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Anna watched, fighting a swell in her throat. Samuel held out his arm and she took it, stepping down onto the drive to find herself face to face with the silver-haired lady.
‘You must be Annabelle.’ To her surprise, the woman had tears in her eyes. ‘I’m so delighted to meet you, my dear.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you, too, your Grace.’ She dipped into a curtsy.
‘Curls!’ The older woman peered under her bonnet. ‘You have my curls!’
‘Oh...yes.’ Anna lifted her shoulders and then dropped them again, unsure how else to respond as the woman gave a stifled sob and then pressed a handkerchief to her face, bursting into a flurry of tears. Thankfully, her mother and the grey-haired man walked quickly to join them.
‘I didn’t say anything terrible, I promise...’ Anna looked at her mother apologetically.
‘I know, dear.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ the man hastened to reassure her. His expression was kindl
y, though his eyes looked moist, too, she noticed. ‘I’m afraid that my mother’s been feeling somewhat overwrought this morning. You must be my niece.’
‘Yes.’ Anna nodded, feeling as though she were in some kind of bizarre dream. ‘I suppose I must be.’
‘I’m your uncle, Tobias Holden.’ He extended a hand. ‘Welcome to Feversham, Miss Annabelle. How do you do?’
‘I...’ She had the impression that her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.
‘Captain Samuel Delaney,’ Samuel interceded, taking her uncle’s proffered hand when she didn’t move and shaking it warmly. ‘Perhaps Miss Fortini and I might take a walk around your gardens while you and your sister get reacquainted? I’m sure that you have a lot to catch up on.’
‘That sounds like a good idea.’ Her uncle agreed tactfully. ‘Though I’d very much like to talk with my niece afterwards. If that’s agreeable to you, of course, Miss Annabelle?’
‘Anna, and yes.’ She finally managed a strained smile, clutching hold of Samuel’s arm as if her life depended on it. ‘Just give me an hour. Or two.’
Chapter Fifteen
To Anna’s immense relief, Samuel led the way, drawing her around the side of the house as the rest of her family, as unlikely as it sounded to call them that, went inside.
‘Thank you,’ Anna said when her tongue felt normal again. ‘I didn’t know how to react when he offered me his hand. I felt as though my arm had just frozen.’
‘I’m sure he’ll understand. It’s not an easy situation for any of you, but it seems to be going well.’
‘Yes.’ She drew in a deep breath and then expelled it again slowly. ‘I don’t know what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t that.’
‘Not how you pictured them?’
‘I’ve never tried to picture them. I’ve always avoided thinking about them at all. But they seem quite...normal.’
‘I suppose it just goes to show.’ He sounded philosophical and she lifted her face towards him curiously.
‘Show what?’
‘Just that things aren’t always as they seem. Perhaps your grandmother really did regret the estrangement.’
‘She might have said so at the time.’
The pressure of his arm against hers tightened. ‘Not everyone is as forthright as you. Some people are afraid to say what they think. And who’s to say that she didn’t? Maybe she just couldn’t defy your grandfather.’
‘Maybe.’ She pursed her lips. ‘I suppose it does make you think about things differently. Maybe not everyone in your father’s family wanted to shun him, either.’
‘I’m afraid in my father’s case he did a pretty effective job of alienating everybody.’
‘Then maybe not everyone wanted to shun you?’
