“You look as if you have seen a ghost, my dear. Forgive me. A lady’s reputation is nothing to trifle with. I did not mean to frighten you.” He cleared his throat. “Lord Rumford said you have quite the refined palate.”
I released a relieved breath. “You have heard about the frog legs.”
“Frog legs?” Georgiana’s nose scrunched.
“Yes!” Captain Bromley chuckled. “Your sister-in-law was the only young lady at Lord Rumford’s supper table who did not turn up her nose at the fare. Miss Kent, I do hope you will find my culinary selections this weekend just as delectable.”
“I am sure I will. Thank you.”
“Please enjoy yourself.” He gestured toward a gazebo, where an assortment of food was laid on a table.
I excused myself, leaving Henry and Georgiana to continue the conversation, and made my way to the table, where I hoped to find no frog legs. Thankfully, there were none, but I did find someone.
Amelia.
She was selecting a few slices of cheese and grapes. She looked up when I approached but didn’t speak.
“Did you receive my letter?” I asked tentatively.
She nodded, but her expression gave nothing away.
I had hoped my letter would soften her feelings toward me, but perhaps she was still angry. She would be justified in her feelings, of course, but perhaps I could bring her some measure of comfort by offering her a verbal apology.
“Amelia, I amtrulysorry.”
“You need not continue, Miss Kent,” a male voice said behind me.
I whipped around to find Amelia’s brother, Mr. Atherton. Oh dear. I’d expected it to be difficult to face Amelia, but I had not planned on facing her brother too.
“You see, forgiveness would be quite impossible seeing as you have nothing to apologize for.”
Amelia gave me a sheepish look. “Frederick is right. You have no need to apologize for love.”
“I don’t?”
She shook her head. “You can hardly help who you fall in love with. I even suspected as much the day of our picnic. The way he followed you to the river, and when he returned, he was very put out of countenance. He gave Ollie quiet a tongue lashing on your behalf. Like a knight in shining armor, he defended your honor.”
Mr. Atherton tucked his bespoke walking stick under his arm. “I think I will leave you ladies to converse. If you will excuse me.”
“Happily, brother,” Amelia said, and with a tip of his hat, he strode away. Amelia looked at me again, her eyes soft and sad. She opened her mouth to say something, but a gentleman walked into the gazebo where we stood.
“Perhaps we can explore the garden and speak privately?” I pointed to the far corner of the garden where fewer people meandered, and she nodded.
A few moments passed as we walked with nothing to fill the silence but the swishing of our skirts. I didn’t know what to say—I hardly knew what to think—so I waited.
“I was embarrassed,” Amelia admitted. “You wanted to marry for love, and I wished to avoid it. In the beginning, I loved that dichotomy of our friendship, but when you found love with the very man I had set out to entangle . . . Well, I feared you would think very poorly of me.”
I shook my head. “I promise I did not.”
“And I will admit, I was hurt that you didn’t tell me about your feelings for Lord Jennings. I asked you as much at the picnic, but you didn’t confide in me.”
“I did not know my own feelings then,” I said. “But I should have told you when you came to visit me after my illness. I am sorry I didn’t.”
“Yes, I know. You spelled it all out rather poetically in your treatise.”
I laughed a little. “I confess my letter lacked brevity. But I wanted you to know that I didn’t mean to use our friendship to my advantage.”
“I know you are not Rose,” she said quietly, “but when I found you in Lord Jennings’s arms, it took me back to the time when I discovered Rose’s feelings for Mr. Wheaton.”
