They tiptoed out of the room, and Anna gently closed the door. Edward gazed down at her. “Shall I stay?”
Anna swallowed, giving herself a moment to think. Spending the night together, in her bed, was a pronouncement she wasn’t sure they should make, although she wanted to wake up beside him, more than anything.
Edward correctly interpreted her silence. “Perhaps not yet?”
Anna took a deep breath. “It’s not that I don’t want you to stay, Edward. Please know that. I’m not sure I have ever wanted anything as much. But perhaps we should wait until after we are wed.”
“Very well, I understand. I will accompany the Grahams back to Tynemouth. Tomorrow I will ask the rector to post the banns.” Edward leaned down, kissed her so thoroughly she was gasping for breath.
“Um, you’re leaving?”
Edward chuckled, stroked the line of her jaw. “Yes, I’m leaving. I will see you in the morning.”
Anna watched him walk away, joining the Grahams, who had packed up their belongings and were waiting patiently by the door. “Good night, Anna,” Mrs. Graham called.
“Good night.” As the door closed behind them, her brain began to function, and she realized she’d forgotten to thank them.
Chapter Seventeen
After perhaps the best night’s sleep he’d had in years, Edward woke early and hurriedly dressed. Now that they had mended their differences, he was eager for his new life with Anna to begin as soon as possible. He was just as eager to spend some time with his son. He had already missed so much.
Mrs. Graham was busily baking in the kitchen when he came downstairs. He declined her offer of a full breakfast, opting instead to down a cup of too hot coffee and a currant scone.
“Delicious, as always, Mrs. Graham. I’m off to see Anna, and then to arrange for the banns to be read.”
Mrs. Graham smiled. “She’s ready to wed you, then, Master Edward?”
“Yes. Please get two other rooms ready, will you, Mrs. Graham? I’d like Anna and Zachary to take up residence here as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Graham sniffed, and Edward paused in the act of donning his coat. That sound always signified something, although whether it was annoyance, displeasure, or amusement, Edward was never quite sure.
“What?”
“Has Anna agreed to move to the manor?”
Edward opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. Finally, he said, “Well, no. But surely she intends to do so, if we are going to marry.”
Mrs. Graham sniffed again, but this time Edward ignored her. A wife always resided with her husband; what was there to discuss?
After finishing his coffee, he saddled his horse and rode to Wallsend, stopping first at the shipyard. Austin was there, hovering outside the offices with a tall, fit-looking young man.
“Your lordship,” Austin began. “You haven’t hired a clerk yet, have you?”
Edward unlocked the door and waved for both men to enter. “No, not yet. My brother-in-law is making some inquiries.”
“If I may presume, my lord, I’d like you to consider this young man, Jamie Martin.” Edward gave the younger man a closer look, as Austin proudly pushed the boy forward for examination. He was easily over six feet tall and ten stone, and built rather like a tree trunk. But his suit was of good quality and well-fitted, and he seemed quite comfortable in his own skin.
Austin continued. “He is my sister’s oldest boy, just finished at Durham this past summer. Took a first in Maths.”
Edward raised an eyebrow. “Maths, eh? Which college?”
“Hatfield, sir.”
Edward sat behind his desk, gestured for Jamie to sit. “Why do you wish to work for me, Jamie?”
“Uncle Austin says you’re a fair and honest man, my lord. My family’s been building ships for hundreds of years. I want to learn the business.”
“Have you built ships, too?”
“Aye. Uncle Austin’s found me a job here the last three summers. I enjoyed it very much, but my mind is better suited for desk work.”
Mildly amused, Edward took a closer look at the boy. His body was clearly more suited for labor, but some people were more complicated than they looked. “So it’s clear what I can do for you. What can you do for me?”
“I’m good with numbers, my lord. I’m strong, so I can keep people from getting in here whom you’d rather not see.” He looked sheepish for the first time. “Um, Uncle Austin told me to say that.”
Edward laughed and grinned at Austin. “Yes, you certainly look strong. Well, if Austin recommends you, I suppose I ought to hire you.”
“Thank you, my lord!” The boy beamed widely and turned to his uncle for approval.
Austin patted him on the back, then shook Edward’s hand. “Thank you, sir. You won’t be disappointed.”
Edward nodded, then shook the boy’s hand. “When can you start?”
Jamie unfolded himself from the chair and stood ramrod straight in front of Edward’s desk. “Right now, my lord, if you like.”
“Excellent. But you can stop milording me. Mr. Mason will do for now.”
“Yes sir, my lord. I mean, Mr. Mason.”
“Your uncle will show you around. He knows where everything is. Then if you could sort through all the post on that desk out there, that would be a fine place to start.”
“Yes, sir, my lord!” The boy blushed, obviously remembering Edward’s instruction, looking very young despite his size.
“Austin, if you could come back in here after you’ve shown Jamie the front office?” Edward said.
