by Sarah Ladd
“Not like that, Elizabeth!” Helena slapped at the servant’s hand as the girl attempted to arrange a feather in her hair. Then she sent the maid on an errand and proceeded to adjust the brightly colored plume herself.
Once the lady’s maid had quitted the room, Helena turned to Amelia. “Why are you so out of sorts tonight? Do not tell me you are still thinking about that captain.”
The lie slid easily from Amelia’s lips. “Of course not.”
“Well, I should think not, especially tonight of all nights. I overheard Mother tell Father that the Simmonses are coming after all, and—” She paused midsentence and looked around, a frown darkening her face. “Have you seen my necklace? The one with the ruby pendant?”
Amelia nodded toward the jewelry chest atop the dresser.
“Ah.” Helena retrieved the gold chain and held it up to her exposed throat. She pivoted, watching her reflection in the glass. “I do believe you have escaped catastrophe, dear Cousin.”
Amelia adjusted her petticoat over her stays as Elizabeth returned to the room. “I do not understand.”
Helena rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the feather. “It is early yet to tell, but I think you are going to come out of yesterday’s episode unscathed. An entire day has passed. If Captain Sterling had planned to expose you, we would have already heard about it. Count yourself fortunate.”
Amelia suppressed a groan. The interchange with the captain in the drawing room had been humiliating enough. Now, after the incident in the graveyard and today’s interlude with Edward, she was practically at her wit’s end. Feeling the need to defend herself once more, Amelia murmured, “As I told you before, it was a business proposition. Nothing more.”
“Well, call it whatever you like.” Helena took the dress from Amelia and handed it to the lady’s maid. Elizabeth helped slide it on over the petticoat, careful not to disturb Amelia’s meticulously arranged tresses. “At least Mr. Littleton hasn’t discovered what you have done.”
Amelia turned to allow Elizabeth to fasten the ivory buttons down the back of her gown. Glancing into the mirror, she straightened the silver netting adorning the bodice. There was no point in arguing. She needed to concentrate on what she would say to Edward, not on persuading Helena, who at any rate would not be swayed.
Once the buttons were fastened, Helena reached for Edward’s sapphire necklace. She dangled the piece in front of her. “I do hope one day my betrothed gives me such lovely tokens of affection,” she said, her voice wistful. The candles’ flickering glow caught the intricate angles of the jeweled pendant, sending slivers of indigo light into the air. Helena draped it around Amelia’s neck and turned her back toward the mirror. “Perfection.”
Amelia’s gaze lingered on the jewelry’s reflection, and she touched it with uneasy fingers as she considered the imminent union the necklace symbolized and the man who had given it to her. Her stomach flittered at the thought of what she must do tonight. Now that Captain Sterling had refused her proposal, she had to convince Edward to allow Lucy to remain at Winterwood Manor. This would be her one request of him. But it would not be easy. Despite his mercurial temper, Edward was not easy to sway once he had made up his mind. Amelia would have to be intentional with her words.
But Amelia did have one advantage. Once she married and reached twenty-four years of age, which would be soon, she would be a very wealthy woman. That meant her husband, by matrimonial law, would increase his fortune too. And Edward was an ambitious man, with ambitious plans for building on his success in business. Had he not on more than one occasion referenced his plans to expand Winterwood once he was officially its master? Well, he needed her cooperation for that to happen. If necessary, she would remind him of this detail.
Amelia followed Helena from the dressing room. The voices of family and friends wafted up the curved staircase toward them. She bent her neck to see down to the main floor below and almost immediately spied Edward. Dressed in an impeccable black tailcoat and brilliant emerald waistcoat, drink already in hand, he stood laughing with a group of men.
She drew a deep breath. Until they could speak alone about Lucy, she would play the part of an excited and amiable bride. Straightening her shoulders, she shook out the folds of her dress and prepared to descend. But just as her foot was about to fall on the first step, she spotted another face, one she had not anticipated. A gasp escaped her lips, and she grabbed Helena’s bare arm and yanked her back on the landing.
