Page 54 of One Night with an Earl

“It doesn’t matter. But what the letter says does.”

“What does it say?” Ana had never bothered to read it. She’d been too overwhelmed from her visit to Rosedown. Had Penelope’s soldier ended their relationship? Had he found another girl in Spain?

“Timothy was injured,” Penelope said.

Ana gasped. “How badly?” This was unexpected. As far as Ana knew, there were no skirmishes where Mr. Smithfield was stationed.

“He was shot in the leg.”

“But how? There is no war in Spain.”

“It was a training accident. The bullet lodged in his thigh and was removed by an army surgeon.”

“Was it…was it—”

“It was not amputated.”

“Praise God. It will heal.” She hoped it was true. Ana had heard of the horrors of war after Waterloo. She’d seen a former soldier on the street, a beggar with one leg.

“My Timothy fears he will have to walk with a cane. He was active and enjoyed riding, hunting, and fishing with his brothers. Even fencing. He loved a challenge, the test of courage, and fair play. How will he be able to do any of those activities now?”

“I’m so sorry, Penelope. I don’t blame you for being upset. What did you tell your mother?”

“That my menses arrived and I’m overwrought.”

“Truly? Your mother believed that was the cause of your distress?”

“I told her I didn’t feel well and that I did not wish to ride with Lord Drake tomorrow. Of course, she argued with me. We fought, and I burst into tears. She believes me overly emotional.”

Penelope choked on a sob and blew her nose into a lace handkerchief. After hearing the details, Ana thought it a brilliant excuse.

Ana placed an arm around her and held her as she wept. “Oh, my sweet Penelope.” Her heart ached for the girl, and she wished her pain away.

Penelope sniffled and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. “I feel horribly guilty.”

“For what?”

Penelope lifted her head from Ana’s shoulder, her eyes ringed with red. “If Lieutenant Smithfield is injured and unable to serve, do you think he will resign his commission and come home?”

It was a possibility. But Ana also knew Penelope’s hopes would be shattered. Her mother already suspected her daughter was interested in someone. Lady Malvern would have been against the match if her daughter’s penniless soldier was healthy, but now that he was injured, he was even more unsuitable. Her mother had set her sights on a wealthy earl and would settle for nothing less. She needed to tell Penelope of her mother’s suspicions, but looking in the girl’s troubled face, she knew now was not the time.

“I hadn’t thought of Lieutenant Smithfield returning, but there is no sense getting your hopes up, darling. We must wait and see.”

…

Ana rose early and headed for the stables. Last night had been eventful, first with Oliver in the gardens, then with Penelope’s bad news regarding her soldier. Ana wanted to cheer her young charge, and she needed time alone to think of how to best aide her. A ride in the country offered the perfect opportunity.

Then there was her kiss in the gardens with Oliver last night. She could blame the arak for loosening her inhibitions, but deep down, she’d wanted to touch him, to kiss him. Was she a wicked woman at heart? Or was she as powerless to control her emotions around him as Penelope anytime she thought of her soldier? No matter how hard Ana tried, she could not seem to stay away from the Earl of Drake.

Queenie’s fortune reading was never far from her mind.

He will either be your salvation or your ruin.

Which one? Or could it be both?

The lines of her future were broken, and even Queenie could not see more in her cup.

Ana smoothed the skirts of her smart green riding habit. It was one of the few outfits she’d kept, and it still fit her figure well. Along with her mother’s hidden jewels, her ball gowns and formal clothing had been sold long ago to pay for her brother’s schooling. Today, she left the bonnet behind and tied her hair back with a matching green ribbon.