“I was so afraid you’d die, Annie,” Toby whispered as he held her tightly. “I was so afraid I’d lose you.”
Blinking back a tear, Annie stepped back. “You looked out for me,” she told him with a deep smile.
Toby nodded. “And you looked out for me.” He bent down to pick up his hat that had to have slipped off the branch when Annie had. “As friends do.” He grinned at her.
“As friends do,” Annie echoed, taking his hat and pulling it back over his head.
Friends.
Forever.
Chapter One ~ A Plan is Hatched
Barrington House, England, Autumn 1801 (or a variation thereof)
Barrington House with its tall columns and wide-open land held a special place in Anne’s heart. She had spent many wonderful years here as a girl, sliding down the banister in the great hall, catching fireflies at dusk and stealing biscuits from the kitchen. She had loved following the Hawke boys on their adventures, exploring the haunted attic or the gloomy library where a whispered word would echo among the rows upon rows of books. She knew every nook and cranny of this place, and whenever the sun began to set and its golden rays drifted in through the ceiling-tall windows in the salon, Anne could not help but sigh in bliss.
Indeed, Barrington House had always been nothing short of heaven for her.
But not today.
“Is he still looking at me?” Anne asked in a tense whisper, forcing herself not to glance over her shoulder, but to keep her eyes fixed on her two cousins, Louisa and Leonora Beaumont, daughters to the Earl of Whickerton.
Dark-haired Leonora frowned at Anne’s pinched expression, then cast a questioning look across the ballroom, crammed with guests at this year’s ball. “Who?” she asked, her brows drawing down in concentrated observation.
Her sister laughed, “Well, Lord Gillingham, of course.” Unlike Leonora’s, Louisa’s brows rose in a show of triumph as she met Anne’s gaze. “Why are you so intent on escaping his company?” There was a teasing note in her voice, and Anne could not help but feel that her beloved cousin was enjoying watching her squirm much.
Louisa and Leonora−or Lou and Leo as family and friends called them−were like night and day. Anne could not say which of her cousins she liked better for they both had such endearing qualities; unfortunately, they also both possessed the ability to rob her of every bit of patience with but a few well-aimed words.
Leonora was reason personified, always coming up with theories about how and why something happened. She was known to ask a thousand questions when something piqued her interest and was rarely seen without a notebook and pencil in hand. Fortunately, it seemed she had not brought them to tonight’s ball.
Louisa, on the other hand, often acted on impulse, rarely taking the time to think things through, which frequently aggravated Leonora. Still, Louisa had a way of seeing the truth regardless of its trappings and she never feared to speak her mind, her exuberance intoxicating.
Anne sighed, knowing that neither one of her cousins would accept a half-truth. “Well, he…he simply makes me…uncomfortable,” she finally admitted, tucking a stray curl of her dark brown tresses back in place.
“Why?” Leonora asked with a frown as she once more squinted her eyes, no doubt running them over Lord Gillingham to determine the problem. “Is it his breath? Does he smell odd? Does he have sweaty palms?” She glanced down at Anne’s gloved hands. “However, that shouldn’t affect you. Does he spit when he speaks? Or−?”
“He wants to marry her,” Louisa threw in with a sideways eye roll at her sister. Then her inquisitive, green eyes settled back on Anne. “Does he not?”
Anne heaved a deep sigh, “He didn’t say as much, but…every time he looks at me I cannot help but feel that…” Her voice trailed off. “What do I do?”
“So, he has neither bad breath nor sweaty palms?” Leonora enquired for knowledge’s sake.
Anne shook her head. “Not that I noticed.”
“Then why do you object to him?” Again, Leonora ran her eyes over the admittedly dashing lord. “He is tall with thick hair and a symmetrical face. He comports himself with elegance and dances with the necessary proficiency. As far as I know, his family possesses a sizable fortune as well as a reputation free from scandal.” Her mouth closed and she blinked, her blue eyes moving to meet Anne’s. “Where is your objection?”
Anne shrugged. “I don’t know.” However, whenever Lord Gillingham drew near, there was that part of her deep down that all but told her to run. She could not explain it. It felt like a sense of dread, of reluctance as though she simply was not where she ought to be. As though she was walking in the wrong direction.
“What kind of man do you wish for?” Leonora enquired; her hands moved as though they were reaching for her notebook and pencil, ready to take notes. When she discovered them absent, the look in her eyes was one of deepest regret.
“Oh, I can tell you what kind of man she wishes for, dearest Leo,” Louisa exclaimed, her lips curled into a smile that made Anne squirm even more. “I can even tell you which gentleman it is who’s standing in the way of her seeing Lord Gillingham−or any other−in a favorable light.”
While Anne felt her insides twist and turn in dread, wondering what kind of fantastic story Louisa had cooked up this time, Leonora’s jaw dropped in curiosity. “Who?”
Louisa smiled devilishly. “Him.” Without turning her head, she let her eyes dart to the wide arch through which more and more guests were entering the ballroom.
Holding Louisa’s daring gaze, Anne raised her chin, fighting the urge to turn her head.
Leonora, however, did not hesitate for a second. Her head snapped to the side, and a moment later, the hint of a frown began to crease her forehead. “Lord Barrington?”
Anne felt herself pause, then frown. “What? That’s ridiculous!”
Louisa rolled her eyes at her sister. “I quite agree. Phineas Hawke is the last man in the world who would capture a woman’s attention.”
“You truly ought to call him Lord Barrington,” Leonora chided. “It’s a question of respect. After all, he inherited his father’s title more than four years ago.”
Louisa shrugged off her sister’s comment as though it were a ludicrous demand that did not make the slightest sense.
While Anne had grown up with the Hawke brothers, their families’ country estates closely situated, Louisa and Leonora had only occasionally spent time in their company. However, for Louisa, that had been enough to come to detest the eldest Hawke brother Phineas; and it seemed the feeling was mutual. “No, I meant Mr. Tobias Hawke,” Louisa clarified with a smile in Anne’s direction. Then she turned and her eyes sought out the man in question.
“Toby?” Anne exclaimed, wondering how on earth Louisa had come to that conclusion. “You must be jesting.” Her gaze followed Louisa’s and she found herself looking at her childhood friend. As though he felt her looking at him, his head rose, and a second later, his chocolate-brown eyes found hers. A small smile touched his lips, and he winked at her.
“See?” Louisa exclaimed in triumph. “You cannot tell me that he means nothing to you.”