Anna's Decision: A Regency Romance (The Harcourts Book 1) Read online

  Also by Penny Fairbanks

  Resolved in Love Series:

  Behind The Baron’s Mask

  Healing The Captain’s Heart

  Finding The Artisan’s Future

  Embracing The Earl’s Dream

  Anna’s Decision © 2020 by Penny Fairbanks

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Cover design by Blue Water Books

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  First Printing: October 2020

  For my husband, forever and always.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chatter and laughter filled Anna’s ears as she tried to read, making it difficult for her to concentrate on the book of poetry in her hands. She smiled at the page before her, the sounds of her family all around her both comforting her and filling her with a strange melancholy.

  Without removing her eyes from her book, Anna knew that Mama and Papa would be seated on the sofa in the middle of the room, giving them a better vantage point to watch over their children. Mama would be embroidering while Papa read the newspaper.

  “Dalton, darling, you are going to wrinkle your clothes if you keep standing like that,” Mama gently scolded her second eldest child after Anna. Anna knew Dalton must be leaning against the wall, peering out the window at the vast lands that would one day be his, probably deciding what adventure he wanted to go on next.

  “My apologies, dearest Mama. You are right, my poor valet will have a heart attack later when he sees the sad state of my coat,” Dalton chuckled, surely standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back like a very proper gentleman.

  Caroline, the third Harcourt child, played a lovely melody on the pianoforte in the far corner of the room, always sharpening her many talents.

  “Are you sure you’ve ever played this piece before, Caroline?” Patrick, the fourth eldest, teased his older sister when she missed a note.

  “Patrick, please! I’m trying to concentrate and I cannot do that when you are being so horrible!” Caroline retorted as her fingers angrily clashed against the keys of the instrument. Anna could perfectly imagine her younger sister whirling around on the bench, her chest heaving up and down with her irritation.

  “How am I being horrible? I’m just sitting here innocently reading a play.” Patrick’s voice floated across the room from his favorite desk in another corner. He would also be making notes on whatever he read, Anna knew. He’d already decided that he would one day become an examiner of plays.

  “Please, children, be kind to one another—if not for each other’s sake then for mine and Mama’s,” Papa sighed, turning the page of his newspaper. “You do not have a headache do you, Bridget?”

  “I’m sure I will in a moment if your children do not stop bickering, Martin,” Mama chuckled.

  A blur of movement raced past Anna and she instinctively tucked her feet beneath her chair. Harriet, the youngest member of the family, could never sit still for long. She skipped around the room, flying past Anna, and chose her next target. The girl drummed her fingers on Patrick’s desk, trying to capture her older brother’s attention.

  “Not now,” Patrick sighed, a hint of amusement in his voice.

  “Patrick, you are so boring!” Harriet cried as her older brother tried to shoo her away.

  As for Anna, she simply sat in her favorite chair by the fireplace, enjoying the activity that buzzed all around her. She loved this home full of children and laughter and conversation and energy.

  It also stung. Anna knew she would never have a home of her own like this, no matter how hard she prayed.

  “Alright, alright,” Patrick groaned, finally giving in to Harriet’s badgering. Anna looked up as her youngest brother picked up little Harriet—who, Anna realized with a slight jolt, was not quite so little anymore as a quickly growing twelve-year-old—and twirled her around with a little extra effort. At fifteen, Patrick’s increasing strength still allowed him to easily carry Harriet around on his back or even over his shoulder, all of which she found to be highly amusing.

  “Mama, Papa, can Patrick and I take the tilbury out and drive around the fields?” Harriet asked between peals of laughter as Patrick switched the direction of their spinning game.

  “Patrick, please put your sister down,” Mama commanded gently from the sofa. “She is a young lady, after all. But yes, you may take the tilbury out if Dalton accompanies you.”

  “Of course!” Dalton grinned, nearly hopping away from the window in his excitement to get out and about. Anna smiled softly, happy to still see the cheerful little boy in her now twenty-year-old brother. He did not let the fact that he would one day become Baron Welsted affect his kind and carefree nature. Her smile quickly slipped away as she thought of the fact that the only children she would watch grow up were her own siblings and their children.

  Dalton glanced over to Anna, mouth half open as if to say something, but he stopped himself short as concern clouded his expression. Anna put her smile back on, but it was too late. Dalton had already seen her melancholy mood. Or rather, Dalton had become exceedingly practiced at reading her face over the years. Anna had always been closest with Dalton despite their vastly different temperaments.

  “Will you join us, Anna?” Her brother tilted his head slightly as he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  Before she could answer, the music from the pianoforte clattered to a stop. “If everyone else is going, then I must go, too.” Caroline jumped up from the bench, holding her head high in her stubborn way. She did not like to be left out or feel that others were having more fun than she was.

