She paled at that. “No, you can’t. Truly, Brandon, if you tell anyone about this, they’ll never let you out.”
His headache was vicious now, and he closed his eyes against the pain. “I want them dead. All of them.” Not only the women who had refused to wed him, but also Paul Fraser and Cain Sinclair, who had left him for dead. Because of them, he’d been locked away in this asylum.
“Brandon, promise me you won’t do anything rash,” Sarah urged, but in her voice, he heard the fear.
He smiled at that. For she ought to be afraid.
TWO WEEKS LATER
“How are you?” Victoria asked. “Have you settled in to your married life?” Her sister sent a warm smile, but Amelia found it difficultto return it. She was trying hard not to think of Margaret and Mr. Sinclair, who were still missing.
“I’m well enough,” she managed to say with false brightness. The truth was, the earl had buried himself in work. He’d hardly spoken to her in the past few weeks, and it seemed that he was doing everything in his power to avoid her. Not once had he shared her bed since their wedding night.
It made little sense. He had given her a precious gift, and the feeling of being joined together was wonderful. His touch had awakened a part of her that she’d never known existed.Nowshe understood the secret smiles Juliette and Victoria had shared when they had spoken about their husbands.
But she didn’t know if David had enjoyed their night. Although he had found his own release, he’d asked her to leave. She’d felt so vulnerable, wondering if she’d done something to displease him. And since that night, he’d all but abandoned her.
He certainly wasn’t aware that she’d moved her belongings into a small bedroom, two doors down from his. Amelia wasn’t foolish enough to take his wife’s former bedchamber—that would have been too much. But neither did she want him placing her in the servants’ quarters. She knew that he was attempting to distance himself from her, but she would no longer retreat.
Now she was left to wonder what she should do next. In the morning, they were leaving for Castledon, his estate near Yorkshire, to meet his daughter. The very thought made Amelia’s courage falter. She knew nothing about children and was uncertain of this role. While she was capable of training the girl in proper etiquette, everything about her marriage had turned out wrong, thus far. It was impossible to win the heart of a man who was hardly there during the day.
“What have you decided to do about Aphrodite’s Unmentionables, now that the deliveries have stopped?” Amelia asked.
Victoria shook her head, as if she didn’t know the answer. “I thought we would simply discontinue the undergarments. Now, the demand is so great, Madame Benedict has put a terribly high price upon them.” She eyed Amelia, adding, “I am torn about what to do. If we stop making the garments, the MacKinloch crofters will lose their income. But there is too much risk of discovery.”
Amelia knew that. And yet, she didn’t want to stop their business. “Lady Sarah is gone, so we needn’t worry about her any longer.” In the past few weeks, there had been no sign of the young woman.
“I hope that is true, though I don’t think you should have given her anything,” Victoria said.
“I believed her when she said she didn’t want to harm our family. She was simply desperate.”
“If we discontinue our business,” Victoria suggested, “and she breaks her word, at least we can deny the accusations.”
Although her sister was right, Amelia didn’t want to end Aphrodite’s Unmentionables. “Perhaps we could hire one of the MacKinlochs to make the deliveries. Or what about Mother?” she suggested. “Could she take command of the business?”
Victoria shook her head. “Our father would forbid it. He’s already angry with her for taking part in it.” Her sister sighed and finally voiced her own concerns, “Both of them are also still trying to find Margaret. While I want to hope that she’s still alive—” She took a breath to steady herself, blinking back tears.
“I know,” Amelia echoed. “It’s been too long. They should have been found by now.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Victoria stood and began pacing. “Mr. Sinclair knows the countryside well. I can’t imagine him ever being lost.”
A strange thought occurred to Amelia, one she’d not considered before. “What if they aren’t lost? What if they ran away together?”
Victoria gaped at her. “But he’s a penniless Highlander.”
“A Highlander who adores her. Margaret likes him, too, though she’d never admit it.” Lowering her voice, Amelia added, “It wouldn’t surprise me if our sister”—she paused a moment, choosing her words carefully—“if Margaret had an affair with him.”
“She would die first.” Victoria shook her head. “No, she would not stay with him willingly.”
Even so, Amelia wasn’t certain. “It doesn’t make sense that they weren’t found. Their coach was in an accident, but neither of them was there.” If her sister had run away with the Highlander, then that was the only explanation she could think of.
“They were searching foryou,” Victoria reminded her. “Something must have gone terribly wrong.”
Amelia nodded, but inwardly, her unrest heightened. She didn’t want to imagine Margaret dead, but after this long, the burden of worry wouldn’t lift.
“Let’s not speak of it any more,” her sister continued. “We will keep hoping for the best until we learn what’s happened.” To change the subject, she asked, “Tell me, does the earl make you happy? Are you glad you married him?”
Amelia didn’t know how to answer that. She had been married for over two weeks, and although her husband had shared her bed once, it was like being wedded to a stranger. He had claimed they would remain friends, but it didn’t seem he wanted to be with her at all.
