"Can I get you anything? A tonic, or something cold to drink?"
"There is no cure for what ails me," he replied cryptically.
Anna had never seen him look so distraught. "May I sit or would you prefer I left you alone?"
Tristan straightened, brushed his hair from his brow and shuffled further along the be
nch. "Please sit. Perhaps you will be able to offer words of encouragement, know of a way to soothe my wounds."
"I do not wish to pry." She sat at his side. "But you know you may speak freely to me. You know I would never break a confidence."
"You have been a good friend to me these last weeks, and I am grateful for it. Marcus will need a friend too. Promise me you will take supper with him, that you'll keep him company."
Anna snorted. "You make it sound as though you're leaving."
The drawn-out silence gave weight to her flippant comment.
Tristan swallowed visibly. "I must return to London as a matter of urgency." In a sudden outburst, he jumped up from the bench and swiped the air with his clenched fist. "Damn it all. I vowed never to return. It's all a bloody mess." He glanced at her with sad eyes. "Forgive my rants and curses. But you don't know what this means."
Struggling to follow his train of thought, Anna reached up and grasped his elbow. "Sit down, Tristan." She spoke softly. "Sit down and tell me what troubles you. Tell me what's so awful about going home."
With a heavy sigh, he dropped back into the wooden seat. "It's Isabella," he said, shaking his head, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Anna threaded her arm through his and hugged it. "Is she your sister, a friend or something more?"
"Some would say she is all of those things." He gazed up at the cloudless sky and sighed wearily. "As far as my father was concerned, she was a sister. But I have never seen her as such. She became his ward after losing her parents. And I have loved her for as long as I can remember."
Love existed in varying degrees and depths.
"When you say love, do you mean you love her as a man would a woman?" Anna clarified.
Tristan nodded. "She has claimed my heart and soul. She should have been my wife, but my father forbade it. Now, she is married to another, and I swore I would rather die than bear witness to her betrayal."
Anna's heart went out to him. She would rather live in ignorance than be denied true love. What could be life's greatest gift could also be a tragic burden.
Tristan turned to face her. "Have you ever been in love?"
The question shocked her. For some bizarre reason, an image of Mr. Danbury flashed into her mind, and she quickly dismissed it.
"Good heavens, no. No, I have never been in love," she said. "I am far too cynical and have witnessed the true depth of a lover's betrayal." Most of the gentlemen who frequented Labelles were married. Indeed, she recalled one particular patron who entertained two of her girls on the night of his wedding.
"Then you are much wiser than I."
Anna doubted that. She had not been wise enough to avoid Victor's cunning trap.
"How long has it been since you last spoke to her?"
Tristan exhaled. "Five years. We were eloping when my father caught up with us on the road north. He dragged us both home, despite our protests. When I woke the next morning, he had taken Isabella away with him. Sometime later, she wrote to me and told me she had married Lord Fernall."
"I'm so sorry, Tristan." Anna had heard many tales of ladies tricked into marriage; perhaps Isabella had suffered a similar fate. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but have you never found love with another?"
"No. Although my mind and body function in the present, it is as though my heart and soul are stuck in the past."
Anna smiled to hide the sudden wave of sadness his words roused. "I do know how it feels to be detached from reality." When Victor had forced her to work at Labelles, she'd left her heart and soul safely back at her home in the country. "But you have not said why you must return."
Tristan exhaled deeply once more and closed his eyes briefly. "My brother …" He paused and shook his head. "My brother has died without issue. You are looking at the new Viscount Morford. My mother insists I am to return home to take my rightful place as head of the family."
Anna was left utterly speechless. The poor man looked so lost and forlorn. "I am truly sorry to hear of your brother's death. But your mother is right. The ton needs strong, selfless gentlemen to take the lead. You are a good and loyal person, Tristan, and will serve your family well."