by Ava Rose
“You’re right.” Libby jumped out of bed. “I have to tell Mama.”
“Oh, wait!” Before Anna could stop her, she’d run out of the room, shouting, “Pen wants to marry Anna!”
Moments later Mary burst in and ran up to Anna for a hug. “I have been waiting for this for so long. I’m so excited that Pen will officially make you part of our family.”
Anna couldn’t speak due to the emotion constricting her throat. Their acceptance of her was heartwarming.
***
Leaving Libby and Mary to rest after the celebration of her courtship with Pen, Anna went downstairs, unsure what to do with herself. Sleep was an option as she was truly in want of it, but she was too restless to allow it quite yet.
When she reached the grand foyer, she peeped out and realized there was not a single soul in front of the house. How had Pen managed to clear the rabble? It was very impressive, to say the least. He knew how to command people to do what he wanted and he never took the charming route when doing so. She found it fascinating and intensely attractive.
Peering again through the window, she saw Edith Harper strutting up the steps. Anna smoothed her hands over her dress and opened the door before the hateful woman could even knock.
The riot that had greeted them on arrival had so disoriented her that she'd not had the chance to think about who might have spread the story of Libby's disappearance around town.
But now it seemed the perpetrator had brought herself along to gloat.
"Oh!" Edith squealed in surprise, then recovered and looked Anna over. “My, you look…rough.”
Anna ignored her taunt and simply remained blocking the doorway, disinclined to allow her in.
“I heard Lady Elizabeth had returned and I came to check on her,” Edith said, adjusting her gloves.
Anna smiled grimly. “She’s perfectly fine.”
Edith curled her lip and gave Anna a reproachful look.
“Why did you do it, Edith?”
The woman shrugged. “The terms of the agreement the prince had me sign were impossible to meet. Finding her was taking too long. I am sure he set those terms so I could never get the money.”
“How is keeping quiet impossible? Were you so desperate?”
Edith’s eyes turned resentful and she said through clenched teeth, “I sold the story to the highest bidder. The Brahmin Times paid quite well.”
“Of course they did. We’ll see how long it will last.”
That jab had been carefully aimed and it hit Edith perfectly. Hinting at her brother’s gambling debt was probably a low blow and Anna felt bad resorting to pettiness, but she’d been pushed. Edith had chosen to blackmail and betray them.
“You are a truly horrible person, Anna.”
“At least I know what loyalty means.”
Edith’s mouth fell open and Anna took the opportunity to shut the door in her face.
She leaned against the paneled wood for a couple of minutes to recover her equilibrium, before straightening and turning. She was about to enter one of the drawing rooms when the front door reopened and Pen walked in, this time accompanied by Mr. Graves and two other police officers.
Pen had obviously bathed too. He looked clean and far more rested. He was dressed in an afternoon coat of deep blue. Anna decided he looked handsome beyond belief. Seeing him made the unpleasantness of Edith Harper’s visit drift away to nothing.
She accompanied the gentlemen into the drawing room and she and Pen took it in turns to explain everything that had happened since the last time they had seen Mr. Graves. As Libby was resting, the officers decided to return on the morrow for her statement. Anna and Pen were left alone after the police departed and he moved to sit beside her on the sofa.
“How are you, Anna?” He took her hands in his.
She smiled up at him. “I am fine now that I know those men will be hunted down and captured.”
He pulled her close. “Me too.”
She snuggled in to him, basking in his warmth and breathing in his delightful scent—sandalwood and mint.
“Anna,” he said eventually.
“Yes?”
“Did you go back to your room at the Five Castles when I went down to the public area to look for Singer?”
Oh, dear! She shook her head, and he sighed loudly.
“How did you know?” she asked carefully.
“You mentioned you’d found the list of names in Singer’s bedroom. It didn’t register at the time, but I’ve since understood what you must have done.”
She avoided his eyes when she said, “That was somewhat careless of me.”
He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could look into her eyes. “I want you to be more careful in future. That was dangerous.”
He was right, of course. She could not imagine what would have happened if she had been discovered underneath the bed.
“You mean more to me than you will ever know,” Pen added.
He meant more to her, too. “I will be careful. I promise.”
He burst into laughter. She frowned, wondering what had gotten to him. “I can’t believe you didn’t argue with me about that,” he said.
Now she laughed too. “I suppose I must have grown.”
“So have I,” he admitted, stroking her cheek. “And you helped with that.”
She closed her eyes briefly to better enjoy the warm happy feeling that was circling her.
He cradled her face in his hands then. “You saved my life, and I don’t mean just what you did at the bar. I was on a path to self-destruction, shutting out those who matter the most to me, and you brought me back from that. You saved me from myself.”
“Pen—”
He pressed his lips to hers. She had to admit, it was an effective way to silence her.
Eventually he pulled back. “There’s more.”
“Really? Do go on. I’m enjoying this.” She grinned happily up at him, enjoying the softness in his features.
“Anna, you made me aware of the reason you fight for women’s rights, and I feel ashamed for trivializing that battle. You have my irrevocable support and please know that I consider you my equal.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. His thumbs moved over her cheeks to wipe away tears she didn’t even realize had fallen.
