The man offered her his arm, and she reluctantly accepted it, unaware that he was urging her closer to the kissing bough.
Tobias would have jumped to his feet had he not been wearing skates. As it was, all he could do was surge upward, his gaze fixed upon his greatest fear when his brother’s tense voice cut through his thoughts. “What the hell is she doing?”
Looking up, Tobias found Phineas staring at Lady Louisa who came skating over from the other side of the lake with lightning speed. Her gaze was locked on Anne, and she didn’t appear to have any intent of slowing down.
Meanwhile, it seemed Anne had finally realized Lord Gillingham’s intention for her face flushed red and she seemed to be looking about herself as though searching for a way out.
Tobias’s heart warmed at the thought that once again she did not wish to kiss the persistent lord. Still, sometimes persistence won out!
Not today, though.
Everything happened in a blur.
One moment, Anne felt her stomach drop at the sight of Lord Gillingham drawing closer for a kiss−for the second time that day no less!−and in the next, Louisa crashed into her, knocking her down onto the frozen lake. The air rushed from her lungs, and her right hip throbbed a bit where it connected with the ice.
Louisa ended up sprawled on top of her, her blond curls tickling Anne’s nose. “Oh, I’m so sorry, dearest,” her cousin exclaimed, deepest concern in her voice as she made to scramble back onto her feet. “I tried to stop but…” Her voice trailed off, an apologetic look in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” Anne assured her as Lord Gillingham helped her to her feet.
“Are you sure?” Leonora asked as her eyes swept over Anne, no doubt looking for injuries. “That looked awful.”
“She truly ought to lie down,” Lord Gillingham insisted, rather unwilling to relinquish his hold on Anne’s arm. “I’ll have Lord Archibald send for the doctor.”
“I’m fine,” Anne insisted with equal vehemence, starting to become vexed when the man refused to release her arm. “Do you mind?” she asked with a pointed stare. “I’m quite capable of walking on my own. I’ve been doing it for almost twenty years.”
Louisa chuckled, and when Anne turned to look at her cousin, she thought to see something there that made her pause. “I quite agree, Lord Gillingham,” Louisa said with a serious face; still, Anne could not help but notice the slight quirk in her cousin’s lips. “Leonora, would you help her back to her room and see to her?”
Nodding, Leonora took Anne’s other arm and pulled her toward the bank and the bench situated not far off. “Come. We’ll head inside. You could use something warm to drink.”
Anne glanced back over her shoulder and noticed not only a fallen expression on Lord Gillingham’s face, but also a rather triumphant one on Louisa’s. “This was no accident,” Anne mumbled before she turned to look at Leonora. “She crashed into me on purpose.”
Leonora paused and looked back at Lord Gillingham. “Would you rather she hadn’t?”
Anne drew in a deep breath, and her gaze moved to the other side of the frozen lake where Tobias stood. His posture seemed tense even from a distance, and Anne allowed herself to believe that he too was grateful for Louisa’s interference. “She did it to protect me from Lord Gillingham,” Anne whispered to herself.
Beside her, Leonora nodded. “She can be quite troublesome at times, but she’s also a fierce ally to have.” Love and admiration swung in Leonora’s voice, and when Anne turned to look at her cousin, she found a warm smile on her face.
Anne sighed, “I always wanted a sister.”
“Careful what you wish for,” Leonora chuckled as they sat down on the bench to remove the skates from their boots. “Gratitude can be quickly replaced by annoyance.”
Anne laughed, believing every word. Still, she would thank her cousin for her interference. After all, Tobias was the only man Anne wanted to kiss.
That, at least, she was certain of now.
Chapter Twelve…or Two
Relieved, Tobias watched Anne and her cousin, Lady Leonora, return to the house, leaving behind a somewhat desolate-looking Lord Gillingham.
“That was close,” Phineas remarked beside him. “I hope you’ll heed my advice now and not delay any further.”
Tobias sighed and nodded, “I should speak to her.”
“Indeed, you should,” said a slightly annoyed voice to his right.
When he turned, Tobias found Lady Louisa standing on the bank, her arms akimbo and a bit of a frustrated glare in her blue eyes. Without him noticing, she had made her way across the frozen lake, then removed her skates and was now watching him with great displeasure.
Intrigued, Phineas approached her, his dark gaze raking over her in open admiration. “You’re quite a menace, my dear Lulu.”
Her jaw tensed as she looked past him, ignoring Phineas as best as she could. “I know you care for her,” Lady Louisa said to Tobias without preamble, her eyes watchful, no doubt noting the way he all but sighed at the mere mention of Anne. “Why then do you stand idly by and allow another to steal kisses?”
Tobias tensed. “What ought I have done? I was too far away.”
Lady Louisa’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “Not this morning in the library.” Her brows rose in challenge. “I interfered and prevented the worst as I did again just now. However, I won’t be able to keep Lord Gillingham away from her indefinitely.” She took a step toward him, but then flinched, sucking in a sharp breath. “You need−”
“Are you hurt?” The easy smile slid off Phineas’s face as he grasped her hand, his gaze falling to her right foot.
“I’m fine,” Lady Louisa snapped, jerking her hand out of his. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch me, Lord Barrington.” Her voice was icy, and Tobias did not fail to notice that it seemed to cut his brother as few things ever had before.
“Why?” Tobias asked. “Not that I’m not grateful for your interference, but why?”
Lady Louisa sighed, a rather indulgent look coming to her eyes. “Because I want to see her happy and because I believe you’re the one to achieve it.” Her gaze warmed. “She loves you, and I feel deeply confident in my conclusion that you love her as well. Is that not so?”
Staring at Lady Louisa, Tobias barely heard the remainder of her words as her first three continued to echo in his mind. She loves you.
Lady Louisa exhaled an exasperated sigh, “Apparently, you’re as blind as she is.” She took another step closer, cringing once again as she put weight on her right foot. “How can you not see it?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Be that as it may, if you no longer think of her as Little Annie, then you need to act. Fast.”
Phineas scoffed, “That’s precisely what I said.”
Shock came to Lady Louisa’s face as she turned to look upon him for the first time. “You did?” Her lips thinned in something resembling disgust.
In answer, Phineas wiggled his brows in that deeply annoying way. “Believe me, it came as quite a shock to me as well that we actually agree on something. A grave sign, indeed, for it surely prophesies the end of the world as we know it.” Then he laughed.