Page 9

“A re you sure you’re going to be warm enough, Amelia?

” Mrs. Fairchild fussed, adjusting the fur trim on her daughter’s traveling cloak for the third time as the horses stamped and snorted in the cool air in the shafts of the carriage.

“I just fear you might catch a chill. I’ve heard Pendleton Castle has not been maintained as well as Lady Pendleton’s other houses, so I worry that her attempts at authenticity might involve freezing, rather than frightening, her guests to death. ”

The fact that this was not said with an attempt at humor made Amelia smile, even as she caught the shadow of real concern in her mother’s eyes.

“I’m sure Lady Townsend and some of the other guests who will surely be invited by Lady Pendleton will have reassured themselves of sufficient comfort,” Amelia said as she put her foot on the carriage step.

“And I hear that handsome Sir Frederick is going to Lady Pendleton’s Ghostly Affair, too,” Mrs. Fairchild went on happily. “Are you sure you don’t wish to further your acquaintance with that gentleman for there was a time when I did think you and he—”

She trailed off at Amelia’s look, while Edward said, firmly, as he followed his sister into the carriage, “Sir Frederick’s preference is for blondes. Besides, Amelia is much too serious for a man of his tastes.”

“I did think him a fine young man all those years ago,” Mrs. Fairchild persisted. “Why, before Thomas—”

Amelia’s hand jerked away from the locket she’d been fingering.

The one Thomas had given her. “You thought Sir Frederick a fine young man?” she repeated, her voice sharper than she intended.

“When could you ever have thought that? When Thomas went to fight for King and country, Sir Frederick disappeared to the Continent for many years of revelry.” Her voice caught slightly on the word “disappeared,” remembering that last assembly before he’d left.

He’d kissed her.

It was something she’d never forget.

The tension in her voice made Edward look at her curiously, but before her wide-eyed mother could respond, the footman had slammed the door, and they were trotting down the driveway.

“Thank you for not revealing to Mama what I’d done.

” Edward looked downcast for only a second before he leaned forward, his eyes bright with that dangerous gleam Amelia had come to dread.

“But this weekend will be a master stroke in cunning and ingenuity. And I feel sure that the consequences of my actions that have put you so out of countenance will result in great rewards. Sir Frederick will find the wife of his dreams, and your inheritance will be doubled.”

Amelia smiled at him. How could she feel cross with Edward for long with his enthusiasm to not only atone but to make everything even better? Yet that familiar twist of anxiety in her stomach reminded her of how his “improvements” typically ended—with her scrambling to contain the damage.

“Well, please consult me before you embark on anything too outrageous. Two heads are better than one.”

Edward chuckled as he patted the large wooden box on the seat beside him. “I didn’t think you’d seen what I had specially made, but yes, it is a second head which I shall wear as part of my costume for the Masquerade Ball.” His fingers drummed an excited rhythm on the box’s lid.

“Who? Janus?” Amelia couldn’t hide her surprise, nor the note of apprehension that crept into her voice.

“Janus indeed, and a nod to my love of Roman mythology, and fascination for the god of beginnings, transitions, and some other things I’ve since forgotten.

The head has two faces looking in opposite directions.

You will be astonished, as will all the young ladies who’ll think me awfully cultured.

” He sat back, clearly pleased with himself.

Amelia shuddered, watching the autumn landscape blur past the carriage window. “A ghost is bad enough but a head with a face on both sides is bound to send any young lady running in the opposite direction.”

“And if that opposite direction is into the arms of Sir Frederick, then isn’t that clever?

Oh, do compliment me on my imagination, Amelia.

You think you’re the imaginative one of the family.

” The carriage hit a rut, making Edward’s box slide slightly on the seat.

He quickly steadied it with a protective hand.

“Oh, not true at all. You, Edward, have often shown you have the imagination for more than the two of us.”

“I do have a good imagination, don’t I, sis?

” Edward looked smug while inside Amelia quailed.

There was a time when Edward had confided everything to his sister, when they’d shared secrets over stolen biscuits in the nursery and plotted harmless pranks together in the garden.

But lately, with the wager being the worst of it, he was increasingly acting spontaneously.

The fact Edward had not told her of his costume suggested he might well have other plans up his sleeves that he’d not consulted about with Amelia.

She watched him from beneath her lashes as he hummed contentedly to himself, wondering what other surprises he had in store.

So much depended upon the next few days.

And one misstep could mean disaster.