Annie winced and looked away when she realised what it was.
A scandal sheet!
“I am afraid the news of what has passed between your daughter and Lord Yeatman has been read by the entiretonthis morning,” Mr Knight walked toward them.
“Ah, well....” Barbara clearly struggled to know what to say. Her rigorous training in always saying what was proper plainly didn’t give her any knowledge of what to say now. “Would you care for tea?” she said eventually.
Annie could have scoffed at her mother offering something like tea at a time like this. To her surprise, Mr Knight agreed. He sat down opposite Annie and her mother and took a cup, dropping the scandal sheet to the table between them.
Annie took the scandal sheet a few seconds later and lifted it toward her eyes, the better to read the story. It said in horrifying detail how she and Luke had been caught together. The mere mention of it made her nauseous, and she dropped the sheet back down to the table quickly.
“It is very kind of you to come to see us, sir,” Barbara said, clearly trying to maintain a false smile. Annie was not bothering with such false smiles anymore. There didn’t seem much point. “May I ask the purpose of your visit?”
“You may.” Mr Knight sipped his tea and sat forward once again, clearing his throat as if he was an orator, about to speak some great rehearsed speech. “I know of the plight that you and your family will now be going through, Lady Maybury, and I cannot condone such an injury happening to you all. That is why I have set out for this house this morning, in the hope that I can offer something that will help you.”
“What is that?” Barbara asked as Annie lifted her teacup to her lips, taking a small sip at last.
“I have come to offer to marry Miss Storey.”
Annie choked on the tea. It was so sudden that she nearly dropped the teacup entirely. Barbara clapped her on the back, helping to clear the tea from her throat. By the time the noise had calmed down, Annie could at last return her gaze to Mr Knight, startled to see he appeared to be in earnestness.
“You wish to marry me?” she asked, her voice croaky thanks to the choking. She could feel her mother’s glare upon her, clearly angered that she had spoken at all when Barbara had instructed her not to.
“I do.” Mr Knight nodded. “I think it the best thing.”
The best thing?
He talked of it as if he were discussing some investment to be made, not a decision that would affect the rest of his life.
“Oh, Mr Knight, what kindness this is. Thank the gentleman, Annie.” Barbara was gushing, sitting forward in her seat.
“Wait, Mama.”
“Wait?” Barbara repeated in shock.
“Please, allow me to speak to Mr Knight freely for a minute. I believe there is nothing wrong in that.” Annie refused to stay silent. Even if her mother turned down this request, she intended to speak regardless. Barbara seemed to think for a few seconds before nodding and standing to her feet. She walked to the window and looked out, giving them relative privacy, whilst still chaperoning them.
Annie turned her gaze on Mr Knight, trying to judge him as carefully as she could. His manner was rather stoic and calm. There was no urgency, no desperation in him, and certainly little affection.
“Why do you wish to marry me, sir?” Annie asked, needing to have all the facts before she spoke her mind.
“I have been intending to marry for some time.” Mr Knight spoke formally. “You and I know each other by now.”
Do we?
Annie felt she knew him little. They were cordial to each other but nothing more. In the past, he would have been the sort of man she would have pictured for a husband, but that was before she had met Luke.
“I believe marriage would add to my happiness, and it would remedy your situation. Well, as much as it can be remedied. In time, people would stop talking of the scandal you have committed.” The casual way he spoke of it made something curdle in Annie’s stomach. Her fingers lingered around the handle of her teacup until the porcelain dug into her skin.
“You would not mind that your wife had transgressed?” Annie asked quietly. “I seem to remember a recent conversation where you minded very much.” Her boldness didn’t just make Mr Knight’s eyes narrow, but Barbara turned around too, looking away from the window and levelling a gaze at her across the room.
I will not be quiet. The situation of the rest of my life depends on this conversation.
“I was trying to protect you, Miss Storey. Clearly, I failed. Lord Yeatman is capable of more charm and persuasion than I gave him credit for.”
“I made my own decisions.”
“Let us not repeat our argument from the other night.” Mr Knight pleaded, lifting a hand with the palm up in an act of surrender. “I wish us to move forward. You are in need of rescuing, Miss Storey. Marry, and soon enough, others will stop talking of what has happened.”