Practically Wicked (25 page)

A movement outside the window at the bottom of the steps caught Anna’s eye. She stopped, stared, and felt her heart drop past her feet and straight through the floor.

A carriage and multiple outriders were coming down the drive.

“Oh, no.”

Lucien had guests. Lots and lots of guests.

After a moment’s panicked debate over whether she wished to hide and wonder who the visitors were, or find out who the visitors were and then hide, Anna made a dash for the front hall, arriving just as the first guests were coming inside.

Only she wasn’t
in
the front hall, not in the strictest sense. She was in the doorway of a small room used for storage, in a hall just off the front hall, where she could see and hear everything that was going on in the front hall without being obtrusive.

Very well, she was hiding and spying. And for that she felt foolish, but not so foolish that she was tempted to leave her hiding spot. Particularly when Lucien stepped forward and greeted a smiling gold-haired woman in a dusty green riding habit.

“Winnefred! I’d not thought you’d come.”

Anna’s pulse leapt. Lady Winnefred Haverston. Good heavens, the rest of the family had arrived.

Lady Winnefred gave her brother-in-law a friendly kiss on the cheek and stepped back. “It’s far easier on horseback than inside that dratted carriage. Though to be honest, my backside has not yet grown accustomed to sitting a horse for so—”

“Freddie,” a new feminine voice chimed, “do allow me to greet my husband before you embarrass him into leaving.”

Engsly’s countenance brightened remarkably as a second woman stepped through the front doors carrying a small wicker basket.
“Lilly.”

Lady Engsly handed the basket to Winnefred on her way to enveloping her husband in a warm embrace.

Anna felt her brows rise at the sight. Her experience with the ton was limited, but even she knew that such open displays of affection between husband and wife were uncommon.

Lucien brushed a lock of black hair behind his wife’s ear and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I cannot tell you how relieved I am that you are finally here.”

“Worried we’d been accosted by gypsies?” Lady Engsly inquired with a grin. “Forced off the road by highwaymen? Become lost?”

“All that and more.”

Lady Winnefred snorted in a definitively unladylike manner. “We’ve made the trip safely dozens of times.”

“Yes, but never before without me,” Lucien pointed out.

“Your presence would have been superfluous,” a masculine voice said from the door. “As is generally the case when I’m available.”

Anna leaned forward in anticipation as the one person she’d been waiting for came inside. Lord Gideon Haverston. Her second brother.

As he and Lucien swapped good-natured barbs, Anna studied him in detail, noting he had the same dark hair and eyes as his brother. He wasn’t greatly taller than Lucien, but he was larger—broader across the chest and shoulders, and more notably muscled. He used a cane and walked with a slight limp, the result, she’d been told, of a wound gained during a great naval battle. For a time, her brother had been Captain Haverston.

It was strange to think on. What had she been doing in the moments this man had fought for his life amidst the horror of battle? Making a sampler? Conjugating the verbs of a dead language?

What on earth were they going to find to talk about?

Her eyes drifted over Lady Engsly’s finery and Lady Winnefred’s confident smile. What was she going to find to talk about with any of them?

Keeping his arm around his wife, Lucien jerked his chin at Lady Winnefred. “What is it you have there, Freddie?”

“A basket.”

There was a telling pause before Lucien spoke again. “What’s
in
the basket?”

“Oh, the usual sort of basket…ry…items?”

Lying, clearly, did not number amongst Lady Winnefred’s talents.

“It’s a cat,” Lady Engsly said succinctly. “She stole it from a coaching inn.”

Lucien didn’t appear particularly surprised by the news. “Put it in the stable, Freddie.”

“Told you,” Lady Engsly teased.

Lady Winnefred made a face at her sister-in-law. “I didn’t steal her, I rescued her. And she isn’t a cat, she’s a kitten. She can’t fend for herself in the stable.”

“You can’t keep her in the house,” Lucien told her.

“Why not?”

“My valet has a sensitivity to cats.”

Lord Gideon looked over from where he was holding a quiet conversation with the butler. “Kincaid? No, he doesn’t.”

Lucien shook his head. “Kincaid is visiting his mother.”

“What difference does it make?” Lady Winnefred asked. “I’m not asking your man to cuddle with Gwennie.”

