Chapter 1

Chapter 1

1816

“Is that another flower pressed?” Amelia asked the other woman, whose dark head was bent over the little flower press on her lap.

“Just about, my lady.” Taylor Marks took the flower out, nicely encased in the resin, and passed it to Amelia. “I’m getting the hang of this. I didn’t think it was possible. You know I’m all fingers and thumbs.”

“Oh, you worry too much. It’s easy.” Amelia dipped her brush into the water and swirled it around. “I’m pretty much finished here, so we’ll have the last few pressed flowers with the collection, and I can add this to the book back home.”

Taylor leaned over and saw the delicately painted plants Amelia had been concentrating on. She nodded approvingly.

“That’s beautiful, even if they’re just weeds.”

“Even weeds can be beautiful in their own right,” Amelia replied. “Although I’m sure we could call flowers fancy weeds.”

“You do have a point. How many paintings have you done now?”

“Quite a few. I’ve lost count.” Amelia put the painting to one side and shifted her painting box off her lap. “Let’s get everything packed up while we’re waiting for it to dry. I think we’ve done plenty, and it’s getting a little too warm out here.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Taylor said, brushing her hair off her forehead, her face slightly red and shining with sweat. “I wish I had asked if we could sit in the shade, but you wouldn’t have been able to capture these.”

“At least we’ve been productive.”

As Amelia packed away her paints into her travel box, tipping the water onto the grass, she caught sight of a kite nearby. It was across the river, just beyond a couple of trees. It was bright red, happily riding along the strong breeze. Amelia watched it, remembering how she enjoyed flying her kite when she was younger. It had sadly broken three years before, and her parents said she was too old to get a new one, but she had some fond memories.

Then her thoughts started turning toward Edmund and Mathilda Prescott. They often drifted in and out of her memories, and Amelia wondered how they were getting on. Edmund was a grown man before, so he had probably gotten married and had a couple of children by now. Mathilda would be sixteen, a couple of years off from having her first Season. Were they getting on well?

Amelia knew that she could find out if she wanted by asking around—just in passing, nothing out of the ordinary—but she wouldn’t be able to trust the information that came back to her. People loved drama, so it would be hard to tell if it was real or gossip. Amelia would have to seek them out herself.

And that might not be the best idea. Her parents hadn’t been happy about associating with them, and they’d thought that she shouldn’t be around them at all, despite Edmund and Mathilda being the children of a duke. That didn’t matter, apparently. It was really annoying, but Amelia knew when to leave something alone.

Even so, she wished that she could have kept in contact with them. They were nice, and they had a bond that Amelia enjoyed watching. Mathilda was lively and very engaging, a bubbly girl Amelia thought was really sweet. And Edmund was kind and patient, both to his sister and to Amelia herself.

She was glad about that; there had been times in the past when people had told her that she was annoying and talked too much, and that she didn’t know what she was talking about. Amelia got so fed up when that happened, which was often. Even now, she was spoken to as if she was daft.

But Edmund hadn’t done that. It was nice and refreshing to have someone treat her kindly.

When they had left, Amelia had given Mathilda her spare kite. She had two with her in case one broke, and she wanted to give the little girl something. Mathilda had been so excited, and Edmund had thanked her for it.

Even thinking about him now made her heart flutter. He had been a handsome young man, and Amelia had felt honored that he was paying her attention. Was he still handsome now? It would be like a dream if he did.

“My lady?” Taylor had stood up, the flower press all tidied away into the box she was carrying. “Shall we go?”

“Oh. Right.” Amelia stood up and folded her little chair before picking up her paint box. “Let’s go home before you end up fainting from the heat.”

“I won’t faint, but I will need something to drink, I think.” Taylor fanned herself with her hand as they began to walk toward the entrance. “I like sitting out in the sun, but I wish we had brought something to drink.”

“That was my fault. We’ll get something on the way back.”

Amelia knew that they could stop off at a cafe and get something to drink, and maybe some cake. Anything to keep them out of the house. Whenever she was home, her mother wanted to talk to her about finding a husband, and Amelia wasn’t interested.

