They stood at the entrance to the stable, in plain sight if anyone cared to look or was up at this late hour. Merrick took her arm and pulled her inside.
"I overheard your aunt and uncle arguing at the fair."
Anne eyed him oddly. "How could you have heard them? From what I saw, you were never within speaking or hearing distance of my aunt and uncle this afternoon."
He wouldn"t go into detail about his abnormal hearing abilities. He"d already told her too much about his strange gifts. "I heard them," he insisted. "And they were arguing about you."
Although she was clearly confused as to how he could have heard a conversation take place between her aunt and uncle, a light of interest flickered within her lovely eyes. "Arguing about me?"
"Yes," he answered. "Your aunt was worried about the two of us. About the way we looked at one another. She said they"d done their best to make certain you didn"t find a man to marry who was acceptable and she wouldn"t let you make a mistake with one who wasn"t."
"What?" Anne shook her head. "That makes no sense. It isn"t as if they don"t want me to marry, simply that no one suitable has offered for me."
"Anne." Merrick took her shoulders between his hands. "I imagine more have asked than you are aware of. You"re lovely. And sweet. They don"t want you to marry because if you aren"t by the time you turn twenty-one, your inheritance is to fall under their control. They want your fortune, Anne."
She took a step back from him as if he"d delivered a blow. "That is not true. I am to gain my inheritance when I turn twenty-one. It"s been understood for some time."
Merrick had to make her understand. "Only if you are married, Anne. I heard them say so. Otherwise, they are to take control of your inheritance until you turn twenty-five, at which time I imagine it will become yours whether you are married or not. I"m betting they"ll have it spent by then, or tied up so you can"t get it."
She looked stunned. "But it"s my inheritance," she insisted. "I never knew there was a stipulation of marriage involved."
Anne didn"t want to believe him, Merrick realized. She still clung to the hope that her aunt and uncle cared more for her than their actions showed. "They didn"t want you to know. They are heavily indebted. I heard your aunt say so when she argued with your uncle about it, though they kept their voices low. Even the roof over their heads will someday pa.s.s to your husband. They stand to lose everything if you marry, Anne."
Doubt still clouded her eyes. It was hard for her to trust a stranger"s word over what she wanted to believe about her aunt and uncle. "I have no wish to hurt you, Anne," he said. "If you don"t want to believe me, then don"t. At least I told you what I heard and my conscience is clear."
His duty done, he thought he"d turn from her and go back to the loft where he slept before he gave into temptation and pulled her into his arms. Merrick remembered she"d come to tell him something. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"
Still wearing a dazed expression, she chewed her full lower lip. "I... it was nothing. It was none of my business, just as this is none of yours. Never mind."
He"d hurt her whether he wanted to or not. Even if Anne had long suspected her aunt and uncle did not love her, hearing they only thought of her as a means to an end, fulfilling their own selfish desires, had hurt her deeply.
Merrick understood the pain of not being wanted. Still, maybe she needed to sleep on what he"d told her before it could penetrate-before she accepted that he had no reason to lie to her. He started to turn away from her again when his sharp ears caught the slight snap of a twig underfoot. The scuffle of slippers against the pebbles that made a path to the stable from the house.
"Someone"s coming," he said. "Better hide until we see who it is and what they want."
Anne seemed to mentally shake herself. She glanced around. "I don"t hear anything."
"Quiet," Merrick warned again. He took her arm and led her toward an empty stall. "Go in there and don"t come out until whoever it is has left."
"But," she started to protest. Merrick didn"t allow her. He gently pushed her inside the stall and hoped she"d stay put. He didn"t need to be found with her alone this time of night.
A figure appeared at the stable entrance a moment later. Merrick wasn"t surprised by her visit. It was Anne"s aunt. The woman had been ogling him since the morning he was introduced to her. He was used to such visits from his previous employers" wives. Merrick was usually amused by their interest, but not tonight, and not this particular woman.
"Can I be of a.s.sistance to you, Lady?" he asked.
