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“But how...that is, there is no way to know—”
“You’re quite right. There is no way to know. I was very lucky.” She lifted her chin as she gazed at herself in the mirror. “Verylucky. But do have a care. Too great a compatibility leads to many pregnancies.”
Justine felt far less buoyant when she left the queen than before she’d gone in. Just thinking of a marital bed with someone other than William sobered her. She would certainly enjoy his bed...but when she thought of the others, the vaulted candidates, the gentlemen deemed suitable for the role of prince consort, she couldn’t imagine it.
Her head was filled with William, only William. His soft gray eyes, his lopsided smile, his thick, dark hair... Why couldn’t it be him?
Couldit be him?
A thought unfurled in her head.
She had assumed it couldn’t be because of the trouble with the Hamilton duchy. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have been on Lila’s list? But...couldit be him?
She brooded all the way to Prescott Hall, and would have continued to brood, but Amelia had returned in something of a snit. She was lying on the chaise longue in Justine’s sitting room, waiting for her older sister, one arm thrown dramatically over her eyes.
“What is the matter?” Justine asked.
“Everything. The Bardalines might as well be our jailers. Why did they come to get me, Jussie? I was having a wonderful time. I love England and I don’t want to go back to Wesloria.”
Sometimes it was better not to acknowledge Amelia’s wishes and change the subject. “How was the country?”
“Astonishing.” Amelia suddenly propped herself up on one elbow and craned her neck around to see Justine. “I met someone.”
Of course she had.
“He’s wonderful. A considerate man, and so interested inme—not you. We had a walkabout.”
Justine didn’t like the sound of that. She slowly lowered into her seat. “A walkabout.”
“Yes, Jussie, awalkabout. Deep into a wooded path.”
“And what did you do on this wooded path?”
Amelia giggled. “Kissed!” She sat up and leaned toward Justine to whisper, “He kisses magnificently. I think I love him.”
“You think you love every gentleman you meet. Amelia! What is the matter with you? You can’t do that, not here.”
“Why not? What’s the harm?”
Sometimes Justine couldn’t believe they’d had the same parents, the same training, the same education—Amelia interpreted everything so vastly different than she did. “The harm is your reputation, darling—do I really need to say it?”
Amelia waved a hand at her and fell back against the chaise. “We are in England. No one will know. You’re only saying that because of what happened to you.”
“Je,Amelia, I am saying it precisely because of what happened to me. My reputation suffered. And you are a fool if you believe being in England will somehow shield you.”
Amelia clucked her tongue and turned her head to the window. “Trust me, no one pays the slightest attention to me. It’s all you and it will always be you. What is there left to me, I ask you? Why shouldn’t I be diverted and enjoy my life?”
“There is much left to you, Amelia. I’ve always said so. I will rely on your counsel, but I can’t rely on it if you are banished to the mountains for bad conduct.”
“No, you’d have me waste away, a spinster at your side.”
“Firstly, I happen to know a spinster or two, and none of them are wasting away. And secondly, that is not true!”
Amelia groaned. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a yellow paper and thrust it in Justine’s general direction. Justine took it.
It was a telegraph from their mother.
My daughters, you are commanded to return to St. Edys at once. Amelia, you have proven yourself incapable of behaving properly without my supervision, and Justine, you have proven yourself incapable of settling on a match or supervising your sister. You will end your meetings with Her Majesty the Queen and return home posthaste.
