He folded his arms. “Very well,Your Grace.”
He stared at her, unblinking, and she shifted with growing discomfort. What had Hugh said to her all those weeks ago? That Aaron was not a good person? She’d never pressed him on that topic since. At first because she had been determined not to believe him. Then because she had been separated from Walters. There had seemed no point to finding out why her husband didn’t like him when she was trying to make the best of the situation.
Right now she wished she knew. Wished she’d pressed.
“You look well,” she said, glancing past him up toward the hill where Charlotte and Meg were sitting with Lizzie. If she needed help, would they hear her cry? And why did she feel she needed to know that answer all of a sudden?
He looked down at himself and his lips thinned. “I am a survivor. It is how I am made.” She frowned at that odd description, and the frown deepened when he stepped closer. The hard edge left his face and voice, and the boyishness returned, like it was a lever he could turn off and on. “You must be miserable.”
Amelia was once again put off by his familiarity and drive to corner her into speaking ill of Hugh. Perhaps he meant it as a comfort, perhaps he was unhappy so he wanted to commiserate. But she had no desire to participate. Not right now when she was able to admit to herself that she had fallen in love with her husband.
“No,” she said, trying to make her tone gentle but firm. “I’m not. Of course, our beginning was not ideal, but there is no misery. If you have worried about me during the time I was away, you needn’t trouble yourself further on that score.”
His eyebrows lifted. “I see.” Once again boyishness was replaced by darker things. Anger. Rage. But not pain. “Does that mean you never loved me at all,Amelia?” He emphasized her given name, and it suddenly felt like a slur he hurled.
She took a step away from him. “It will only hurt us both to talk about this, Mr. Walters.” His cheek twitched and she sighed. “Aaron. Whatever was in our past, it is over now. We must adapt and move forward. I’m certain there is much happiness to come for us both. Now I think I should go. Good day.”
She turned to walk away, but to her shock, he caught her arm. His fingers dug into her flesh as he pivoted her back, dragging her closer.
“He will convince you he cares for you,” he hissed, spittle flying from his mouth. “But he will discard you.Thatis his game. Be intelligent enough not to fall for it.”
Amelia jerked her arm away and lifted her hand to rub the red marks he had left on the flesh. “You forget yourself, sir,” she said. “Good day.”
She marched away, and this time he allowed her retreat, but tears had leapt to her eyes at his words. They were so cold, so cruel and…and they reflected her own fears. What if Hugh’s attention toward herwassomething that was fleeting? He had not declared any deeper feeling toward her, never even hinted at it. So even if she felt as she did, in the end there might be no future.
She started up the hill toward the others, but as she did, she saw Lizzie standing a few feet in front of her. She had been so upset by her encounter with Aaron, she hadn’t even noticed Lizzie coming down.
Now she stared at Lizzie’s face. It was pale, her lips trembling and her hands shaking at her sides as she gazed straight ahead. Amelia’s stomach dropped. She hoped Lizzie had not seen her interaction with Aaron and misread the situation. It would be so difficult to explain to the girl, and Hugh would certainly not be happy if he knew she’d met with her former fiancé.
“Lizzie,” she said as she got closer. “I didn’t see you coming.”
Lizzie never looked at her, just continued to stare at where Amelia and Aaron had been talking. Amelia glanced over her shoulder, but Aaron had left.
“Lizzie?” she repeated. “What is it?”
Lizzie finally looked at her, and her eyes were wide and wild. Tears gathered in her eyes. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you talk to him?”
Amelia swallowed hard and tried to remain calm in the face of Lizzie’s deep upset. “Whatever you think you saw, it isn’t what you believe,” she began, hoping to convince her sister-in-law before the moment escalated into something worse.
“Hugh said you didn’t know who he was,” Lizzie said, seemingly oblivious to Amelia’s words. “He said not to tell you his name. But you know it, obviously you know it.”
Amelia blinked as her terror was replaced by confusion. “I-I don’t understand, Lizzie. What are you talking about?”
Lizzie caught Amelia’s hands, and the tears that had sparkled in her eyes began to stream down her cheeks. “That is the man who seduced me,” she choked out.
Amelia’s mouth dropped open in shock. “What? No, you must be mistaken. Perhaps he only looked like that other man.”
“I would know Aaron Walters from a mile away,” Lizzie sobbed. “He took my innocence and I never wanted to see him again.”
Chapter Twenty
Hugh lifted a glass and saluted Diana and Lucas as they sat in their parlor together. Once they’d all taken a sip, Diana smiled at him. A knowing smile.
“You seem very happy,” she said with a sly look toward Lucas.
Hugh set his own drink aside with a shake of his head. “Ah, am I that obvious? Yes, I am happy. Not content, but happy.”
“Not content?” Lucas repeated. “Why is that?”
