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She pressed her hand to her cheeks. She was indeed rather hot. She could imagine how poppy red her cheeks were. How could they not be when she could not get that steamy dream out of her mind.
“I don’t know what happened, but I assure you that it’s nothing,” Amelia gathered herself quickly, deciding that the best course of action now would be to simply change the subject. “Are you looking forward to Lord and Lady Atterley’s ball?”
The moment she mentioned it, Jane’s eyes shone more brightly. Lord and Lady Atterley’s ball was the pinnacle of the season. Anyone who was anyone would be there. Amelia herself detested such balls. She felt like it was a simply a market where everyone would put on their best clothes and come to show off in search of someone who would find them the most beautiful marital candidate. The music was always far too loud to carry on any meaningful conversation. It was only adequate for dancing and sending coy glances and smiles. Nothing else.
If it were up to Amelia, she would not be caught dead attending it. She would easily come up with an excuse. A headache or a cold was always a good one as no one wished to have a guest sneezing and sniveling about. However, she could not do that to Jane.
Jane loved balls. She loved everything about them. The pomp, the noise, the pretty dresses, the coy glances. Everything. Her dream was that she would lock eyes with a handsome young gentleman one evening at such a ball, and she would instantly know that they were meant to be together. From that point, they would share a dance. Their touch would be electric. They would both be certain that they were made for each other. And that would be the beginning of their love story which would last forever.
Sometimes, Amelia wished to tell Jane that it was simply too romantic, that such things only happened in romance novels that Jane read, but she didn’t have the heart to say those things aloud. Perhaps it was all right to allow her sister these incredible beliefs for a little while longer.
“Oh, I simply cannot wait!” Jane immediately released her sister’s hand, only to clap excitedly. Amelia loved to see her so thrilled. “We have to go shopping for a new gown, we simply must!”
Amelia chuckled. “Of course, we shall. But there is still enough time. The ball isn’t to take place for another three weeks.”
“Those are three weeks that shall pass all too slowly,” Jane admitted, sounding disappointed. Then suddenly, she seemed to remember something. “Will the Duke be attending the ball?”
Amelia was caught unready for this question. Her brows furrowed in her inability to answer it with certainly.
“I honestly do not know,” Amelia admitted. If he did, it would be the first ball they attended as a married couple.
The news had already spread around the city of London. She was certain of it. If no one else, then her father would have done that job, happy that his winery was taken off his hands and that he was also handsomely paid for it. The fact that he married off his older daughter would have been simply the cherry on top in his eyes. She doubted he would be able to keep such news to himself for longer than twenty-four hours. Perhaps not even that long.
Amelia hadn’t really been anywhere in the last two weeks, apart from visiting her winery. She had no desire to see anyone or to explain herself to nosy onlookers regarding her marriage. It was her own private affair, and she wanted to keep it that way.
However, she also knew thatthe tonwould not allow it. They would try to break through her defenses. They would try to pierce through the veil that she had already put on, just so they could find out the truth which she so desperately endeavored to keep hidden. If they attend the ball together, it might become obvious that they were not a husband and wife in the true sense of the word. At the same time, if they chose to keep themselves hidden away, even more gossip might arise, creating even more complications. Perhaps the best course of action was simply to appear there together and do their best in trying to convince everyone that their marriage was as real as anyone else’s.
“I think people will ask questions if you attend it without him,” Jane pointed out.
Amelia sighed, nodding. “I was just thinking that same thing.”
“You could say you were ill,” Jane suggested, but Amelia could hear the sorrowful tone in her sister’s voice. Jane would still attend it with their father, but he would simply disappear with the other gentlemen as he always did, leaving Jane alone. Usually, the two sisters kept close together, unwilling to let each other out of sight. Amelia could not allow Jane to be there at the ball alone, seemingly unchaperoned.
“I shall do no such thing,” Amelia assured her, and the moment she said those words, Jane brightened up. “Of course, we shall attend Lord and Lady Atterley’s ball. Don’t be silly. We have a very important task ahead of us.”
“We do?” Jane wondered.
“We most certainly do,” Amelia nodded. “We must find you a match.”
Jane’s eyes widened with shock, with disbelief, with thrill, and with excitement. Amelia wondered how that must feel, to still possess that much joy regarding life, that much belief that everything would turn out all right, no matter what. She wasn’t envious, though. She knew that in order for her sister to have everything a young lady needed to possess in life, Amelia herself would need to sacrifice her own happiness. And that was all right, for Amelia loved Jane more than words could ever describe. Her sister’s happiness was what mattered the most. Her own life had already taken a turn which she never even saw coming. And now, she was considering attending a ball with a man whom she had the worst opinion of only months before.
“I shall speak to Arthur about the ball,” Amelia said casually.
“Arthur?” Jane smiled. Amelia looked at her, somewhat puzzled.
“Well… that is his name, isn’t it?” Amelia explained, still not certain what was it she said that was so funny.
“Of course, it is,” Jane agreed. “Only… I’ve never heard you speak of him so familiarly.”
“He is my husband,” Amelia shrugged. “Although we have drawn certain lines, those same lines I talked to you about, I suppose a certain closeness between us is inevitable.”
“That is understandable,” Jane confirmed.
“Did I tell you that he wishes to do all the necessary repairs at the winery, so it can start producing more?” Amelia suddenly said.
Her sister seemed as incredulous about this as Amelia herself was when Arthur revealed his plans. “Really?” Jane gasped. Amelia only nodded. “I thought he would close it down.”
“Those were my thoughts as well,” Amelia said, getting up, feeling somehow too fidgety on the sofa. She needed to move, to get her blood flowing. Talking about Arthur made her anxious and excited at the same time. It was all because of that dream which she could not forget. That was all. After a few days, she was certain that she would no longer even remember it. It would be gone from her mind.
