Chapter 6

A nna sat next to Mary in the coach, with James and Sparks across from them, as they made their way toward Abbeville, their first evening stop on the way to Paris. There hadn’t been much conversation since they’d left Calais, owing to their early departure time. Everyone had seemed to be half-asleep; certainly, Anna had felt that way.

The conveyance Mr. Jennings had been able to procure wasn’t of the most recent make, nor was it luxurious; in fact, it was rather uncomfortable and small. The wheels hit a rut, and not for the first time, she was thrown against poor Mary. Anna grabbed the side of the carriage and planted her feet on the floor, trying to maintain her balance.

And not for the first time, Mr. Jennings leaned forward as though to help steady her if need be.

“I’m so sorry, Mary,” Anna said, also not for the first time. She scooted as far into the corner of the seat as she could, which wasn’t much.

Mary herself appeared to be holding tightly to her side of the carriage.

“The road will improve once we turn away from the coast,” Mr. Jennings said.

“Ye be looking a bit peaked, Mary,” Sparks said, eyeing her carefully.

“I am?” Mary said, patting her cheek as though that would remedy things.

“How are you feeling, Mary?” Anna asked, now concerned that the bumpy carriage ride was upsetting her stomach after her trouble aboard the yacht. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine, me lady,” Mary said. “Truly, I am.” These last three words were directed at Sparks.

Sparks grunted, and one of Mr. Jennings’s eyebrows rose a bit.

“Lady Anna,” Mr. Jennings said at length, after they’d ridden in silence for several miles. “Perhaps you might share more about Avery with me: stories of his youth that might give me a glimpse into his character.”

“I don’t see why—”

“We are going to be inside a carriage for the better part of three days before reaching Paris,” he said. “Sharing stories such as those may help the time pass a bit swifter. I, for one, have so many siblings, I could fill your ears with stories about them to take us to the far reaches of India, and I can certainly draw on them if you would like. But as we are undertaking this journey to find The Honorable Avery Clifton, or, rather, the new Earl of Westbury, I thought ...” His voice trailed off, obviously waiting for her to respond.

“Hmm,” Anna said. “I guess I could. Sparks knows him too.” She supposed she should start at the beginning. “Avery is the brother closest to me in age, two years my elder. We grew up in each other’s pockets, as you might imagine, Mr. Jennings, having so many siblings of your own. My eldest brother, John, was a few years older than either of us.”

She paused to look out the window and collect her emotions after mentioning John, who’d been taken much too soon. “Avery and I shared a governess and a tutor, although I also received additional training in the areas deemed ladylike—pianoforte, needlework, that sort of thing—while Avery spent time with John learning Latin and Greek, fencing and cricket, and the like. Papa sent Avery to Eton, where John was also attending.” She paused. “I suppose I’m not telling this story in precise order. He wasn’t learning to fence when he was four years old.”

“I was raised in the country,” Mr. Jennings said. “I know the general course of events children of the aristocracy take into adulthood. You needn’t worry.”

“I missed Avery while he was at Eton, I admit, although he and John did come home during the summer months and at Christmas. I was fortunate to have friends in the nearby village, which kept me from being too lonely. So all in all, we had a rather typical and happy childhood.”

“They was good children,” Sparks said, surprising Anna. “Handsome, too, the three o’ them. Lady Anna always looked as though she were made of porcelain—even as a babe, there were something that caught the eye with this one. Delicate and sweet, she were.” He nodded in Anna’s direction. “And that Avery—” Sparks said. “Now, he were a handsome rascal—blond, like his sister, with the same blue eyes, but not delicate at all. A bit willful, he were, but only as much as a boy should be. Strong lad. Aye, a strong lad. John were a bit darker in color, with brownish hair and the like.”

“I am not the delicate porcelain you make me out to be, Sparks,” Anna said, embarrassed by his description. “But I thank you just the same.”

“And that were the paradox o’ it all, Lady Anna,” Sparks said. “For, despite all appearances to the contrary, ye was as strong-willed as yer brothers.”

“I’ve witnessed that aspect of her character for myself,” Mr. Jennings observed.

“I don’t know if I should consider that an insult or a compliment,” Anna replied.

“I shall leave that for you to decide,” Mr. Jennings said. “Now, I should like to know more about Avery’s military service. It may, in particular, help me understand his thoughts and help determine what he might have done and where he may be.”

Anna swallowed and turned to look out the window for a moment to collect herself again. The years leading up to Avery’s buying his commission had been difficult, painful ones, not to mention the retelling of Papa’s and John’s untimely deaths. Speaking about all of it only opened hurtful wounds.

“Perhaps we can speak of something else for a while,” Anna managed to say around the lump in her throat.

“Very well,” Mr. Jennings said rather gently. “Sparks, perhaps you will tell me about your childhood.”

“Ye really wish to hear about that?” Sparks said, sounding incredulous.

“Oh, yes!” Mary said, and then threw her hand over her mouth, blushing.