She had no interest in getting married. In her mind, she preferred her freedom and independence. Being tied to a man who wouldn’t let her do anything she wanted would have driven her mad. Amelia would not be locked in and forbidden from doing anything she loved.

Social engagements were a complete bore, anyway. Amelia didn’t like them. The conversations were boring, and she didn’t bother to hide her true feelings. Whenever she was asked about something she was interested in, nobody wanted to listen. People thought she was a little odd, but Amelia didn’t care. She was herself, and she preferred to be a true person, rather than someone fitted into a mold.

As long as she was left to do her own thing, that was fine. Even if her parents hated it. They didn’t like that she was so different to the point it was ridiculous. Robert often told Amelia that it wasn’t that bad, and she should just go along with it so they would leave her alone, but Amelia wasn’t about to agree and fall into line.

Marriage was not meant to be a woman’s entire identity. Amelia was her own person.

They reached the carriage and saw as soon as they stepped through the entrance gate that things were in trouble. The carriage had come up onto the pavement, and the front wheel was off. It sat at an angle, splinters sticking out everywhere. The driver was staring at it, not moving as if he was in a trance. Amelia hurried over, but he barely reacted to her until she grabbed his arm.

“Hmm?” He blinked and looked around. “Lady Amelia?”

“Jefferson, what’s going on? What happened to the carriage?”

“I…” Jefferson shook himself. “I don’t know. I mean, I came back when you told me to, and this…this happened.”

His words sounded a little slurred, and Amelia noticed that he was swaying a little bit. There was a bottle in his hand, and Amelia snatched at it. She took a sniff and then recoiled as the strong stench of alcohol filled her nostrils.

“What are you doing drinking, Jefferson?” she demanded. “Why would you drink while you were in charge of driving the carriage?”

“Forgive me, my lady,” Jefferson said mournfully. He sounded close to tears. “I’ve had some bad news at home. My…my wife…she…”

Amelia didn’t need him to tell her about it. She had already heard about it from the gossip Taylor brought her every morning. Jefferson’s wife had decided to go and live with her family after trying to reason with her husband about his drinking. It was beginning to affect him at his job with Amelia’s family, and Mrs. Jefferson couldn’t take it anymore. She must have thought leaving him would be the nudge he needed to stop drinking.

Evidently, it had done the opposite.

“For goodness sake, Jefferson, you know this is going to get you into serious trouble.” She handed the bottle to Taylor. “Dispose of this somehow, Taylor. I don’t want it anywhere near us.”

“My lady…” Jefferson protested, but Amelia cut him off.

“Stop it. You’ve done something really foolish. You know that you’re on thin ice with my father about the way you’re using alcohol as a way to get through the day. This is the fourth time you’ve broken a carriage with your drinking.”

Jefferson looked like he was about to cry. He swayed on his feet, and Amelia braced herself, expecting to catch him in case he fell. She couldn’t believe that he would put everyone’s life at risk. She pointed at the busy street with people walking past, giving them curious looks. Amelia knew that they were judging her for having an incompetent servant.

“You do realize that you could have hurt someone, don’t you?” she snapped. “What if Taylor and I had been in the carriage?”

Jefferson flinched. Sighing, Amelia looked around as Taylor came hurrying back.

“I poured out the bottle, and there was a beggar man walking by, so I gave him the bottle to get some money from it,” her maid said. She looked at the carriage wheel. “What are we going to do now? Shall we get the tools out?”

“Yes, you’d better.” Amelia pointed at Jefferson. “You focus on keeping the horses calm. If you can’t stand up, go and sit on the pavement out of everyone’s way.”

“Please don’t tell your parents about this,” Jefferson begged.

“Just do as you’re told, Jefferson.”

Amelia didn’t want to get the man into trouble. It was not something she was comfortable with, and when he was sober, Jefferson was a good worker. But the drinking had been getting worse lately, and he didn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.

