“He is, isn’t he.” Lucy looked at James and smiled.
“You are so lucky, Lucy,” Amelia said with a hint of annoyance. “And that you practically just fell into having a child, the way that you did. If only we all could be so blessed.”
“Oh…” Lucy squirmed. “I suppose you might see it that way. But I am certain that having a child of your own will be just as rewarding. And surely, not too far away.”
“Maybe…” Amelia pouted.
“Do not pout, dear,” Lucy’s stepmother corrected her daughter. “And do not look so glum. Yes, Lucy has a child now, but it is not her own.”
Lucy gritted her teeth when she heard that, but she chose to say nothing.
“When you have a child, it will be a part of you,” her stepmother continued to Amelia. “Which will be far more rewarding…” She looked pointedly at Lucy. “And I should know.”
“One day in the near future, I am sure,” Lucy said, forcing down her anger, just as she forced her smile.
“Sooner than you think,” her stepmother said as she shared a knowing look with her daughter.
“What does that mean?” Lucy asked.
“Oh, did we not say…” Her stepmother’s smile grew such that one would think she had won some sort of great victory. “Amelia is engaged.”
“What?” Lucy cried. “Truly!” She beamed, and it was real, because she was truly happy for her stepsister. “Amelia, why did you not tell me?”
“You did not ask,” Amelia said simply.
Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She saw now why her stepmother and stepsister had asked to visit her. Not because they wished to reconnect. Not because they wished to develop a relationship finally. But so that they could brag about Amelia’s engagement.
Do they really think that I will be upset? As if this is somehow a threat to me?
Lucy shook her head to herself, just as a slight smile touched her lips. Despite all that had happened to her of late, she understood now just how much she had changed since her marriage. Her stepmother was so desperate to get the best of her, while Lucy simply did not care.
“I am so happy for you, Amelia.” She reached out and took Amelia’s hands. “Truly, I just know you will make a wonderful wife.”
“I will,” she beamed proudly.
“So, tell me, who is the lucky man who has stolen your heart?”
Her stepmother smirked as she sat herself up. “Lord Jonathan Barrington, the Viscount of Wembley.”
It took Lucy a second to understand why that name sent a shiver through her spine. There was something familiar about it… a name she had heard before but could not remember where… just as she had no idea why it brought such feelings of dread.
She bit into her lip, she cast her mind back, she thought hard, and that was when it hit her.
Her eyes widened and she gasped. “No!”
“We met just two weeks ago,” Amelia explained with a sense of clear pride. “At a garden party. As he tells it, he saw me across the garden, time slowed when he met my eyes, and he knew in that instant that he would make me his wife. Is that not romantic?”
Lucy had met Lord Wembley only the one time, but it was enough for her to know that there was nothing romantic about the man who now called Amelia his fiancé. Her blood turnedcold, the sun outside dipped behind a cloud, and it was all she could do not to empty the contents of her stomach.
Romantic? Lord Wembley does not know the meaning of the word! He is repugnant. He is repulsive. He is also cruel and wicked. Why, he is the very reason I was forced to marry in the first place!
The urge to dismiss Lord Wembley outright grew inside Lucy like a fire. She wanted to warn her stepsister. She wanted to beg that she not go through with this union. Yes, her and Amelia might have never truly gotten along, but Lucy bore her no ill will. Just as she wanted what was best for her.
“Lord Wembley…” She spoke carefully, desperate to keep her emotions at bay. “Yes, I have met him once before.”
“You have?” her stepmother asked as if surprised, even if Lucy was certain she knew the details.
“Just the once,” Lucy said. “At the charity patronage where His Grace asked to marry me. We spoke for a few minutes.”
