by Laura Martin
At the very bottom of the page was a warning written in capitals.
STAY AWAY FROM LORD EDGERTON
* * *
‘I want to go ahead,’ Anna said decisively as Harry walked through the door.
He must have seen her expression as he didn’t waste time with a greeting, instead moving to examine the box on the table.
‘When was it delivered?’ he asked.
‘Some time this morning. Did you hear what I said? I want to go ahead.’
‘With the house party?’
Anna nodded. ‘I need to know who is sending these packages.’ She shivered before continuing, ‘I need to know who is watching me.’
‘Was it just the note in the box, nothing else?’
‘The note is bad enough. Someone’s been spying on me, following me.’
The thought of an unknown tormentor trailing her as she went about her daily life made Anna feel so sick she had to walk to the window and throw it open, gulping in a lungful of fresh air.
‘You haven’t noticed anyone?’
Silently she shook her head. There hadn’t even been the hint of a shadow or the feeling of eyes on her. She’d been completely oblivious.
‘Why the warning to stay away from me?’ Harry pondered.
‘Perhaps they truly think I murdered my other husbands and want to protect you.’
‘These packages aren’t about protection, they’re about persecution. It doesn’t make sense.’
‘I don’t care,’ Anna said, her voice sounding almost hysterical even to her own ears, ‘I just want to stop them.’
She leaned her forehead on the grimy glass, closing her eyes for a few seconds while focusing on her breathing. Quiet footsteps told her Harry was approaching behind her, but for once she didn’t tense, didn’t feel the stiffening of her muscles that occurred whenever anyone got near.
Softly he placed his hands on her shoulders, not trying to move her or spin her to face him, content with just letting her know he was there. As the seconds ticked past Anna felt some of the tension seep from her body until she was composed enough to step away from the window.
‘I want this house party,’ she said firmly. ‘I want to invite all three of Lord Fortescue’s horrible children and I want to get to the bottom of who is sending these packages.’
‘I’ll arrange a date,’ Harry said simply.
‘You don’t mind?’ Anna asked. She’d reacted badly when Harry had pushed for this very plan just a few days ago, but it looked as though he wasn’t about to bring up her behaviour.
‘I will not have you terrorised.’
Quickly Anna stepped away, busying herself at her desk. Harry’s desire to protect her was seductive and she had to concentrate hard not to fall under his spell.
‘We should invite some other guests, too. I don’t think I could bear being cooped up in a house with just the Fortescue family for a weekend.’
‘Do you have any friends you’d like to invite?’
Avoiding Harry’s eye, she shook her head. Once she’d had friends, she’d been popular and well liked as a debutante. Even after the death of her second husband she’d had a select group of friends, women she could laugh with and confide in and share the good and bad moments with. Lord Fortescue had put an end to any companionship, systematically isolating her from her limited family and friends until she’d had no one but her cruel husband.
‘How about Beatrice?’
‘I’d rather she wasn’t involved.’
‘It might look a little strange if she isn’t present.’
‘I don’t want her getting hurt. If this person, this villain, catches on to how much I care for Beatrice she might be targeted.’
‘Leave the guest list to me,’ Harry said with a reassuring smile.
‘How will you get the Fortescue children to attend?’
‘I’ll ask them,’ Harry said with a shrug. ‘I’m hoping they’ll be intrigued enough to accept.’
‘Thank you,’ Anna said quietly.
‘Do I take it our engagement is back on?’
Grimacing, Anna nodded. Right now she would do anything to find out who was sending her these threatening packages, including resurrecting the sham engagement to Harry.
‘You look overjoyed at the prospect, Lady Fortescue,’ Harry said.
‘I’m not sure if we are saving ourselves from scandal or just postponing it.’
‘If we wait until some other unfortunate gets caught in a compromising position, the collective attention of the ton will be directed elsewhere and we can quietly go our separate ways.’ Harry knew they would still be subjected to gossip and rumour, but perhaps they could lessen the speculation by choosing the right time.
‘It may work,’ Anna conceded.
‘And now I wish to take my fiancée out for an afternoon stroll.’
* * *
They took his carriage back to the more salubrious part of London and Harry had the driver stop by the Stanhope Gate while they alighted. Despite the sunny start to the day the sky was now moody and overcast, the clouds like great purple bruises spreading across the sky.
‘Afraid of a little rain?’ Anna asked as she watched him looking up.
‘I wouldn’t like for you to catch a chill.’
‘Always a gentleman, Lord Edgerton,’ Anna murmured.
‘Not always,’ he said, a barely perceptible gleam in his eyes.
Anna had relaxed on the carriage ride through London, the tension slowly seeping from her body and the frown lifting from her face as they got further from the docks. He knew it was the unpleasant packages and her mysterious tormentor preoccupying her mind, but he also wondered if the stress of running the shipping company didn’t help.
