CHAPTER ONE
“Icome bearing refreshment!” a merry voice called above the din of the Assembly Rooms. “Amelia? Amelia, where are you? I could have sworn this was where I saw her. Amelia?”
Realizing that it was safe, Amelia emerged from behind the marble pillar where she had been attempting to read her book,Moll Flandersby Daniel Defoe. Indeed, she had been trying to read it for months, but every time her brother caught her, he snatched the book away, hid it somewhere, and informed her that she should be engaging in more ladylike pursuits.
She had only just found the book again after Martin’s last confiscation, and she had supposed that the ball would be theidealplace to finally luxuriate in some uninterrupted reading.
“There you are! I knew I had not imagined you standing here,” Valery, one of Amelia’s dearest friends, said with a smile. “Oh… goodness, I have disrupted your library time.”
“Not at all. I had just finished a chapter.” Amelia smiled back shyly, stuffing the book into the large, deep pocket that she had sewn into the skirt of her gown.
She did the same with all of her dresses and gowns, having learned over the years that she could not be too careful when it came to needing somewhere immediate to hide things. And also somewhere to conceal embroidery and needles, so she could pretend shehadbeen undertaking more ‘acceptable’ pursuits.
“I could stand guard, if you like?” Valery offered, handing a glass of lemonade to Amelia. “I shall behave like a loyal hound, barking at anyone who dares to enter your private reading domain. Although… how do you concentrate with so much noise?”
Amelia hid a laugh behind her hand. “I have grown accustomed to it, I suppose. I can… make all other sounds fade away. I cannot explain it.”
“Well, it would send me into lunacy.” Valery raised her glass to her friend. “Let us toast to you finally finishingMoll Flanders.”
Amelia blushed and clinked her glass against Valery’s. “I fear it shall be a long time until I do, but I thank you anyway.”
She paused, looking out across the throng of beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen, their mothers and fathers, brimming with anxiety at the mere sight of them all conversing and mingling with such ease. “Is Isolde coming tonight?”
“I saw her yesterday,” Valery replied, offering a look of apology. “I very much doubt she will be making an appearance. She is still rather poorly.”
Amelia took a sip of her drink. “I shall have to go and see her, but my brother… He is…”
“A mean old weasel who barely allows you to breathe without his say-so?” Valery offered.
Amelia dropped her chin to her chest, frowning into the cloudy liquid of her drink. “He does it to protect me. He is always so worried about my reputation, and I am sure that, one day, I will be grateful that he took such care to ensure nothing damaged it.”
“You do not believe that for a moment,” Valery replied, eyebrow raised. “Hestiflesyou, Amelia. He?—”
Two figures approached, flashing white smiles, finely attired in tailcoats of dark green and claret red, respectively. They wore waistcoats and cravats in complementary shades, their hair neatly combed and oiled, and might have been handsome if it were not for the fact thatallyoung gentlemen struck fear into the heart of Amelia.
“Ladies, what a pleasure it is to finally make your acquaintance,” the first gentleman said. “My friend and I noticed the pair of you from across the room, and could not rest until we learned your names and asked if there might be a place on your dance cards for us.”
Valery stepped out in front of Amelia. “Then you should have summoned the Master of Ceremonies toinformyou of our names, instead of coming over here in such a mannerless fashion. How were you raised, I wonder, to believe that you can simply approach two ladies like this? By brutes and barbarians, perchance?”
The two gentlemen balked, staring at Valery as if she were some bizarre creature that they had accidentally happened upon.
“Yes, please do run along,” Valery said, wafting a hand. “You are interrupting our far superior conversation.”
The gentlemen turned and left in something of a hurry, while Valery smiled after them victoriously. It had become her purpose to chase off as many suitors as possible, in the hopes that her mother and father would eventually realize that she had no intention of marrying. Ever.
“You did not want to dance with either of them, did you?” Valery asked suddenly, her brow knitted in consternation, as if she had forgotten that othersmightwant to entertain the idea of suitors.
Amelia shook her head effusively. “Heavens, no. I can think of nothing worse than having to dance in front of so many people. It is bad enough at smaller gatherings.”
“But you are a lovely dancer.”
“And you are a lovely fibber,” Amelia replied, taking a longer sip of the refreshing lemonade.
“Nonsense. You know I do not lie, least of all to my friends.” Valery bent her head, resting it on top of Amelia’s as they both gazed out at the crowd together.
It was the first true ball of the Season, with countless debutantes relishing in the excitement of the occasion, lapping up the attention of eager gentlemen. Amelia could not recall ever feeling excited on the night ofherdebut. In truth, it remained the most nerve-wracking, awful evening of her life.
“Oh, did you hear about the Earl of Westyork?” Valery asked abruptly, nudging Amelia in the ribs. “It is all anyone is talking about, but I do not imagine you heard any of it from behind that pillar.”
