AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nick nodded, pulling his horse behind Charles as they turned on the path, Falbrooke Court coming into view in all its sandstone glory. “Let’s relay the bad news.”
“It is nothing she isn’t used to already,” Charles said, the reality of his words slipping bitterly from his tongue. He would like, only once, to have good news to deliver to this woman.
They left their horses with Nick’s groom in the front drive and stepped into the drawing room. Amelia sat on her settee, the bright windows framing her perfect posture as she sat poised with her needle midair, the delicate white fabric on her lap spread with white embroidery. Her copper hair was flawlessly drawn back into an elegant knot. She appeared fragile, though he knew she wasn’t. Her severe black gown was at odds with the rest of the image she portrayed, but she was perfectly lovely, nonetheless.
“No luck,” Charles said at once, eager to deliver the bad news and get out of the expansive house. His arms were shaking with irritation, his spirit burdened with a distinct feeling of inadequacy.
Amelia lifted her gaze to meet his, locking on him unflinchingly. “It was foolish to hope, perhaps, but I did.” Giving the men a dainty shrug, a small smile flicked across her lips. “I do appreciate your efforts.”
“It was nothing,” Nick said.
“You will write to your man now, I presume?” Charles asked, unable to help himself. He could hear the challenge in his voice, the bitterness of failure coloring his words.
Amelia’s sharp gaze missed nothing. “I did tell you of my plan.”
Charles nodded. “I had hoped to save you the trouble.”
“Amelia, would you sit in with—” Andrew tore into the room, halting mid-step when he spotted the men. “I didn’t realize you had visitors.”
“We were just leaving,” Nick said. “We only came to relay our lack of luck at the auction today.”
“Pity,” Andrew said. “No horses?”
“No gypsies,” Charles corrected. “Plenty of horses, but none of them ours. Though Nick found one to his liking.”
Nick’s grin was unrepentant, stretching broadly over his face and creasing the sides of his mouth. “We did ride all the way out to Brimblecombe. I’m glad it wasn’t completely useless.”
“If we learned anything valuable, it was that the evasion tactics of gypsies are not to be undervalued,” Charles said, rubbing his chin. “I’m at such a loss.”
Amelia rose from the sofa after tucking her embroidery into a basket and setting it under the table at the end of the couch. “Are you managing without your horse, Mr. Fremont?”
Holding her clear blue gaze, he swallowed. “Yes. My uncle acquired a steed on his leave last summer, and I’ve been using him. I will be glad to have Maximus back when we find the missing horses, but there has been a small benefit to this ordeal. My uncle did ask that I make sure his horse is regularly exercised.”
“Then you are doing him a favor, no doubt.” The amusement which crinkled the edges of Amelia’s eyes hit him like a punch directly in the gut while simultaneously warming his chest. She was jesting with him? That was not something to which he was accustomed.
He found he rather liked it.
Tearing his gaze away, he took the moment to regain his equilibrium. “You needed me, Andrew?” Amelia asked.
Andrew placed a hand on his sister’s elbow. “I fear Mrs. Halpert is not doing well today. I was hoping you would come and sit with her.”
Concern creased her forehead, and she flicked her gaze toward Charles before looking back at her brother. “Of course. I will go up directly. Thank you, gentlemen.” Delivering a curtsy, Amelia promptly left the room.
“Is there anything I can do?” Charles asked, listening to Amelia’s retreating footsteps until they quieted, muffled by the carpeted stairs.
Andrew scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing. “Help me figure out what to say to Amelia. I’m afraid…well, to be perfectly blunt, I’m afraid there isn’t much more I can do for Mrs. Halpert.”
The breath left Charles’s chest in one large swoop. “I didn’t realize things were so severe.”
Andrew, shaking his head, moved toward the grouped furniture and dropped into a chair, rubbing at his temples. Dark circles pooled under his eyes, shading his face with exhaustion. “Neither did I. She has slowly declined in the weeks since she joined us, and she didn’t come here in the best of positions to begin with. I wish she would have made her struggles known to me months ago.”
“Would you have done anything differently?” Nick asked.
Andrew looked pained, uncertain. “I suppose not. Just more of the same—but I would have had longer to try. We’ve fed her the best of diets: broths, and jellies, and everything I would recommend to my dearest loved ones were they in similar circumstances. Amelia spends quite a lot of time at her bedside reading or otherwise occupying Mrs. Halpert, and when she is unavailable, I sit in the room with her. The woman is never left alone. She’s received everything I can think of, but nothing has helped. Nothing.”
“And your friend from Oxford?”
“I received his letter just a few days ago, but he had nothing helpful to add.” He rubbed his forehead and leaned back against the cushion. “I had already implemented each of his ideas. There is nothing else.”