“Indeed,” Mr. Jennings replied, chuckling. “I was great friends with the children of our servants and those in the village. I should like to hear if your experiences were anything like theirs—and mine.”

So, Sparks set out to tell them details of his birth and childhood. And while Anna was interested, when added to the fact that the road was less bumpy than it had been, the swaying of the carriage and the lilting drone of Sparks’s stories eventually lulled her to sleep.

“ There, in the distance, you can see Paris,” James said after turning in his seat to see the landmarks that lay in front of them on the third day of their journey. “And this is just the beginning.”

“You needn’t remind me,” Lady Anna replied, shifting in her seat. “I confess to being ready for a few days of continuous sleep after three days in a coach.”

James scratched at his cheek to hide a smile at her confession. It was the truth, however. The coaches he’d been able to procure since hadn’t been the finest. But at least they had been small, with only room for the four of them, which had given them a modicum of privacy, if not luxury.

Surprisingly, with the close quarters, the four of them had also become cordial travelers-in-arms over the past three days. That being said, the more time he spent with Lady Anna, the stronger his attraction to her became. He would never tell her, but on that first leg of the journey from Calais, when she’d fallen asleep, he had struggled to keep his eyes off her. She’d slept thus for the better part of two hours, and they had been two heavenly hours for him.

He had tried to concentrate on his conversation with Sparks and had learned that Sparks had been—and still was—deeply loyal to Lord Westbury for allowing him to train at the manor and move up the ranks from errand boy to footman to butler and then to valet. And after the horrible carriage accident, Sparks had even become Lord Westbury’s caregiver until the earl’s death.

It confirmed for James a great deal about Sparks that he’d already discerned about the fellow after his assistance to Mary aboard the yacht.

Mary hadn’t added much to the conversation and had been especially fearful whenever James had posed a question to her, but it had become obvious that she was a loyal servant, which James found praiseworthy.

And now the three days of travel were drawing to a conclusion. “As I mentioned before, the Duke of Aylesham has apartments for our use while in Paris, and I’ve already given the driver directions.”

“That is good news,” Lady Anna said, and then she sighed. “I confess that after three days of travel, my admiration for our military has grown exceedingly, seeing as they must march endlessly while only the officers travel on horseback or in some other conveyance. But even that for such a great length of time must be tiresome.”

They were entering the city proper now, but James had been in Paris often enough that he was more interested in watching Lady Anna as she stared out the window, taking in the sights.

“What is that?” she asked, pointing to a large structure that spanned the road not long after they entered the city.

“That is the Arc du Triomphe,” James said. “Bonaparte began its construction, I believe, eight years ago, after a huge victory. You’ll notice, however, that a large portion of it remains uncompleted. That part there, made of wood, its original construction material, is all that is finished.” He chuckled. “I hope it’s incompletion is a good omen for us—the little Corsican did not complete his victory, much like this arc, even if some future ruler decides to finish it.”

Sparks was looking intently at the structure too.

“What do you have to say about the Arc du Triomphe, Sparks?” James asked, curious to get his opinion.

“I s’pose it’s something to look at. I s’pose I should be impressed,” he remarked. “But I never did understand the need for such a thing merely for its own sake—no offense meant.”

“None taken,” James said, surprised and rather impressed. “What would you do to celebrate a glorious victory instead?”

“I haven’t ever given such a thing any thought,” Sparks said. “I can’t say as I ever experienced a victory of that sort.”

“Yes, you have,” Lady Anna said. “The day my father took his first steps after his bones had healed. You and I held his hands, and he walked slowly about the room. And then what did you do?”

Sparks suddenly looked sheepish, which James found interesting.

“Ye danced a jig, is what ye did,” Mary said. “After Lord Westbury returned to his chair, ye danced a jig. And sang .”

“I didn’t have the money to build something like that, now did I?” Sparks gestured toward the Arc, which was now nearly behind them.

“That was a wonderful day,” Lady Anna said, and James feared the memory might upset her, but she simply smiled warmly at Sparks, which was a relief.

“I should have liked to have seen that jig,” James said. “I should like to have met Lord Westbury and witnessed the miracle personally. I daresay your jig was worth more than the Arc du Triomphe can ever be, even once it’s finished,” James said with a grin. “You’re as fine a gentleman as I’ve ever met, Sparks.”

Lady Anna looked at him then with wide, incredulous eyes like brilliant blue gems, and James’s heart beat so fast he could scarcely breathe. He briefly glanced at Sparks, even though he could barely tear his eyes away from Lady Anna’s face. The man seemed embarrassed by James’s compliment, if the rosiness on Sparks’s cheeks was any indication, but he nodded his thanks to James.

“I be that humbled, sir,” Sparks said.

Lady Anna leaned forward, her face nearly close enough for James to kiss. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for truly seeing what we have always known about Sparks.”

That was all Lady Anna said, and all she needed to say.

And James knew he was utterly in love. There was no turning back, in more ways than one.