The housekeeper gave a resigned shrug, her expression no less bewildered. “I am certain that the stablemaster would be happy to teach you, if that is your will.”
“Thank you,” Amelia replied, taking her seat at the empty table.
If Lionel was going to keep avoiding her, confusing her as he blew hot and cold, drawing close then pulling away again, then she figured she ought to discover some new ways to distract herself and clear her mind. Her first experience of riding a horse had been rather terrifying, that was true, but she could think of no better time to overcome that fear. Moreover, it might give her another excuse to be close to her husband again.
I shall ask him to teach me more when he returns from the Dower House,she decided, reaching for a piece of toast.
If he thought he could kiss her and hold her in his arms and embrace her and carry her carefully to her chambers without waking her, and believe that she would simply give up on her feelings for him, then he was about to be sorely mistaken.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Where is she?” Caroline demanded to know, barely offering a greeting to her grandson as she peered behind him. “Come now, where is my dear Amelia? Where is she hiding, or is that part of the jape? You know I cannot seek her with my knees as creaky as they are.”
Lionel cleared his uncomfortable throat. “She is not here.”
“Oh… is she not feeling well?” Caroline raised an eyebrow. “Or is it that she does not want to see this dreary old house when she has the lovely manor to explore? Is she just being polite?”
Rebecca folded her arms across her chest. “He told me she had asked to sleep in this morning, though I have never known her to do so in all the time she has been with us.”
“Is that true?” Caroline squinted at Lionel, as though she was preparing to disbelieve him.
Lionel shifted the weight from one foot to the other. “She did not retire until late last night. I was trying to be a thoughtful husband by letting her catch up on her rest.” He paused. “And this house is hardly dreary, Grandmother. Considering what it cost, I should hope it is anything but.”
“Oh, it is beautiful indeed from an architectural perspective,” Caroline agreed, “but it is the solitude that is dreary. When I withdraw to this house, I relish the loneliness for all of two minutes before I am longing for company again.”
Lionel rolled his eyes. “Then why do you not stay at Westyork? I have invited you to do so time and time again, and you always return for weeks on end, so what is the use of you sequestering yourself here?”
“I do not want to be a nuisance,” Caroline said with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. “And as you are newly married, I should not be there at all. Neither should you, Rebecca, but I would not ask you to remain here with me. Although, by the sound of it, it seems that you and that exceptional wife of yours are finallyenjoyingone another’s company.”
Lionel understood her meaning and leveled a mock-withering stare at her. It was one thing for weasels like Martin Thorne to think they could speak openly of heirs and the production of said heirs, it was quite another for Lionel’s grandmother to start offering her opinion. One made him furious, the other mortified him.
“Does this mean we shall hear the pitter-patter of little feet through Westyork soon?” Caroline pressed, wiggling her eyebrows in a most alarming fashion.
Clearly, she had forgotten. Lionel wished he could, too.
I have dreams of it, Grandmother,he wanted to admit.I have dreams of my son or daughter riding on my shoulders as I wander through the grounds with Amelia at my side. I have dreams of chasing them through the gardens as my mother and father did with me. I have such dreams, and they hurt terribly.
“I cannot wait to be an auntie,” Rebecca crowed, clapping her hands together. “There is nothing so wonderful as children. I can just imagine them bursting into my chambers of a morning, launching themselves at me to wake me up! And I shall teach them to ride ponies. Oh, and I shall read to them every night… at least until I find a husband and have children of my own, and then they shall play together—dearest cousins.”
A lump formed in Lionel’s throat as he pictured the scene, just as Rebecca had described it, but with the children waking him and Amelia from their slumber instead of his sister. He vividly imagined his children playing with Rebecca’s and being overjoyed to see one another at Christmastide and other such celebrations.
Would they look more like me or like my darling wife? If we had a son, would it change his fate if he looked more like her?He stomach clenched, a pain tugging up through his chest. Fromchildhood, he had vowed that he would never be a father, so how could it be that he longed for it now?
“Goodness, it is a shame Amelia did not come with us.” Rebecca interrupted his turmoil. “I was hoping to ask her to be my tutor.”
“Tutor? For what?” Lionel replied, arching a curious eyebrow. “I have ensured that you have had the best education possible.”
Rebecca chuckled. “Yes, I am quite capable of performing feats of arithmetic and literature and I can speak Latin and French, but what Ineedis an education in how to be an elegant lady. I fear I have been remiss in that regard, and with my debut just a year away, I am behind where I must be!”
“You realize that my wife preferred to be on the periphery of gatherings, do you not?” Lionel asked with a smile, remembering her declaration that she had always been a wallflower. A trait he did not believe.
Rebecca shrugged. “Nevertheless, she is the most refined lady I have ever met and, what is better, she does not diminish her character in order toberefined. She made the Duke of Thornhill laugh with such a subtle joke; I was in awe of her!”
“Yes, well, I would prefer it if you didnotmake the Duke of Thornhill laugh,” Lionel muttered, gesturing ahead. “Now if you do not mind, Grandmother, do you think we might take this conversation indoors before we freeze.”
Caroline stepped back to let them enter. “It is not nearly as bracing, but yes, I suppose so. Be boring if you must.”
“Thank you, Grandmother,” Lionel replied. “I shall.”
