Her mother nudged Anette’s arm with hers. “Offer our guest some tea,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Would you care for some tea, Lord Roswell?” Anette asked.
His eyes landed on her, and for the briefest of moments she forgot about everyone else in the room. He had a smile on his lips that curved and softened his tight mouth, making her heart turn over, again and again.
“No, thank you,” Roswell replied. “May I speak to you privately?”
Anette glanced at her mother for permission, who promptly nodded. “We can speak in the entry hall,” she suggested as she rose.
“Very good,” Roswell said.
They didn’t speak as they departed from the drawing room. Once she was in the center of the entry hall, Anette turned back around to face Roswell. She was most curious as to why he had sought her out.
Roswell came to a stop in front of her. “I came to see how you are faring after…” His voice trailed off. It almost seemed as if it pained him to say the words.
“We were attacked,” she said, finishing his thought.
His jaw clenched. “Yes, that is right.”
Anette could tell that he was upset, more so than he was even letting on, and rushed to assure him, “I am well.” She cocked her head. “And you? Are you all right?”
“I am peachy,” he said, but his words didn’t sound very convincing.
She grinned. “Peachy?” she repeated back.
“It is an expression my mother would say,” he explained.
“That sounds like something your mother would say. She always looked at the bright side of things, did she not?”
Roswell’s jaw relaxed. “She was asking about you this morning.”
“She remembers me?”
“Yes, and I was pleased that she remembered me as well.”
Anette reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “That is wonderful news, Roswell,” she stated. “I am so happy to hear that.”
“I shouldn’t get my hopes up but it was promising,” he said. “She was hoping that you would come and visit her.”
“I would like that very much.”
“Tomorrow?” he asked.
She had no objections, but her father and brother might. “I am not to leave the townhouse for any reason until we are sure the threat has passed, but I do not want to disappoint your mother.” Anette bit her lower lip before saying, “Perhaps Caleb can escort me to your townhouse.”
“That might work.”
Anette saw Roswell glance down at her hand on his sleeve and she quickly removed it. How mortifying. She had been too familiar with him.
Roswell took a step closer to her and his eyes held a hint of anguish. “I want to apologize again for not protecting you last night. I failed you.”
“You did no such thing,” she asserted. “Besides, I told you that I can take care of myself.”
His eyes roamed over her face. “I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you,” he said. His words were soft, intimate, even.
“I am sure you would get along just fine without me,” Anette said, wishing she didn’t believe her own words.
Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear, “You are wrong. Without you, I have nothing; I am nothing.”