“Ow!” Helena snatched her arm away and rubbed it.
Amelia could barely squeak the words. “He’s here.”
“Whatever are you talking about? Who’s here?” Helena craned her neck to look. After a scan of the main floor, she, too, jerked back from the staircase, eyes wide. “Oh. He’s here.”
Blood pounded in Amelia’s ears. The tragedy that could ensue played in her mind’s eye like a scene from the theater. Her words came in a pant. “He must have come with his brother.”
“But William Sterling never comes to these things.” Helena’s eyes were wide. “Never!”
“Aunt always invites him, though. He is our neighbor. You know how your mother is.”
Time froze. Amelia forced her breathing to steady. Not only would she have to face Captain Graham Sterling tonight, but she would have to face his older brother, the master of Eastmore Hall, as well.
Amelia had not spoken to Mr. William Sterling in months, not since he’d behaved shamefully toward her at a dinner party a year ago. She could still feel the grip of his bare hands on her upper arm, the smell of the claret on his breath, and the taste of tobacco as he forced a kiss on her. She shuddered. She had told no one save her friend Jane Hammond for fear that the incident would be misinterpreted as impropriety on her part. But she had also vowed never to speak to him again if at all possible. Mr. Sterling, if he even remembered the incident, had apparently utilized discretion and never spoken of it either, but that did not mean Amelia wished to be in his company.
But even more daunting than the prospect of an evening with William Sterling or an uncomfortable encounter with the captain was the realization that Edward and Captain Sterling would speak tonight. It would be unavoidable.
Helena’s words were sharp. “This is a fine mess indeed.”
“We need a plan. That is certain.” Amelia paced the hall.
“We?” Helena shook her head, apparently forgetting about the carefully arranged tresses on her head. “No, no, no! I will not be a part of—”
“Please! Just . . . please. Everything will be fine, you shall see, but I need your help. You must keep the captain occupied. Stay by his side as much as possible. Prevent him from talking to, well, anyone else.”
Helena planted her hands on her hips. “I have promised to keep your secret, Amelia, and keep it I shall. But I will not play a part in any of your schemes.”
Amelia linked her arm through Helena’s. “If not for me,” she pleaded, “then do it for Aunt Augusta. She would be mortified should anything go amiss tonight.”
Helena pursed her lips. “I am not happy, Amelia. Truly I am not. But you are correct. If anything should happen and word got out about what you have done, our family would be the laughingstock of the entire county.”
Amelia reached out and patted Helena’s russet locks back into place. “I need you. Lucy needs you. And this is the last request I will make of you. You have my word.”
“Oh, very well.” Helena snapped her fan open and started for the stairs once more.
“Thank you, Helena.” Amelia embraced her cousin and then smoothed her own silk skirt, forcing herself to ignore the guilt tapping in her mind.
Glass clinked. Gentle laughs and polite conversation rang through Winterwood Manor’s dining room. The familiar setting and festive atmosphere should have put her at ease. But tranquility eluded Amelia.
She cast a sideways glance at her betrothed. Handsome and self-assured, Edward boasted a commanding presence. He sat so close to Amelia th
at if she moved her arm even a fraction, it would brush the black wool fabric of his coat sleeve. She remained uncomfortably still, not wanting to join his conversation . . . or any other.
She poked at the salmon on her plate and dragged her fork through the shrimp sauce, trying not to stare at the captain, who was seated directly across from her. She was grateful that etiquette forbade her from speaking across the table during dinner. At least she would be able to avoid conversation for now. The captain’s brother, William Sterling, sat to his left. As if sensing her attention, Mr. Sterling looked up, his forkful of stewed spinach hovering in midair, and smiled at her. Amelia quickly looked away. Would the captain have told his brother about the proposal?
Amelia eyed the captain again. To his immediate right, Helena chattered on, doing her flirtatious best to ensnare his attention. Her dainty cousin threw her head back in a believable laugh, her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright. Amelia sighed. If only she could play as convincing a role. Captain Sterling smiled at something Helena said, his white teeth flashing in his sun-bronzed face. He appeared so at ease. How dare he be so calm when Lucy’s future remained uncertain?
