Page 64 of Real Earls Break the Rules

The woman’s tone suggested she did indeed intend to insult. Amelia wondered what she would think if she knew where they lived before they resided above the Peacock Print Shop.

Amelia’s chin rose a notch. “Yes, we lived above the print shop on Bruton Street.”

“I see. Rosehill must be luxurious in comparison.”

“It is.”

“The Earls of Vale have had their country seat at Rosehill for generations. The current earl needs a wife and hostess of impeccable breeding. Can you say you have impeccable breeding?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Precisely. What could you possibly offer him? Everyone knows about your family’s past. It doesn’t matter that your sister married an earl.”

She stared at the woman in shock and rising anger. She wondered what the pompous woman would say if she knew of Brandon’s proposal. Amelia had no intention of marrying Lord Vale, but the duchess didn’t know that.

“Huntingdon and my sister are quite happy,” Amelia said.

“Ah, but Huntingdon has something Lord Vale lacks.”

“Such as?”

The duchess leaned close, her dark eyes hardening like granite. “Money.”

It took every ounce of willpower not to flinch. How on earth did the lady know about Brandon’s financial problems? Brandon’s own sisters had no idea. His grandmother may have an inkling, but she didn’t know the full extent of his problems. So how did the duchess know?

“My husband is a very powerful man,” the duchess said as if she read Amelia’s mind. “He is privy to many things.”

Amelia sat straight with her hands folded in her lap. She wouldn’t reveal anything by her demeanor.

“You wouldn’t stand in the way of Vale’s happiness and future, would you?” the duchess asked.

Despair tightened Amelia’s chest. “Why would I? I’m afraid I don’t know why you’d mention it at all.”

Just then Minerva burst onto the terrace. “Father is out hunting with Lord Vale and the other gentlemen. They are expected back in an hour.”

“Wonderful,” the duchess said. She turned to look at Amelia. “We were just having a pleasant conversation. It turns out Miss Somerton and I have the same interests in mind, don’t we my dear?”

…

The guests chattered excitedly as they wandered out on the expansive lawn for a picnic luncheon. Servants spread out blankets beneath a canopy of trees, and footmen carried out large picnic baskets with cold chicken, ham, an assortment of fruit, bread, and wine.

Amelia sat on a blanket with Caroline. The sun warmed her cheeks and she gazed up at a perfect blue sky dotted with puffs of cloud. Birds chirped and sounds from one of Rosehill’s bubbling fountain filled the air.

Amelia’s nerves were still tense after her altercation with the duchess. The woman had done little to disguise her hostility or her ambitions for her daughter.

“I’ve always wanted my own dress shop,” Caroline said, interrupting Amelia’s thoughts.

Amelia looked at her in surprise. “Truly?”

“I enjoy going to the modiste, and when I’m in town I’d rather spend time flipping through fashion plates at Ackerman’s than attending parties or balls. I picture dresses in my mind and often sketch them in the privacy of my room.” Caroline sighed. “I know I’ll never be a shopkeeper. Proper ladies visit dress shops, they do not own their own establishments. My grandmother would never approve.”

As the sister of an earl, Caroline’s dream was unlikely to happen. She would return to London, dance at balls with all the eligible gentleman of the beau monde, and marry soon after. Her grandmother—along with society’s rigid expectations—wouldn’t allow any other path for her.

It would be similar for Amelia if she married Brandon. She wouldn’t be able to have her own art exhibition. If she wanted to display or sell her paintings of the impoverished, she’d have to do it anonymously.

“Running a successful, small business is difficult,” Amelia said. “There’s much more to it than what it appears. You have to keep an inventory of all the items that sell as well as those that don’t, and you must keep tidy books.” She remembered Eliza laboring over the ledgers long into the night. She also recalled doing everything from trying to sell artwork and bric-a-brac items to discerning customers to scrubbing the floors after a long day.

“I realize there’s much I don’t know. But I’m good with figures and willing to learn,” Caroline said.