Page 83 of Duke of Bronze
Nothing.
A tight sensation coiled in his chest.
He turned sharply, stepping beyond the main hall, beyond the chatter and laughter, into the quieter corners of the house. He strode through the dimly lit hallways, his polished shoes striking against the marble with determined purpose.
And then?—
At last, he found her.
Anna stood upon the quiet terrace, the moonlight casting a silvery glow upon her figure. The cool evening breeze stirred the tendrils of hair that had slipped free from her carefully arranged coiffure.
A breath he had not realized he was holding left him, shaky and unbidden.
Relief washed over him with startling intensity.
Anna was on the quiet terrace, drawing a slow, steadying breath as the cool night air wrapped around her. She had felt out of place in there. In truth, she felt out of place in the entire house party.
And yet, was this not supposed to be one of her dates with Colin?
An unwelcome image of Fiona in his arms intruded upon her thoughts. Anna clenched her jaw, willing it away, yet the sour taste of it lingered.
With a measured breath, she tilted her head back, her gaze drifting over the vast, star-strewn sky. How had she ended up here? How had everything come to feel so... disjointed?
"The ballroom summons you back," a voice intruded upon her thoughts.
She did not turn; there was no need. "It would not miss me."
"Do not be too certain."
Colin.
He stepped to her side, his gloved hands settling against the railing as he regarded her in quiet contemplation.
Anna finally turned her head, and when her eyes met his, her breath caught. There was an openness to his expression, something steady, something... earnest.
A peculiar warmth stirred within her chest—an unfamiliar sensation she dared not name.
The moment stretched between them, the air thick with something unspoken. It unsettled her, this unfamiliar pull, this ache just beneath the surface. Before it could take root, before she could dwell upon it too long, she wrenched her gaze away, fixing it instead upon the night sky.
The heavens shimmered with a myriad of stars, a celestial embroidery upon the night's sable canvas. So many, and yet, each in its rightful place, forming patterns, weaving constellations, creating a harmony amidst their sheer number.
"Our lives are a little like those stars up there, you see," Anna mused aloud.
"Throughout our lives, we encounter countless souls," Anna said, her gaze still lifted toward the heavens. "Some merely pass through, while others linger, yet each, in some measure, leaves a trace upon us. A little like the stars—fixed or transient, they still occupy their rightful place. Even after they fade from view, their presence lingers, shaping the sky they once adorned."
Colin was silent for a moment before he responded, his voice equally contemplative. "That is much like saying mistakes do not exist. That whatever occurs was always meant to be."
"Precisely." A faint smile touched Anna's lips, though a pensive air lingered about her.
She drew a measured breath, as though fortifying herself before continuing. "All my life, I have longed for new experiences. Independence, above all else." She paused, the night air cool against her skin. "And yet, I find there is only so much control I truly possess over the outcome of my desires."
Colin turned his head, his gaze lingering upon her profile, rendered delicate by the moon's silver glow. "I understand that," he said quietly. "More than you might think."
She cast him a fleeting look, curiosity stirring in her gaze.
"I spent my youth striving to be anything but what my father intended me to be," he admitted. "To be free of the weight of his expectations, of his callous disregard for those he deemed beneath him. He viewed the world through the narrowest of lenses, and I wanted no part in it."
Anna listened, sensing the quiet gravity of his words.
