he was. You know he left me the cottage?’
Ryder nodded. ‘He told me when he started the renovations.’
‘He left the equivalent in money to Dad and Tom and they’re worried that I got the poor deal.’ Anna shrugged. ‘But I earn enough to cover the running costs of the cottage. I’m a provident sort of female. And, contrary to some people’s belief,’ she added significantly, ‘money has never been my sole interest.’
‘Rubbing salt in my wound, Anna?’
‘Hard as I can!’ She smiled a little. ‘Though I shouldn’t when you’re being so kind, Ryder.’
‘The least I could do in the circumstances,’ he said, shrugging, and got up. ‘Martha will have coffee ready by now, so I’ll save her a journey.’
Anna felt a sense of intrusion as she took a good look round the pretty, comfortable room she’d never been in before. The kitchen had been the only territory familiar to her in the old days. Ryder had often taken the young Mortons in there for cake and drinks at the kitchen table, with Dominic delighted to be part of the group while his nanny enjoyed a cup of tea with Mrs Carter. She sighed. It all seemed so long ago, like something in another life.
‘What are you thinking about?’ asked Ryder, when he came back with a tray.
‘I was wallowing in nostalgia. It’s funny that Dominic, the youngest, will be the first of us to get married, after all.’
‘True. And I’m afraid this is tea, not coffee,’ added Ryder. ‘Martha thought it would be better for you after your shock.’
‘She’s absolutely right,’ said Anna gratefully. ‘I’d love some tea, if you’ll pour it.’
‘You feel shaky?’
‘Not in the least. I’m just afraid to touch that teapot. I saw one just like it valued at a frighteningly high price on one of the antiques programmes the other day.’
‘Really?’ Ryder eyed the pot with new respect. ‘We don’t use it normally. Martha obviously thought you merited the best china.’
‘I’m honoured!’
‘Hannah was the last one to merit the honour. Martha took to her in a big way.’
‘I suppose Dominic’s getting married in New York?’
‘Yes. Though when he brought Hannah on a visit to show her the ancestral home she was so taken with the Manor she was all for having the wedding in the village church with a reception right here at the house. But her parents, naturally enough, wanted her to be married from her own home.’ Ryder eyed her speculatively. ‘Talking of weddings, why aren’t you married yet, Anna?’
She shrugged. ‘Mr Right hasn’t shown up yet.’
‘But you lived with someone for quite a time. Hector used to keep me up to speed when I saw him.’
‘Did he also tell you he disapproved? To him it was living in sin.’ Anna pulled a face. ‘In actual fact it was nothing so exciting. Sean and I both worked such long hours we gradually saw less and less of each other. Eventually I discovered that we had totally different ideas about our relationship, so I moved out.’
‘Did he come here often?’
‘No. I preferred to visit Gramp on my own. You met Sean during the only weekend he ever came to the cottage. It never stopped raining and he never stopped complaining—not least because I insisted he slept in the spare bedroom. Gramp didn’t take to him, and not long after that I moved out of Sean’s flat.’
Ryder raised an eyebrow. ‘Because Hector didn’t approve?’
‘It was a contributory factor,’ she admitted. ‘They never said so, but I know Dad and Tom weren’t hugely keen either. But now I share a flat with Clare Saunders, someone my entire family approves of. Gramp took to Clare in a big way when she came to Keeper’s not so long ago.’
‘I met them when they were out for a walk.’ He looked at her. ‘You’d stayed behind. To avoid me, no doubt.’
‘Yes,’ she said frankly. ‘Gramp was keen to show Clare round the estate. I hope you didn’t mind.’
‘You really need to ask that?’
Her eyes kindled. ‘I wouldn’t have done once. But after the accusations you made I felt I didn’t know you any more.’
‘When I discovered my mistake I made sincere apologies,’ he reminded her coldly. ‘Since you flatly refused to accept them, I see no point in apologising again.’
‘Message received, Ryder.’ She got to her feet. ‘Thank you for supper, and for coming to my rescue. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll say goodnight.’
‘I’ll see you to your room,’ said Ryder, and walked upstairs with her in a silence he kept up until they reached the door of the blue room. ‘I hope you sleep well, Anna.’
‘Me, too,’ she said fervently.
He opened the door. ‘If you have nightmares about intruders, just yell. My room’s across the landing.’
‘Thank you. Goodnight.’ Anna closed the door, glad that someone would be close at hand in this big, empty house with its elegant high-ceilinged rooms. She’d been upstairs at the Manor occasionally when she was young, but only on rainy afternoons when Ryder sneaked her up the back stairs with Tom to his old room on the floor above. Now Ryder probably slept in state in the master bedroom that had been off limits to him in the old days.
The bed was comfortable, but Anna had no great hopes of a restful night after an evening that had been a strain from start to finish. And, added to that, she felt guilty about ringing Ryder instead of her father or Tom. It was only because Ryder was the nearest, she argued to herself, but that was only partly true. In spite of their differences, she’d had no hesitation in turning to him for help.
Ryder Wyndham had always been the ultimate hero to her—from the day she first met him, right up to the moment when he came crashing down from his pedestal. But tonight he’d come straight to her rescue and taken over with efficiency she couldn’t fault. If she was going to spend time at the cottage in future, it would be inconvenient to go on harbouring a grudge—much better to remember the casual, taken-for-granted friendship they’d shared as children. But in those days she had been blissfully ignorant of the social differences between them. Now, supposedly classless society or not, the gulf between the gamekeeper’s granddaughter and the Squire still yawned as wide as ever, as Ryder had proved beyond all doubt when he thought she had ambitions to marry into his family.
Anna woke to sunshine and a knock on the door.
‘Are you decent?’ called Ryder.
She scrambled upright, flipping her braid over her shoulder as she yanked the quilt up to her chin. ‘Yes.’
The door opened slowly as Ryder backed in with a tray. ‘Good morning. I saved Martha a trip.’
‘I would have come down,’ Anna protested as he laid the tray across her
