John took a small step forward. “I believed you, Lionel, and I have thought of our parting words often since I left.” He hesitated. “I was angry for a while, and wished you ill, but… I came to realize that I deserved your harsh rebuke and your exile of me. I was jealous and I was bitter, and I abused your inheritance out of spite.”
“I am hearing nothing that I do not already know,” Lionel replied tersely, careful not to squeeze Amelia’s hand too tightly in his anger.
John nodded. “Even though I looked like a man, and had the years of a man, I behaved like a spoiled boy for so very long. When I reached the Americas, I had to mature, or I would not have survived.” His throat bobbed. “I met my darling wife there, and we have been blessed with a beautiful son.”
“And now you are here to demand money?” Lionel snapped, for he could think of no other reason.
John shook his head. “I am here to repay what I stole from you. Somehow, I have managed to make something of myself in America, and my dear wife thought it would be prudent for me to make amends for my bad behavior in the past. We were already planning to come to England to introduce our son to the other half of his grandparents, so I thought it might be the perfect time to pay back what I owe.”
Lionel narrowed his eyes at his uncle, waiting for the trick, waiting for the wretch to reveal his true intent. As he waited, he realized that his grandmother was behaving very strangely, grinning from ear to ear like a madwoman, wiggling her eyebrows.
He frowned, uncertain of what had come over her.
“I have arranged for my accountant to transfer the funds,” John continued, sweeping an anxious hand through his hair. “When you see it, I hope that you will believe that I have changed, as I hope that, in the future, we might correspond with one another from time to time. For my son’s sake, if not for mine, as I should like him to know his family.”
In that moment, like a lightning bolt had struck him, Lionel realized why his grandmother was behaving so peculiarly.Johnwas standing right in front of him, at almost three-and-forty.John,who was a Barnet man. An exception to the rule, living and breathing and making the most of his life, unafraid to fall in love and begin a family.
“How long are you in England?” Lionel asked, his heart beating faster.
John brightened. “For the winter. We will return to America in the spring.”
“And you have somewhere to stay?”
John nodded. “I have rented Westley Hall.”
“I may call upon you,” Lionel said, eager to conclude the conversation so he could begin another. “There is a great deal for us to talk about, but now is not the time. The hour is late, my wife and I have had a long journey, and we should like to retire.”
John seemed to take a deep, relieved breath. “I will look forward to your visit. As you say, there is a lot for us to discuss, and I really would like to be able to return to the Americas without any regrets. I do not know when we might visit again, you see.”
“Another time, Uncle,” Lionel said, more forcefully, as he gave Amelia’s hand a gentle squeeze.
John bowed his head. “Of course. I wish you a good evening.”
With that, he took his wife’s hand and led her back out into the night, followed a short while after by the rattle of carriage wheels departing.
“Do you understand?” Caroline whispered breathlessly, clasping her hands together.
Lionel offered her a warning look. “I understand. Now, if you do not mind, I should like to retire to the library with my wife.”
“Yes, of course,” Caroline replied with a grin, flicking out her hands. “Off you go. Do not let me stop you. Amelia, darling, I am so very glad to see you back here. For a worrisome moment there, I thought you might have lied to me about returning.” She flashed a wink at Amelia, before spinning around and breezing off up the stairs, humming a merry tune to herself.
Amelia glanced up at Lionel, her eyebrow raised. “Youmight understand, and your grandmother might understand, but would you mind explaining to me?”
Her voice remained stern, no glorious smile lifting her plump lips, and though he hoped that this conversation would go a certain way, he also knew that he had hurt her terribly. Perhaps, in a way that could not be undone, no matter what he said.
“Not at all,” he murmured, leading Amelia the rest of the way to the library.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Seated in the reading chairs where they had shared—and Lionel had spilled—a pot of tea what felt like a lifetime ago, Amelia finally did what he would not and pulled her hand very slowly out of his. He did not resist, allowing her to withdraw it, his expression suddenly very solemn.
“Are you ready to explain now?” she asked, rather frustrated with the fact that so many hours had passed, and shestilldid not know why he had asked her to come back with him. “Might you tell me why I am here instead of on a ship? I assume something has changed, or you would have given me the papers and let me go.”
Ihopesomething has changed,she willed silently. If not, he would undoubtedly witness the full breadth of her temper—something she had never revealed to anyone, in all her life, though she had often wished she could.
He gazed at her, his green eyes glittering with something like sadness. “I did not know until I saw you again that I did not want to give you those papers. It is easier to detach oneself from the reality of something when the person it pertains to is not nearby.”
“Whathas changed, Lionel?” she repeated coldly, as a prickle of anxiety began to creep across her chest. Surely, she had not given up her chance of true freedom with her aunt for nothing?