“Gwennie?” Engsly looked to the ceiling and groaned. “As in Aunt Gwen? I thought we’d done with naming farm animals after members of this family.”

“She assures me it’s an honor,” Lord Gideon said.

“It is,” Lady Winnefred assured him. “I quite like your aunt. And I quite like this kitten.”

Lady Engsly laughed and patted Lucien’s hand. “And I am quite sure your current valet’s only sensitivity is to the process of removing animal hair from wool coats. Freddie, promise you’ll keep Gwennie away from Lucien’s coats and valet.”

“I promise to do my best.”

“Freddie,” Lady Engsly said in a warning tone.

“It’s a cat,” Lady Winnefred reminded them. “They’re prodigiously stealthy.”

Lord Gideon narrowed his eyes at his wife. “Tell me you don’t mean to keep it in our chambers.”

“How else would I keep an eye on it?”

“Right.” He took the basket from his wife and handed it to the nearest footman. “Tell the stable master to keep an eye on it.”

Lady Winnefred scowled at him, but even at a distance Anna could see there was no heat in it. “He’ll be keeping an eye on more than just the kitten in a minute. Where is your husbandly loyalty?”

“Off cavorting somewhere with your wifely obedience.” He bent down and gave her a light peck on the lips. “I’m told they make a happy pair.”

Lady Winnefred laughed, but what she said next was lost to Anna, drowned out by Max’s voice coming from down the hall.

“What are you doing in there?”

Later, she would feel keen embarrassment at having been caught eavesdropping by Max. At the moment, however, it was the fear of being caught by the Haverstons that concerned her. Her eyes darted from Max, to the front hall, and back again. Since they didn’t appear to have heard Max, she slipped from her doorway, hurried over, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him through a doorway into what appeared to be a small parlor.

“What the devil are you doing?” Max asked, laughing.

“Shhh.” Anna peeked out and discovered she could still see a sliver of the front hall, provided she stood on her toes and peered over the top of an oversized urn. “The family is here.”

“Gideon and Lady Engsly?”

“And Lady Winnefred.”

“Really?” He peeked around the corner and smiled, then turned back to her. “Why are we in here whispering?”

“I…” She bit her lip and searched desperately for a way to answer the question without actually answering the question, because
I’m being a dreadful ninny
wasn’t something she wished to share with Max.

“I don’t know that we need to whisper,” she tried. “I can’t hear what they’re saying, so it stands to reason they can’t hear what we’re saying, although they might have heard what you said as you were coming down the hall. You were quite loud—”

“Why are we hiding, love?” Max pressed.

“Right.” Her eyes scanned the room, hoping for inspiration. It was not forthcoming. “Right. Well. Because…You see…I…”

“What is it?”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “It’s nothing. It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous if it’s upsetting to you. And it must be exceedingly upsetting to you if I can
tell
it’s upsetting you.” He shrugged when she looked at him, a little confused. “There’s no denying you can be a difficult woman to read.”

“It’s called maintaining one’s composure. Mrs. Culpepper is a great advocate of maintaining one’s composure.” She twisted her fingers into the skirts of her gown. “She would be exceedingly disappointed to see me now.”

“Come here.” He took her elbow in a gentle grasp, pulled her fully into the small parlor, and shut the door. “Sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit.” She wanted the option to move about the room if nerves overwhelmed her.

“Then stand,” Max agreed. “But tell me what the trouble is. Don’t you want to meet the rest of your family?”

“I don’t know,” she replied without thinking, then winced at her own answer. “Of course I do. I don’t know why I said that. Only…Only I’ve never spoken with a real lady. I don’t think I know how.”

“Certainly you do. You speak with Mrs. Culpepper every day.”

“It’s not the same. She’s family.” She clenched her hands, frustrated. “That is, she is family I know. And she isn’t good ton, like they are. She may have been at one time, but—”

“You do have some experience with the ton,” he tried. “You’ve spoken with gentlemen. Here, and at Anover House if one is lenient in one’s definition of a gentleman.”

“That’s different. Men are different. They’re…”

“Adorable?” he offered.

