“It makes you feel as though you’re on top of the world,” Mr. Burton said as they started heading toward it. After climbing a long flight of stairs, they stepped out onto a platform with a railing from which they could see far and wide. “Look,” he added, pointing toward the horizon. “There is London in the distance.”
“I see it,” Amelia said. She stared out over the landscape below. Out there, in that cluster of minuscule buildings, was Coventry. She couldn’t help but wonder what he might be doing—what sort of responsibility kept him so busy he had no time for her until the following week.
“I have not been able to stop myself from wondering about what you have been busying yourself with these past few days,” Mr. Lowell said. He’d come to stand beside her. Juliette stood on Amelia’s other side, between her and Mr. Burton. Mr. Lowell leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The truth is you have captivated my awareness so acutely I can hardly concentrate on anything else.”
She should at the very least have felt a faint flutter in her chest. Had it been Coventry who’d spoken such words, her heart would have pounded. But with Mr. Lowell, as attentive and charming as he was, she felt absolutely nothing. The same could be said of Mr. Burton or any other man who wasn’thim—the center of her own private imaginings.
“You flatter me,” she told Mr. Lowell politely since he deserved nothing less than respect. “The fact is I have purchased a building on the edge of St. Giles—the old house at the end of High Street. My intention is to bring it back to life and turn it into a school for the less fortunate children in the area.”
Mr. Lowell’s eyes widened. His lips parted as though he wished to say something but couldn’t quite think of the right words.
Mr. Burton came to his rescue. “What a marvelous idea,” he said. “The City could do with some quality education for the lower classes.”
“I appreciate you saying so,” Amelia told him with genuine feeling. “It won’t be easy, but I think the reward will be worth it.”
“Your expense must be quite significant,” Mr. Lowell said once he’d gotten over his initial shock.
Amelia nodded. “More so than I would have imagined.”
“You’re doing an incredible thing, though,” Juliette said, offering her support. “I just hope I’ll be able to leave an equally significant mark on the world one day.”
A significant mark on the world. A legacy.
Amelia hadn’t thought of it in those terms before, but she supposed it would be if everything worked out according to plan. “I intend to fund it with charitable fund-raising events and donations. It’s the only chance I have of ensuring costs get covered since I’ve no plan to charge the students.”
“Well then,” Mr. Burton said. He met her gaze with that pleasant smile of his. “Allow me to offer five hundred pounds to your cause.”
“Consider that one thousand with my five hundred added to it,” Mr. Lowell said with a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes.
Amelia could scarcely believe what they’d said. Her lungs expanded on a rush of air as she stared at each of them in turn. “Gentlemen, you are far too generous.”
They chuckled while taking a last look at the view. “Indeed, we are more than happy to help,” Mr. Burton muttered.
He drew her aside when they made their way back to the carriage after enjoying a few refreshments down by the lake. “May I invite you for a walk in the park tomorrow, my lady?”
With no other plans and the certainty that Mr. Burton would prove a better distraction from her yearning for Coventry than remaining at home with her sister and Lady Everly was likely to do, Amelia agreed to the outing without hesitation. She was quickly rewarded with a happy grin in return. It didn’t do much to her insides, but it did make her feel wanted in a way that Coventry had not yet managed to do.
Three days. That was how long it had been since he’d last seen her.
“So I will inform Mr. Stevenson that you would like to invest another thousand pounds in his work on the Stockton and Darlington railway?” Thomas’s secretary, Mr. Bryant, said. He made a note on a piece of paper.
Thomas nodded. “Yes.” It would likely be years before the route would be ready since opposition was hampering the progress. Already, the bill presented to parliament requesting the rail pass through the Earl of Eldon’s estate and one of the Earl of Darlington’s fox coverts had been defeated by thirteen votes. A new bill would be presented soon with the hope that Viscount Barrington might be more agreeable. Until then, Thomas intended to continue supporting the venture since Mr. Stevenson’s invention of the steam locomotive had already proved the man’s ability to accomplish his goals.
“Will there be anything else?” Mr. Bryant asked.
“Not today. Thank you.” Thomas waited for Mr. Bryant to leave the room and close the door behind him. He then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Three days.
Christ. He’d hardly slept at all. Doing so had been almost impossible when he continued to be assailed by images of Lady Amelia. Even now he envisioned her face, that laughing smile and those sparkling eyes framed by long dark lashes. When she was happy, that was.
But he now knew what she looked like when she was angry, as well. He had no regrets about being the cause of such impassioned emotion. How could he be when her fury had only served to enhance her beauty? Since seeing her thus, he’d discovered new aspects to her—a persistence unlike any he’d ever encountered before. She would not be held back by any means, and yet, he sensed the confidence with which she attacked this project of hers was hiding a different kind of insecurity—the sort that made her feel unworthy of her position.
Pondering this, he wondered if she realized how wrong she was to concern herself about that. Granted, there were people who took pleasure in being unnecessarily cruel and who would not readily accept her because of her background. But her beauty and kindness and her vivacious approach to life in general was such that Thomas had to admit she was without a doubt the most stunning woman he’d ever encountered.
With that thought came another, of her lying naked on his bed with her hair spread out around her in silky waves of chestnut perfection. He imagined a welcoming smile and that same seductive look she’d given him on Tuesday when they’d visited the house together. Curling his fingers against the armrest of his chair, he gripped the wood and imagined his hands caressing her body. Would she sigh or whimper or moan? He’d no idea and never would since such a fantasy could not be brought to life. Not unless he married her. Which he wouldn’t.
Damn!