“That was a weary sigh, my dear.”
The soft words coming from the guest to her left snapped Amelia back to the present, and she shifted to face her friend Jane Hammond. “Pardon?”
“Much too weary for a young woman so very close to her wedding day.”
Amelia fussed with the napkin in her lap and suppressed a nervous laugh. “Forgive me. I’m afraid I was lost in thought.”
Jane nodded toward Amelia’s plate. “You have barely touched your dinner. You’re not unwell, I trust?”
Shame crept over Amelia. For as long as she could remember, the older woman’s nurturing manner had been a comfort to her. Jane, the wife of Darbury’s vicar, had been her mother’s dearest friend and, in the years since her father’s death, had become her own friend and confidante. How Amelia wished she could seek her counsel about the past few days. But how could she? She could not risk the exposure.
Jane leaned close and wrinkled her nose. “Whatever is William Sterling doing here?”
Amelia glanced up at the captain’s brother. “Aunt invited him.”
“Tsk. After his actions toward you, I cannot believe he has the audacity to accept the invitation.”
Amelia shrank back at Jane’s words, regretting she had shared the details of William’s indiscretion. Ever since, her normally kind and forgiving friend had all but shunned the older Sterling, all in the name of loyalty. Amelia hoped she would not reflect her opinion of William Sterling onto the captain. “I honestly do not think he recalls the encounter. He was full of drink. Besides, it is in the past, and no one but you knows of it. I would just as soon forget about it.”
“Well, I certainly have not forgotten.” Jane’s composed face give little hint of the anger in her voice. “One would think a man in his position and influence would hold himself to a higher standard. It is indeed fortunate for him that your Mr. Littleton knows nothing of it.”
Amelia winced at the reminder of the number of secrets regarding the Sterling family that she was withholding from Edward. She pushed them away. She had far too much on her mind to ruminate on the shortcomings of William Sterling.
Jane put down her fork. “Speaking of the Sterlings, I have been meaning to tell you about a very interesting visit I had earlier with Lucy’s father, the captain. What a pleasant man he is—quite the opposite of his brother.”
Amelia felt the tiny hairs stand up at the base of her neck. Had Captain Sterling told Jane what she had done? Surely not. “He does seem quite well spoken.”
“Indeed. Mr. Hammond and I ran into him this morning outside Mr. Higgins’s shop. We were so pleased to see him again, for the last time I saw him he was but a lad. What a pleasant man he has become—every bit as distinguished as one would expect a naval captain to be. And he spoke very favorably of you and the kindness you have shown little Lucy.”
“Oh? What did he say?”
“Simply that he has no idea what would have happened if you had not stepped in.”
With every word that Jane spoke, Amelia eased. Clearly, her friend did not know of her proposal. She cut her eyes toward William Sterling before returning her attention to Jane. “I am sure the captain’s brother would have seen to her well-being.”
The older woman patted her lips with her napkin and returned it to her lap. “I doubt it. You know Mr. Sterling’s disposition. He’s of a selfish bent, and he would hardly be a suitable guardian for a child. I don’t like to repeat rumors, but it is said he has lost his entire fortune at the tables. The lot of it. Mr. Hammond tells me he has heard reports that Mr. Sterling is trying to sell part of his land. Can you imagine?”
“And what of the captain?” Amelia leaned in closer to her friend. “Does he have the means to support Lucy?”
Jane nodded. “Indeed. Though he did not inherit his family’s estate, I have it on good authority that he has done very well in his own right. Of course, Mr. Hammond knows a great deal more about these things than I, but I understand the ship under Captain Sterling’s command has been integral to the blockade efforts along the American coast, and in addition to his military conquests he has overtaken several merchant vessels. Mr. Hammond said the spoils have made him quite wealthy. It’s not for me to say, but it seems Mr. William Sterling would do well to hand over the running of Eastmore to his brother.”
