Her pacing continued.
Only an hour before, Amelia had returned from visiting Henrietta. It was all true; Papa would not allow Henrietta to be with her beau, not wanting to risk any further scandal to the family. Apparently, he had an important bill he was pushing in the House of Lords and did not want any of his fellow countrymen to see him as anything less than a paragon of dukely perfection. And so Henrietta had been informed that she was to set her sights far higher than a baronet, forbidding the connection.
Her stomach twisted in knots as she remembered the hopeless look Henrietta had given her, even while telling Amelia it was not at all Amelia’s fault; Papa had never been keen on his daughter marrying that far beneath them from the start. Yet Amelia still felt responsible. If her marriage had not created so much gossip, Papa may have been able to overlook the minor title Henrietta’s beau held. Amelia intended to do something about it.
“Amelia?”
She froze, tightly clenching her eyes against mortification at the voice comingnotfrom the study but from directly behind her. Pasting a smile on her face, she slowly turned around. Light from the front of the house illuminated his hair, creating a near halo. Would the strands feel as silky as they appeared?
She swallowed, dipping a belated curtsy.
“Lord Norwich.”
“Is something the matter?”
She forced her hands to stop their wringing but did not miss how his eyes darted from her face to them. He raised his eyebrows.
“No. No, nothing is the matter. Only, I have a favor to ask.”
To his credit, he only looked marginally surprised before sweeping his arm to the door of his book room. “Of course. Come in, and we can discuss whatever it is you need.”
Amelia hurried ahead of him, gripping her skirt to keep from further torturing her hands. As she lowered herself to a chair, she tried, yet again, to convince herself that she was not entirely out of her mind to make this request of him.
She was not particularly successful.
He did not sit behind his desk, choosing instead to take a chair beside her. The proximity made her even more tense. What was happening to her? She was supposed to be confident, calm, and composed at all times. Currently, she was none of those things. Really, she never had been with this man.
His rich, brown eyes turned on her. “What is it you need?”
A nervous laugh escaped her, and she blushed. He did not react.
“It is silly.”
“I am sure it is not. Whatever you need, you have only to ask. I am happy to oblige.”
She took a steadying breath, forcing herself to hold his gaze. “I... I need us to pretend at a happy marriage.”
Amelia watched his reaction carefully, noting the slight crease between his brows and the tightening of his already strong jaw. He was upset. Her mouth ran away from her.
“I know it is horribly presumptuous of me as our marriage has never been anything conventional—and I understand if you do not wish—that is, it is perfectly in your right to—”
“Amelia.” He reached out, as if to touch her, but pulled back at the last moment. Amelia could not decide if she was disappointed or relieved. “It is not presumptuous. I am simply curious as to why you wish to... do that.”
Some of the tension left her. “It is my sister.”
His eyebrows flew up. “Lady Edith?”
“No, no, Henrietta. She—well, it is rather a lot to explain. But in essence, due to my actions in this marriage, she is being kept from the man she loves. I believe that if we are able to remove the gossip surrounding our relationship, my father will allow her the freedom to marry whom she wants. I know it is a lot to ask, but she is my sister, and I cannot fathom keeping her from her love because of the scandal I’ve created.” She could not keep her hands from kneading together any longer.
He did not speak for several long moments, and Amelia had about given up hope when he finally opened his mouth. “That is very kind of you.”
“Thank you.” The sentiment came out more like a question.
“And you believe pretending we have a happy marriage would dispel the gossip?”
She nodded, her words dried up now that she had made her request.
He nodded once. Then again, seeming to consider something. “I am happy to oblige. But on one condition.”
