Page 55 of Scandalous: Family Ties and Spies

Kissing him quickly, Patience withdrew from her husband’s arms to do as he ordered. As she made her way down the hall to Amalie’s room, it was as if someone had removed a heavy load from her shoulders. Julian seemed clearly convinced Valeran was well on his way to loving Amalie. The only question now was how long it would take Amalie to admit she loved Val? Her daughter was as stubborn as Caleb had been, and her brother had been one of the most stubborn of all her siblings.

Outside Amalie’s door, Patience heard the excited voices of Louisa, Greer, and Tilly. She pulled in a breath of concern for Amalie. All the noise would only escalate her daughter’s already unsettled nerves. Opening the door, she saw Amalie standing in front of the full-length mirror with her sister and cousins working to do up the buttons on the back of her gown. Amalie’s reflection revealed a smile of amused satisfaction.

“What in heaven’s name possessed you to insist on so many buttons, Amalie?” her sister exclaimed with bemused frustration. Tilly muttered a similar question.

“Because it will be just as difficult to take off as it is to put on.”

Amalie’s quiet reply echoed with smug amusement. As Patience had suspected, her daughter was determined to make it as challenging as possible for her husband to undo her dress. Val was clearly in for a surprise this evening.

Patience wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad omen. If Greer was finding it difficult, she could only imagine Val’s frustration. Julian was right, Amalie would definitely not make it easy for the earl to win her daughter’s heart.

“There. All done,” Tilly said triumphantly as she and Greer straightened upright.

“Oh, Amalie, you look beautiful,” Greer exclaimed softly. Staring at her sister’s reflection in the mirror, Patience’s youngest daughter shook her head. “I just wish Val could see you when you walk down the aisle. He would be speechless.”

Amalie rolled her eyes before she turned toward Greer and impulsively hugged her sister. She murmured something in Greer’s ear that made the girl tighten her arms around Amalie before Louisa gently parted the sisters.

“Let me have one last look at you, dearest,” Louisa said with a smile. She inspected Amalie’s gown with a critical eye before beaming at her niece. “Perfect. The lace makes it less austere. I’m glad you decided not to cut the gown up and send it back in pieces.”

“I dinnae have a choice, did I? I dinnae say nae lace.” Amalie smiled at her aunt, her throat bobbing with emotion. “But I am glad I dinnae, Aunt Louisa. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

Louisa gave her niece a hug, and stepped back to discreetly wipe away a tear as she turned toward Patience. The youngest of the Rockwood siblings hurried forward and gave Patience a tight hug. Neither one of them said anything, but she knew Louisa was thinking the same thing.

Today was a bittersweet reminder that Caleb and Georgina weren’t here to see their oldest child marry. Louisa brushed away the teardrop that left a wet trail over the scarred tissue of Patience’s face. Her sister’s eyes glistening, Louisa kissed her cheek, then turned to the girls still surrounding Amalie.

“Come along girls, we need to get to the church, and your Aunt Patience would no doubt like a moment alone with Amalie.”

Giggling with excitement, Greer and Tilly allowed themselves to be ushered out of the room. The silence when they were gone eased the tension filling Patience as she studied her daughter.

“Greer was quite patient in doing up the buttons of your gown. But you’re correct in saying it will not be easy to remove—especially for Val.”

An odd expression crossed Amalie’s face at Patience’s comment before she turned away to stare at her reflection. Pain flitted across her daughter’s face, and Patience hurried forward.

“What’s wrong mo luaidh?”

“I look like a plump country mouse, and Aunt Louisa is a fairy godmother who turned me into Cinderella until after the ball, when I become a dowdy brown mouse again.” The words were barely a whisper, and Patience quickly forced Amalie to face her.

“You absolutely do not look like a dowdy country mouse,” Patience bit out fiercely, furious that someone had the audacity to insult her daughter. “Who said such a spiteful thing to you?”

“No one ye know.” Amalie averted her gaze and shrugged. Patience immediately knew her daughter was lying.

“You are beautiful mo nighean luachmhor. Whoever said such a thing should be flogged, drawn and quartered.” At her fierce defense of her, Amalie choked out a soft laugh, and Patience squeezed her daughter’s hand.

The moment Amalie winced in pain, Patience forced Amalie to face the mirror again. Deliberately, she pressed her cheek with its rough scars of charred flesh against Amalie’s smooth one. The action made Amalie’s eyes widened in surprise. It was rare for Patience to press her scarred cheek against her daughter’s. Over time, she’d eventually grown confident enough to ignore the curiosity, pity and horrified looks of strangers. But other than Julian’s tender touch or the Rockwood children’s deliberate kiss of gratitude and greeting against her scarred cheek, Patience made a concerted effort not to let her scarred flesh to be touched.

The first time the family had seen the scars the fire had left on her cheek, Amalie had deliberately kissed Patience’s disfigured flesh. It was a practice her daughter had done every time she greeted Patience. At first, she’d failed to see Amalie’s gesture for what it was. But Jamie and Imogene had understood their cousin’s silent gesture and had followed her daughter’s example.

Each gentle kiss to her scarred cheek declared they understood the sacrifice Patience had made that terrible night at Westbrook Farms. The other children had been too young to comprehend the events of that horrific night, but as they’d grown, they’d seen the significance of the kiss. One by one, they’d expressed their respect, admiration, and love for Patience’s willingness to sacrifice her life if necessary for what had been lost and saved.

It had taken her a long time to reconcile her guilt for surviving, while her brother Caleb and her brother-in-law Devin had not. Julian’s constant reminders the two men had willingly sacrificed their lives had eventually helped her let go of her guilt. Now, as Amalie’s wide-eyed gaze met hers in the mirror, she saw the flicker of pain in daughter’s dark brown eyes as they suddenly shimmered with tears.

“Do not cry, mo nighean luachmhor. I would do it again without hesitation, mo luaidh. You, Greer, and Braxton keep my brother with me every day,” Patience whispered, blinking back tears. “You look so much like Caleb, and when you laugh, I hear Georgina’s mischievous nature alive in you. I only wish they were here today. They would be just as proud of you as your father and I are.”

Tears glistened in Amalie’s eyes before she abruptly turned and engulfed Patience in a tight hug. After a long moment, Patience pushed her daughter away and forced her to look in the mirror.

“Greer is right. If Val could see you and not your shadow, he would consider himself the luckiest man alive.”

Amalie opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. She simply forced a watery smile to her lips before dragging in a breath.