His eyes widened again. “Why? Do you also turn water into wine? Can you teach me?”
She playfully slapped him again. “I can push you into the Serpentine if you so desire to experience one,” she answered wryly.
“Ha! There’s the Amelia I know. Your friends must think you to be quite the jester.”
Amelia dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. “They might, if I had any. The only person I have is Dorothy, my… my sister,” she finally admitted.
“You’re close then? You have never really talked about her.”
“There was no need to, considering our marriage was only supposed to—” Amelia’s lips clamped shut, just in time before she gave away the entire ruse. “Supposed to be in name only,” she finished carefully. “Well, she was my best friend. Still is, despite the fact we haven’t met in years.”
“Must be difficult, considering she lives all the way in Brighton.”
“Yes, she…” Amelia went quiet again. Then, she glanced up at Gideon. “How did you know?”
It was Gideon who froze this time. He removed his top hat, and shook his hair, before carefully replacing it there. He looked quite majestic and handsome as he did so. Then, he smoothly resumed his strides. “I… Ah. I saw a correspondence to you addressed from Brighton, and put two and two together.”
“Oh,” Amelia frowned before continuing, “Well, yes, she resides in Brighton, with her husband, Lord Talley. We exchange letters now and again, but it is not as often as I’d like it to be.”
“Why haven’t you visited?”
“I…” She hesitated. She wasn’t keen on delving into her sister’s private life, and she especially didn’t want Gideon to know anything about Dorothy’s domestic situation. “As you said, it is quite difficult considering she lives all the way in Brighton. With my busy seasons, I had scarcely found the time.” Quickly turning the conversation, she added, “What of you? Do you have any…?”
“I do not.” His tone was direct. Amelia peeked up at him but his expression did not give anything away.
“Oh. Then you must’ve been left feeling quite lonely when you were younger,” she observed softly.
Gideon shifted his gaze to her and something moved in his dark eyes. “Like you wouldn’t believe,” he said quietly.
Amelia came to a stop, taken by surprise by his candid response. Without thinking, she touched his arm gently in what was intended as a comforting gesture. Gideon looked down at her hand and then back at her face. For a brief second, she glimpsed the shadow of a lonely boy lurking beneath his usual stoic facade.
Not caring as to who was around, Amelia reached out, her fingers brushing his cheek. His stubble tickled her palm and, for an instant, he seemed to soften, leaning into her touch as if starved for that simple kindness. As if he needed someone to lean on for a moment.
But then he clasped her hand. He tore it from his cheek. And then he pulled her closer to him.
Amelia knew what was going to happen before it did. She should have stopped him. Even though they were not on one of the more open paths, they were still in public and a few people had wandered by now and again. It wasn't seemly, even for a married couple, to engage in such displays out in the open.
Yet there was something about Gideon’s penchant for inappropriate behavior that excited her. A small grin even played on her lips as their mouths met.
The kiss was fleeting, yet capable of instilling the same levels of need in her as it always did. Amelia’s heart was racing by the time he pulled away. She gazed up at his smirk, blushing furiously. “I’ll take that offer of being thrown into the Serpentine if it’s still on the table,” he said breathlessly.
She rolled her eyes and walked away from him but not before she returned his smirk. He was changing her, she realized. For the better or the worse, Amelia didn’t know. But whichever one it was, Amelia was beginning to welcome it with open arms. For the first time in a long while, she was enjoying her life.
CHAPTER 21
“Ah, Lewis, old chap! To what do I owe the pleasure on this fine afternoon?”
The chipper greeting had Lewis freezing at the threshold of Gideon’s study, a frown deepening on his face and his lips parting in surprise. Gideon chuckled at the shock he’d instilled in his friend. He sprang out of his chair with a bout of energy he hadn’t felt in a long while, leaving the pile of paperwork he had been milling over abandoned on his desk, and made his way over to Lewis in two quick strides, draping an arm around his shoulder.
“Come, come,” he continued. “In fact, I daresay I have been hoping you would come by. I’ve missed your company as of late.”
Lewis allowed himself to be ushered over to the plush chaise located at the center of the study, but the look of astonishment never fell from his face. “Whoareyou?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Gideon grinned, sitting Lewis down before he made his way to the sideboard. “Whiskey?”
“Yes,” Lewis answered instantly. Then, he shook his head. “What has gotten into you, old boy? This isn’t the Gideon I know.”
“Oh, don’t be so overly dramatic!” Gideon sang. He couldn’t help himself. He had been in a superb mood for the past few days. Gideon was well aware of the reason behind his high spirits and, if Lewis stuck around long enough, he would surely figure it out as well.
