‘But I’ll need my Countess by my side.’ He clasped his hands around her waist. ‘Come with me to Scotland, Anna. We can go to Gretna Green and be married tomorrow.’
‘Scotland?’ She stiffened at the suggestion. ‘But why rush? We might have to delay our immediate plans, but we can still be married in Bath. Nothing about that needs to change.’
‘Everything’s already changed.’ His grip tightened. ‘We’ve spent too much time together. If we don’t marry soon, then people will talk.’
‘I don’t care what people say.’
‘But I do.’ His tone was too vehement, his gaze too bright, in the grip of some new fervour. ‘I want to do everything right from now on, start as I mean to go on. Besides, there’s no reason for us to return to Bath now. Your mother’s already here and I’m going to have a mountain of estate business to attend to.’
‘Ye-es, but...’ She bit her teeth into her bottom lip, trying to think of a reason to stall. He was right. If he was the new Earl, then Scotland was a far better idea from a practical perspective. They could be there and back in a matter of days. There was no reason for him to return to Bath except to see his grandparents, but since he didn’t know about his grandfather’s ill health there was no impetus for that. She’d sent a letter to his grandmother asking for permission to tell Samuel, but as yet she hadn’t received any answer. All she knew was that she had to tell him before they were married.
‘Anna?’ He frowned when she didn’t answer.
‘It’s just... I need to go back to my shop. I can’t do anything until I’ve settled things there.’
‘Why not? We can do all of that later.’
‘But it’s my responsibility. It matters to me. Please, Samuel, I want to be married in Bath. We can get a common licence there and...’
‘You’ve changed your mind?’ He dropped his hands from her waist abruptly.
‘I never said that!’
‘Then prove it. Come with me to Scotland today. We’re already packed and the carriage is waiting. We can leave right now.’
‘No.’ She took a step backwards, annoyed by his dictatorial tone. He sounded as if he were issuing orders, as if he were turning into an arrogant aristocrat right before her eyes. ‘I told you, I want to settle my affairs first.’
‘You’ve changed your mind.’ His whole face seemed to shut down as he spoke, his eyes looking paler and sharper than she’d ever seen them, like jagged shards of glass.
‘That’s not true, but I won’t be told what to do. Just because you’re an earl doesn’t give you the right...’
‘If you love me, then you’ll come with me now!’
‘If you love me, then you won’t insist!’
‘I should have known you’d take their side, too.’ He gave a harsh laugh and turned away, heading towards the bridge. ‘Goodbye, Anna.’
* * *
Samuel sat in a corner of the taproom at Staunton’s somewhat dilapidated alehouse, his forearms resting on the table in front of him, staring broodingly into a tankard. He hadn’t drunk more than a few mouthfuls, tempted though he was to drown his sorrows, but now that he’d finally calmed down after storming away from Anna, all he felt was empty.
Lady Staunton’s deception had come as a shock to say the least, but the sight of Anna at her side and defending her had made it even worse, making him feel as though the anchor he’d been holding on to had come loose. Her following him to the water gardens afterwards had given him new hope, briefly allowing him to imagine that doing his duty and becoming the consummate Earl in defiance of his family’s expectations might ease the crushing sense of entrapment, but then Anna had distanced herself again. Maybe suggesting an elopement hadn’t been the best idea, but he’d wanted to make everything official and to do it all properly, to start his new life with her at his side. On top of that, he’d needed to know whether the fact of his inheritance had changed her mind about marrying him and to his horror, it had. If she’d truly wanted to marry him, then she would have agreed to go to Gretna Green instead of making up some excuse about needing to return to Bath. He’d thought that they’d come to an understanding. He’d thought that he could trust her, too, but as it turned out, her prejudices were stronger than her feelings for him. And he’d been a damned fool, falling in love with the one woman most likely to reject him. It had been madness to think that they might belong together, that they might make a home at Staunton, either. Of course she denied going back on her word, but what else would she say?
On the other hand, a tiny part of him argued, Clarissa’s deception had been a shock for Anna, too. Maybe he ought to have given her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he shouldn’t have been quite so demanding, either...
‘You look like you’ve been in the wars.’ The voice of the innkeeper came from close by. ‘Trouble with love, I’ll wager?’
Samuel looked up, assuming the comments were addressed to him, surprised to find them directed at a young, fair-haired man sitting at the next table instead. In the mostly deserted taproom he hadn’t noticed the man’s presence before, but now he had the uncanny impression of looking into a
mirror. The other’s position, even down to his expression of brooding melancholy, was remarkably similar to his own.
‘Aye...’ The man sighed. ‘Dora says she can’t marry me. Her father will never agree.’
‘Old Turner? No, he’s a funny one.’ The innkeeper gave a sage nod. ‘You’d best watch he doesn’t catch you wi’ her either or he’ll have your guts.’
‘Then what do I do?’
‘Find yourself someone else.’