It had been hell, but for the past two weeks Rupert had been with Anna for every one of her daily rides. It was all Anthony could do to speak in a civil tone.

Rupert didn’t appear to notice. He just stared down at the paper in his hand, his brow creased. After a moment, he lifted his gaze to Anthony. “I’ve been taking stock of my life. Anthony, due to certain circumstances, I feel it is time I settled down.”

An ominous weight shifted to Anthony’s stomach. He reached out and took the paper from Rupert and silently read through it. “This is all you own?”

“It’s not much but—”

“What are you planning?”

Rupert turned away, as if afraid to face him. His voice, when it came, was strained and taut. “Anthony, I’m in love.”

“With?” Anthony asked silkily, his jaw aching with the effort to keep from ramming his fist in Rupert’s face.

Rupert winced. “You know. How did you find out?”

Anthony didn’t trust himself to speak, so he remained silent.

“Anthony, she’s an angel. I can’t live without her.”

She was not an angel. She was an infuriating, independent woman and it would take an equally strong-willed man to be her partner. Anthony thought about saying as much to Rupert, but the bitterness in his heart would not allow it. He looked down at the list in his hand and noticed that he’d crumpled it into a tight ball. As if the words came from someone else, he heard himself ask, “Does she feel the same for you?”

“I think so. I hope. Oh, I don’t know! We…we have not spoken because of her obligations.”

Anthony frowned. “Obligations?”

“To you.”

Good God, she felt she had to finish her duty to the children before she took up her own life? She saw Anthony as an obligation and nothing more. It was the most lowering moment of Anthony’s life. “What can I do to help you?”

Rupert hesitated. “You can release her, Anthony. Let her go.”

“She’s free to go whenever she wants,” Anthony snapped, “and she knows it.”

A crease rested between Rupert’s brows. “We didn’t mean to…I never thought it would happen like this.”

“No. No, of course not.”

Rupert swallowed. “I hope you will forgive us.”

Anthony turned and walked to the window. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he said tightly. How could Anna be in love with Rupert? Even though Rupert had admitted as much, Anthony refused to believe it. He fisted his hands and shoved them into his pockets, staring with unseeing eyes at the garden below.

After a moment, he heard Rupert sigh, and then leave. The door closed behind him.

The pressure in Anthony’s chest increased and he rubbed at his shoulder to ease the ache. Damn Anna Thraxton. She’d invaded his household, set everything on end, forced Rupert to fall in love with her, and now she was planning on blithely dancing away.

And Anthony would just have to let her go, his hands tied by his determination to do the right thing. He thought of Rupert’s list and managed a bitter smile. The boy was deeply in love, you could see it in his eyes, in the way his eyes brightened the second he mentioned Anna.