“Everything will be alright,” he whispered. “At least we’re attending a wedding and not a funeral.”
“There’s time yet.” Anna took a deep breath, stretching her arms on the table. “A funeral might be happier.”
The string quartet played two songs in the time it took for Philip to return inside. He crossed the ballroom with determined footsteps, and Anna realized too late that he was heading toward her. She straightened in her seat, looking awkwardly at George. He was still furious with Philip—it was written all over his face.
“Where did you disappear to?” George asked, tearing apart his pastry and shoving pieces into his mouth. “We were readying a search party to retrieve you.”
Philip considered his answer, his brow furrowed in guilt. Before he could reply, Alicia appeared at the entrance. She waltzed through the archway with purpose, attracting the attention of the nearby guests. Her mother and father spotted her first, greeting her with shocked expressions and cautious glances in Magnus’s direction. Alicia’s father had not entirely forgiven her for defying his wishes and becoming an actress—but he evidently wasn’t going to cause a scene now. The earl shot her a disapproving look, then turned to continue the conversation he had been having. Their family had just weathered one scandal, so why cause a scene by casting her out on Anna’s wedding day?
“Why is Alicia here?” George asked, narrowing his eyes at Anna and Philip in succession. “How did you get Magnus to agree to invite her?”
Neither gave him an answer. Anna stared down at the tablecloth and heard George abandon his seat. Philip took it immediately, and Anna leaned away from him. She hated how much his presence affected her.
He placed a hand on the back of her chair, leaning in like only a husband could. Her face and chest tingled pleasantly. She had half a mind to punch him—and half a mind to kiss him.
“On my honor, I tried to get her to leave,” he whispered, and she squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of his voice so close to her ear. “I stepped outside a moment ago and saw her approaching the manor… She is determined to stay. But she hasn’t any reason to cause trouble.”
“And onmyhonor, I think you are lying,” Anna hissed, glaring at him. “She has reason and the means, thanks to you.”
Philip leaned back in shock, and Anna immediately regretted her outburst. She rose from her seat prepared to walk away, when Alicia approached their table.
“Surprised to see me?” Alicia drawled, raising an eyebrow coyly. “I couldn’t miss my cousin’s wedding day.” She rounded the table and embraced Anna. “I won’t stay long—I’m staying elsewhere for the night.”
“Good,” Anna blurted out, then corrected herself when she caught people looking. “I mean to say, it is good that you have somewhere to stay. The house is packed tight.”
Alicia drew her in for another hug. “I hope you’ll forgive the silly things I said to you the other day. It was wrong of me to try and tell you how to live your life. I think the two of you areexactlywhat you deserve.”
She released her, leaving only the smell of her perfume on Anna’s wedding gown.
“Congratulations, Your Grace,” she said to Philip, bobbing a curtsey.
Philip didn’t dignify her with an answer, probably worried he would expose them with anything he said.
Anna’s nostrils flared as Alicia returned to her parents, leading them by the arms to the refreshment table on the other side of the room. She imagined her cousin reaching for a petit-fours and bursting into flames.
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” she gritted out. Her bottom lip quivered, and she despised herself for it. “I want to go home.”
It was a stupid request. Wherewashome for her?
“You and I are of the same mind,” Philip replied, but there was no warmth in his voice. He looked back at Alicia’s retreating form, and Anna’s desire to punch him came back threefold. “I’ll see to it that it’s done.”
Once the next dance came to an end, word began circulating that the newlyweds planned to leave. Rosamund was delighted, proclaiming that only the happiest of couples left their wedding breakfasts early. She accompanied Anna upstairs to pack her trousseau.
Anna’s new lady’s maid, a young woman from Cardiff named Cari, sent her belongings downstairs and ordered for them to be loaded into the waiting Wells carriage.
Freed from her wedding dress, Anna proceeded downstairs in her traveling suit. Philip stood at the bottom of the staircase, speaking with her father and the butler.
“Anna,” he said when he saw her. “Would you?—”
She walked past him without a word, clutching her valise as she made for the doors.
The guests crowded around their carriage when it came time to say goodbye. Anna threaded through the crowd, hugging George and her friends tightly. She didn’t know when she would see any of them again, and the uncertainty of her future filled her with dread.
Philip opened the door for her to climb into the carriage. He hovered a hand over her back, and his touch sent a shock up her spine.
As the carriage rolled away, Anna pressed her nose to the window. Alicia stood at the back of the crowd, smiling before George stepped up beside her. It was the last thing Anna saw before the carriage turned toward the gates.
“It’s a long drive to Sussex,” Philip began, leaning his elbow on his side of the carriage. He was visibly unimpressed by her treatment, dropping his mask now that they were alone. “We will likely arrive at nightfall. There will be places to rest in between while the horses are changed. It needn’t be a silent journey. If you have questions about Cotoneaster?—”