Amelia had to smile at that. Her friend seldom found herself at a loss for something to say and was always quick to share her opinion. She tucked her hands beneath her napkin. “Did the captain say anything to you about his intentions for Lucy?”
Jane lowered her napkin to her lap and smoothed the amber silk fabric of her gown. “He said he was in the process of interviewing nurses. He also mentioned visiting the Creighton School because it is so close, but of course Lucy is far too young for such an establishment.” Jane hesitated and lowered her voice even further. “Is there no way you can continue to care for Lucy?”
Amelia’s nose twitched with emotion. She didn’t want to talk about this. Not now. Not here. She shook her head. “I want nothing more than for that to be so. But Mr. Littleton is adamant against it.”
Why even try to hide emotion from Jane? Amelia didn’t want to hide it. If it weren’t for the company surrounding them, she would be tempted to tell her friend the entire story, right down to her proposal to the captain. She felt like a child again, hoping the woman could soothe her sorrows as she had so many times over the years.
“I do not understand why Mr. Littleton is so opposed to your caring for the child. Has he given any indication as to the source of his opposition?”
Amelia shook her head. “He has spoken of not wanting to use the funds to care for Lucy that will one day go to our children. When his father died, Edward was surprised that his inheritance was not what he had anticipated. It seems his father had given a large sum to support a local poorhouse. Edward has declared on more than one occasion that he has no intention of using our son’s money to support another man’s child.”
“But that is ridiculous. Lucy is not a charitable cause. I am sure the captain would support her financially, especially given the success of his recent exploits.”
“But Edward does not see it that way.” Amelia blinked back tears. “What will I do? I really do not know how I can live without—”
The ping of a silver spoon tapping a goblet pierced the conversation. Amelia looked up. Uncle George stood at the head of the table.
Uncle George’s thick hands hung in the air to silence the chattering guests. Edward had all but ignored her through the course of the dinner, but now he turned to her with a wide, boyish smile. Amelia’s stomach knotted.
Uncle George dabbed his mouth with his napkin and let it fall to the table before clearing his throat. “I know my wife is eager to get the ladies off to the drawing room, but before you all leave, I have wonderful news to sha
re.”
A rush of whispers circled the table.
Uncle George’s ruddy face flushed, a broad smile crinkling his eyes. “As you know, my lovely niece will soon be joined in matrimony to Mr. Edward Littleton, a first-rate young man. But what you do not know—what even my niece doesn’t yet know—is that once he and Amelia wed, Edward Littleton will become a full partner of Barrett Trading Company.” George Barrett held up his goblet in a toast. “Welcome to the family and the business, my boy.”
A burst of conversation exploded from the guests. Edward, who could barely contain his enthusiasm, reached for Amelia’s hand and squeezed, nearly knocking over his glass in the process.
More was said, but Amelia did not hear. Piece by piece, the puzzle came together. Her uncle’s sincere yet emphatic insistence on the union. Edward’s constant talk of expanding Winterwood’s worth. Yes, Edward had professed his love—repeatedly. He had done it so often and so enthusiastically that at times she had doubted his sincerity.
Suddenly, she doubted it completely.
She needed air.
Amelia survived the next several minutes until the ladies were excused to the drawing room. At a moment when she was certain no one was watching her, she slipped away from the guests, made her way to the empty library, and pushed open the terrace door.
The cool November air welcomed her. She crossed to the railing, intent on a few moments of privacy before returning to the hustle of entertaining. But after several minutes of attempting to process what she had heard, the door from the library flew open.
“There you are.” A grin flashed across Edward’s chiseled features. His footsteps echoed on the stone beneath him, his unsteady walk explained by the goblet in his hand. “I’ve looked everywhere for you. Isn’t this a nice turn of events?” He leaned next to her against the rail. “I do believe that we are headed in the right direction, dearest Amelia.”
She nodded. The wool of his jacket rubbed her arm through the loose weave of her shawl. She drew the shawl more tightly around her. She wrinkled her nose at the pungent stench of brandy, surmising that his drinking had begun hours before the gathering. “You startled me. I thought you would stay behind with the gentlemen.”