Page 48 of Lost with a Scot
Anna’s recovery of her memories started a flurry of activity at the Lennox townhouse on Half Moon Street the next morning. Coaches began to arrive just after breakfast, with well-dressed men and women greeted by the Lennox butler.
Anna was overwhelmed by the dashing gentlemen who doffed their hats and swirled about in greatcoats whilst their beautiful wives slid out of silk-hooded capes. It was eerily similar to the life she’d experienced at court, which should have put her instantly at ease. But the Anna she’d been before the shipwreck was not the Anna she’d become afterward when she’d spent time with Aiden. She didn’t immediately join these men and women who seemed so at home with one another.
Everyone was talking, each of them so clearly familiar with the others that it was like watching a boisterous family coming together over a Christmas holiday. Anna lingered at the back of the room close to Aiden. Her hand was tucked in his, and she didn’t care that the show of physical intimacy might draw judgment. As far as she was concerned, they were married.
“They dinna bite, lass,” Aiden chuckled and gave her hip a squeeze before he went out to shake the hands of the men, who greeted him like a brother. Then he came back to her and grasped her hand in his.
“I’m not afraid, not exactly,” she whispered. “But I still don’tfeellike myself, like the woman I used to be. The old Anna would have taken over the discussions and introductions and... But that doesn’t feel like me anymore. I don’t even know if that makes any sense,” she admitted.
Aiden smiled gently and raised her hand to his lips, kissing the backs of her fingers. “I ken what ye mean.”
Rosalind noticed that Anna was hiding in the alcove and came over to her and Aiden.
“Let’s leave the men to their business whilst we women take tea in the sitting room. I’m sure you want to discuss your country’s fate, and it’s better to do it with us women—we’re the ones in charge, after all. We like to let the men think they are, but really, it’s us.” She winked at Aiden, who simply chuckled. Rosalind tucked Anna’s arm through her own in a sisterly way, and called out to the women in the entryway to follow.
Anna was ushered into a sitting room by Rosalind, who made a round of introductions for her. She was introduced to a duchess, a marchioness, a viscountess, and a young lady who were all married to the men in Lord Lennox’s tight circle of friends, the ones Aiden had called the League of Rogues.
Rosalind gave Anna a reassuring smile as she poured tea and told the other women Anna’s story, from her flight from Ruritania to her rescue on the shores of Scotland by Aiden. Anna was glad for someone else to relate the tale. Her headache from the previous night had persisted. It was a dull ache now, but it still bothered her whenever she thought too hard about the past. It was a relief that the memories came now, but frustrating that it strained her head.
“You truly married Aiden next to an enchanted fairy pool?” one of the two youngest women in the room asked. This was Audrey St. Laurent, and Anna had learned she had married the younger brother of the Duke of Essex, which made her the sister-in-law of the young duchess, Emily St. Laurent, who sat beside her. The family tree was, as Aiden had warned her, very tangled indeed, but she would sort it out one day.
“I did,” Anna admitted. “Have you been to the fairy pools?”
Audrey sighed. “No, I haven’t. I used to think we had a fairy pool near our country estate when I was a girl, but I only recently learned it was just my brother being sweet to me after our parents died. He used to give me tea cakes for the fairies, and we’d leave them on toadstools by the fishing pond. Then he’d come back in secret and tear off a piece so I would think they had nibbled on them.” She smiled, as she remembered those childhood days.
“That’s wonderfully romantic,” the duchess, Emily, sighed. “Men can be rather good about that when they love someone. Godric is very romantic,” she added with a giggle.
Anna’s face was overly warm at discussing something so intimate in front of women who were friendly but still mostly strangers to her. It made her miss Pilar all the more, but Pilar was in North Berwick, recovering. It would be a while before she could see her friend again.
“Your husband kidnapped you,” Rosalind chuckled over her teacup. “That sounds terrifying, not romantic.”
At this, Emily grinned mischievously. “Well, luckily for him, he wasn’t very good at it.”
The room broke out into peals of feminine laughter, and Anna could feel her tension fading away. She’d never had close friends her own age before. Other than Pilar, she’d had to maintain a relative distance between herself and the other ladies of the royal court. She was expected to stay above the political intrigues, and any friendships with the courtiers would have been seen as choosing sides.
Rosalind cleared her throat. “Well, then. Ladies, we should get down to business.”
The viscountess, a quiet, lovely brunette named Anne, agreed. “The men are running their war council. We ought to be focusing on ours.”
“The men simplyadorewar councils,” Audrey said with a laugh. “They’ve already hadthreethis year.”
Anna blinked at that.
Horatia, the marchioness, shot Audrey a reproachful look. “She’s only teasing.” They were the two younger sisters of Cedric, Anne’s husband.
“I am not teasing. It truly was three,” Audrey insisted before taking a long sip of her tea.
“As Anne said,” Emily said, regaining the attention of the group, “the men are focusing on finding soldiers. We must focus on fashion.”
“Fashion?” Anna echoed. “But how does that matter?” Anna didn’t care about poke bonnets or the latest style of dress. She knew, of course, like all women, that dressing well or dressing in a certain fashion could affect how someone was treated, but she didn’t see how a lovely gown could help her build an army.
“Fashion is quite important,” Emily said, “because there is a ball tomorrow night at Lady Eugenia’s home, and the king will be attending. You will attend as well, and you shall wear the finest dress anyone has ever seen.” Emily gave her a clever smile. “One fit for the princess of Ruritania.”
“Anna, I will have a modiste here within the hour, and the other ladies will go jewel hunting for you.” Rosalind smiled reassuringly at her.
“Jewel hunting?”
“Of course—you will need something to wear to the ball,” Horatia said. “You’re possibly the most beautiful woman London has ever seen, but a crown of diamonds wouldn’t go amiss to add to the attraction.”
