Page 67 of An Earl's Christmas Seduction
“What a lot of secrets,” Sir Samuel said, raising his eyebrows.
“But there’re more, aren’t there, Samuel?” Nicholas’ aunt, Lady Turner, said, and Nicholas looked at her in surprise.
“What do you mean?” he replied.
His aunt sighed, shaking her head, but Nicholas was determined to know the truth. The whole truth. He had brought the guests together in the hope of their knowing something about his past that would be revealed. While the letters had revealed a certain truth, enough to satisfy him and prevent Constance from carrying out her nefarious plans, there was still a great deal more to learn.
“I mean…you don’t yet know everything, Nicholas. But perhaps it’s time to tell you,” she said.
But before she could say anything further, the dining room door burst open and Amelia’s mother appeared, her face pale and anxious, her hands trembling.
“She’s not here. She’s gone. No one’s seen her. One of the servants told me the most extraordinary tale,” she exclaimed, and Nicholas and the others stared at her in astonishment.
“What is it?” he asked.
“One of the stable boys reported seeing her outside this morning, sleeping in the stable. And now she’s gone… oh, my poor Amelia. We’ve got to find her,” she exclaimed, and without hesitation, Nicholas hurried out into the hallway, calling for the servants and the other men to follow him in a search.
The matter of the betrothal was settled, and though the mystery remained, finding Amelia was now all that mattered.
Chapter 21
“But where could she be?” Isobel exclaimed, as a general panic ensued.
The other guests were pulling on hats and scarves, ready to mount a search party, and Nicholas’ aunt was comforting Amelia’s mother, the baroness having now descended into a fit of sobs.
“Oh… we argued over… well, yes… I knew something was wrong. Oh. My poor Amelia, out in the snow, lost…” she wailed.
“There, there, Beryl. We don’t know if she’s lost. Are you certain she’s not just in another part of the house?” she asked.
“I looked everywhere!” Her mother exclaimed.
Nicholas was worried. He did not think Amelia was in the house, remembering her strange behavior at breakfast. He still feared she suspected a genuine affection between himself and Constance. He turned to find Constance standing in the corner on her own.
“What do you know about this?” he demanded, for he no longer had any reason to appease her.
She looked up at him and scowled.
“I don’t know anything about it. If she’s gone out in the snow and got herself lost, that’s her fault, not mine,” Constance replied.
But Nicholas was not convinced.
“You told her, didn’t you? You made her believe what you intended everyone else to believe, too. Why was she out in the stables last night?” he demanded.
Constance laughed.
“And to think, you prefer her to me. I could see it coming, Nicholas. But you’re mine. You were always mine,” she said. Nicholas shook his head.
“I’m not yours, Constance. And I never want anything to do with you again. But if you want to redeem yourself in the smallest of ways, you’ll tell me what you know. If she’s out there, lost in the snow, and if something happens to her… I’ll hold you responsible,” he said.
Constance sighed.
“I told her to watch through the library window last night. She saw us kiss. It’s not my fault if she thinks something other than the truth as it is now,” she said.
Nicholas drew a sharp intake of breath, realizing what the scene in the library must have looked like through the window. Constance had threatened him with ruin if he did not kiss her and passion. If Amelia had seen it, she would have thought just what Constance wanted her to think.
“Quickly, everyone. We’ve got to find her,” Nicholas called out, turning away from Constance, for whom he no longer had anything to say to.
Not only had she tried to ruin his life, she had gone as far as ruining Amelia’s, too. Nicholas could only imagine what Amelia now thought of him and had done as a result.