His shoulders slumped, Jefferson went to the horses and started to pat their necks, rubbing their noses. It seemed to calm him as well as the animals attached to the mess sitting on the curb. Taylor brought out the box of tools and put it on the pavement.

“Right, what do we need?”

Amelia peered at the mess.

“Well, it looks like the wheel has come off the axle. It’s splintered a little as well.” She leaned in to take a closer look. “We might be able to get back home if we go slowly, but a temporary fix will have to do for now.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to fix it on our own, though?” Taylor asked in a worried tone, frowning at the mess. “If we’re going to straighten the wheel, we’re going to have to lift the carriage up to adjust it, and Jefferson’s not in a state to be doing that. Also, you and I aren’t strong enough.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. We can’t give up because of that.”

However, Amelia was thinking the same way as Taylor. Something like this did need the help of a man, and the only one in close proximity was drunk. Amelia knew it would be easier said than done to sort it out between them. Especially on a busy road with everyone watching them.

At this point, Amelia didn’t care if people found the two of them fixing the carriage disgraceful. She just wanted to go home.

The sound of a carriage approaching got her attention, and Amelia saw it pull up behind theirs, slowing at a more sedate pace. The door opened, and a young man climbed out. For a moment, Amelia couldn’t help but stare. Oh, my, the man was remarkable to look at.

He was tall, so tall that he pretty much unfolded himself as he climbed out of the carriage, wearing dark blue on a slim but firm-looking frame. His face was slightly angular, but it didn’t take away from the fact that he was very handsome. Black curls were visible before he put on his hat, and he approached them with a pleasant smile.

As he drew closer, Amelia had a nagging feeling that she knew him. There was something familiar about him. Yet she was sure that she hadn’t seen him before in her life. And Amelia would have known if she had met this gentleman before. She would have recognized this reaction her body was having toward him, with her pulse racing and feeling like the hairs on the back of her neck were tingling.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, a deep voice with a timbre that made Amelia shiver. That sounded familiar as well. He looked at the broken wheel. “Ah. I see. Someone got a bit too close, did they?”

“You could say that,” Amelia said quickly, hoping that he couldn’t smell the alcohol in the air. “As you can see, we have a problem. And we’re beginning to realize that we’re a little out of our depth.”

“You mean you two were going to fix it yourself?” He arched an eyebrow in amusement at her. “You think you can do that?”

Amelia drew herself up.

“We are capable, but there are times when we have to admit defeat. Now, did you come here to mock us for getting into this position, or are you going to help us?”

“Hold your horses, my lady. I was coming to ask if you needed any help.” He nodded at the wheel. “I can get my driver, and we’ll help you with this. Just to last you until you get home.”

“That would be great if you could, my lord.” Amelia smiled. “Thank you.”

He smiled at her, and Amelia was struck by a memory from her past. There was a young man, barely into his adulthood, who had smiled at her like that before. But then it was gone. No, it couldn’t be him.

And yet…

“I’m always willing to come to the rescue of a young lady.” He bowed to her. “I’m Edmund Prescott, the Earl of Silverton.”

Amelia thought she had misheard. No, she wasn’t imagining it. Her memory was intact. This was the young man from the park who helped her with her kite.

“Edmund?” she gasped and then backtracked a little when he gave her a curious look. “Forgive me. I wasn’t expecting to see you again. It’s been a few years since you and I last saw each other.”

“Really?”

Did he not recognize her? Then Amelia guessed that she probably looked very different than she had five years ago. She hadn’t grown at all in that time—she was still under five feet tall—her body had filled out appropriately, and she had some nice curves that Amelia felt confident about.

She wasn’t about to be ashamed of her body. Her auburn hair was longer, but it was better styled, and she kept it pinned up in various styles to keep it out of her face. Her parents said that she had really grown up.

“I’m Amelia Everly. The girl who needed help with her kite in the park?”

Edmund blinked, almost as if he didn’t know what she was talking about. Then his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open.

