“Then Greyley’s engagement isn’t a love match?” Anna said, unsure why such a trivial thing made her lungs work again.

Mrs. Stibbons laughed merrily. “Lord love you, child! The gentry don’t do things that way. Besides, I don’t think His Lordship loves anyone.”

“Except his sister.”

“True. And his brothers—you can tell he’s fond of them. His marriage to Miss Melton was arranged between her father and His Lordship. The Melton land marches along Greyley’s and I daresay His Lordship thought to increase his holdings.” Mrs. Stibbons took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped a smudge off Selena’s cheek. The little girl didn’t even look up from where she was trying to make an “A” on a chalkboard. “A pity you’ll never meet Miss Melton, for I daresay she’d benefit from the experience.”

Anna leveled a look of disbelief at the housekeeper. “Why do you say that?”

Mrs. Stibbons tucked the handkerchief back in her pocket. “Miss Charlotte Melton is as sweet as they come, but she’s a mite short on spirit, if you know what I mean.”

Greyley would choose a bride with the character of a limp rag, Anna thought, seething at the thought that the bounder had been trying to make love to her while he’d been engaged to another woman. Not that Anna had thought for one second that Greyley’s intentions were anywhere near honorable. He couldn’t spell the word, much less serve as a definition.

Still, tears gathered at the thought of how intimate they’d already become. It was maddening, but she cared about him. Cared more than she wanted to admit.

To take her mind off her unruly emotions, Anna turned to the children and said in a brittle voice, “Perhaps we should make shadow puppets today.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Anna kept the children busily engaged, making puppets to go with their lessons on Queen Elizabeth and the glorious battle with the Spanish Armada. While assisting Desford in flipping tiny paper cannon balls at the large ship cutouts, Anna realized that perhaps it was all for the best. Her feelings for Greyley were growing far too quickly for her own comfort—just witness what the news of his betrothal had caused. A dull ache still reigned in the region of her heart.

If it weren’t for the fact she needed her pay to take care of Grandpapa, she’d be tempted to pack up and leave. Anna fingered a paper cannon and wondered what Sara would think of her brother’s betrothal to an eighteen-year-old miss who was still wet behind the ears.

Of course, that was just Mrs. Stibbons’s opinion. It was entirely possible that Miss Charlotte Melton was a very competent and knowledgable young woman. Perhaps she was even mercenary, or cruel. Anna’s arms tightened about Selena, who had come to stand at her knee. Anthony was just like any other man, susceptible to flattery and a pair of thickly lashed eyes.

Well, Anna would meet this paragon and see how the wind blew. And if Miss Charlotte Melton was anything less than the purest driven snow, Anna would immediately send word to Sara. It was the least she could do.