encouraging smile to Anna. “I may or may not have overheard Max speaking with Lord Luminport, and they were enjoying a very amiable conversation.”
Having not had everyone together in such a long time, Anna had forgotten how chaotic their Club meetings could be sometimes. Then again, she had never been the central point of conversation at one of their gatherings, and it made her wonder if her friends had felt this way—awkward and overwhelmed—when they were in the first tentative stages of romance with their respective partners.
Indeed, as Anna sat back and sipped her champagne, the grand study had likely never experienced such a din, as the effusive back and forth of her friends continued.
It was the first room they had found that was far enough away from the drawing room, but close enough to the main staircase if any of the mothers among them happened to be needed upstairs. Although, Evan, Daniel, and Nathaniel all knew that Spinsters’ Club time was sacred, so they probably would not have bothered them anyway.
Matilda clapped her hands together, demanding silence. “Anna, I must hear it from you! Whoisthis fellow to you? Is he the Odysseus to your Penelope?”
Anna turned up her nose. “I hope not.”
“The Hero to your Leander? The Paris to your Helen? The Orpheus to your Eurydice?”
She had to laugh. “Might you choose something less tragic?”
Matilda grimaced. “Oh, you know I am no good at these modern novels you so adore.” She paused for a while. “I have it! Is he the Edward Ferrars to your Elinor Dashwood?”
“Simon is… very pleasant,” Anna replied, with a sigh. “He is interesting, he is kind, he is… somewhat amusing. I am enjoying the experience of getting to know a gentleman beyond one silent, uncomfortable dance.”
Phoebe raised her hand. “You had two dances once. Do not forget that.”
“And both were silent and uncomfortable,” Anna reminded them, smiling.
Whether it was because she had miraculously gone beyond that awkward first encounter, or whether she was simply too old now to care, she did not know, but she no longer felt as embarrassed about her former forays into courtship as she once had.
“Look at that smile!” Olivia cheered. “That is the smile of a woman in love. You cannot deny it.”
Anna took a larger gulp of her drink, the effervescence tickling her nose. “I am not in love, Olivia. Simon and I are… friendly, at present. I do not know if it shall become anything more, so please do not start picturing my future with his sisters, talking of my ‘new residence.’ I have already moved once this year.”
“But… he likes you,” Leah said, frowning.