“No, that’s just you. They’re simple.
Please
, don’t be angry,” she hurried on when one of his eyebrows winged up. “I only mean that it’s an easy thing to converse with individuals who have but two or three interests…That doesn’t sound any better.” She gripped the fabric of her skirts in an effort to keep her hands steady. “Lord Engsly loves the written word and adores his family. I am certain he enjoys exploring many other topics, but his passion is for books and his family. And so that is what we discuss. It’s simple. Moreover, if I forget myself and speak out of turn, he is a gentleman and makes no mention of it. What if Lady Engsly wants to speak of…” She racked her mind for something sufficiently awful. “…Draperies, or some such? What if she wants to discuss fashion, or likes to gossip? What if I forget myself with her and say something that sends her into a swoon? What if—?”

She broke off, unwilling to admit her greatest fear aloud.

What if they stare and whisper and hate me because I am the Ice Maiden of Anover House?

They could make her life a living hell. According to Madame, no one, absolutely
no one
, could cut to the quick quite like a true lady. The truer the lady, the deeper the cut.

“I find ladies to be most intimidating,” she finished rather lamely.

Max shook his head, looking bemused. “You’re the most intimidating lady I know.”

I’m not a lady.
“They’ve nothing to fear from me, and they know it.”

“And you’ve nothing to fear from them.”

“You don’t know that.”

Max stepped closer, took one of her hands in his. “I’d not let anyone hurt you,” he said quietly and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. “I know that.”

A warmness settled over her, easing the tight knot of tension at the base of her neck. She sought for a proper response to such a lovely sentiment, but he didn’t give her the chance.

“Besides,” he continued. “We’ve already established you’re not a coward.”

“One may be brave under some circumstances and less so under—”

He squeezed her hand. “You’re not a coward.”

She wondered if there was any possible way to argue that point without implying that she was, in fact, a coward, but nothing came to mind.

“No,” she agreed, almost reluctantly. “I’m not a coward.”

“Excellent.” He offered his elbow, just as he did in the morning. “Now, why don’t we take a stroll to the front hall?”

Anna took a deep breath, then accepted Max’s proffered arm and allowed him to escort her out of the room.

As they drew near the front hall, Anna could see that the Haverstons were laughing and talking over each other in the way of a loving family…And then they spotted her, and the happy chatter faded away, replaced by a tense silence.

The joyous family reunion had come to an abrupt halt. Because of her. Anna had never felt so much the intruder as she did in that moment.

Chin up, shoulders back, eyes straight ahead.

She focused on the soft material of Max’s coat beneath her fingers, kept her face studiously clear of the fear she was feeling, and fixed her gaze on Lucien. He, at least, looked genuinely pleased to see her.

“Ah. Here she is.” Lucien waved her forward. “Anna, come. Come and meet everyone.”

She forced a pleasant smile as introductions and greetings were made.

Lady Engsly, Lord Gideon, and Lady Winnefred were clearly fond of Max, greeting him with genuine smiles and a bit of good-natured teasing.

Their reception of her was more subdued. Lord Gideon smiled the most, but also studied her with the most intensity. Lady Engsly appeared friendly but wary, and Lady Winnefred struck Anna as being equal parts inquisitive and uncomfortable.

They inquired after her stay. She asked after their journey. The word “well,” was once again put to poor use. It was like meeting Lucien all over again, only the awkwardness and uncertainty were multiplied. And she couldn’t use weariness as an excuse to escape to her chambers.

Luckily, Lady Engsly made the excuse instead. “I do hate to point it out, but Freddie and I simply must retire for a bit. We are positively coated in dust, and most uncomfortable—”

“No, I’m not.” Lady Winnefred shrugged when all eyes turned to her, the dustiest of all the travelers. “Uncomfortable, that is. I’m just famished.”

Lucien gestured down the hall. “Mrs. Webster just sent a small repast to the breakfast room, if you—”

“Excellent.” Lady Winnefred turned bright amber eyes and a wide smile on Anna. “Would you care to join me, Miss Rees?”

The invitation took Anna completely off guard. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one similarly affected. Several sets of eyebrows winged up at once.

Fortunately, she saw only surprise and curiosity amongst the group, not so much as a hint of disapproval.
Unfortunately
, that left her without a reasonable excuse for not joining Lady Winnefred in the breakfast room.