Thomasina dropped her gaze to the floorboards. She had observed Harcourt over the past month since their arrival. Hell, she had observed him from the moment he entered their house to be introduced as Anne’s intended, much to the shock of all three sisters. And yes, often he could be proper and cool, distant.

But there were times when she also saw something else in his gaze. A heated core, a passionate center that he was obviously fighting not to reveal. Those were the times she wished she could approach him. She wished she could take his hand and offer comfort to him.

Those were the times she had to walk away so she didn’t do something so utterly foolish and wrong. It would destroy everything if she did. She couldn’t do that. It wasn’t in her nature to take what wasn’t hers.

She cleared her throat, pushed thoughts of Harcourt aside and focused on her troubled sister. Anne needed her now, and that happened so rarely that it was a remarkable situation.

“Anne, you may be correct that Harcourt’s nature is not the perfect complement to your own. Father should have thought of your temperament before he made the match,” she began. “But your engagement has been announced, the banns read and your wedding is happening in a week’s time. There is no other answer than to make the best of it.”

Anne lifted her arm and stared at her. “No other answer,” she repeated softly.

“I wish for your sake that there were, for I hate to see you so unhappy and so certain your future will be bleak,” Thomasina continued. “But I do believe Harcourt is a good man. And if you were just to…to try a little, perhaps you would find more to connect yourself to him than you think. In time you might even be happy with him.”

Anne continued to hold her gaze on Thomasina and she sat up slowly. “Perhaps you are right at that,” she said slowly. “Perhaps I should regroup and make the best of it.”

Thomasina nodded, ignoring the twinge in her heart. After all, she knew that if Anne tried even a little, she would certainly fall in love with Harcourt and that would be the end of that. “It’s for the best, I think.”

“I only need one thing to do so,” Anne continued. “One little favor from my best and truest sister.”

Thomasina’s brow wrinkled and she stared at Anne. Best and truest sister had gotten her into trouble a hundred times in her twenty-two years on this earth. “What do you need?”

“A break,” Anne said, clasping Thomasina’s hands in hers. “Oh, Thomasina, how I need a respite. Since we arrived it’s been hectic, and perhaps that’s part of why I feel so overwhelmed. But if you could just help me take a little time away, I’m certain I could return to my duties refreshed and ready for my future.”

“A break?” Thomasina repeated in confusion. “What do you mean?”