“Yes, sir.” Both men left the office and closed the door behind them, leaving Edward alone. He looked forward to having some assistance with the minutiae of office work, and the boy looked the proper combination of enthusiasm and intelligence. Truth be told, Edward was growing wary of leadership. He had spent his summers building ships as well, and Jamie’s comments had reminded him how much better suited he was to labor than to desk work. Looking at the clock, he sighed and forced himself to review the ledgers on his desk for an hour, until he could visit Anna.
****
Anna’s brain was muggy all morning. She kept thinking of the previous day, of her rather wanton behavior, of her somewhat obsessive desire to do it all again. After realizing she’d added a cup of salt to the day’s bread rather than flour, she crossly flung the mix into the rubbish, told herself to stop woolgathering, and started over again.
But her mind wouldn’t stop wandering. She was almost desperate to see Edward again. As she lay awake all night, she wished she had told him to stay. She wanted to sleep beside him, wake up beside him, take her meals with him. Walk on the beach with him and with Zachary. Try to make up for all the time they’d lost. Perhaps…have another babe. She tried to imagine what it might be like to have a child she wouldn’t need to raise completely on her own.
A rap sounded on the door, startling her from her imaginings. It was just as well, she thought, as she looked down at the mess on the counter. She had no idea how much flour she’d added, or salt. She groaned, annoyed at herself, then wiped her hands on her apron and answered the door.
“Edward.” She couldn’t stop herself from grinning like an idiot. Oh, he looked good. He was hatless; his hair was tousled from the wind and curled at the edge of his collar. The scar on his face gave him a decidedly rakish air she was growing to love. Her gaze traveled down his torso—she remembered how it felt beneath her hands and had to chew on her lip to distract herself from jumping him in the doorway. Down, past his waist—she reflected for a minute on what his trousers hid and felt the heat rise in her face.
She snapped her head up to look at his face again—good Lord, she was turning into a wanton. His lips curved into a satisfied smirk, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Anna.” He leaned in and kissed her, a gentle brush of his lips, the merest hint of more to come. Her legs threatened to turn to jelly as he pulled away.
“Um. Come in. Would
you like some tea?” She turned away, busied her hands with gathering tea things.
Behind her she heard him close the door. “That would be lovely,” he whispered into her ear, then grasped her about the waist, kissing her neck.
She dropped the canister of tea and whirled around, her lips melding to his. A groan escaped her, and she pulled away slightly. “Edward. What are you doing to me?”
“Not as much as I’d like to.” He growled and pulled her close again. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the kiss, just as she had last night. She was moments away from letting him take her on the kitchen table when a tiny cough came from behind them.
“Um. Mam?”
Oh, God. Zachary. Her eyes flew open, and she looked at Edward, who seemed nearly as befuddled as she had been. Well, that was something, at least. She straightened her bodice and turned to her son, who looked more amused than anything else.
“Zachary, darling!” Her voice was more breathless than she would have liked.
“Are you going to marry Mr. Mason?”
“Um…” Anna looked from Zachary to Edward. The answer was yes, of course, but somehow she found it hard to say the words.
Edward, however, had no such trouble. “Yes, she is. And we will all live together in my house by the sea very soon. Would you like that?”
Anna suddenly couldn’t breathe. They had never discussed where they would live. She was a bit ashamed to think that it had never occurred to her that they would live anywhere other than her small rooms above the pub. Her pub.
“Mam?” She blinked and let out the breath she’d been holding. Zachary had obviously been trying to get her attention for some time, and was now tugging on her skirt like a two-year old.
“I’m sorry, Zach. What did you say?”
“Mr. Mason said I could have his old room, facing the sea. Is that all right?”
Anna looked from her son’s eager face to Edward’s, whose gaze was trained on her own.
“Um. We’ll have to talk about that later. You’ll be late for school if you don’t hurry.” She handed him a scone she had made the day before and pushed him out the door with a kiss and smile.
Taking a deep breath, she turned and faced Edward. “Your old room?”
“Not exactly my old room, of course, but it will occupy roughly the same space when the construction of the house is complete.”
“You’re rebuilding?”
“Well, yes. Of course. My father built the house for my mother. I will rebuild it. For you.” He stepped closer, rubbed a finger along her jawline. She shook off his touch, stepped away. She had no wish to be distracted.
“Did your mother have a say in where she was going to live?”
Edward’s eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t want to live there?”
“It’s not that. I just…”
“You just what? Did you expect we’d live here, in the pub?”
His voice held such disdain she wanted to smack him. “Not good enough for you, your lordship?”
“Anna. Be sensible.” He moved to touch her, but she backed away.
“Be sensible.” She snorted. “Is it sensible to move into a drafty, burnt house on a cliffside?”
“Is it sensible to raise a family above a pub?” He frowned. “A wife should live with her husband.”
“We aren’t married yet, Edward.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Anna said nothing. She couldn’t stand to look at him. Presumptuous, overbearing…man!
“Damn it, Anna! What would you have me do? I’m rebuilding the house. We can live in the servants’ wing until it’s completed. Why are you so angry?”
She turned and stamped her foot, knowing she was behaving like a petulant child but not caring. “And what of my work here? What happens to the pub?”
“Once we are married, you won’t have to work. We can sell the pub. You can live the life of leisure you deserve.”
