He paused when George hesitated.
“You know I would take your horse myself if I could, but…” he trailed off. George would know what he meant. “Lady Anna will be in safe hands. We will park far enough away from your uncle’s house so as not to draw attention to the carriage.”
With a reluctant nod, George agreed. “I suppose being seen with you will not pique my uncle’s ire any more than her disappearance.”
He gave his thanks to Philip, then pulled Anna aside.
Whatever was said between them was not for Philip to hear. He focused on calling his carriage around, relieved when it appeared and the footman opened the door for them. While George was speaking with Anna, he gave the driver specific instructions.
“Lady Anna,” he called. “The postillion is waiting.”
She broke away from her cousin and proceeded into his vehicle. He watched her as she walked past him, his body coiling inappropriately as she slipped inside.
“You’re a good man for doing this,” George said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I owe you a favor, Phil.”
Not so good as he thinks, if the effect she’s having on me tonight is any indication of my goodness.
CHAPTER11
“What did your cousin say when we were waiting for the driver?”
Anna had pressed herself into her corner of the coach, giving him as much room as possible.
While the carriage was meant for two people, Philip was tall, and his legs took up too much space in the footwell. He refrained from telling her that she could relax, knowing it would be in vain. How could she relax, when her life hung in the balance?
“He told me he would come up with a plan,” Anna replied, staring ahead. “He wishes to speak with my father about Ashwicken tomorrow and ask him to cancel the engagement. I fear that will only hurt George. It’s not as though my father has ever listened to reason before, not on something as important as this. His pride will not let him rescind the offer anyway.”
“I know little of your father, but I sadly suspect that you are correct. George is allowing his beliefs to blind him.”
“What beliefs are those?”
“That all men are good at heart, or can be taught to be good.” Philip drew in a deep breath. “My own experiences have shown me that is far from the truth. I do not say this to frighten you?—”
“I could not be more frightened than I already am.” Anna gave him a sad smile, and it devastated him. “But I’m thankful to you for being honest with me. And I’m sorry that I tore you away from Alicia’s party.”
Philip laughed softly. “You needn’t apologize to me on that account. I had grown weary of the night long before you arrived.” He paused, returning his thoughts to her predicament. “So, will it be Italy or Austria in the end?”
“What?” Anna’s voice lilted in surprise, then she smiled. “Oh, you mean because of what I said earlier. To be honest, I’m not quite so keen on Italy anymore. I was reading a Radcliffe last night, and if her novels are anything to go by, I should not set foot there—although being imprisoned in a castle by a cruel nobleman may not be so far from my current fate…” She laughed. “My father is right. I do spend too much time in the company of books.”
She straightened in her seat, coming a little closer to him by doing so. Now it was Philip’s turn to shuffle away from her, afraid of touching her by mistake and scaring her. Their proximity in the carriage had an unsettling effect on him. He had not been this close and private with a woman in years. More than that, there was something dangerous about Anna that made him want to lower his guard.
She had taken off her gloves to rub her hands, and he watched with intense concentration as her fingers massaged the pale skin of her knuckles. His heart beat hard in his chest, cursing her fingers and his own weakness… until the coach jostled them, and he was jarred back to awareness.
“That is hardly a sin,” he murmured, clearing his throat. “One would not blame you for seeking an escape through books or otherwise, what with the exacting standards your father sets for you.”
“I suppose things are different for you,” Anna said, slipping her gloves back on. “My friends say that men are in full possession of themselves unlike women, and that they can do whatever they please. You could say no to an engagement, couldn’t you? And no one would stop you.”
“So often you have been right in your estimations, Lady Anna. On this point, you are wrong. Men must abide by other men’s opinions all the time.”
Anna frowned at him. He had said too much.
Philip hoped she would not question him. To his relief, she did not. She must have sensed his reluctance to discuss the matter.
Her perceptiveness impressed him, among many other things.
“Then perhaps George will succeed in making my father abide byhisopinionfor once, and by this time tomorrow, I will once again be a free woman.” The tone of her voice implied that she didn’t believe what she was saying. “And if not… I am at least glad that I have this night to look back on as my one moment of madness—my one rebellion in an otherwise toilsome and devastatingly ordinary life.”
“Just the one?”
