Page 64 of Royally Wed
“Was it as romantic as the papers made it out to be?” Was Amelia imagining things, or was there a hint of sarcasm in Eleanor’s tone?
She stared into her glass and contemplated her answer. “Truthfully, it was a little strange.”
She didn’t want to lie anymore. Not to her closest friend.
“Oh, thank God.” Eleanor poured them both another drink. “Ithought we were going to keep on pretending that it’s completely normal for you to marry my father.”
Amelia set her shot glass down on the coffee table. She should probably slow down, especially if she didn’t want to say something she shouldn’t.
“You’re right. It’s weird.” She released a breath. It felt good to get the strangeness of the situation out in the open. “But does it bother you?”
She was almost afraid to look at Eleanor. They’d never discussed the engagement so openly before. Amelia had avoided asking her if she opposed the marriage because she was afraid Eleanor would say yes. She’d pretty much been avoiding her friend altogether, in case she voiced her opinion on the matter unprompted. Since they were little girls, Eleanor had always been brash and outspoken. It was oneof the things Amelia loved best about her. Eleanor said what she meant. Unlike the queen. With her mother, Amelia often felt like she was playing a guessing game. Usually, she was on the losing side.
“No, I wouldn’t say it bothers me.” Eleanor frowned. “It just feels different than I thought it would.”
“It does for me, too.” Amelia reached for her drink, but sipped it this time. Now that they’dbroken the ice about Holden, she wanted to ask about his relationship with Lady Wentworth, and that required a little more liquid courage.
“I thought it would be fun, you know. Like when we were kids and you’d spend the night. That sounds so dumb when I say it out loud.” Eleanor slammed another shot.
“You’re not dumb.” Amelia had convinced herself of pretty much the same thing. She still wouldn’tcall it dumb. Just hopelessly naïve.
Emphasis onhopeless.
“Thanks for saying that. I’m still hoping I’ll get used to the idea and it will feel like a sleepover, because I can’t handle thinking of you as my mum.” She shuddered violently. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Amelia took another sip of vodka. She could feel the numbness falling away now, slowly being replaced with a familiar liquid feelingthat she quite liked.You’re going to regret this come morning.She expected to have plenty of regrets in her future. Getting drunk the night before her huge, posh wedding seemed almost insignificant in comparison.
“Don’t worry. I don’t want to be your mother figure.” She hoped this didn’t directly contradict what she’d said at the awful tea at the Ritz. She couldn’t worry about that now. Notwhen she was so close to getting to the bottom of things. “Besides, you kind of have a mother figure already.”
Eleanor’s brows knit together. “I do? Who?”
The conversation wasn’t quite going as planned. Ameliahadn’t wanted to be the one to mention Lady Wentworth’s name. “Um...”
Eleanor blinked. “Oh, you mean Willie?”
Bingo. “I nearly forgot that’s what you call Lady Wentworth. It’s sosweet.”
“Well, I’ve known her all my life. I guess you could say I do think of her as a mum of sorts.” She took another shot of vodka.
Amelia picked up her glass, then put it back down without taking a sip. “She and Henry were at the opera the other night.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. She’s around all the time. I think she’s with my father right now, actually.” Eleanor shrugged. “But you probablyknow all about that. You and my dad probably text all the time, right?”
In fact, Amelia had never gotten a text from Holden. “Sure we do.”
“Oh bloody hell, he doesn’tsextyou, does he?” Eleanor pulled a face. “Don’t answer that. If you say yes, I might vomit. The answer is yes though, isn’t it? Half the time I see him, he’s glued to his phone.”
“He’s on his phone a lot, is he?” Amelia didher best to sound nonchalant, but apparently she failed.
Eleanor cast her a quizzical glance. “Yes, isn’t everyone? What exactly are you trying to ask me?”
Amelia took a deep breath. It was now or never. Tomorrow would be too late. “Don’t you ever wonder about your dad and Wilhelmina?”
“Wait a minute. You’re not saying what I think you’resaying, are you?” Eleanor let out a laugh. “Willie andmy dad arenothaving an affair. That’s crazy.”
“Is it?”
Eleanor nodded. “Yes.”