“Oh, my goodness. Amelia. You were that girl?”

“Yes. It’s good to see you again.”

Amelia stuck out her hand. Edmund hesitated—it wasn’t the done thing for ladies to shake gentlemen’s hands—but then he curled his fingers around hers and shook it. Then both of them froze. Amelia saw Edmund’s eyes widening, and she was sure that he could feel the tingling in her hand as well. It was something she had never experienced before.

“Edmund? Is everything all right?”

Amelia looked past Edmund to see a young girl alight from the carriage, equally tall and slim like him, with long black hair pinned away from her face. She couldn’t be any older than sixteen.

They stared at each other, and then the girl’s eyes widened.

“Oh, my! Amelia Everly?”

“Mathilda?”

Mathilda Prescott beamed as she strode over.

“You remember me?”

“Of course! You had such a unique name, and I remembered our time in the park.” Amelia managed to let go of Edmund’s hand and grasped both of Mathilda’s, looking her up and down. “Look at you all grown up. I can’t believe it.”

Mathilda laughed.

“You look stunning, Amelia. You were a pretty girl when we last saw you, but you’ve simply blossomed. Don’t you think so, Edmund?”

She elbowed her brother in the ribs. Edmund cleared his throat, and his cheeks went a little red. He was unable to look at either of them. Mathilda nodded at the carriage.

“Do you need some help? I’m sure my brother can help you with whatever you need.”

“That’s what he just offered.” Amelia nodded at Jefferson, who was still with the horses. “My driver…he’s a bit shaken.” That was one way to put it, she thought to herself . “Hopefully, it won’t take long, and I don’t want to take time away from what you’re doing.”

“No problem at all. We’re fine with helping.” Edmund signaled for his driver to climb down and join them. “You’ll get going in no time, Lady Amelia. You know how good I am at fixing things.”

Amelia noticed that Taylor was giving her an odd look, and she ignored it. She would explain it all later.

***

Edmund couldn’t believe it. The young woman in need of help was the same girl from five years ago who needed someone to undo the knot in her kite. He hadn’t expected to bump into her again, not with how protective her parents were. Being a child, she wouldn’t have been in Society until recently, anyway, so they wouldn’t have moved in the same social circles.

She had also blossomed as well. When she was fourteen, she had shown signs of how cute she could be, but now it was like her beauty was shining through. There was a confidence about her that seemed to glow about her. She looked more put together, and the sparkle in her brown eyes was more than present.

Edmund had to stop himself from staring, especially after Mathilda’s comment. He was not here to gawk at the woman when she needed help. With the help of his driver, Michaelson, they began to work on fixing the wheel. It was split, but the crack wasn’t all the way through. The axel didn’t look broken, thankfully. So it was just the wheel to focus on. They just needed to straighten it up and find a way to tighten it so Amelia and her maid could get home.

As he worked, he could hear Amelia and Mathilda talking behind him, and it was hard not to listen in on their conversation.

“How long have you been in London?” Mathilda asked. “We only arrived a few days ago. Mother and Father wanted me to experience London before I enter the ton next year, so I’m really excited.”

Amelia laughed.

“I can imagine. But I thought you’ve been to London plenty of times before.”

“This time, they’re going to allow me to join in the dinner parties they’re going to throw, to give me an idea of what’s going on and how to behave. Practice, if you like.” Mathilda paused. “What about you? What is being out in the ton like for you? Is it all right?”

“I wouldn’t know just yet. I’m having my first Season right now.”

Edmund wondered if he had heard this correctly. By his calculations, Amelia would be nineteen now. She should have been in the ton for at least a year by now, if not two. Mathilda sounded as surprised as Edmund felt.

“Really? You’re having your first Season now? How is that possible? Were you unwell?”

“I was able to put it off for two years. I never wanted to enter Society like everyone else.”

“You’re serious about that?”

“Yes. I don’t care for it at all.” Amelia sighed. “Unfortunately, my parents are adamant that I attend this year. You could say I’m pretty much forced into this.”