Anna took a deep breath, forced herself to stay calm. “You want me to turn into a feather-headed society lady, like my mother?”
Edward looked at his feet for a moment. Anna wasn’t sure whether he was gathering courage or if he was just trying to prevent himself from hitting something. He reached out and grasped her shoulders, made firm downward strokes along her arms. “Of course not, Anna. You could never be that, even if you stared out the window and ate bonbons all day. But you were not born to this life, and I don’t want you to do it after we are wed. It’s not appropriate for a baroness.”
Anna shrugged off his hands, glared at him. “So you come sweeping in, after seven years God knows where, without a single word. After I have raised our son—by myself. After I have worked so hard to build a successful business—by myself. And you want to take it all away from me because that’s not the way it’s supposed to be?” She started to pace now, her temper propelling her across the floor. “I have always loved you, Edward, and likely always will, but I had given you up. You were gone, and I was alone. I had to take care of Zach. I am a respected businesswoman, and I won’t give it all up just because you say it’s not appropriate to my station. If you don’t like who I am, Edward, who I have become since you left, perhaps…I am not the right baroness for you.”
She stopped, stared at the wall. There was silence behind her. She refused to look at him, was afraid to see his expression. Afraid that he would talk her out of her position. But more afraid that he wouldn’t even try.
Anna heard his footsteps move toward the door. It opened, and Edward spoke, almost a whisper. “Perhaps you’re right.” He closed the door softly behind him.
Chapter Eighteen
“Damn it!” The calm fury that had descended over him as he had listened to Anna rant finally broke, and he exploded. In the alley behind the pub, he threw a fist into the wall. The pain that enveloped his hand momentarily distracted him from his anger. He winced as he wrapped a handkerchief around his bleeding knuckles.
“I’m building her a house fit for a baroness, and she wants to live in a public house. Be a bloody barmaid!” It was nine o’clock in the morning, and he wanted a drink. But the only pub in town, of course, was not an option. He wandered out of the alley, walked along the river, away from Anna, from the shipyard, from everything.
All of his time in America, at sea working to pay for his passage, all he could think about was coming home to Anna. To living in his house by the sea, his family around him. He didn’t want to be an aristocrat, to have all of these responsibilities. He wanted to watch his father, learn from him, take over one day, let his father retire and enjoy his life. He wanted to spend time with Anna, then one day have children who would be spoiled mercilessly by their doting grandparents. These visions for the future were the only thing that had sustained him.
But then he had come home, and nothing was as it should be. And now, when he was so close to making at least part of that dream come true, Anna wasn’t ready to share it.
He kicked at a stone along the path, shot it into the water, watched it sink. He regretted the words he had thrown out before he left her. He never, not for a moment, considered she might not be the perfect woman for him. He had loved her for half of his life and would love her for all the days he had left.
But, he reflected now, he had been an idiot, and in her own way, Mrs. Graham had tried to tell him as much. Anna was not the same girl she had been; she was stronger and fully independent, and as much as she loved him—and he never doubted that she did—she would not take kindly to being told what to do.
****
Life on Johnson’s Island was better than the prison in Washington. The food wasn’t bad—they ate much the same as the guards, although they didn’t exactly get the choicest pieces of meat. Although the prisoners were guarded, they weren’t caged—there was nowhere for them to go. The mainland wasn’t far—a good swimmer could probably make it in a few hours, but the water was cold, and he would be discovered and picked up by boat before he made it all the
way. Edward stared at the water, across the horizon, imagining he was standing on the cliffside with Anna.
“Mason!” He turned at the shout from one of the guards, who motioned him back to the barracks. He gave one last, longing look across the water and ambled over to the guard.
“Contemplating escape, prisoner?” The guard, whose name was Armstrong, eyed him suspiciously. He was young—possibly a bit younger than Edward himself—and built like an oak tree.
“No. What would be the point in that?”
“You could swear allegiance, like that lot did yesterday. I really don’t understand why you choose to stay.” Armstrong’s voice had the flat, nasal tone Edward was beginning to associate with this part of the country.
“Because I am English. I can’t swear allegiance to a foreign government. Especially one that fought England for its own independence less than a century ago.”
Armstrong shrugged. “Suit yourself.” The man obviously thought Edward was an idiot.
Nevertheless they walked in companionable silence toward the dining hall for a short while. Finally, though, Edward was tired of the company of his own thoughts.
“Which part of this country do you call home, Mr. Armstrong?” Edward asked.
“Cleveland. My parents run a grocery there.”
“Armstrong is a Scottish name, is it not?”
“It is. My grandfather was a Scot. Came over here about fifty years ago, I think.”
“Have you ever been there?”
The man eyed him with incredulity. “What for?”
“It’s beautiful country.”
The man shrugged again. He didn’t seem to have much appreciation for beauty. “Got a wife and a kid to support. No time, no money, to go wandering back to the old country.”
Edward couldn’t argue with that.
“So what are you doing here, anyway? A snooty Englishman like you?”
Edward snorted. “Wrong place at the wrong time, I suppose.”
Secret Promise Page 14
