Page 137 of If the Slipper Fits
“He let me go,” she whispered. “When I told him we no longer had to go through with the fake engagement, he…” Her brows puckered, remembering.
He had gotten quite obviously annoyed. For a split second she’d thought he meant to fight for her. She’d all but forgotten that.
“What precisely did he say?”
Anna’s cheeks flamed with heat. She wouldnotmention the possibility of a child. Not unless circumstances dictated she must.
Sheplucked at her skirts. “He said there was nothing fake about it. Then I said I didn’t want marriage based solely on his need to always do the right thing.”
Her grandmother gaped. “You mean to tell me, he wanted to go through with the thing, and because he showed integrity, you rejected him?”
She cocked her head, considering. “That’s very close to howhereacted. He sputtered something to the tune ofyou make honor sound like a bad thing.”
Lady Wentworth’s peeved expression said she agreed with Caden.
Anna bounded from the chair to pace. “It’s not that I don’t want a man like Caden, who does right, who protects those he cares for at the expense of himself.”
Her grandmother’s brows shot up. “Well, then? Why did you call things off?”
“Because I want him to love me, grandmother. I couldn’t bare the thought of him marrying me only for honor’s sake.”
Understanding flickered in her eyes. “Because you love him.”
“I do.” She covered her face with her hands. “And now I wish I never laid eyes on him.”
She heard the creek of wood and the rustle of skirts as her grandmother rose from her chair. A moment later, her arms went around Anna.
“Darling, did it never occur to you he took your rejection as a sign you didn’t really want to marry him? After all, you never said a word about your feelings for him, did you?”
She peeked at her grandmother through her fingers. “No. I didn’t want him to feel obligated.”
“It seems to me you have a choice. We can return to Chissington Hall, today, now, and you can tell him how you feel. Or…”
Anna met her grandmother’s eyes. “Or?”
“Or we can wait him out a day or two longer. I believe, if he truly loves you, he’ll come to his senses before too long and come after you.”
Anna’s heart filled with equal parts agonizing hope and desperate fear. Her chin trembled. “And if he doesn’t? We can assume he doesn’t love me?”
Her grandmother pursed her lips. “He may or may not in that case. If he doesn’t love you, good riddance. If he does, but doesn’t have the spine to speak up, then I suppose you still have the first option.”
She frowned. “What should I do? What would you do?”
Lady Wentworth tapped her forefinger on her chin. “I’d say, any man who couldn’t bring himself to risk his pride to have you isn’t one worth having. But that’s just me.”
Anna pressed her lips together. “Say he does come for me. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I only just found you. I don’t want to be apart from you again.”
Her grandmother’s eyes welled with tears in an instant. “I suppose I could be convinced to stick around Derby for a while.”
A knock sounded on the door.
Anna gaped. They stared at each other for a timeless moment.
Finally her grandmother waved her toward the closed door. “Only one way to find out, girl.”
