Instead, it was ten days in the company of Amelia that did it. It seemed she brought light to both their lives.
“Yes,” Lizzie said, watching him carefully. “I realize I have been reticent.”
He nodded. “You have, though I never judged you for that.”
“Of course you didn’t. You’re Hugh.” She exchanged a look with Amelia like that was some kind of private joke between them, and his wife smiled in return. “But I also realize how much it worries you that I will not go. So…” She drew a long breath. “I think Iwillaccompany you.”
Amelia rushed forward and hugged his sister as she gushed, “Oh, that is wonderful, darling! I’m so pleased that you’ll come with us. We’ll have such a time together.”
Hugh saw Lizzie’s hesitance, but also her determination to overcome her fears. She had so much more strength than she believed. He could only hope she’d one day see it.
“I will go and start the arrangements,” Amelia said, “and send word ahead of us so that your chamber in London is prepared.” She glanced at the siblings with a bright smile. “I’m so very happy.”
She darted from the room, calling out for Masters as her voice faded down the hallway. Hugh smiled at Lizzie now that they were alone.
“Areyouhappy?” he asked. “You aren’t just doing this to please Amelia or to please me, are you?”
Lizzie sighed. “Wanting to please Amelia has become a very large drive for me.”
It was the same for him, though perhaps in very different ways. “But?”
“But I know it’s time,” Lizzie said with a shrug. “And Amelia said some things that helped me see that I cannot live my life in fear, can I?”
“No, I would not like to see you do that,” he said. “She says you told her about…about Walters.”
Lizzie dropped her gaze before she nodded slowly. “I did. I hope you aren’t angry. I just feel so close to her, and it was so nice to be able to tell a friend…a sister. Especially since she was so kind about it.”
“I could never be angry with you about it, Lizzie. As Amelia said to me earlier, it is your story to tell or not tell as you see fit. That you trust and like my wife enough to share it warms my heart. It makes me think that our family could be stronger than ever now that Amelia is in it.”
Lizzie nodded swiftly. “Oh yes, I feel the same way. I adore her, Hugh. And not just because she is kind and funny and so very smart. I like her because of what I see in you when you’re together.”
“And what is that?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Lizzie paced the room. “It’s almost like a weight gets lifted from you when she comes into your orbit. You smile more and you watch her like she’s the most important thing in the world. You’re…happy.”
He bent his head. That was the most apt description she could have said to describe how he felt when he looked at Amelia. “Iamhappy,” he said. “I have much work to do. I have…things to tell her that may mar our happiness, but it must be done. It must be.”
“Things?” Lizzie asked with concern. “Such as?”
He patted her hand. “Nothing to trouble yourself over, I promise. But I do want to ask you one thing.”
She nodded. “Anything in the world, you know that.”
“Yes, I do. When you told Amelia about Walters, you didn’t tell her his name.”
Lizzie tensed. “No. I hate to say it. It’s like poison on my lips.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, so sorry. But will you…will you not tell her?”
She wrinkled her brow. “Wh-why?”
He sighed. If he said the truth to Lizzie, it would hurt her almost as much as it would hurt Amelia. And he owed his wife the truth first, at any rate. “I’ll explain another time. For now, please just trust that it will be better if I tell her. I’ll do it once we’re settled back in London. I have so much to say once that day comes.”
Lizzie seemed to consider the request for a moment, but then she nodded. “Of course, Hugh. If you think it would be better, I leave it to you to tell her whatever you think is important. I don’t pretend to understand, but I trust you.”
He flinched. Trust him? She’d done that and he had failed her. He was beginning to think Amelia might trust him, too, and he was going to have to tell her about all the lies. Ones that would tear her apart and maybe pull them away from each other in the process.
But he owed her the truth. About his heart, about his past, and about everything he had withheld in an attempt to save himself. And once all those things were on the table, then at least he would know he was the kind of man she deserved.
