She Fled Her Wedding — Then Found the Duke Escaping on the Same Train
Chapter 10
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Annora and Rowena walked with him in the mornings. Sometimes Lucius joined them when he came down for the weekend. They visited the bakery, where Piers bought a bun that promptly shed sugar over his coat. They watched children dig a trench against the advancing tide. They sat through a band performance in which the loudest instrument appeared determined to win an argument with all the others.Annora discovered that Piers disliked being asked to speak immediately after a large meal, remembered the names of horses long dead, and became unexpectedly stubborn when he thought he had identified a bird.Piers discovered that Annora was not quiet. She was quiet with people she was trying to please. With Rowena, or while speaking about something that genuinely interested her, she could be vigorous, absurd, impatient, and occasionally unfair. She apologized when she realized it; sometimes the realization took longer than it ought.One afternoon, they watched a man on the promenade demonstrate a mechanical toy: a wooden bird pecked at a tin dish while a small dog chased its own tail beside it. Annora stood looking until Rowena was ready to move on."You want it?" Piers said."Certainly not.""Why?""Because it is ridiculous."He studied the dog, which had become stuck halfway round. "That appears to be its principal advantage."She bought it herself. The vendor wrapped it in paper, and she carried it back to the hotel feeling peculiarly happy. No one suggested it belonged in a nursery she did not yet possess; it could be ridiculous simply for her.Later that evening, Piers heard the little mechanism rattling through the open sitting room window. He stopped outside long enough to hear Annora complain that the dog was losing again, and Rowena tell her to stop taking sides. He walked home smiling.On Sunday, the four of them hired a boat on the sheltered water near the harbor. Lucius claimed considerable experience and provided very little evidence of it. Piers took the oars, misjudged the first stroke, and splashed Annora's skirt.She looked down at the wet patch. "A remarkably original courtship technique."The word hung between them. Lucius became deeply interested in a mooring rope. Rowena looked out toward the shore. Piers kept his hands on the oars, his ears growing red."Is that what this is?" he asked.Annora had meant to make a joke, or had meant to make a joke she could withdraw if necessary. For once, she left herself no retreat."I think it might be."The boat turned gently on the water. Somewhere behind them, a gull gave an objectionable cry."I had hoped so," he said.It was a small reply, spoken without ceremony. Annora felt it all the way down to the wet hem against her ankle.