She sashayed toward him. "I hope so. I noticed something that distressed me today and thought we should clear the matter up. I didn"t see call to involve my husband."
"I don"t imagine so," Merrick said drily.
"It concerns Lady Anne," the woman forged ahead. "I fear she may be smitten with you. And that you might take advantage of her innocence."
"Do you now?"
The woman stepped closer. Anne"s aunt wasn"t an unattractive woman, but she was nearly old enough to be Merrick"s mother and the scowl she usually wore had deepened the lines in her forehead and around her mouth. "I"ve seen the way you look at
her... and the way she looks at you. Anne is a beautiful young woman and I don"t doubt you find her to your liking, but I won"t have you making sport of her."
Merrick leaned casually back against the stall where Anne hid. "It"s honorable that you want to protect her."
She shrugged. "I suppose even a sensible girl like Anne"s head can be turned by a handsome face. And I am sure that you are
well used to women throwing themselves at you, Merrick. There is no need, however, to go sniffing around her skirts when another option is open to you."
Although he knew what her answer would be, Merrick asked, "What option is that?"
Her hand shot out and her fingers traced a lazy path up the front of his chest. "Me, of course," she answered. "Despoiling an innocent is one thing. Having a dalliance with an experienced woman is another. My husband bores me and has since a week into our marriage."
Merrick didn"t want the woman touching him, but Anne needed to be convinced that her aunt and uncle did not have her best interests at heart, no matter if she wanted to believe otherwise. "Are you worried that I"ll ruin Lady Anne before you can marry her off?"
"Don"t be silly," the woman snapped. "To be honest, I was simply feeling a bit like she"d intruded upon my territory. I consider everything on this property mine... you included." The woman c.o.c.ked her head to one side. "Now that you mention that, however, it is not a bad idea. You see, I would prefer that Anne not marry. It would be to my benefit if she does not."
Merrick knew every word from the woman"s mouth shattered Anne, but maybe Anne was too innocent for her own good. "So now you"re asking me to ruin her so she won"t be a fit wife for a gentleman of her own station?"
"It is a possibility," the woman answered. "But first, I want my fill of you. Do we have an understanding?"
He stopped the woman"s hand from traveling farther up his chest. "No. We do not. I am not yours to command. You don"t own me like I am a horse in your husband"s stable. I have no wish to bed you, Lady."
Her face, maybe once pretty but now only bitter, suffused with color. "Are you refusing me?"
"I don"t have many rights, but I imagine deciding who I pleasure and who I don"t is one of them," he a.s.sured her. "Go back to the house and get what you need from your husband."
The woman"s mouth fell open. "It"s Anne, isn"t it? You only want her."
Merrick thought about his answer. "I care for Anne. I would not demean her in the manner you want me to, and certainly not for
your own gain."
"How do you know it would be to my gain?" The woman"s eyes narrowed upon him. "And why would you care as long as you
got what you want... unless." She suddenly laughed. "Oh dear, you"re in love with her."
Was he? Merrick had never been in love before. He only knew he wanted to protect Anne. He wanted her to be happy. "You should go," he said to the woman. Anne had heard all she needed to hear.
"Poor fool." The woman clucked. "Even Anne knows her place in life, and yours. Don"t think you"re the first to be smitten. We"ve had to beat the suitors back with a stick, although Anne is not aware of that. I"d prefer she stay in the dark. Let her think she is not interesting enough to capture a man"s attention. At least for a while longer."
"I can tell her what you"ve said to me," Merrick said.
The lady lifted a brow. "You wouldn"t dare. And she wouldn"t believe you anyway. Anne sees the best in us and always has. She is cursed that way, I suppose. Poor thing, so hungry for love."
Anger for Anne churned his gut. "How can you not love her?" He hadn"t meant to speak the thought out loud.
Lady Baldwin drew herself up straighter. "I have done my duty by Anne. I didn"t want children. I don"t even like them, but my husband convinced me there would be rewards by taking Anne in and raising her. I will not see my just rewards stripped from me. And I think your time here has come to an end. You won"t cooperate and I will therefore see you dismissed. I"ll simply tell my husband you are not only trying to get Anne into your loft, but you have propositioned me, as well. Pack your things; you"ll be gone come morning."
