“Or,” Amelia said confidently, “the letters never had to be delivered. Because they originated in your own house. In your own room, I would imagine.”
“You do not know what you are talking about. This is ridiculous. Ellen—you said you needed your maid to sew a torn flounce. Let us go. This conversation is clearly pointless.” Edith tossed a derisive look to Amelia. “And I would not want to sully my reputation by continuing on in our current company.”
Edith grasped Miss Brooks’s elbow and pulled her toward the door. But it opened when they were still several feet from it.
A woman—a very familiar-looking woman—stepped through. “Annie told me you were looking for me, miss. Something about a torn flounce? I have brought my sewing—”
“You,” Amelia said, her eyes narrowing in recognition. “You are the woman who bumped into me at the ball. Who told me that Edward—my husband—is a scoundrel. Only you are... you are her maid?” Her gaze swung between Miss Brooks and the woman. The maid. Good heavens, she had been threatened by a maid.
A maid whose eyes had grown to the size of saucers.
“Go,” Miss Brooks hissed. “You idiot girl, go!”
The maid turned on her heel and practically ran from the room.
Amelia could have laughed, but she was too angry. “You cannot possibly refute it any longer. Why, Edith? Why did you feel it necessary to ruin me so? What have I ever done to you?”
Any pretense Edith still maintained dropped like the final note in a concerto. Her mouth twisted, and her eyes narrowed. “Why?Whyever would I want to be rid of a brat of a sister like you?” She laughed—a harsh, grating sound. “It was always, ‘Amelia, this. Amelia, that. Amelia is so talented. Amelia looks so very much like Mother. Amelia will be such a beauty.’ But never anything about myself. Me, who has been the picture of perfection for years. But Papa would not even notice me. Even when I camethisclose to securing marriage to Lord Berkeley, he hardly spared me a thought. Butyou. He forced Lord Norwich to marry you so you would not be touched by scandal. He asked after you nearly daily. Well. After this scandal, he will want nothing to do with you. He will finally see you as you really are—unimportant, unremarkable, and unnecessary.”
Amelia’s mouth gaped open. She struggled to put words to thoughts. Her sister hated her. Truly loathed her in a way Amelia could not comprehend. “I did not know, Edith,” she stammered. “No one ever spoke those things to me.”
Edith made a sound between a hiss and a scoff. “As if I would believe that. You have always been out to supersede me. Even when you were still a girl and you made Freddie fall in love with you.”
“The steward’s son?”
“Yes,” Edith spat. “You went and saved that little boy from the ruins, and suddenly Freddie did not care one whit about me. He fawned over you, and you did not even care. But I have fixed everything. You are no longer everyone’s favorite. Thanks to Ellen, you will be disgraced, and even father won’t deign to care for you. I will finally have my place of importance in this family.”
“That is quite enough.”
A new voice had joined the argument, cutting across Edith’s harsh words. All three women turned to take in Papa’s commanding form as he stepped into the library.
And behind him was Edward.
Chapter Forty-One
Edward stepped around His Grace,moving to Amelia’s side. It had been necessary to wait outside the doors to the library, so that His Grace could hear about his eldest daughter’s hand in the current mess.
But it had been painful, to say the least.
He reached Amelia, capturing her gaze with his as he placed his hand on the small of her back. Was she all right? Had her sister’s words wounded her?
Her eyes moved between both of his, interpreting his questions. With a tightening of her jaw, she nodded. She was fine. Or would be, once this was all finished.
“Edith, to say I am appalled would be an understatement. The things I have just heard—”
“Papa,” Lady Edith interrupted, her doe eyes blinking at him. “I do not know—”
The duke raised a hand, silencing his daughter’s pointless excuses. The man had heard everything Edward had. And it had been more than enough to know that his eldest daughter had been viciously seeking to ruin his youngest. For a moment, Edward felt for the man. It was a rotten situation for a father to be in.
But for the sake of his wife, Edward couldn’t care less how harsh His Grace chose to be with Lady Edith.
“As I said, that is quite enough. We will speak of this later, but for now, you will return to your chambers. Immediately.”
“But, the guests—”
“Henrietta and myself will see to our guests. Do not test me, Edith. I have clearly given you too much freedom, and I will not make that mistake again. Do not make me plan a stricter punishment for your wrongdoings.” His eyes flashed as he spoke, and Lady Edith shrunk away slightly.
“Yes, Papa,” she said, sinking into a curtsy. Her posturing was subservient, but her tone was anything but. Haughty frustration colored each word. She turned to go.
