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“Yes, Your Grace. Forgive my presumption. I only want what’s best for her, as well.”
“If that were true, you’d leave off and let her find someone more suitable. But I can see that isn’t going to happen. But know this: if you make Victoria unhappy, I’ll see that you are also quite unhappy as well. Exceedingly miserable, in fact.”
“Your Grace, allow me to assure you that your daughter’s happiness is at the forefront of my concerns.”
“Good,” said Richmond. “Now, as for Amelia, she has every right to be concerned for her sister. I can only assume that her unusual behavior this afternoon is a result of stress. Still, she ought to have known better than to consume spirits offered by a man,” he grumbled. “I shall speak with her regarding her lack of good judgment at the first possible opportunity. I trust that you, however, will speak to no one regarding this incident.”
“Not a word, Your Grace. On my honor.”
“Honor? Humph! We shall soon see whether or not you’ve any honor. Now get out.”
“Yes, Your Grace. And, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, just make her happy—and don’t cross me. Now, out.”
At the sound of a chair scraping back, the eavesdropping pair dashed for the stairs, rounding the corner just in time.
PEEKING OUT, VICTORIA watched as Withington closed the doors quietly behind him. She waited until he set foot on the bottom step before coming out of hiding.
“Good God, woman! You scared me half to death,” he gasped as she popped out from the shadows. Then he spied Julius as he stepped out from behind her. “What the devil took you two so bloody long?” he whispered hoarsely.
“There was a snowstorm, in case you hadn’t noticed,” muttered Julius before Victoria could answer.
She shoved past him to stand before Withington. “Though I suppose you were too busy getting my sister drunk to notice it!”
“At least allow me to explain myself before you start flinging accusations at my head,” replied Withington.
Before she could respond, Julius stepped in. “Of course, but not here.”
She didn’t really give a tinker’s dam who heard her, but when Julius laid a gentle hand on her arm, she nodded agreement. He was right. Things were bad enough already without adding anything else into the pot. She guided them to an unused parlor. As soon as the door closed, she rounded on Withington. “Now you will tell me exactly what happened.”
He squared his shoulders and faced her soberly. “After my little ‘fall,’ she put me on her horse and brought me back to the house. She said that she truly regretted her past ill treatment of me and then insisted on tending me herself. She was so kind and gentle”—he sat and put his head in his hands, letting out a long, defeated sigh—“I just couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. Not yet. I delayed doing so until the last possible moment, and I’m afraid she did not take it well at all.”
Pity filled her. He looked absolutely miserable. Still…“That does not explain how she became inebriated.”
“I had nothing to do with that, my lady,” he said, his eyes flashing. “After I told her about you and Julius, she naturally was quite wroth. She fled before I could fully explain my part in the deception, why I’d done it and…” He sank into silence.
“And?” she prompted.
“I went out into the gardens to walk and think about how next I should proceed. I still had not told her how I felt about her, you see—she hadn’t given me a chance. I stayed outside for the better part of the afternoon, unable to decide whether I should try to find her or speak with your father, tell him the truth and ask for her hand. I had just decided on the latter course and was heading back when I encountered Amelia in the statuary. She had come looking for me.”
Her pulse hammered in her head. “What did she say?”
“Most of it does not bear repeating in polite company, my lady,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
She snorted. “You think I have not heard my sister swear before? And since when am I polite company?”
“Even so, I shall not repeat it, if only for the sake of time, for it is short. Suffice it to say that she was still quite angry with me. And also, I fear, quite tipsy.”
“She had been drinking when you found her?” she asked, finding it hard to believe. Amelia never touched anything stronger than watered wine. “But I overheard you say that you’d given her—”
“I told your father that because I did not wish her to endure any further humiliation. God knows she’ll suffer enough as it is when word of your having changed allegiances gets about.”
He was right. How she’d come to be in such a condition wasn’t important at the moment. “Despite that, did you manage to resolve your differences?”
“She wasn’t in a very reasonable or rational mood, I’m afraid,” he said evasively.
“Amelia has never been reasonable or rational. I wouldn’t expect her to be any more so for having nipped from Papa’s brandy bottle. So things still stand at a stalemate, I take it?”
