Amelia cleared her throat. “Emmeline, this is what I was trying to tell you. His Grace is the reason I missed work.”
Emmeline’s eyes went very wide. “I… What?”
Oh, bother. How to explain it?
While Amelia was fumbling for an explanation, any explanation that did not make her look like Stephen’s mistress—what a thought—Letitia spoke up.
“We have discovered a connection between Amelia’s family and our own,” she said sweetly. “We simply insisted that Amelia and her sisters come to stay with us, and in our overzealousness, we did not give her the chance to let you know that she would not be coming for work. The fault is ours.”
That still sounds like abduction,Amelia thought, biting back a sigh.
Emmeline, however, did not seem to put two and two together. She wrung her hands almost absently, her beady blue eyes darting from Stephen to Letitia to Amelia and then back.
“A… connection?” she managed.
“A friend in common,” Letitia clarified.
Emmeline gulped audibly. “Well… I… I did not know.”
Stephen fixed her with a long, withering look.
Emmeline slowly but surely retreated into herself, her shoulders coming up to meet her ears as if she were a tortoise shuffling back into its shell.
“I came here to spend a great deal of money, Mrs. Potts,” Stephen murmured, his voice almost thoughtful. Somehow, there was still a hint of menace in it. Emmeline clearly heard it, paling further. “Miss Holt wished to come here to bring that business to you and to seeyou. Imagine my shock at steppingthrough the door just now and hearing you berate and scold our dear friend in such a manner. And on the shop floor, where any ordinary customer could walk in and see. For shame, Mrs. Potts.”
“I suppose I was overly harsh,” Emmeline said. “But Iwasconcerned. I had no idea what had happened to her.”
“I ought to have contacted you earlier, Emmeline,” Amelia ventured, offering what she hoped was an apologetic smile.
Emmeline did not relax. Instead, she watched Stephen prowl around, eyeing the shelves and running his fingers over the ribbons. Amelia had always thought their shop was fairly large, but with Stephen here, his head too close to the ceiling, it suddenly looked remarkably small.
“If I were you, I’d watch my tongue in the future, Mrs. Potts,” he warned, not even bothering to glance at her now. “I’m sure an apology is in order.”
No,Amelia wanted to scream.
“It is not necessary,” she piped up. “I am to blame here for not telling Emmeline of my situation.”
Emmeline shot her a quick, grateful look, clearly glad that her pride was spared.
I hope my job is spared, too,Amelia thought grimly.
Stephen shot her a long look that she could not interpret.
“As you like,” he said carelessly. “Amelia, do you see anything here you like? Fabrics, patterns, accessories, and so on? I really have no clue what ladies wear. If you don’t see what you need, we can always go to the modiste across the road. Madame Blanc, I believe.”
Emmeline reddened. Madame Blanc was a bitter rival.
“I know the fabrics and patterns that we have here,” Amelia answered, as firmly as she could. “We can get everything we need.”
He grunted, seeming to lose interest.
Letitia scuttled across the shop to where bolts of fabric were kept. She ignored the cheap, serviceable muslins that Amelia preferred for herself and went straight to the satins and silks and imported materials.
Emmeline shuffled closer, putting a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “I should not have snapped at you like that,” she mumbled. “But I did believe that something terrible had happened to you. And I… well,wecannot manage without you, as it turns out.”
“Then hire somebody else,” Stephen spoke up, making her jump. “Because Amelia is no longer working here.”
Amelia gave a squawk of panic, clutching Emmeline’s wrist. “No! That is not quite true! But I… I won’t be here for a few months. Two months, perhaps three. I know… I know this is not convenient, but there it is. And once the time is up, I want to come back, Emmeline. I really do. I like this job—I am used to it.”
