Talek didn’t reply, but just stared at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. His frown deepened in confusion, his hazel eyes creased with pain.
‘I loved Henry,’ she added lamely. ‘I was afraid the contract would damage your partnership and that he would break off his engagement to me.’
‘You still wanted to marry Henry even though you knew he had tried to cheat me?’ She saw realisation dawn on Talek’s face. ‘Dear Lord,youwere cheating me.’
‘I told Grace I was complicit in his scheme. It was the only way to ensure she would not tell you, but—’
‘But what?’
‘I lied. I knew nothing about it until she told me.’ The confession brought tears to her eyes. ‘I was desperate. We were going to be married. I thought if I told her I already knew it placed her in a dilemma whether to protect me or to inform you. She chose to protect me as long as it stopped.’
Talek hit the door behind him with the side of his fist, startling Amelia. ‘Henry is already married! I checked myself.’
‘I didn’t know he was married.’
‘So Henry was not the only one to blackmail Grace. You did too.’
‘Blackmail is an ugly word.’
‘An ugly word for an ugly deed,’ he snapped back.
Talek turned his back on her and yanked open the door. His image blurred before her eyes as tears began to fall. Her brother hesitated, battling to calm his temper as loud sobs began to rack her body. She buried her face in her hands and heard him slam the door. Amelia thought he had left, until she sensed him by her side searching for a handkerchief.
‘He took advantage of your vulnerability and played on your emotions,’ said Talek, finding the lace cloth and handing it to her.
Amelia took it in her trembling hands and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I have ruined everything for you.’
‘Henry is to blame. Not you.’
‘I thought he loved me.’ She blew her nose. Her confession had left her drained and despite everything, Talek still chose to protect her. He didn’t deserve to be parted from the woman he loved. A fresh set of tears rose up and began to fall.
‘He wanted to get his hands on your shares, Amelia,’ said Talek, offering his own handkerchief to replace her sodden one. ‘I cannot be certain of his plans, but if he asked you to marry him, he was intending to commit bigamy. Once he had control of your shares, he could outvote me on every decision.’
Amelia felt herself unravelling, bit by bit. The despair and pain of being cast aside by Henry had left her sleepless and stolen her appetite. Now Talek’s logical observation only made things worse. It all made sense to her now and she felt a fool for not realising it before. Talek waited with her until her tears dried away. Neither spoke. Finally he stood.
‘Where are you going?’ she asked, looking up expectantly.
‘To bed. It has been a troubling day.’ He smiled wearily at her. ‘I suggest you do the same. Don’t cry for Henry any more. He is not worthy of your tears.’
Her brother’s attempt at reassurance was kindly meant, but she could still see the disappointment in his eyes. Knowing she was responsible for putting it there was a heavy burden to bear.
Amelia listened to his footsteps cross the hall and climb the stairs, and wondered if he would ever truly forgive her. She helped herself to a glass of port, hoping the plum and berry notes would deaden her pain. It didn’t. A maid arrived shortly afterwards to escort her to bed. She was in no mood for sleep and spoke more sharply than she intended, sending her away with no instruction to return. Her heart was too raw. How were they to move forward from this mess?
Amelia waited for the house to fall silent, before retrieving the letter she had placed beneath her cushion. She turned it over in her hand. Henry’s familiar scrawl lined the warm, flattened envelope. It had been delivered that very afternoon, between Grace’s anxious visit and her brother’s weary return. Despite all that she had learnt about Henry, her body had responded with the same thrilling excitement it had to all of his previous love letters — and she had hated herself for it. As she read it, her common sense warned her to beware, as Henry was persuasive and she knew it would be easy to believe in him all over again. He insisted that he wasn’t really married and it was only her he wanted. Even his invitation to meet tomorrow and elope seemed more feasible than ludicrous. Henry’s words of love had once filled her head and reignited in her hope for the future. And it could again. Then Talek had returned home exhausted, haunted and feeling the loss of Grace. And she learnt that Grace had continued to protect her and take the brunt of Talek’s anger. And she felt her own act of betrayal against them both anew and with fresh eyes. Her part in it tore her up inside.
Amelia moved to the writing desk, withdrew some paper, picked up a pen and began to write. She was thoughtful and hesitant at first, but soon the words came fast and furiously,spilling forth with a passion for the one she loved most. She wrote words of love and forgiveness and arranged to meet. The second letter, to Talek, was harder to write. How do you explain to the man who had always cared and protected you that you were going to leave him without a backward glance? With no chance for him to persuade or say goodbye? It was a brutal way to depart, but it had to be done. Meeting Henry was the right thing to do. And having him by her side for the remainder of her life, was her only future and nothing, not even her brother’s forgiveness, would make her change her mind.
* * *
Amelia rose early the following morning to find Talek was already up. From his appearance, he had slept little, as she had. They exchanged a few halting words, as they breakfasted, but soon lapsed into silence. The clock on the mantel ticked away the minutes until Talek abruptly left the breakfast table. Amelia glanced at his plate. He had eaten very little again and she knew Grace’s vacant chair was the cause. She wondered how he would cope tomorrow, when there would be two vacant chairs by his side.
‘Will you be gone long?’ she called after him.
Talek paused in the doorway. ‘I have a busy day ahead of me. I need to assess the pit to establish if it is safe to reopen and I want to visit the families of the miners involved again. Later I have a meeting with my solicitor. I need to know where I stand while Henry is missing.’
‘What if he doesn’t come back?’
‘I hope he doesn’t. At the moment I’m not sure if I could stomach seeing his face again. However, I need to find out what I can do to limit any further damage by him. It is difficult and messy. I need to discuss it with someone who can give me sound advice.’
