Page 63 of The Language of Love

“What do you wish to know?”

“Tell me about your childhood.”

His jaw moved from side-to-side, the muscles flexing beneath the skin.

“Not if you don’t wish to,” she hastily amended, wondering what had given him such a bitter frown

“I was raised in a lord’s house, in the servant quarters.”

Whose past was this? The real Colin’s? Or his own? Now that Annis reflected on it, she’d heard very little about the Earl of Rotherhithe’s past. Not even Susanna seemed to know much.

“You’ve probably heard rumors about me—haven’t you?” His eyes were keen—as if he could see inside her mind and would know if she lied.

Annis desperately hoped that was not the case.

“I’ve heard your mother was a servant and your father a sailor.”

He barked a laugh. “A sailor? That’s a new one.” His mouth twisted into a sardonic smile and he took a corner at a clipping pace that made her clutch the railing.

There was no humor in his brief laugh, and she wished that she’d not broached the subject. But now that she’d opened Pandora’s Box, she couldn’t think of a way to close it again. Annis smiled; that had been one of her father’s favorite idioms

“Why are you smiling?” he asked.

“I was just thinking about my father.”

“What about your father?” he asked, probably grateful for an opportunity to move the conversation away from himself.

“He was an Oxford don, which his family considered a shocking downward step. If that wasn’t bad enough, he married an actress and cast himself well beyond the pale.” She cut him a quick look, but he was staring straight ahead. “Before he married my mother, there were invitations to spend holidays with his cousin, the Earl of Denbeigh, and the rest of my grandmother’s family. After his marriage… well, let’s just say I’ve met no one on that side of the family.”

“Is that the same grandmother you lived with?”

“Yes, she threw her lot in with her son, which put her beyond the pale, too.”

“Even I know that one,” he said proudly, whatever bitterness he’d been feeling no longer evident. “It comes from the pale pieces of wood the Norman invaders used to make fences and protect themselves from the Irish.”

“It sounds like you’ve been cramming for a test,” she teased.

“I’m set on becoming the teacher’s pet.”

Annis laughed.

“But, to get back to your father and grandmother’s story,” he said. “They were cast out of paradise.”

“Some people would agree with that assessment,” Annis said. “But then it isn’t really paradise, is it?”

“What? You mean you don’t aspire to be part of the haute ton?” His tone was mocking.

“I’ve met a lot of miserable peers. I don’t believe moving in tonnish circles will bring happiness in and of itself.”

“Your cousins wouldn’t agree. They both seem determined to land Rotherhithe.”

Annis did not demur—how could she? But it felt too disloyal to say so, even though they’d done precious little to earn her loyalty.

She couldn’t resist another peek inside Pandora’s Box. “You said you were born in India—but you grew up in a lord’s house in England?”

“Yes, after my parents both died in Calcutta, I was sent back to my family. My aunt was the housekeeper in a lord’s house and she took me in.”

“How old were you when you were orphaned?”