Page 71 of An Earl's Christmas Seduction
At the mention of Nicholas, Amelia’s thoughts turned immediately to what had passed between them and to the reason she had fled the house. The light no longer seemed so bright. Blinking, Amelia could see who else was in the room. It seemed all the guests had gathered to keep vigil.
The Thorntons, Edmund, Sir Samuel and Mrs. Bennett, Clara and Isobel, Lady Turner, the viscount, the twins, and Nicholas, too. He stepped forward, an anxious look on his face, and Amelia looked away from him. She could not bear the thought of what he had done to her, and now her hand went instinctively to her neck.
“The locket,” she gasped, for it was gone, and her mother patted her hand.
“You weren’t wearing it, Amelia,” she said, and Amelia let out a cry.
“But I was… Rupert…” she exclaimed, struggling to sit up, even as her mother placed a firm hand on her shoulder.
“If you were, it must’ve been lost,” she said, and tears rolled down Amelia’s cheeks.
But now she started to remember more about what had happened to her. She remembered stumbling into the church, shivering with cold, and about to collapse. The moonlight had shone through the stained-glass windows bathing the sanctuary in a silvery tinge. Rupert had been there, she thought.
“I… I spoke to him, Mother,” she said, and her mother smiled.
“There, there, Amelia, don’t get upset now,” she said, but Amelia was adamant.
Shehadseen Rupert, and shehadspoken to him. He had told her to let him go and to love again. She could hear his voice even now, but the thought of doing so was another matter. In Nicholas, Amelia had truly believed she had found a man with whom she could be happy again. But Nicholas’ cruel actions had betrayed all she had hoped and believed in, and now she wondered if she could ever trust another man again.
“I did see him, Mother. He told me I was free to love again,” she said, and her mother gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Well… I’m glad he did, Amelia. It’s the right thing to think,” she said, glancing at Nicholas, who now stood at Amelia’s bedside.
“I’ll excuse myself for now,” the doctor said, nodding to them and leaving the room.
“Amelia, won’t you look at me?” Nicholas asked, but Amelia shook her head.
“You betrayed me, Nicholas,” she whispered, knowing the others were listening.
“I think there’s something you need to know, Amelia,” he said.
Amelia turned to look up at him. He had an anxious expression on his face, his eyes filled with a look of sorrow.
“What do I need to know?” she asked.
“She’s gone,” Nicholas replied.
Amelia was taken aback. She stared up at him, her eyes wide and disbelieving. She had expected Constance to be there, gloating over her downfall. She was the architect of this misery. It was Constance who had forced Amelia out into the cold. She made it clear which one of them Nicholas favored, and she made it impossible for Amelia to remain at Amhurst.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Amelia asked.
“It wasn’t true. What you thought wasn’t true. I never wanted to marry her. She was trying to blackmail me. She told me she had letters proving something scandalous about my past. But it turned out it wasn’t as scandalous as she made it out to be after all.
What you saw that night was the product of her blackmailing me. I’m not proud of it, and I should’ve stood up to her then. But I have now, and I’ve put an end to it. Harry found the letters in her bedroom. I confronted her over them. I was going to tell you, but then we discovered you were gone,” Nicholas replied.
Amelia could hardly believe what she was hearing, and now she turned to her mother, who sighed and nodded.
“He’s telling the truth, Amelia,” she said.
Isobel now came to kneel at Amelia’s bedside. She took Amelia’s hand in hers and squeezed it.
“He really is, Amelia. She’s gone, and she won’t be coming back. You don’t need to worry, and neither does Nicholas. Please believe us,” she said, and tears welled up in Amelia’s eyes.
She could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had thought the worst, but it was only what Constance had wanted her to think, and because of it, she had almost died.
“But I… I saw you,” she said, and Nicholas blushed.
“You saw me do something I resisted with every ounce of my will. But she’d threatened to rouse the whole house, and to reveal the scandal she claimed was hers to reveal. I kissed her, and it was the most repulsive thing I’ve ever done. The thought of marrying her turned my stomach, but I’d have done it to avoid ruining the family name. I know I’ve been a coward. What does a name matter when you’re forced to live your life in misery?” he said.
