do think returning to my family and Shelton Park is the right thing to do,” she said.
“We would be delighted to have you back at home, Anna,” Tom said.
Anna focused on Dez, who now sat. “Would you mind if I took Dalinda’s clothes with me? Looking at Jessa, she is far taller than I am. If I borrowed any gowns from her, they would drag the floor.”
“They are yours,” Dez said. “Dalinda hasn’t worn them in over a decade. She would be glad that you are getting some use out of them.”
Jessa took Anna’s hand. “Oh, you will get new gowns, Anna, once we fatten you up. It will be fun choosing fabrics, won’t it? Why, we can even start thinking about what gowns I will need for my own come-out.”
As Jessa prattled on, Anna could feel Dez slowly withdrawing. She met his eyes and his look told her that he understood.
“Shall we leave then?” she asked. “Give me a few minutes in which to pack.”
“I can help you,” Jessa volunteered and the two sisters went into the bedchamber.
Anna showed her the valises and they made quick work of placing the borrowed gowns inside them.
Returning to the other room, Dez offered to collect the luggage and disappeared.
Tom said, “The carriage is nearby. We couldn’t bring it all the way to the cottage.”
Dez entered with the suitcases in hand. Tom took one and they set out for the carriage, reaching it after a few minutes’ walk. A footman handed her inside the vehicle and Jessa and Tom joined her.
“Goodbye, Dez,” she said, doing her best to keep her face void of emotion.
“Goodbye, Anna,” he replied. He looked as if he wished to say more but glanced away.
As the carriage started up, Anna couldn’t look back though she longed for a last glance at him. She thought if she did, she might turn to a pillar of salt as Lot’s wife did.
Anna hoped he would have the strength and courage to move forward. As far as she was concerned, Dez Bretton would always have her heart.
Chapter Nineteen
London
Dez hadn’t been in his family’s London townhouse since he’d been sent packing, escorted to his new regiment by two ruffians who never let him out of their sight until he had been delivered to his commanding officer. The place had never felt like home to him because he and Dalinda had spent so little time here. They had been left in the country a majority of the time, only coming to London on rare occasions. Dalinda had spent a few weeks in the townhouse, thanks to her making her come-out, but she had not been back since her marriage to Gilford.
It had been difficult to write to his twin but he had done so, letting her know that Anna had been found alive at Gollingham Asylum. Dez had tried to write dispassionately about the circumstances but he remained haunted. By how he had found Anna. And by how she had left him. His heart told him that she loved him, as he did her, but she had some foolish notion that they couldn’t be together because of her time at the asylum. He had picked up on that when she referenced the ton being shocked by her return from the dead.
She was right. Once Polite Society discovered she was alive, it would only be a matter of time before someone found out where she had been and spread ugly rumors. That was the likely reason she wouldn’t accompany Jessa to town for her come-out. Anna would want her sister to secure a husband before her presence was made known, else it would jeopardize Jessa’s chances of ever making a worthwhile match.
Dez believed Anna thought to protect him, as well, from the gossipmongers of society. He didn’t care what they said of him. He was determined to wed Anna. They belonged together. Still, he knew despite what she said that she had to be emotionally fragile after enduring so many years locked away from the world. He told himself he would give her time to adjust being back. Only then would he pursue her in earnest. Dez had always had a stubborn streak. When it came to Anna, he would do whatever it took to convince her they belonged together.
In the meantime, he wanted to do what he could to rescue Lady Jergens. He had already put steps into motion over the last week, having met with the head of the Bow Street Runners, who assigned