‘I was thinking about your shipping company the other day and I don’t think I know a single other woman who is so involved with running a business,’ Harry said, keeping his voice light. ‘It must be stressful.’
He half-expected a frosty response, but instead got a wry smile. ‘Careful, Harry, or you’ll start to sound like the meddling matrons I receive so much friendly advice from.’
‘Society disapproves.’
‘That is an understatement. I do not fit the expected stereotype of a gently bred lady. I prefer world maps and shipping charts to watercolours and dinner parties.’
‘What made you decide to run the company yourself, rather than hire a man to do it?’
Anna smiled again and Harry realised this was the most animated he’d seen her. There could be no doubt she loved her unusual work.
‘Aside from the fact that the company couldn’t afford it?’ She linked her arm through Harry’s and they began to stroll through the park as she spoke. ‘The Trevels Shipping Company had a grand total of three ships when I took over the day-to-day management last year. We were heavily in debt and didn’t have a reliable reputation among the traders that mattered.’
‘But you could afford to employ someone to manage the company now?’
‘Yes,’ Anna said slowly, ‘but that’s never going to happen. It’s my blood, sweat and tears that have gone into the company, my hard work that is just starting to pay off. I will not hand it over to someone else to ruin it.’
‘I can see it has been an important part of your life,’ Harry said, aware he was stepping dangerously close to a line he shouldn’t cross, ‘although one day you might feel differently. I’m sure you will want to marry again, have children—your focus would shift.’
The main problem would be that most husbands wouldn’t want their wives traipsing off to the docks every day to do a job that wasn’t even suitable for a woman of a lower class.
‘That isn’t an issue,’ Anna said with a smile on her lips, but fire in her eyes. ‘I will never marry again.’
It was said so vehemently that Harry m
issed a step.
‘Of course you’ll marry again,’ he said before he could stop himself.
‘Oh, really, Lord Edgerton, you know my mind better than I, I suppose?’
‘I just meant you’re young, you’re beautiful, you’re from a good family.’
‘You forget half of society thinks I murdered all three of my husbands. Not many men would want to take on the Black Widow as their wife.’
‘No one actually believes that...’ He paused and corrected himself after receiving an admonishing stare, ‘Well, not many people actually believe that.’
‘It is of no concern. I do not wish to marry again, so it doesn’t matter if anyone would have me or not.’
‘Do you not want children?’ Harry asked.
Anna’s face softened and there was a look of regret in her eyes. ‘I always hoped... But it wasn’t meant to be. Enough, let’s talk of something else. How about you? Have you someone in mind to settle down with?’
Over the past six months he’d attended every ball, accepted every invitation and valiantly tried to find a wife who was respectable and suitable, but also likeable. He wanted a companion, someone he could tolerate sharing breakfast with every day for the next thirty years, someone who would make a good mother to his children. He wouldn’t consider anyone he thought there was even a small chance he might fall in love with. Years of witnessing the explosive rows between his parents, seeing the hurt and betrayal in his mother’s eyes as his father disappeared with another of his mistresses, was enough to tell him love only set you up for hurt in a marriage. His parents had married for love, his mother had been infatuated with his father throughout their union and she had suffered years of pain and heartache. No amount of passion was worth that.
‘No one in particular.’
Smiling, she pulled away slightly and regarded his face for a moment or two. ‘Let me guess, you’re looking for an accomplished young woman, someone beautiful and poised, someone who was born for the role of countess.’
Harry smiled, too, playing along. This was a new side he was seeing of Anna. He felt as though slowly he was breaking through the façade, knocking down the wall she’d constructed to keep everyone out brick by brick. For the first time she was teasing him and she’d actually opened up a little about her hopes for the future, although he’d clearly got the message that the subject of her past was still strictly out of bounds.
‘Only women from the purest aristocratic stock may be considered,’ Harry joked.
‘So you do have someone in mind?’
‘No.’
‘But you do want to marry?’
‘Of course,’ he answered before thinking, but then considered the question. He’d always been expected to marry, to carry on the Edgerton family name and ensure the status and wealth built up over the last few centuries didn’t dissipate and leave the immediate family. It was his role in life, just as much a responsibility as running the large estate in Kent and looking after his mother and sister now his father had passed away.
‘It’s strange, isn’t it—we’re brought up being told we must marry well, make a good match in life, that sometimes we don’t consider what we really want.’ Anna looked off into the distance as she spoke, her expression inscrutable.
‘What is it you want?’ Harry asked.
‘Peace. But we were talking about you. You don’t give much away about yourself, Harry. You’re a hard man to get to know.’
‘Nonsense. Everyone tells me I’m amiable enough.’
‘Oh, you’re amiable, more than amiable, but in the weeks that we’ve known each other you haven’t told me much about yourself.’
‘That can’t be true.’
‘You’re very good at getting others to talk, Harry, so much so that they forget you haven’t said much about your life.’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘I can ask you anything?’
‘You can ask...’ He trailed off, grinning. ‘I might not answer.’
