Page 19 of The Mistress (Foxgloves #1)
AMELIA
L eaving the Perrington’s Ball having danced and laughed the night away with Gideon, Amelia was full of buzzing energy. Both Thomas and Lydia, however, were exhausted and leaned back in their seats as the carriage made its way to Coventry House.
Thomas had been right, after all. Gideon was not one to wait or stall when there was something he wanted. Amelia worked on maintaining a stoic expression as she kept her face turned to stare out the window at the passing night. Thomas, however, called her on it.
“What’s going on, Amelia?” he asked, head resting against the carriage wall, eyes barely open as he watched her. It seemed he was too tired to even bother with his usual teasing. Lydia tilted her head towards Amelia from the seat next to her.
Amelia faced Thomas in the seat across from them and attempted to seem ignorant as she asked, “Is something going on?” Of course, she failed miserably when the smile she’d been fighting broke free across her face.
“You’ve always been a miserable liar,” he sighed. “Just tell us.”
“Very well,” Amelia was smiling so widely, her teeth were on full display. “Gideon is going to propose to me in two days.”
It was almost comical, and Amelia did indeed laugh, as both Thomas and Lydia sprang up in their seats as though they’d had buckets of water dumped on them.
“He is?”
“Truly?”
“What did he say?”
“Oh, Amelia, this is wonderful!”
“Amelia,” Thomas’s voice was firmer than she’d ever heard from him, demanding her attention. “What did he say?” he repeated.
“He said he wants to have an honest, private conversation with me to discuss our future,” she recounted. “He wanted to stop by tomorrow, but I asked him to wait another day so I could speak with you tomorrow instead. You couldn’t wait, though.” Her chiding had no edge at all as her joy overflowed, filling each corner of the carriage.
“In private?” Lydia’s sweet expression was still thrilled as her brow pinched in something like concern.
“He doesn’t want us burdened by an audience.”
“A chaperone is not an audience,” Thomas said, his voice suddenly quite sharp.
“Thomas,” Amelia held fast. “A chaperone cannot help but be an audience. And he knows as well as you both that I regard your opinions highly. He wants my answer to be mine and mine alone.”
“It would be,” Thomas insisted. “He needs to talk to me anyhow. I will still need to be present.”
“Thomas, you’re being mulish,” Lydia rolled her eyes as the carriage jostled, adding to the effect. “You must understand that he wants to know her answer is only hers, even if we three know it would be.”
“I am not comfortable with this,” he grumbled. “Nor do I want anything indecent to happen while he visits, Amelia, do you hear me?”
“Who do you think you’re speaking to in that tone, Thomas Colbrook?” Amelia bristled.
“Stop, Thomas,” Lydia turned to face him fully. “This is a happy moment. One we’ve been anxious for. What’s more, Amelia and His Grace are both decent and honorable people. It is perfectly appropriate for them to keep such an important conversation between them alone. Be happy. This is what we wanted, and it’s thrilling the moment is finally at hand.
“Now, tell me, sister,” she continued, twisting her body in her seat to face Amelia better in the confined space, “are you happy? You’re certain you want to be with him? You’ve only known His Grace for a terribly short time now. Do you feel as though you know him well enough to accept him?” Lydia’s tone held no judgement or worry, but rather supportive inquiry.
Amelia turned her eyes from a begrudgingly quiet Thomas, sulking with his back against his seat, to Lydia. Looking at her darling sister’s open face, she was honest. “It is true we haven’t known each other long, but I do feel as though I know him. I admit when we first met, there was an intense attraction and connection between us, but it’s grown to so much more than that even in such a small time. He’s shared a great deal with me. And he’s spent time with the three of us as a group.”
Her eyes shifted back to Thomas. His posture was unchanged, but his blue eyes held less ire and more curiosity. She nodded to him as she continued, “You were right. We complement each other very well. In our nature, but in other ways, too.”
She turned back to Lydia to explain. “For example, one would think our family,” she gestured between the three of them “was broken from the start, but we know that’s not true. We have always been whole. Gideon’s family, on the other hand, seemed whole, but it’s been terribly broken. And I’ve understood more of who he is as a result. What he carries. How his life has shaped him. There’s more to him than I ever could have realized.”
