Page 76 of Duke of Bronze
Another hearty bout of laughter rang out behind her, and despite herself, her head turned instinctively.
Colin and Fiona had just concluded their game. Unsurprisingly, he had won. Again. He grinned, smug and triumphant, while Fiona shook her head in exaggerated defeat.
Anna's fingers curled at her sides.
"They appear to have had a most enjoyable match, those two," Elizabeth observed, looking toward the gathering beneath the trees.
"It would appear so," Anna murmured.
Elizabeth's head tilted slightly, her scrutiny evident as she regarded Anna more closely. "You do not sound impressed."
"Why should I be? I was not a participant in the game," Anna said with a small shrug, willing herself to look away from Colinand Fiona. She forced her gaze back to the water, watching the slow movement of fish beneath its rippling surface.
Elizabeth was silent for a moment, her thoughtful gaze lingering on Anna before she spoke again. "If I did not know better, I would say you sound quite jealous, Anna."
Anna's head snapped toward her cousin, eyes widening in disbelief. "Jealous?" she repeated, as though the very notion were absurd.
Elizabeth merely lifted a brow.
Anna let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "Now that is the most ridiculous statement you have ever made, Lizzy."
"Is it?" Elizabeth returned, an inscrutable glint in her eyes that unsettled Anna far more than she cared to admit.
Anna pursed her lips, her fingers grazing the folds of her dress as if smoothing an imaginary crease. "Utterly absurd," she insisted.
"If you say so," Elizabeth replied. "After all, who am I to claim otherwise?" A sly smile ghosted over her lips, as though she saw far more than Anna wished her to.
Anna's chest tightened. A sudden, inexplicable need to escape the conversation seized her. "My, is that a minnow?" she exclaimed, returning her attention to the stream with forced enthusiasm.
Elizabeth did not even bother disguising her amusement. The look she gave Anna was a mixture of patience and quiet victory, as though indulging a child who believed themselves terribly clever in their evasions.
Anna, however, did not care.
For deep down, she knew the truth.
The wretched, undeniable truth she had perhaps always known but had stubbornly refused to acknowledge.
Sleep proved elusive that night. No matter how Anna tossed and turned, her mind refused to quiet. It replayed the events of the picnic in excruciating detail—Colin's laughter, Fiona's ease, Elizabeth's knowing looks.
And, worst of all, her own reluctant realization.
With a frustrated sigh, she threw back the covers and rose. There was no use in lying awake any longer.
The hallways were dark and silent as she wandered through them, her bare feet scarcely making a sound against the polished wood. A governess might have chided her for behaving like a restless child, but she hardly cared. Eventually, she found herself in one of the smaller salons.
She hesitated only a moment before striking a match and lighting the candles. The room flickered to life in a soft, golden glow, and the tension in her limbs eased slightly.
Her gaze landed on the liquor collection.
She crossed the room and poured herself a measure of brandy, savoring the sharp scent as she lifted the glass. The warmth would surely calm her nerves. But just as she turned, a voice broke the silence.
"I saw the light. I did not realize it was you."
Anna started violently, nearly dropping the tumbler. She whirled around to find Colin standing in the doorway, one brow arched in faint amusement.
"Good heavens, must yousneakabout?" she demanded, pressing a hand to her racing heart.
His lips quirked. "I was merely walking."