With that warning, Lady Baldwin turned and stormed from the stable. Merrick waited a moment to make certain she had gone. He opened the stall behind him and went inside. He found Anne huddled on the straw-covered floor. Her hands covered her face and her shoulders shook. His heart broke for her. He bent beside her and gently touched her.
Anne glanced up, tears streaming down her face. "I didn"t want to believe you. I"m so blinded by my own hopes at times. I feel like a fool. Does that make you happy?"
At one time, Merrick supposed it would have brought him some sense of pleasure to expose her aunt"s deception, to tear a family apart, one of the upper cla.s.ses anyway. Merrick felt no pleasure in seeing Anne"s tears. They tugged at his heart. "I"m sorry," was all he could think to say.
In her pain, he expected her to lash out at him, and he would understand, but instead she only covered her face with her hands and leaned into his body. "What am I going to do?"
Merrick took her shoulders and forced her to sit. "Look at me, Anne. You need to get married. And the sooner the better."
She blinked up at him. "Married? To whom?"
"To whomever," Merrick insisted. "The two of you can slip away to Gretna Green. You can marry before your aunt and uncle can stop you."
Anne ran a shaky hand through her hair. "It"s impossible. First I"d have to go to London to find someone, then talk him into marrying me. My aunt and uncle would never let me go without them. I can"t go alone. Not all that way without some type of protection. There are thieves on the roads. It wouldn"t be safe."
Merrick would be dismissed tomorrow anyway. "I can take you to London, Anne. Now, tonight. I can protect you."
Her large doelike eyes lifted to him. She reached out and gently touched his cheek. "Why would you? Why do you care, Merrick?"
Why indeed? He"d never stuck his nose in matters that weren"t his business before. But Anne felt like his business. "I know what it"s like to feel as if you mean nothing to someone. But you aren"t nothing, Anne. I won"t have them making you feel that way."
Even though her heart was broken, Anne felt it flutter to life in that moment. No one had cared about her like Merrick seemed to care. He encouraged her hopes and dreams. He had protected her when she needed protection, and he had exposed her aunt and uncle"s deceit to her, when she"d been too innocent to see it for herself. Anne couldn"t think of one gentleman in London she would wish to marry. But she did know one man who made her feel like no other man made her feel, or no other man ever would.
"Marry me, Merrick," she whispered.
His eyes widened for a moment. "No, Anne," he said softly. "You can"t marry me. You know that."
"I can," she argued. "We can run away together tonight, just like you said. We can go to Gretna Green."
Merrick shook his dark head. "You don"t know what you"re saying, Anne. You"re upset, not thinking clearly."
Anne knew exactly what she wanted, maybe for the first time in her life. She loved Merrick. How or when or why didn"t seem to
matter at the moment She knew he cared about her, if of course he didn"t love her. But she was used to that. She had to make
him want to marry her for reasons that would best benefit him. She sadly understood that now, too.
"You are bitter because of the life denied to you," she said to him. "What better revenge than to marry into it? All I have will become yours. You won"t have to sleep in a stable anymore, Merrick."
He shook his head again, but Anne saw that he was thinking about what she"d just said. Considering her offer. "If all you have is
going to a man anyway, why not just let your uncle have it?" he reasoned.
Anne wouldn"t lie to him about that "I am angry," she admitted. "And hurt. I"ve spent my life dancing to their tune in hopes of winning their approval, their love. I will have stipulations if you marry me."
He lifted a brow. "Such as?"
"My independence," she answered. "I expect to do as I please."
"And what would you expect of me?"
Staring into his eyes, she wanted to say that she expected him to love her, but Anne had learned her lesson about love. She
knew now that it wasn"t something one person could wrest from another. It had to be given willingly, freely. "I expect you to do as you please, as well," she answered. "As long as it doesn"t interfere with what pleases me."
He made a snorting noise. "You want me under your thumb."