Page 38 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

“The only thing I demand is that it be austere. I dinnae want a single ribbon, bow, or ruffle on it.” Amalie pinned her gaze on her Aunt Louisa, who winced. “Ye can even have it made in black tae show I am in mourning. But if it arrives with even the smallest of flowers, I will take scissors tae the damn thing.”

She ignored the gasps of protest filling the room as she uttered a harsher, yet softer, curse beneath her breath and stalked toward the salon door. With a vicious tug, she pulled the doors open, then suddenly stopped as an idea popped into her head. She’d agreed to welcome Valeran into her rooms on their wedding night with the understanding he wouldn’t seduce her. She didn’t trust him to hold up his end of their bargain, and she wasn’t about to make things easy for him if he broke his word. Wheeling about on her heel, she faced the women who were staring at her in shock and dismay.

“I just thought of something I must have on my wedding dress or I will send the bloody thing back tae Madame DuBois in pieces. I want fifty pearl-shaped buttons closing the back of the dress.”

“Fifty,” her Aunt Louisa exclaimed in a baffled voice.

“Nae, fifty-five. The small, round kind that slip through a small loop of material,” she said with angry satisfaction. “In fact if Madame Dubois can manage more than that, then have her do it. And I want long sleeves that have at least ten tae fifteen of the same kind of pearl buttons on each sleeve as well.”

“But Amalie—” Her mother stopped her protest beneath Amalie’s hard look. However, it didn’t prevent Aunt Matilda from speaking up.

“That will make the gown extremely hard tae put on and take off, lass,” Matilda Stewart said, with puzzlement.

“Exactly,” she said with a sharp bob of her head.

If the Earl of Sommerville thought she was going to make it easy for him to enter her bed, he was wrong. If he decided to break his promise not to seduce her on their wedding night, the man was in for a surprise. He wouldn’t find her wedding gown as easy to remove as he had her nightgown. With a bitter smile of satisfaction, she ignored the looks of dismay and astonishment on the faces of her mother and aunts before whirling around once more and stalking out of the salon.

§ § §

The moment Amalie strode out of the room, Patience pressed her fingers into her brow. Was she doing the right thing? It was clear Amalie didn’t want to marry Val, but everything the an dara sealladh had shown her said the couple were meant for each other.

“Are you sure about this, Patience?” her sister-in-law, Helen, asked with obvious concern.

The instant Patience’s fingers slid down the side of her cheek, she winced. The dry skin of her scarred flesh against her palm reminded her that the an dara sealladh could be accurate one moment and misleading in the next. With a shake of her head, she swallowed hard.

“I thought I was, but now I’m not so certain.”

“Well, the only feelings my niece appears to have for Val is a healthy dose of antipathy,” Constance interjected with a bemused shake of her head. “Maybe you and Jamie were wrong, Patience. But if the two of you have seen variations of the same thing…”

“Perhaps she’s simply afraid he won’t come to love her,” Helen said quietly. “We all know what that uncertainty feels like. It’s not pleasant.”

Grateful for the reminder, Patience reached out to squeeze the hand of the woman sitting beside her. She was all too aware of how her eldest brother’s inability to express his emotions to Helen had almost ended in tragedy. Helen had once said she should have read Sebastian’s letters after she’d left Melton House for a short time. But Patience had told her doing so wouldn’t have stopped Templeton from kidnapping her.

“For heaven’s sake. The lot of you are worried about nothing.” Hands on her hips, Louisa stared at them with exasperation. “We’ve already seen the sparks flying between the two, or rather heard the sparks in Amalie’s case. As for Val, when he emerged from the salon yesterday morning, he was grinning. Like all the Rockwoods, the man likes a challenge, and we all know Amalie is most definitely a challenge.”

“What on earth are ye talking about, lass?” Aunt Matilda’s astonishment matched Patience’s and those of her sisters. “The man was as grim as a man condemned tae the gallows.”

“You must be mistaken, Louisa,” their sister-in-law, the Countess of Melton said. Helen shook her head with quiet disbelief. “Sebastian actually expressed concern for Amalie when he saw Val’s forbidding expression.”

“Balderdash. Val was grinning when he came out of the salon. The man was actually enjoying himself.” Louisa rolled her eyes at their protests. “But the instant he realized we were all waiting in the hall, his face took on that fierce look of anger he was wearing when he went into the salon to propose.”

“I can’t blame him,” Constance said with a frown of angry disappointment. “Every man in this family charged into Val’s room and immediately put him on trial. Not a single one of them thought twice about questioning Val's honor or deciding he was guilty without hesitating.”

“I agree,” Rhea Rockwood said with a note of fierce outrage. “Percy was ready to draw and quarter Val the moment Rufus woke us to summon him to Val’s room. Not for one instant did I think Val was guilty of seducing Amalie. It’s just not something he would do.”

“All of them had him judged and found guilty before they even confronted Val,” Helen said with a ferocity that was unusual for her. “Sebastian has spent the night on the floor since then. I’m appalled by his behavior. I can’t believe he would treat someone we’ve accepted as one of the family in the way he did.”

“On the floor?” Patience gasped with a small laugh.

“Yes, and he will not be sleeping in our bed at home for some time to come, either,” the Countess of Melton said firmly. “Sebastian says he tried to apologize, but I think he needs a strong reminder of just how grave an error he made by questioning Val’s honor.”

“Ewan was no better,” Louisa huffed before meeting her sister-in-law’s gaze. “I expressed my anger and disappointment in his poor judgement, but I hadn’t considered a punishment. I think your idea is the perfect solution to ensuring each and every one of them knows how deeply they insulted a man we’ve made a part of the family.”

“Agreed,” Rhea said with irritated displeasure. “And I think it should hold true for our sons as well. I think a few days of silent treatment will go a long way to remind them just how terribly they behaved.”

“Who’s behaved—” Jamie’s voice died abruptly as Constance turned to glare at her son standing in the doorway.

“Every male member of the Rockwood family,” Constance snapped. Jamie immediately raised his hands to surrender as he strolled deeper into the salon.