“But Charlotte, if you like London, you should tell Greyley. You deserve some happiness, too.”

“I’m sure I will not miss it much. Mama thinks it would have pulled horribly on my nerves to stay more than a week, though I do not think so. I never felt more alive than when I was there before.”

Try as she might, Anna simply could not picture Greyley with this child. What was wrong with the man? He must have been swayed by Charlotte’s blue eyes, golden ringlets, and sweet, biddable nature; the child really was the exact opposite of the hardened, scheming Elliots. Unfortunately, Greyley’s troublesome family would eat a tender morsel like Charlotte alive and spit her bones into the sand without a single thought.

Well, that wouldn’t happen if Anna had anything to say about it. She’d teach Charlotte all she needed to know to be a good countess, and Charlotte, in return, would be the perfect wife for Anthony.

A dull pressure grew somewhere in the region of Anna’s heart, forcing an ache to her throat. She pressed a hand to her chest, but it did not go away. Instead it grew until Anna finally cleared her throat. “I must be going. I had best take a hot bath before I stiffen from riding so far.”

“But how will you get on your horse? There’s no mounting block.”

“I don’t need one,” Anna said briskly. “I can use this bench.”

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall?”

“Oh no! I was the most dreadful hoyden when I was a child, and I was forever sneaking off on the horses. I quite detested the sidesaddle, too, and refused to use one unless forced.”

“I don’t think you should—” Charlotte broke off as Anna led Majesty inside the gate. Charlotte scrambled back several paces while Anna placed a foot on the bench and stood, then mounted without trouble.

Anna arranged her skirts, then grinned down at Charlotte. “Good-bye. I shall return soon.”

Charlotte nodded and then watched as Anna eased Majesty through the gate. The wind lifted the long white feather that fluttered from Anna’s hat and for an instant, Charlotte thought her new friend appeared exactly like a warrior goddess. Certainly she had the bright coloring and the bold nose of one.

The image was almost destroyed when the restive horse shied at a shrub. But after a tense moment in which it appeared that Anna was addressing some strong words to the air about her, she managed to settle the horse back into a trot. Soon, horse and rider crossed the field that bordered Greyley lands.

Before Miss Thraxton had appeared on her horizon, Charlotte had been wandering the gardens in a state of unrest. When she’d first agreed to the wedding, it had seemed far, far away. Mama had assured her that her timidity would disappear as the time approached. Swept away by the excitement of the earl’s professed affection and the magnificence of his person, Charlotte had readily agreed to the match. He was wealthy, her father thought very highly of him, and she liked the thought of being a countess.