Page 47 of A Necessary Wife

Rafferty remained by his side, surveying the guests before them. “Of course I know her.”

Milo frowned. “Since when?”

“Since our childhood, fool.”

“Oh,” he murmured, puzzled. But then his confusion cleared. “Oh, yes, of course.”

“That’s the first sign of your imminent dotage. Where do you think you first met Amelia, Chatham?” Rafferty grinned.

“It slipped my mind that you and Reynolds used to spend summers together.”

“With you and your brothers and Whitfield, too, in case you’ve forgotten.” Rafferty laughed. “I could almost claim the credit for your introduction to her.”

Milo shook his head and looked to see where Amelia had got to, so she could renew her acquaintance with Rafferty. When he spotted her, she was headed in his direction already. She nearly tripped over her own feet, though, when she noticed Rafferty at his side.

She righted herself—but her expression turned dark, angry. “You,” she hissed immediately upon arrival.

“My dear Lady Chatham. It’s been too long since we last met.”

“Not long enough for me.”

Milo blinked but Rafferty only laughed. “You’re not still holding a grudge, are you?”

Her gaze cut to Milo, a questioning look in her eyes.

“Amelia, may I present my brother-in-law, Adam Croft, Lord Rafferty. My sister Rebecca’s husband.”

Amelia’s shoulders tensed. “I hadn’t realized he was a member of your family.”

“Your family now, too, so there’s no escape from me,” Rafferty said with a teasing laugh. “You’ll have to forgive me for everything I do now.”

“I have to do nothing of the sort,” she vowed. Amelia glared daggers at Rafferty still. In fact, her hands were so tightly clenched at her waist as she looked at their brother-in-law, Milo feared she was stopping herself from slapping his smiling face.

Milo leaned toward Rafferty and whispered. “What did you do?”

“Me? Nothing?”

“Amelia seems to feel otherwise. Why is that?”

Amelia stepped closer. “He put worms in my shoes, he short-sheeted my bed, he stained my hair with India ink…”

“The pranks of an excitable child,” Rafferty exclaimed, brushing them off as if his actions were unimportant.

“Pranks played every day on the only girl at a house party that lasted a whole month,” Amelia said through gritted teeth. “They cut my hair because of what you did to me!” she hissed.

Rafferty lost a bit of color at the discovery.

Amelia’s jaw was clenched tight and she fairly vibrated with fury. Milo immediately moved to stand closer to her side, afraid she would do something rash at any moment. He was furious on her behalf, too.

Milo noticed others had started to take note of the angry exchange. “Perhaps, we should take this discussion elsewhere,” he suggested.

But Amelia suddenly affected a false smile and laughed, causing the other guests to look away, robbed of a potential scandal in the making.

Yet, Rafferty was another person who’d wronged his wife and gotten away with it in the past. Milo would not stand for it. “Rafferty, you owe my wife an apology.”

Rafferty slumped a little, head lowering. “I do indeed. I am very sorry for the harm I caused you when I was a boy. I won’t ask your forgiveness because I do not deserve it.”

Amelia inclined her head, agreeing with him, but said nothing to let him off the hook. Milo was not easily appeased, either, but during a ball was not the time to make a fuss. It would only cause another bit of gossip that society would gobble up.