William didn’t answer immediately. He glanced away from Christopher to stare again at the large group in the center of the room, his expression thoughtful. He took a sip from the cup of tea he held.

Christopher didn’t get the impression that he was grappling to find an answer. He suspected he was being kept waiting deliberately. To prod his impatience? To punish him? No, that was too ulterior. Perhaps the old man simply hadn’t heard him, a distinct possibility considering his age, which was likely in the seventies.

But then Sir William said in a mild tone that could have been discussing any mundane thing, rather than what was likely painful memories, “My sister disappeared some forty-two years ago, Lord Malory. I never forgave myself, at least not until very recently, for my part in it, for not taking her side when she fought with my parents over whom she was to marry. She chose to run away, rather than accept their choice for her, and we never saw her again, nor ever heard from her again. She had lovely black hair, you know. It’s not inconceivable that Anastasia could be her daughter, not hard to believe a’tall, actually.”

“But she’s not, is she?”

William glanced at him again now. He seemed somewhat amused when he said, “Does it matter? When the society that you allow to dictate your actions thinks she is? You want to hear facts, my lord?”

“That would be wonderfully helpful,” Christopher said dryly.

Sir William smiled at his tone. “Very well, it’s a fact that I was traveling with those Gypsies myself. The reason isn’t important, but I was in that camp when you arrived to tell them to leave. You wouldn’t have noticed me, though. The truth is, you noticed nothing and no one else, once you set eyes on the lass.”

The heated flush came swiftly, the truth of those words embarrassing, though undeniable. “She’s uncommonly attractive,” Christopher said in his defense.

“Oh, she is that, indeed, but what has that to do with anything, my lord? No, you have only to consider. There is love that takes a long while to grow, then there is love that is immediate. I never wondered at your interest in the lass. It was blatantly apparent.”

Love her? Christopher started to snort, then nearly choked on his own derision. Good God, why hadn’t he considered that? He had thought he was obsessed with her. He’d thought he was losing control of his own emotions. He’d thought he was letting lust get the better of him. Yet thinking back on it, he recalled how incredibly happy he’d been, waking up to find Anastasia in his bed that morning. He hadn’t thought that he might be in love.

“The question, Lord Malory,” William continued, “is what are you going to do about it?”

Chapter 24

Chapter 24