Chapter 7
Christmas Day
Amelia spent a restless night as her mind churned through the events of the last few days and every conversation she had had with Adam Wellworth. In the cold dawn, she realised she had jumped to conclusions about him. She admitted to herself that in his position, she might have behaved exactly as Adam had done. To blame him for his deception was so unjust of her.
She should not blame her parents for their desperate money-hunger, but that was a little more difficult to forgive.
She reproached herself for her uncharitable behaviour into the early hours of the morning. Finally, exhausted, she slept.
***
Midday was approaching by the time Amelia compelled her weary body downstairs to greet her aunt in her bedchamber, where she spent most mornings.
“How are you feeling today?” her great-aunt asked. “Any revelations in the night?”
What a perceptive woman Aunt Lavinia was. “I feel I’ve come to understand Major Wellworth’s actions.”
“I’m pleased to hear it. He is a good man, from all I can tell.”
“Your support of him counts for a great deal, Aunt Lavinia.”
“And he also has the Colonel’s good opinion, I might add.”
Yes, they were right. It behoved her to make amends.
Shortly after luncheon, a rap sounded at the front door, followed by voices, and Symes announced that Major Wellworth had arrived and requested an audience with them.
“Show him into the parlour, Symes. We shall be with him shortly,” Aunt Lavinia said.
They joined the Major. Dark shadows underscored his eyes, evidence that he had spent as sleepless a night as Amelia. He faced her, his shoulders set in a stiff line, as though he fronted a court martial and expected a hanging judgement.
Aunt Lavinia greeted him cordially, then said to Amelia, “I shall leave it to you to explain yourself to the Major. You have about ten minutes while I reply to some correspondence, then we must attend the Christmas service.”
Guilt weighed heavy like a ship’s ballast in the tempest that raged in Amelia’s stomach. She turned to Adam. “I owe you an apology for my behaviour. I should never have made comment about your age and infirmity. It was rude and unladylike. I’ve concluded that had I been in the same situation of being roundly disparaged, I would not have admitted I was the so-named person.”
Adam’s shoulders sagged, and for the first time since his arrival a smile tugged his lips out of their set line. In four brisk strides, he crossed the room to take her hand in his. “You have forgiven me for my cowardly deception?”
“That is not how I view your actions, but I can forgive you ... if you overlook my behaviour?”
He squeezed her hand and with emotion, said, “There is nothing to overlook.”
She sighed with relief.
His eyes were lit by some inner glow. “So, Miss Fortescue, have I overcome your conception of me as an old man? I confess to turning thirty on New Year’s Day. Not so old, I would have thought, although much older than your twenty years. As for being maimed—that is true. A musket ball broke my thigh bone and the sawbones had to do some digging to get it out. My leg still gives me hell, but it’s on the mend. Pardon my language.”
Amelia’s cheeks flamed. He remembered everything she had said. “I was wrong, and I apologise for the insulting way in which I spoke of you. It was unworthy of me. You were injured in a noble cause.”
“You are completely forgiven.” He raised her hand to his lips.
Her heart melted at his tender touch. “What must you think of me … of my parents … of us?”
“That you have quite typical parents who want a husband for their daughter. And need a financial boost for their reserves.”
“I’m glad you can see their behaviour in such an understanding way.”
“I do, and I wish you, and your great-aunt, would return with me to Wellworth Park to attend the New Year’s Eve ball.”
Aunt Lavinia swept into the room. “Did I hear an invitation to a ball? I, for one, would love to attend, but I shall leave it to Amelia to decide.”