“Even in a fistfight, you’re my equal. And in a gunfight, you are my superior.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe you’re admitting this.”
“Well, believe it because it is true. It is one of the truest things I feel.”
“Oh, Pen…” She didn’t even know what to say. There was so much emotion swirling around inside her.
“I love you, Anna Trevallyn.” His eyes bored deep into hers and she read the truth there.
“And I love you, Penforth. With all my heart.”
“Good,” he said, straightening. “You shouldn’t have a problem marrying me now.” When she started to speak, he silenced her again, this time with a finger against her lips. “We have to marry. We’ve posed as a couple so many times already. So what do you say? When do we get married?”
She shook her head, feigning affront. “You’re impossibly controlling.”
A sheepish smile touched his features. “Oh, I was supposed to ask you first, wasn’t I?”
She leaned back and folded her arms across her chest.
He bolted from the chair saying, “Wait here. I’ll be right back,” and hurried out of the room. Moments later, he returned and slowly, struggling because of his leg injury, he knelt before her. He presented her with a ring, a beautiful cabochon diamond with a delightful sapphire on either side.
“Family heirloom,” he said, when her eyebrows raised upward. “And this one reminds me of your eyes. Sapphires are darker than your eyes obviously, but—”
“Are you going to ask me or not?”
He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “Lady Anna Trevallyn, will you make me the happiest man alive by acceptin
g my hand in marriage?”
“Yes, Penforth, I will.”
He slid the ring onto her finger and then she assisted him up from the floor. Once they were seated, he pulled her into a sweet slow kiss. Every corner of her heart was filled with joy. She was a fortunate woman and she was thankful for her good fortune. Although she could no longer deny the existence of luck, she rather thought it was providence.
“Anna,” he said into her hair.
“Yes?”
“You will stay here until your mother returns, won’t you?”
“Hmm. I might. Or I might not.”
“You minx.”
She grinned against his chest, snuggling close, and he held her tight.
EPILOGUE
Several days later
The criminals were caught, all except Sir Anthony Hart, but the hunt for him continued. Anna and Pen shared the news of their engagement to everyone’s delight, especially Libby who already considered Anna her sister.
Penforth was a different man. He tolerated Treacle more, and was even caught by Mary stroking the animal in his study by the fireplace just hours after he’d shocked Antoine by whistling as he walked down the hall.
Life truly couldn’t get any better…but it could get worse.
Anna was in the drawing room perusing a bridal magazine with Libby while Pen attended to business in his study when the police arrived.
“Sir.”
Pen looked up from the document he was reading and gave Antoine a beleaguered look. “I thought I asked not to be disturbed.”
“Pardon me, Sir. Mr. Graves is here, and he says it is urgent.”
“Hmm.” Hopefully, he brought news of Sir Anthony’s capture. “Send him in.”
“I have already shown him to the small salon. He asked to see her ladyship.”
Pen raised a brow at his butler. There were four ladies in the house.
“Lady Elizabeth,” he clarified.
With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and stood. He met Libby and Anna on their way to the salon and they proceeded together. Mr. Graves was standing when they entered. He had come alone this time.
“Has he been found?” Pen asked without any greeting. He felt it was unnecessary.
Mr. Graves wore an odd expression, from which Pen was unable to discern meaning. “A body has been found,” the policeman said slowly.
Pen frowned while Anna sucked in her breath.
“Yesterday, we discovered a body in a ditch just outside of Boston. It was identified to be a Mr. Nolan Hart.”
Pen was confused. “Nolan?”
“Yes,” Graves replied. “Mr. Nolan Anthony Hart.”
A tiny gasp erupted from Anna, but Libby was silent.
“How did he die?” Pen asked.
This was it. The last criminal had been captured, albeit not alive, but at least the nightmare was truly over now.
“Multiple stab wounds to the body as well as trauma to the head.”
Anna winced. Libby remained expressionless.
“He was murdered then.”
“Indeed.” The policeman turned to Libby, pulling out a small book and a ball pen. “I would like to ask you a few questions, Lady Elizabeth, if you don’t mind.”
She nodded slowly, seeming a little dazed. “Go on,” she said at last.
“Records show that you are married to this man. What can you confirm about this marriage?”
“It was a forced marriage. I was threatened and I thought I had no choice.”
“Pardon the crassness of my next question. Has this marriage been…err…consummated in any way?”
Libby’s cheeks turned pink. “No, it has not. I was held captive throughout until my rescue from that crypt under the church.”
Graves glanced at Pen then and a strange feeling began to settle around his heart. It felt like dread.
“Is there any action being taken against this marriage?” Graves queried.
Pen answered this time. “Yes, an annulment has already been filed.”
The policeman finished scrawling in his notebook and tucked it away in his coat before addressing Libby. “Princess Elizabeth Armstrong-Leeds, Baroness of Esk, I regret to inform you that you are the primary suspect in the murder of your husband, Mr. Nolan Anthony Hart.”
The End
***
Libby’s story continues in Not Quite a Baroness, Book 2 of The Boston Heiresses series.
Then read on for Lady Sarah’s story in Not Quite a Lady, Book 3 of The Boston Heiresses series.
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