Page 66 of An Earl's Christmas Seduction
Even the viscount refused, and it seemed Christmas had been well and truly celebrated, the guests now languishing in their places, their stomachs full, satiated by the feast.
“I think we’re done,” Nicholas said, glancing around him at the others, and catching Harry’s eye as he did so.
“I really think we should go look for Amelia. I’m going to go up again. She wasn’t in her bedroom when I checked earlier. Well, she didn’t answer the door, at least. I just don’t know where she could be,” Amelia’s mother said.
She had sat quietly throughout the meal, but now she rose to her feet, hurrying out of the room, an anxious expression on her face. Nicholas was about to follow, but a glance from Constance prevented him from doing so.
“Then some parlor games are in order,” the viscount said, but the others groaned.
“Let us sleep it off,” Sir Samuel said, waving his hand dismissively.
Nicholas was waiting for the moment. He knew it was coming, for he could feel Constance trembling at his side.
“Actually, while everyone’s here,we’vegot an announcement to make,” Constance said, hardly trying to disguise the self-assured pride in her voice.
She rose to her feet, and the rest of the company looked at her in surprise.
“Another toast?” Lord Thornton asked, but Nicholas, too, shook his head, rising to his feet, and smiling at Constance, who sat down again, smug and self-assured.
Nicholas had been waiting for this moment. She had blackmailed him, and now he would have the pleasure of seeing her humiliated. She had always sought to control him, even when they were children when the two of them were forced together by the friendship of their fathers.
But now, that friendship was to be of benefit only to Nicholas. He had the letters in his pocket, and now he intended to enjoy the moment, even as he was disappointed Amelia was not there to see it.
He had begun to suspect she believed him to be sincere in his intentions over the announcement, her strange behavior the result of believing they could never be together. But in a few moments, there would be no question of his not sharing his love for her with the world, and now he cleared his throat.
“Not a toast, my Lord, no, but an announcement. Constance and I have known one another since childhood. Of those gathered here today, she’s the one I’ve known the longest, our early companionship the result of the friendship between our fathers,” he said, glancing at Constance, who nodded.
“We were brought together in this very house as mere babes in arms,” she said, still with that same smug expression on her face.
“And it would be only natural to think our friendship developed over time, and led, perhaps, to something more in the first flush of youth, or at the point of debut and manhood. But no such match occurred, and following the death of our fathers, we drifted apart,” Nicholas said.
Constance glanced up at him, as though expecting him to make the announcement swiftly, but Nicholas was enjoying himself.
“Well, the point is—” she began.
“The point is,” Nicolas cut her off. “I’d like to set the record straight. We didn’t marry in the first flush of youth, and we’re not going to marry now, despite what Constance might believe,” Nicholas said, his tone turning icy.
Constance’s face turned red with anger. She sprang to her feet, pointing at him accusingly.
“You know my promise, Nicholas,” she said, and he smiled. The rest of the gathering were staring at them open-mouthed, except Harry.
“Oh, I know your promise, Constance. You desire to reveal the contents of the letters in my pocket. The letters proving I was the result of an elicit affair between my father and a woman referred to only as “Madam” found in the correspondence between your father and mine,” he said.
Constance faltered, gasping, as Nicholas removed the bundle of letters from his pocket. He held them up, selecting the first and unfolding it.
“What are you doing?” Constance hissed.
“Preventing a life of misery for myself. In the letters they reveal a woman only referred to as “Madam” has had a child by my father, the child is me, “Nicohlas said. “My father continues stating that the thought of the scandal was too much…yes, it’s all here. But I’m not ashamed of it. My father did what he did, and as for “Madam,” well, she can remain a mystery.
For a long time, I’ve suspected my mother wasn’t my mother, so to speak. Lady Eleanor died when I was very young. Constance wanted to blackmail me and try to force me into a marriage with her by holding an apparent secret over me. The secret contained in these letters,” Nicholas said. Constance let out a cry, rose to her feet and tried snatching the letters away from him, but he quickly drew back.
“Give them to me. They’re mine,” she exclaimed, but Nicholas shook his head.
“No they’re not. The people they did belong to have passed. They belong to no one,” he said. With a deft flick of his wrist, he threw the letters into the fire, and the flames caught hold of the dry, brittle paper, consuming it in a moment.
Constance was speechless. She sank back into her chair humiliated and defeated. Nicholas nodded, glancing at Harry, who smiled.
“Goodness me,” Mrs. Bennett said, and the other guests looked at one another nervously.
