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Cassandra sighed, falling into the sofa next to me.
“Well, there goes my first season. What a bust.”
I squeezed her arm.
“It could have been worse, Cassie. Imagine, Juliana is probably being yelled at by the Viscount Hampton now. I wouldn’t like to be her.”
“Hm, that’s very true.”
She was silent a moment.
“It might sound wrong, Amelia, but I honestly can’t help but be grateful for Juliana and Lord Marsden… regardless of him being a rake or not. They saved me from having to marry Alfred. Perhaps… being a rake isn’t so bad, after all.”
I laughed darkly.
Perhaps.
I would probably never get to find out though, would I? Running into Lord Marsden over the past month had been the most exhilarating thing to happen to me for a while. He terrified me, to be certain, but seeing him was like awakening an old part of me that I had long forgotten about. It was like a dream.
Now, we would be heading back to Lady Radcliffe’s dusty estate in Cornwall. There was no chance of running into Lord Marsden there… and by the time we returned to London next season, he’d inevitably be gone. Off to Europe again, or perhaps even further.
I had to remember that my life was far from the glitzy townhouses and ballrooms that Lord Marsden now frequented. Our lives had taken different paths…
And they would likely never cross again.
Thenexttwelvehourswere consumed by a flurry of packing and last-minute shopping. I assisted Cassandra’s maid in packing her dresses; my own things took considerably less time to account for. By lunch the next day, my own work was done, but the house was still in a state of upheaval.
With Lady Radcliffe distracted, Cassandra helped me to sneak away to the Allen’s on Gracechurch Street one last time. With her keeping watch, I slipped out into the busy London streets, my shawl pulled around my face.
Half an hour later, I knocked on the Allen’s door, my face sweaty and smudged with dirt from the London streets. I hadn’t dared to hire a hackney coach this time… not after what happened last time, anyhow.
My uncle Nicholas answered the door, his eyes widening at the sight of me.
“Good heavens, dear Amelia! Did you walk all the way here from Mayfair?”
I felt my face color red. I must’ve looked a mess. Before I could answer, he ushered me in with a jovial smile.
“No matter, I’m glad you’ve come. Richard won’t stop talking about you.”
I blushed even deeper. My cousin Richard was enlisted in the Navy. We had only met a few times, but each occasion had given me the impression that he liked me. Whether that was as a friend, or something more… I could not say.
Nicholas brought me into their small, but neat drawing room. It was so different than Lady Radcliffe’s London townhome… or Rosehill Manor, for that matter. Instead of opulent furnishings, the sofa and chairs were simple, sturdy, and worn down by use. And instead of portraits on the walls of forbearing ancestors, there were a few paintings of boats – likely the boats that my uncle, a former Navy captain, had helmed during his service.
Louisa ran in, a smile spreading across her face.
“Ah, dear cousin! I thought for sure you wouldn’t be able to escape your prim benefactor’s clutches again, but here you are.” Uncle Nicholas coughed at her impropriety but said nothing. We all knew it was true; Lady Radcliffe was indeed prim, and that was aniceway of putting it.
“I am glad to be here, Louisa, but I bring sad news.”
Richard then entered, hastily doing up the buttons on his cuffs. He bowed his head deeply towards me, and I felt my face color, yet again.
“Amelia.” He said gruffly, nodding his head.
“What is your sad news, dear? Please, don’t keep us waiting.” Louisa begged, sitting across from me at the sofa.
I sighed.
“Lady Radcliffe has bid us to return to Cornwall. She feels there is too much scandal in London society at the moment.”
