"Now, Agatha-"
"YouknowI'm right," she snapped, cutting her mother off mid-sentence. She bit down on her lip and let out a sigh, eyes scrunched shut. "I just don't understand why you're so determined to keep us as friends, James. Can't you see that I'm better than some little governess you've only known for a handful of weeks?"
James’ stomach turned, and he found himself gripping the teapot hard enough to make his knuckles ache. He hadn't even put the thing down yet, still holding it stupidly while Agatha continued.
"I'm sorry if you think I was out of line," she said stiffly, her whole body turning rigid, "but I can't understandwhyyou would rather defend her than try to see my side of things."
"Agatha, please. Don't get yourself so worked up."
But Agatha wasn't listening now. She stood, eyes narrowed dangerously, and stormed from the room without another word. Her boots thumped heavily across the wooden floor, vanishing rapidly as she marched off.
Rose and James shared a look, wide-eyed and silent. It wasn't often that he and Rose ever agreed on anything, but he saw in her gaze then, that she was just as irritated. "She only wishes to be with you, you know," Rose said calmly, "you're the only man she's ever loved, and the only man she ever will."
"That doesn't mean that I have to give in to her fantasies."
"No, but it hurts her to see you fall for someone else." Then Rose stood, straightening her skirts and her shawl, before turning to amble off after her daughter.
Disappointment swam in James' chest. That... could have gone better. Much better. He had nobody to blame but himself, of course, for handling it so poorly, but that knowledge only made him feel even more rotten. With a sigh, he dragged a hand through his hair and reluctantly climbed to his feet.
Out in the foyer, the doors were closed. Archie hovered awkwardly by the entrance, lips pulled into a sympathetic grimace. "Lady Agatha asked to leave, and her mother agreed that it was time to go. I'm sorry, my lord."
"Don't be," James replied softly, "it isn't your fault that she's acting this way. What's gotten into her?" He mumbled the last part, more to himself than anyone else, but he was startled from his thoughts when Alicia appeared in the corner of his vision. When he turned, she was stood by the bottom step, arms folded.
"Have Lady Rose and Lady Agatha not arrived yet?"
"Been and gone, I'm afraid. It was a short visit indeed."
She padded closer, feet quiet on the wood as she came to a stop beside him. James noticed how she always kept just a little bit of distance between them. "How so, my lord?"
He winced. "Agatha seems to think that I'm being too harsh on her," he replied stiffly. He shouldn't really have been talking to her about this at all, but there was something soothing about Alicia's presence. "She left in a sour mood, but I suppose I can't blame her."
Alicia only blinked up at him, eyes questioning. Her gaze flickered to Archie, but he was already leaving the foyer, perhaps to give them privacy. "I don't mean to step out of line, my lord, but Lady Agatha seems to me like she takes things too personally."
She wasn't exactly wrong about that, truthfully. Even so, James felt the urge to defend Agatha. "She's my oldest friend and the only person to stick by me when I needed her," he replied, "she's a good person, and it isn't her fault that she's prone to jealousy." Neither of them had many friends to choose from; didn't it make sense for her to be protective of him?
Alicia bit down on her lip, a hum of agreement leaving her lips. She had beautifully full lips, too; the way she caught them between her teeth was mesmerizing. "Thank you for defending me - you've done it twice now, my lord. First against your brother and now your friend. But I have to wonder if perhaps Lady Agatha simply doesn't like me for reasons I can't control."
"She thinks we're too close," James blurted suddenly, "but that's absurd."
"Right," Alicia agreed, mumbling the words. "Completely ridiculous." Why did she look so downtrodden? It was as if she was the one being reprimanded, not Agatha. Then her gaze flickered up and she sighed. Her hands clenched nervously, and she didn't quite meet his eyes, but she murmured, "I must confess that I'm somewhat jealous, my lord, that Lady Agatha gets to spend so much time with you, even though you're always busy."
He could only blink in reply, rolling the words over and over in his mind. Had he heard Alicia correctly? It seemed impossible to think that she was jealous of Agatha, who she clearly disliked because she spent time withhim.To begin with, the last few visits with Agatha had gone so terribly that he wasn't even sure what there was to be jealous of.
"I don't understand," he confessed eventually, heart beating against his ribs. "Perhaps you could explain for me?"
She winced, lips pursed. "It's... never mind, my lord. It isn't important." She offered a smile, but it hung awkwardly on her lips. "I should check on the children. I don't want them up to anything while I'm gone." Then she darted off back upstairs without looking back, vanishing into the hallway beyond.
James sucked in a breath, eyes squeezed closed, and tried to ignore the headache settling into the back of his head.Jealousy,he thought,what a silly thing it is.
Chapter Seventeen
It was a beautiful day; the sky was perfectly blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds, allowing warm, unfiltered sunshine to shine onto the gardens. Everything was bathed in soft light, and it poured through the windows so strongly that it made the pale wood floors of the manor almost blinding. It was lovely, though, and even better for the scorching heat that came with it. Weather like this was so rare, even in summer.
Alicia was going to make the best of it. Even if embarrassment lingered in the back of her mind, reminding her of her conversation with James not so long ago, she was determined to at least enjoy the sunshine.
"How about a picnic?" she asked the children that afternoon as they packed away their schoolwork. "A lovely picnic outside in the gardens, with all of our favorite food? I already asked the cook what you like to eat, and she said it can all be ready for three o'clock."
Jenny and Samuel positivelybeamedat each other as laughter spilled from their lips. She had never seen them so delighted, so eager, in all her time here.