  Papa folded his newspaper, chuckling as he looked around the room at his five children. The sound always brought comfort and a sense of warmth to Anna even on days such as today when she felt hopeless. “That’s settled then. The Harcourt children will have an outing while Mama and I dance about the room enjoying our time without all you troublemakers under our feet.”

  Resting his elbow on Harriet’s shoulder, Patrick scoffed. “Surely we will find you here in the sitting room when we return, fast asleep in your seats.” Harriet giggled at Patrick’s joke, quickly covering her mouth with her hands when she saw Mama’s scolding look. The youngest Harcourt daughter would not be as easy to mold into a proper, polite lady as her older sisters had been.

  “Yes, I will join you all,” Anna finally agreed with what she hoped was a content smile. It would not be long before her siblings went off on their own, starting their own lives and families. They would become too busy to spare much time for Anna. She needed to take advantage of whatever time they had left as the Harcourts.

  The warm sun gently caressed Anna’s face beneath her bonnet as a cool breeze swept by, bringing a touch of lingering winter chill with it. The barouche rattled beneath her as the pair of horses pulled them along behind Patrick’s and Harriet’s tilbury. Looking over her shoulder, Anna drank in the beautiful sight of Attwood Manor, the home they’d grown up in, rising high into the bright blue sky. Ahead of her stretched out a section of flat land with hills in the distance, evidence of spring appearing everywhere she looked.

  Anna loved the Harcourts’ estate. If any good came from her situation, it was that she would be able to enjoy these breathtaking lands for the rest of her life and keep her parents company as they aged.

  Dalton tugged at the reins and brought their horses to a standstill. They’d reached the large, flat empty field that Papa had designated for the children to bring the carriages out unsupervised. He leapt down first, his light brown hair flying up for a moment, holding his hand out first to Anna and then to Caroline. Patrick and Harriet continued forward in the tilbury, Patrick tapping the horse into a trot.

  “Don’t go too fast, Patrick!” Dalton called out after them, his voice already lost beneath the sound of hooves and Harriet urging Patrick to increase their speed.

  Anna put her hand on Dalton’s arm. “Do not worry. We’ll keep a careful eye on them from here,” she reassured him, her voice soft and gentle as always.

  “I’m shocked you do not plan on running right back to Mama and Papa and telling on those two,” Caroline scoffed lightly, her lips pulling up at the corner in a teasing smirk.

  Anna gritted her teeth, trying to let Caroline’s jab pass through her. Just as Dalton opened his mouth to scold Caroline, Anna found herself overcome by her irritation at her younger sister. “Truly, how
did you and I come from the same family?” she huffed, eyes narrowed at Caroline. Caroline simply tossed her head, her lovely black curls catching in the breeze.

  Dalton sighed and shook his head. He knew what was coming. Only Caroline could antagonize the patient, understanding, sweet-tempered Anna into an argument. He also knew that the best thing to do when the two came into conflict was stay out of the way and let it run its course.

  “I assure you that we will be out of each other’s hair as soon as we marry, so you’d better hurry up with it or else I won’t be able to debut in London next year. You know Mama and Papa don’t want both of us out at the same time.” Caroline glowered, crossing her arms over her chest. Anna grimaced at her sister’s harsh reminder of her trajectory toward spinsterhood.

  No one knew how much it bothered Anna to be twenty-two with not a single interested suitor to show for her multiple Seasons in London. Anna’s stomach churned with regret and disappointment under Caroline’s steely gaze, her truthful but painful words still ringing in Anna’s ears. Suddenly the breeze around them felt too cold, raising tiny bumps all over Anna’s exposed arms. She wished desperately to retreat to the warmth and safety of Attwood Manor where she could hide away from that ugly reality.

  She always pretended that it did not matter to her if she never married, that she was content with wherever her path led her. But those were lies she told others in the hopes that they would one day become true for herself.

  “Caroline…” Dalton hissed, his hazel eyes carefully watching Anna.

  Taking a deep breath, Anna forced a smile back on her face that was plainer than Caroline’s and probably plainer than Harriet’s, once she grew into her features. “Don’t fret over me, Dalton,” she insisted quietly.

  Anna had long since concluded that only one theory could explain her situation: something must be wrong with her. Not a single gentleman had taken an interest in her beyond a few dances or a carriage ride. In her three years since making her debut in London, Anna had seen so many beautiful young ladies who knew how to flirt while still remaining proper, who could keep a man’s attention with a dazzling smile.

  Being on the reserved, quiet side, Anna could never hope to compete with those ladies and she knew her beauty was certainly nothing remarkable. Why would any gentlemen pay her any mind when almost every other young lady in the room was clearly a better choice than Anna?

