Winterset by Candace Camp

herself a mental shake and said brightly, “This is a beautiful carriage.”
    “It’s Kyria’s. Rafe gave it to her when they returned to England a few weeks ago. Beautiful and a little impractical—very much like Kyria.” A smile took the sting from his words.
    “I can see that you are very fond of your sister.”
    Reed nodded. “I am fond of all my family.” He paused. “I want to thank you for what you did for the twins today.”
    “How could I not?”
    His mouth quirked. “There are a number of women, I think, who would not have helped them carry a wounded dog to a healer. Of course, they really had no business being on your property.”
    Anna shrugged. “That is no problem. Kit and I are happy for them to explore.” She frowned, then added quickly, “Of course, they probably should not go farther into the woods—up Craydon Tor, you know. I fear they could easily get lost.”
    “They generally take their compass. I imagine they could have found their way back today if you had not come along. But I will speak to them about Craydon Tor—though I fear that, with those two, any word of warning seems to make them only more eager to do something.”
    “Typical boys, I think.” Anna smiled. “Kit was always most eager to do whatever had been forbidden. But I do hope you will impress on them not to go alone into those woods. They could fall or—well, there must be some sort of animal, perhaps a wild dog, that inflicted that damage on the dog they found. I have no idea what it was, but the dog’s wounds were severe. I do not like to think of Con and Alex coming upon that fierce a creature.” She brightened. “If they will but come to the Manor, I will send our gamekeeper, Rankin, out with them to explore the woods. He is a very good sort. They will enjoy their outing with him, I assure you.”
    “That is very kind. Was the dog as badly injured as the boys said?”
    Anna nodded. “Yes. Nick Perkins is a wonderful healer, but I hope Con and Alex will not count too much on his curing the animal.”
    Reed studied her for a moment. “You truly liked them, didn’t you? Alex and Con.”
    “Why, of course.” Anna cast a startled look at him. “How could I not? They are delightful boys.”
    “There are many who do not find them so,” Reed commented wryly.
    Anna wrinkled her nose. “Then they must be very stodgy sorts.”
    Reed chuckled. “They are, many of them. However, it does seem as though wherever the twins go, things just seem to…happen.”
    “Things?”
    “Oh, frogs in a tutor’s bed, for instance, or an escaped parrot…or boa constrictor…or rabbit. Then there was the fire in the nursery—that was when they were pretending to be frontiersmen in America, I believe, and using a tinderbox. Or the time they went down an abandoned well after a kitten. Or—”
    Anna chuckled, raising a hand in a stopping gesture. “All right, I believe you.”
    They smiled at each other across the short space separating them, and suddenly Anna was struck with a shaft of longing—not physical desire, but a yearning for the closeness they had once shared, however briefly, a mental and emotional intimacy, the spark of fun and humor and excitement that had underlain the more urgent physical desire. They had liked each other, had simply enjoyed each other’s company, and Anna realized with a pang how much she had missed that closeness. She wanted to ask him if they could continue like this, if there was any chance that they could be friends after what had happened, but even as the thought was born in her head, she dismissed it.
    It was foolish to even think of it, she knew. After what had happened between them, they surely could not be friends. If she had handled things differently from the beginning, perhaps. Or if she had known…But, she had not, and it had happened as it had happened, and she could really hope for nothing except to keep a certain polite distance between them.
    Anna dropped her eyes to her