They strolled arm in arm for a few minutes in silence. Every time Harry tried to speak Anna stopped him, admonishing him for interrupting her train of thought. It was a beautiful day in the park, despite the menacing clouds overhead. The trees that lined the pathways were beginning to fill out with their new leaves and dotted along the grass verge were the earliest blooms of spring flowers. Harry realised he felt content and more at peace than he had in a long time.
‘What’s your dream, Harry?’ Anna asked eventually.
‘My dream?’
‘What do you want most in the world?’
He considered for a few moments. In most people’s eyes he was blessed. He owned a large country estate which provided a decent income, had had a distinguished career in the army before he’d left after his father’s death and could afford to spend most of his time as he pleased.
‘Happiness for my family. For my sister and mother. A good marriage to a decent man for my sister, for her to settle down and have a family.’
‘That is a very selfless dream,’ Anna said quietly.
Perhaps it seemed that way to someone else, but Harry knew if his sister were happy he would be able to shed the guilt that followed him everywhere. If she could move on with her life, return to society and find herself a husband, then he might be able to forgive himself for failing her so badly.
‘Is she not happy now?’ she asked.
Harry shrugged, hoping he could deflect Anna’s interest on to a different subject. Apart from Rifield, who’d been his closest friend since their days in the army together, no one knew the full extent of Lydia’s despair following the scandal she’d suffered last year.
‘She’s eighteen,’ he said slowly. ‘It is difficult to know what an eighteen-year-old girl is thinking at the best of times.’
That much at least was true. This past year Harry had tried to get closer to his sister, tried to break down some of the barriers Lydia had constructed to shield her from the outside world, but in truth he hadn’t made much progress. When he was at home in Kent he insisted she dine with the rest of the family, that she go out on rides with him and spent time strolling through the grounds with their mother. Lydia complied, but although she was physically present, it was still obvious her mind was elsewhere.
‘So you say your sister won’t have her debut this year?’ Anna asked.
The Season in London was just winding down, with most of the ton spending the warmer months outside the city on their country estates. The best time to reintroduce Lydia to society would be at the start of the next Season in the autumn, but Harry doubted she would be ready for that.
‘No. She had attended a few functions when she was seventeen,’ he said, trying to keep his voice light, ‘but nothing this past year.’
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Anna frown in confusion. Normally once a young woman had made her debut she attended as many balls and soirées as possible. To find a suitable husband you had to be out there actively looking and being seen.
For a few moments they walked on in silence, skirting round the edge of a small pond, nodding in greeting to the few couples they passed. It was quiet in the park; one of the first fine days of spring had caught people unawares and as yet they had not ventured out from their sitting rooms and gentleman’s clubs. If the good weather continued Hyde Park would be crowded in a few days. Harry was grateful they didn’t have to stop every few paces to talk to some acquaintance or other, but he did wish there would be a distraction before Anna could ask any more difficult questions about his sister.
‘Will she be there at the house party?’
‘Yes,’ Harry said slowly. She’d be there, but he probably wouldn’t be able to cajole her into socialising.
‘And your mother?’
‘She doesn’t mix much since my father’s death.’
It wasn’t the whole truth,
but Anna didn’t need to know the intimate details of his mother’s anxiety. She’d always been of a nervous disposition, but these past few years her circle of comfort had shrunk and shrunk until she wasn’t happy anywhere but home and only then when there were no strangers about. She’d spent her entire life tormented by the love she’d felt for her husband, but now he was dead she was overcome by grief and foreboding.
‘It sounds like you have a lot of responsibilities,’ Anna said softly as she guided him to a bench situated under a towering oak tree.
They sat side by side, Anna’s hand resting in the crook of his elbow, looking out over the park. Despite the almost depressing talk about his family Harry felt a peculiar sense of contentment sitting here with Anna. Once her icy demeanour had cracked she was warm and interesting, and she was sensitive enough to know when not to push him further with her questions.
‘Tell me about your time in the army,’ Anna said.
He shifted slightly, wondering how to start. The years he’d spent in the army were some of the best of his life. He’d enjoyed the sense of purpose, the camaraderie, the knowledge that the junior officers and soldiers relied on him for guidance and advice. Of course there were bad parts, too—battles where he had lost friends, skirmishes he hadn’t seen the point of.
‘For most of my service I was posted to the Cape,’ Harry said. ‘It was hot, it was volatile and it was beautiful.’
‘It’s unusual for a first son to go into the army,’ Anna said quietly.
It had been more than unusual—it had been a subject of much argument and debate with his father. Of course his family hadn’t wanted him to join the army, but after the cloistered life of university Harry had felt lost, directionless. His father was still strong and capable of running the family estates so Harry had felt surplus to requirements. His solution had been to join the army.
‘My mother sobbed for an entire week when I informed her of my plans,’ Harry said grimly. ‘But I was young and I’d already made my decision.’
‘So they sent you to Africa.’