  Soon, none of that would matter. Anna lifted her chin with fake confidence, steeling herself to finally make her grand announcement. “Fear not, Caroline. I shall no longer stand in the way of your opportunities. I will be staying home from London this year and quite probably next. I’ve found that it is hardly worth the hassle of travel. I would rather enjoy a peaceful, quiet spring here at home. I know by now that my path won’t lead me to marriage and I’ve accepted it.”

  Anna finished her speech with a pained smile. She rarely spoke that much all at once, almost in one breath, but Anna knew that she needed to get it out as quickly as possible, before her courage failed her. She could at least thank Caroline for annoying her into the boldness she needed to share her decision. She could tell from the glances exchanged between Dalton and Caroline that she had not quite managed to explain it with as much grace and acceptance as she’d hoped. Her eyes went wide when she saw that even Caroline looked genuinely concerned about her.

  “Please, Anna, don’t do anything rash. I was just teasing, I swear,” Caroline pleaded. The sun shone down on the younger woman’s face, her lovely, unique, light brown eyes seeming to glow from within as they locked onto Anna. “I don’t mind waiting to be presented in London, truly.” Caroline bit her lip, her usually haughty voice now soft and kind.

  “It’s quite alright,” Anna insisted. “I’ve given it much thought and I feel it is the right choice for me. I look forward to my role as the maiden aunt who will dote on her nieces and nephews.” She delivered the last part with a chuckle, trying to sound perfectly content. One glance at Dalton’s expression told her she hadn’t gotten it quite right.

  “Caroline, hurry after Patrick and Harriet since they’ve gotten a bit too far ahead,” he instructed, his normally cheerful voice now carrying the weight of a young man trained all his life to shoulder responsibilities.

  Caroline looked down at the ground, grasping Anna’s hand in a silent apology before rushing off after their younger siblings, shouting for Harriet to stay seated lest she fall out of the tilbury.

  Anna took in a deep breath full of cool, fresh air, hoping that it would invigorate her a little for the coming conversation. She knew Dalton wanted to discuss her announcement though she wished he would leave it alone. It was heartbreaking enough to finally say it aloud; she certainly did not want to explain it in excruciating detail, even to him.

  “Is that really what you want, Anna?” Dalton asked, his brows furrowed. Just as Anna had suspected, Dalton went right to the heart of the matter. He rarely danced around anything, allowing his thoughts and emotions to come to the surface while still maintaining enough awareness to mind his manners. Unfortunately, Anna hadn’t inherited any of that. She mostly took after Papa’s quiet, thoughtful nature while Dalton had been blessed with Mama’s quick wit and uncanny ability to speak the truth so kindly that it did not offend.

  Anna smiled weakly as she forced her common brown eyes to meet Dalton’s. “Of course it is.”

  Dalton frowned at Anna’s answer, gently pinching her cheek. “I know you are lying, dear sister. Please, tell me what is on your mind.”

  Her younger brother had trapped her. Anna sighed wearily. Even just thinking about this topic exhausted her both physically and emotionally. Talking about it only compounded those effects. But she knew Dalton would not let her out of this.

  “If you must know the truth,” she started quietly, willing her voice to stop trembling, “I want to get married to a wonderful man and have a home full of children. Of course I do. But after my past Seasons in London, no one has shown any interest in me. I know it is because I am not charming and lively enough.”

  Dalton nodded silently as they slowly followed after Caroline, his gaze never leaving Anna’s face. She was surprised to see that he looked so mature—different than the brother she’d known her whole life, always so full of laughter. Another pang of regret squeezed Anna’s chest. She supposed that everyone else had been growing up around her while she had been so preoccupied with her future that would never be.

  “The sooner I accept my impending spinsterhood, the better. Being twenty-two years old is just another mark against me. I don’t have much hope that another Season will do me any good,” Anna finished, her shoulders drooping slightly under the heavy weight of her confession.

  Lifting her eyes, she saw her younger siblings spread out before her. Caroline stood several yards ahead, one hand holding her bonnet to her head as the wind threatened to carry it away while the other hand waved frantically for Patrick to be careful, her almost shrill voice shouting for him to be gentler with his turns. Patrick’s face, usually buried in a book, shone under the sunlight, his mouth wide open in a joyous grin while Harriet cried out in excitement, the wind fanning out her blonde hair behind her like a majestic cape.

  Would it really be so bad to watch this scene unfold again but with her siblings’ children? Surely Anna could get used to that idea. She must. She had no choice.

  Anna nearly jumped when she felt Dalton’s arm wrap around her shoulders. She’d been so lost in thought that she’d forgotten he was right beside her. She leaned into his side, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. She’d once relished the fact that she was taller than Dalton, but now his significant height advantage came in handy. Her body felt almost too heavy for her to support on her own. She may have very well sunk right into the ground if Dalton wasn’t there to offer his strength.