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The very thought of that man brought up all the rumors she had ever heard about him. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would be forced to meet him, to speak with him, and, worst of all, to become his wife. It was simply unthinkable, and yet, she was merely steps away from that horrible nightmare becoming her reality.
“Well, now that this is settled,” the Earl began getting up from the table, “I shall arrange for an official meeting. How about tomorrow?”
Amelia wanted to gasp. Tomorrow? It was far too early. She wasn’t ready to meet him. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have been ready to meet this man ever, but she knew that she could not prolong the inevitable.
“Tomorrow is fine, Father,” she acquiesced calmly.
“Splendid,” the Earl repeated, walking around the table to give each of his daughters a kiss on the forehead. To Amelia, it seemed as if that was the price of her hand in marriage – the winery and that kiss.
As soon as they were left alone, Jane jumped up and rushed to her, seizing Amelia’s hand.
“Why did you say it would be you, Amelia?” Jane asked with a trembling voice.
Amelia smiled. “Because I would never allow you to marry such a man.”
“But you will marry him instead,” Jane gasped at the horror.
“If that is what needs to be done, so be it,” Amelia replied lovingly, squeezing her sister’s hand back. “Now, come. Let us have our morning tea in the garden. I am certain that, once we process all this, it won’t look so bad.”
Jane smiled back, and together, they walked out of the dining room and towards the back garden. Amelia hated lying to Jane. She did it very rarely, but this was an occasion here she felt she had no other choice. No matter how much time she took to process things, she was certain that none of this would feel easier. In fact, she felt things would only get worse.
CHAPTER2
Arthur knew that this visit would be unpleasant, but he could not predict that it would be unpleasant to such an extent. It seemed to him that Lady Amelia, the Earl’s daughter that he was to marry soon, in a matter of days actually, was only present and accounted for in body. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere as the four of them sat out in the garden of an estate that was in dire need of repair.
Truth be told, Arthur never considered himself much of a conversationalist – not that there were many people who had any desire to hear his opinions. He was well aware of the reputation that not only followed him but rather preceded him. That assured him of a very simple fact: finding a bride would not be an easy feat for him. In fact, it might not be a possible feat at all. With such a dreadful reputation, what parents in their right mind would grant him the hand of their daughter? Only parents who were in dire financial distress and who saw a way out of a bad situation.
He looked at Lady Amelia, who was seated opposite him. Next to her was her sister and finally to his left, the Earl sat overseeing the meeting. Because that was what it truly was, a business meeting. It felt cold and official, detached, and perfunctory. It had to be done today, just like the marriage had to be officialized in a matter of days.
“I have already obtained a special license allowing us to have the wedding as soon as next week,” he announced, focusing more on the Earl than on Lady Amelia because, after all, it was the Earl that he was striking this business deal with. Lady Amelia was merely part of the package.
“Next week?” he suddenly heard her say, and once again, his eyes found hers.
She was seated with her hands in her lap and her back arched against the chair. Her hair was done perfectly, but the gentle breeze pulled out a few strands of her chestnut-colored hair and was flickering them about her porcelain visage. He had to admit that Lady Amelia was a beauty. There was no denying that. Her sister, Lady Jane, seemed to possess more of that cherubic grace and innocence while Lady Amelia’s beauty was embellished with something far more mature and profound.
“Yes, next week,” he confirmed with a confident nod. “I hope that won’t pose a problem.”
“I –” Lady Amelia started, but the Earl cut her off.
“It most certainly will not be a problem,” he assured Arthur with an authoritative voice. “Amelia considers herself truly fortunate and is most grateful as are the rest of us.”
Something told Arthur that Lady Amelia did not consider herself as fortunate as her father claimed her to be, but Arthur was in no mood to discuss desires with his future wife. He was certain that she had some expectations of him. That was to be anticipated, of course. But this was only their first meeting. He only had plans of exchanging some mere pleasantries then returning home assured that everything was going according to plan.
“Why don’t you two take a stroll through the garden?” the Earl suddenly suggested.
Arthur could immediately see the shock on Lady Amelia’s face. She wasn’t expecting to be pushed into something so intimate and, to be quite honest, neither was he. Boldly, he stepped up before she could come up with an excuse and offered her his arm.
“I would love to walk about this garden,” he said as cordially as he could, but he could not hide the air of disinterestedness.
He could not care less about this particular garden although it was in full bloom, adorned with all colors of the spectrum, and someone was obviously pouring their heart out into it. For a moment, he was reminded of his mother, who had a grand passion for her own garden, spending every minute of her time when she could on her knees with her hands in the dirt. She did not care one bit that it was considered unladylike. It brought her immense pleasure, and that was all that mattered.
In the time since his parents were so cruelly torn away from him, Arthur had realized many truths about people. One of them was that people did not have the courage to do what made them happy if it was in stark contrast to whatthe tonconsidered proper and characteristic of a lady or a gentleman. Worst yet, he had come to see the dark side of humanity. The side lacking in any understanding, compassion, or sympathy; the side where one man was truly a wolf to another for apparently no other reason than to be cruel.
Finally, Lady Amelia got up and rested her hand on his arm. He noticed the bearing of her body. She was tense. She wished to keep her distance, but she could not be further away from him than the length of her own arm allowed. Slowly, they started walking in the direction of the small path that led into the garden away from the Earl and Lady Jane.
Lady Amelia was silent. Arthur felt that it was up to him to start a conversation as he was the gentleman, but honestly, he enjoyed the silence far more than empty small talk. In this case, it would prove no purpose at all. They would not exchange any deeper information regarding each other. It was far too early for that. Their topics of conversation were limited to the flowers currently in bloom, the weather, and perhaps the last ball they might have both attended. He couldn’t imagine enjoying any of those topics.
“I know why you are buying the winery,” she suddenly said, sounding stiff but exceptionally dignified as she spoke. He felt almost like a jailer guiding a prisoner to his cell. Her comment was so sudden and so unexpected that he almost tripped against a lose tile, but he managed to regain his balance quickly and continue along the path undisturbed.
