Everyone was quick to forget about Estella. Everyone except me, it seemed. I found her presence to be hanging over me at all times. It was like she was haunting me.
I loved Anna with a blinding intensity. I felt a primal urge to protect her. She needed my protection too. She simply couldn’t rely on herself anymore. She needed someone to be with her to guide her through life. Her mother adequately filled this role, but I could tell she was on the verge of a breakdown. I was happy to take her place if she would let me. Thankfully, I was more than welcome to according to Mrs. Basker. She told me that she never saw Anna happier than when I was next to her.
This is all to say that I felt very good when I proposed to Annabelle Basker on a lovely April day surrounded by imported cherry blossoms
