Page 56 of An Earl's Christmas Seduction
“Well, goodnight, Amelia. And… I’m sorry about… happy Christmas, my darling,” she said, patting Amelia on the arm before turning to the others and wishing them goodnight.
The other guests, too, were slipping away, and it seemed to Amelia as though it hardly been worth returning, her thoughts on falling asleep in Nicholas’ arms.
“Goodnight, Amelia, and happy Christmas to you,” Clara said, as she left the room, and the other guests said the same, filing out in procession, some of them yawning as they did so.
“Your maid didn’t manage it then?” Constance said, fixing Amelia with a searching gaze.
Amelia blushed.
“No. I was just saying to my mother how it was too much for her to do in such a short amount of time. It can be done when we get back to London. I don’t need it as long as I don’t have any further mishaps,” she said.
Constance smiled.
“No, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” she replied.
Amelia knew she was being tested. Constance clearly had her suspicions, and now, with the other guests gone, and Nicholas having made the excuse of going to his study, the two women found themselves alone in the drawing room. The fire around the yule log was dying down, the spitting embers throwing up sparks into the room, and the candles in the sconces were burning low. Amelia shivered, remembering Lord Thornton’s ghostly tales, and wanting only to go to bed, now Nicholas was gone.
“No, well, if you’ll excuse me it hardly seemed worthwhile coming down,” Amelia said, but Constance caught her arm before she could turn to leave.
“It’s me he wants, you know,” she said, fixing Amelia with a defiant gaze.
Amelia’s heart skipped a beat.
“Well… I…” she stammered, not wanting to admit anything of what had passed between her and Nicholas, or even the possibility of it doing so.
“I don’t know what you mean, Constance,” she replied, but Constance laughed.
“Nonsense. I’ve seen the way you look at him with that pathetic look of longing, but you won’t get him. He’s mine. Do you understand? All mine. He’s going to announce our betrothal tomorrow. All this nonsense about well, that doesn’t matter. What matters is you realizing what’s mine is mine, and you can’t have it,” she snarled.
Amelia held her gaze defiantly. She was not about to be told what she could and could not do; certainly not by Constance. It pleased her to think she knew differently. After all they had shared, how could Nicholas possibly prefer Constance over her? He had told her so himself, and she knew all about the apparent betrothal, and why it was never going to happen.
“I think it’s up to Nicholas,” she replied, not cowed by Constance’s anger. She was still not about to give her the satisfaction of revealing a scandal.
“I can prove it,” Constance said, raising her eyebrows.
“How?” Amelia asked. She was certain of Nicholas’ intentions, but part of her still feared the possibility of him giving in to Constance’s demands.
She was a master manipulator, the sort of woman who would stop at nothing to get what she desired, and Amelia feared Nicholas would not be strong enough to stand up to her.
“He’s in his study now. If you stand outside the window, you can see for yourself. I’m the one he’s chosen, Amelia, not you. Are you too scared to see it for yourself? I’m only thinking of you, of course. It must’ve been so hard for you to lose your beloved as you did. Rupert, wasn’t it?
It’s hardly surprising you should fall in love so quickly and so suddenly. But don’t be fooled, he doesn’t love you back. He loves me, and the sooner you realize it, the better,” she said.
Amelia was torn. She did not want to play Constance’s games, but she still had doubts whether Nicholas really was sincere in his intention to refuse to marry Constance. She felt certain of his feelings towards her, but were his convictions of equal strength? He had promised to be rid of her, yet here she was, still playing the part of his betrothed.
“How can you prove it?” Amelia demanded.
“Watch through the window and you’ll see,” Constance replied.
Amelia’s curiosity was peaked. She had not observed Nicholas and Constance alone together, and she was curious to see it, even as she felt certain Constance was playing games with her. No doubt there would be a show of affection, a seduction even, and all for Amelia’s benefit. But the show would only be convincing if Nicholas responded in kind, and though she was fearful of him doing so, she agreed to follow Constance to the library.
“Will I see anything?” Amelia asked, and Constance turned to her and smiled.
“I’ll make sure the curtains are open. Go out by the side door,” she said, pointing along the corridor to a door at the far end, leading out into the garden.
Amelia shivered. The candles in the sconces were guttering, throwing out the last of their light. She pulled a shawl around her shoulders, fearing the chill of the night. But her curiosity and her fear of what she might see was enough for her to suffer the discomfort of that snowy night.
She did not know what she would see when she peered through the window. Letting herself out of the door, she crept around the edge of the house, peering through the only lighted window, straight into Nicholas’ library.
