Page 96 of If the Slipper Fits
Her gaze snapped in his direction. He was introducing her as Jones?
“…may I Introduce my brother and his future countess, Lord Ezekiel Thurgood of Claybourne and his wife Lady Kitty Thurgood.”
Dazed, she somehow managed a greeting and polite curtsy.
“Zeke, my lady, I am very pleased to introduce you to Mrs. Anna Jones.” He paused a beat. “My fiancé.”
A stunned silence greeted Caden’s pronouncement.
Anna belatedly realized her mouth hung agape, and she closed it with a snap.Fiancé?
The room grew increasingly dim until it dawned on her she held her breath. She gasped in a greedy lungful of air, simultaneously notingLady Kitty and Zeke exchanging matching, unreadable looks. Surprise? Horror? Disbelief? She couldn’t say.
“Mrs. Anna Jones, you say?” Zeke asked, with a slight stress on the word Mrs.
“Yes. My fiancé is a widow.”
Zeke and Lady Kitty stared at Caden with expectant expressions.
When neither Caden nor Anna elaborated, Lady Kitty glowered at Caden, hands fisted on her hips. “Surely you don’t expect to get away with this, Caden.”
Anna’s skin went clammy.
She burst out laughing, then went on in a playful, chiding tone. “How did you come to be engaged? What plans have you made? You can’t just announce your engagement and leave out all the juicy details.”
“Details. Of course,” Caden replied, not quite masking his relief, at least to Anna’s ears. “But perhaps we could save the explanations for later, when the earl is about. This way we can share our good fortune once. Much more efficient that way.”
Brows beetled, Lady Kitty opened her mouth, as if to argue.
Zeke’s words stayed her. “An excellent notion.”
She scowled up at him.
Seemingly unaware of her displeasure, he continued. “Speaking of the earl, how about the two of us pay him a visit now, eh, Caden? He would hardly appreciate us leaving him in the dark about your homecoming.”
“Nothing I’d like more. Regardless of the happy report regarding his good health, I travelled all this way in a state of worry over his welfare and I’d rather like to see him with my own eyes.”
Zeke inclined his head in a regal fashion. “We’ll go directly. Kitty?”
Her irritation vanished like it never existed. The ebony haired beauty crossed the invisible divide between the two couples to link arms with Anna.
“Never fear, I shall take charge of Mrs. Jones and see her settled.” Her inscrutable pale green gaze captured Anna’s. “However far you’ve come, traveling is always exhausting. I’m sure you’d like to freshen up.”
Dismay filled her. More than anything she wanted to get Caden alone to demand an explanation. Instead, she pasted what she hoped passed for a polite smile on her face and lied through her teeth.
“Thank you, Lady Thurgood. Your hospitality is most welcome.” She turned to Caden. “I’ll see you soon?”
He sent her a crooked grin. “Count on it.”
***
In unspoken agreement, Caden and Zeke waited, still and silent, for the ladies to depart.
The door closed. The ladies’ footsteps receded in the hall.
“Right.” Zeke moved to the credenza housing the brandy.
He poured two healthy snifters, then made his way back to Caden. He handed Caden one of the snifters and indicated the armchairs near the grate with the other. Without waiting for Caden to follow, Zeke took a seat.
