Page 52

A round her, dozens of beautifully garbed women of all ages seemed to talk and laugh with ease, their fashionable clothes making the room appear like a mass of butterflies to Amelia’s eyes.

She wished she could be like them. She wished she belonged, but Mrs. Perry’s spiteful letter just reminded Amelia that she had never belonged in places like this.

“Miss Fairchild, you look particularly charming this evening.”

Amelia glanced up to see Lady Townsend bearing down on her, a gleam in her eye. “And I see you were just talking to Sir Frederick. What a charming gentleman he is.”

Amelia had no answer. Lady Townsend had always had a strange preoccupation with Sir Frederick. And Amelia had once felt a thrill whenever the lady had coupled the pair of them in a sentence.

Right now, though, her words evoked the opposite.

“Indeed,” Amelia agreed, her answer sufficiently lackluster that Lady Townsend raised her eyebrows and was about to answer when a slight disturbance near the doorway caused them to glance in that direction.

“Why, it’s Caroline,” Lady Townsend murmured as the crowd parted and Caroline made her way through the room, hurrying in such an unladylike fashion that many turned in curiosity.

She seemed oblivious, her gaze roaming the room as if she were looking for someone.

When Amelia stepped in front of her, the young girl gasped, then asked, still looking about her, “Where’s Henry?

Oh, Miss Fairchild, the most terrible thing happened. Mr. Greene…”

“He hasn’t hurt you, has he?” Amelia asked before she could stop herself, for Caroline appeared highly agitated.

“No! I mean—Please, I need to find Henry!”

Amelia’s disquiet escalated. “Henry’s not here, Caroline. He…he went after you!”

“Why?!”

Amelia swallowed, then lowered her voice so that the interested group of guests nearby who’d stopped talking would not hear. “He was afraid you’d do something…rash. He went to stop you.”

“Stop her?”

Sir Frederick’s deep tones cut into the conversation and, gasping, Caroline turned, her anxiety metamorphosing into near panic. She stepped back suddenly, almost stepping on Amelia’s foot.

“Frederick! I… I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said as if she didn’t know what else to say.

“I don’t know where else I would be,” her brother said drily.

“Please tell me why you appear so discomposed and why you are so anxious to see Henry, who left rather abruptly about half an hour ago.” He appeared to gather himself, taking a step closer to his sister after ascertaining that they were not under public scrutiny, and asking, “What are you not telling me, Caroline?”

Caroline’s large blue eyes appeared to well with tears and Amelia took her hand to comfort her, murmuring, “Sir Frederick, this is not the place.”

This seemed to calm him, but while he did not persist with his questioning, his eyes darkened and the furrow between his brows deepened.

And then a young male voice intruded, and Amelia stepped back to let in the newcomer as Henry said with clear relief, “Caroline! Here you are! I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you! I thought—”

“Yes, I know what you thought, which is exactly what my brother thought,” added Caroline, with a baleful look at Sir Frederick, before she rushed on, “Which isn’t very flattering to me, is it? Do you truly think I would be so foolish ?”

“Would someone tell me what is going on?” Sir Frederick asked, looking between Amelia, Henry, and his sister. “Or should I take you elsewhere for a severe talking-to, Caroline, because you clearly have taken leave of any notion of propriety—”

“No, Sir Frederick, you cannot speak to her like that!” Amelia interjected, indignation welling up in her breast. “It’s because she has a good, sound head on her shoulders that no damage was done, I suspect. Isn’t that right, Caroline?”

Caroline nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand before taking a step closer to Amelia and Henry, away from her brother.

Henry put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I was going to save you, Caro. I wouldn’t have let him take you. Not while I had breath in my body.”

Cognizance seemed to dawn for Sir Frederick.

Finally. “Caro really was about to elope with Mr. Greene? This time the threat was real?” Again he looked between the three of the young people before him, then added, “And no one thought to tell me? Why, I’d have had the man horsewhipped out of town if I’d known—”

“Yes, and that’s why we didn’t tell you, Sir Frederick,” began Henry before Amelia cut in, “Because if you had put up such opposition it would have been highly likely that Caroline would have jumped into the postchaise and four he had waiting by the park gates right now and in which Henry was about to stow away so he could aid Caro as soon as she came to her senses.”

Sir Frederick blinked rapidly before his pride appeared to return. “If I had been told when I should have been told, Mr. Greene would not be waiting by the park gates in a postchaise and four.”

“And your sister would have just waited until the next opportunity to defy authority in the name of true love before she realized the extent of her greatest, un-doable mistake,” said Amelia, not hiding her exasperation. “Isn’t that right, Caroline?”

Looking like the child she so recently had been, Caroline nodded her head and her brother’s mouth dropped open.

“That’s why Amelia and I decided not to say anything to you,” said Henry.

“We weren’t sure if Caro would be so foolish, but after I’d investigated and found that Greene had hired a getaway carriage from a nearby village, I had to make sure I was hidden away on it before Caro climbed in and was whisked away.

” His voice grew more tender as he went on, “But it sounds like Caro came to her senses in time.”

Caroline sent a grateful look at him, then said, “But he’s there now, expecting me,” she said.

“I told him I’d forgotten something I couldn’t live without and then hurried back here.

And now I don’t know what to do.” She took a trembling breath.

“He’s so very insistent and I did rather give him the impression that I’d sacrifice my life to be with him. ”

“What?” expostulated both men. “Why did you do that?”

“Because it put him in such great humor so that he let me leave.” She took a trembling breath. “But now I don’t know what to do, for I fear he’ll never let me go.”

Sir Frederick nodded slowly as he met his sister’s frightened gaze. Then he said, “I think I know exactly how to ensure Mr. Greene leaves you alone. Henry?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I asked you earlier if you would assist me with a certain delicate matter in the library. Now that you no longer are on pressing business on account of my sister, I wonder if you would oblige me. I assure you that not only would those acting skills that were untested just now be put to good use, but both Caroline and I would be most grateful.”