“It’s true,” they turned to find Thomas nodding in his seat. “That was why, seeing you two together and also how you reacted to one another back in the country, it finally occurred to me how well suited you were to one another. He has a hard exterior, but I think it protects something immensely fragile within him. You, sister, may seem gentle and soft, easily influenced, but your core has always been one of steel. He can take care of you, but I meant it when I said you can heal him. You’ve already started. I’ve never seen him smile or laugh as easily as he has the more time you two have been spending together.”
Amelia’s gaze gentled, her previous annoyance at Thomas dissipating as she better understood what he’d said to her the day she met Gideon. He was determined to irritate her, however, as he continued, “I don’t see why he never paid you a proper call, though. Or why there’s a rush for an engagement now. He should spend a few weeks courting you properly instead.”
“Thomas, I don’t understand,” Amelia said, exasperated by his lack of enthusiasm. “Did you not want Gideon to ask for my hand?”
“No, I did. I do . I simply want him to court you first. There is a way to these things.”
“You, yourself, said your friendship is based on your mutual desire to step away from tradition,” she reminded him. “And you were plenty bothered by his concern for propriety the other night.”
“Yes, but not when it comes to you and not in this. And I was bothered that his sense of propriety had him taking a glacial approach to courting you, not that I didn’t want him to do so properly. Why didn’t he ask for your hand the other night if he is so eager? Where is his propriety now in asking to meet with you alone and unchaperoned? I am beginning to question his inten–.”
Amelia cut him off. “Gideon is a good man,” she was adamant. “You know he would not dare act in an untoward manner with a member of your family. You would never have encouraged or allowed his attentions if he was such a man.”
“I know,” Thomas conceded. “ I know . But this does not feel right to me.” He paused, taking a visibly deep breath. He shook his head before continuing, “I am not fond of this plan, Amelia, but if this is how you want to proceed, very well. I trust you. I will choose to trust him.” Thomas’s tone left a bit to be desired in its confidence, but Amelia decided it was the best she could get in the current circumstance.
“I am sure he plans to speak with you directly after,” she said, hoping to calm the last of his apprehension.
Thomas only nodded, his mouth still pulled into a grim line.
Lydia brought the conversation back to her unanswered question. “Darling, are you happy about his proposal? Even though you are growing closer and feel like you know him, you can still take more time. As Thomas said, no one is going to rush you.”
“No, I do not want more time,” Amelia’s voice came out quieter as she was struck by what awaited her in two days. “I am happy, Lydia. So very happy.” A lump formed in her throat, making her voice thick as she finished answering.
Her sensible sister, Lydia, let out a small squeal, the likes of which Amelia hadn’t heard since they were little girls, and threw her arms around her. “Then I am happy, too, Amelia,” she laughed into her hair.
Amelia looked over, somewhat embarrassed after her admission, and was surprised to find the smile on Thomas’s, up until now, serious face. “You really are a perfect match. I am very happy for you both. Please don’t doubt that.”
“I would never,” she tried to hide her sniffle. “It was all your idea after all.”
Lydia laughed yet again, unable to contain her joy. Amelia cleared her throat and her emotions to broach the next necessary topic.
“So, Gideon will meet me in two days at Coventry House. You two can spend that time making things official between you , as well. Perhaps starting with a carriage ride or picnic in the park.” Her words were a suggestion, but her tone brooked no argument. Now that her future was settling with Gideon, she would see the same done for her stubborn sister and, for all intents and purposes, brother.
“What—,” Thomas and Lydia both began simultaneously, but Amelia interrupted them quickly.
“I love you dearly,” she continued in the same tone. “You know this. And we all, and I do mean all , know how you feel about each other. You have done your part in securing my future, now I am repaying you with the same courtesy. It is time for you to start being honest and to begin your life together. There has never been a more opportune time for you to nurture what’s between you,” she finished encouragingly.
Never had Amelia said it so directly, but she knew she had done the right thing when neither of them argued her words or tried to deny them. Rather, Lydia was suddenly riveted by the darkness outside the carriage window, her face aflame, and Thomas again wore that serious expression on his usually cheerful face.
The quiet settled around them as they made the last of their trip in silence. Amelia didn’t disturb it, recognizing she had struck the match, but it was for them to let it blaze.
The carriage slowed and came to a stop in front of Coventry House. Before the door opened, however, Thomas broke the silence with a steady and sure voice. “Very well,” he said, eyes on Lydia, and those two words yanked her gaze to his.
Amelia only smiled, looking between them, as the door opened next to her. She took the footman’s hand and left the two lovers alone to finally begin their own story.