She didn’t want to enter Society like everyone else? Edmund glanced over at Amelia, seeing how relaxed she was about it. She was stunning; she could easily grace any ballroom and have all eyes on her. And she didn’t want to have anything to do with that? He was curious now, wondering what her mentality was.

Michaelson cleared his throat, and Edmund remembered what he was meant to be doing. His driver lifted the carriage up a little, and Edmund adjusted the wheel. Hopefully, this worked.

“I’m surprised,” Mathilda said. “I never expected someone to say that. Edmund says that he’s not keen on it, but he has to go. I think our parents would have a fit if he tried to stop himself from entering Society.”

“I can imagine. But I was lucky for a couple of years, and now it’s run out.”

Mathilda giggled.

“I can’t imagine why. I’ve heard there are quite a lot of good-looking gentlemen. Take my brother, for example. He’s one of the most eligible bachelors in the country. Women are falling over themselves to get his attention, and he still won’t pick one.”

Edmund almost fumbled with the wheel as Michaelson put the carriage down, and he had to brace himself as he waited for his master to pay attention. Feeling his face burning because of his embarrassment, Edmund concentrated on what he was doing. As they balanced the wheel and tightened it up, Edmund listened to Mathilda and Amelia talking, unable to stop himself.

“I don’t really care for any of that, I’m afraid. I don’t really have any interest in being courted, or even getting married.”

“What?” Mathilda sounded surprised. “You don’t want to get married?”

Edmund’s ears pricked up at this. He heard Amelia’s response, so matter of fact about it.

“I have no desire to get married anytime soon. It’s the last thing on my mind. Especially at my age. Why would I want to marry so young when there are so many things I wanted to do?”

“But what do your parents think? Do they think it’s the right thing for you?”

Amelia snorted.

“I’ve pandered to their behavior for years. Now I’m doing something for myself. I’m more interested in living life as I want. There’s so much to do, and how am I meant to do that when I’m concentrating on finding a husband?”

Edmund listened to this with growing surprise. Amelia had no intention of getting married? How was that possible? She was beautiful. A woman like her would have a queue of gentlemen lining up to get her attention, and she didn’t want it? Why was that?

He wanted to ask, but then Amelia changed the topic and started asking Mathilda questions about how she was finding London. That gave Edmund the opportunity to work on the wheel, which was looking better now that it was straight and back on the road. Michaelson tightened the last nut and straightened up.

“That should do it,” he declared, nodding at Amelia. “Just be careful going home, my lady. We don’t want you to get into another accident.”

Suddenly, there was a bang. The wheel broke, and the carriage sagged again. Amelia’s maid screamed and darted away; Amelia and Mathilda jumped in surprise, Mathilda clutching at Amelia’s arm. The edge of the carriage bumped against Edmund’s shoulder, and he gritted his teeth to fight back the pain. Michaelson sighed.

“So much for thinking it could hold a little. It’s not going to hold at all. That wheel is completely split.”

“Oh, no.” Amelia looked upset. “I was hoping we would be able to get home at the very least.”

She glanced over at his driver, and Edmund noticed that he was focusing too much on the horses, not looking at her. He had sensed the whiff of alcohol in the air, and it seemed to be emanating from the man in front of him. That was the reason for the accident, he was sure of it. At least Amelia wasn’t hurt, so they had been lucky.

“Why don’t we take you home, then?” Mathilda suggested.

Amelia blinked.

“What?”

“The carriage needs to be fixed, and it will take a while. Edmund and I will take you and your maid home.” Mathilda gave Edmund a pointed look. “That’s fine, isn’t it, Edmund?”

“I…”

Edmund was about to respond, and then he saw Amelia had turned to him with those golden-brown eyes, and he forgot how to speak. It was such a beautiful sight that it left him shaken. This was not something he was used to, and certainly not from someone he previously knew.

There was something wrong with him. There had to be.

“Edmund,” Mathilda warned, giving him a sly wink. “We can take Amelia home while her driver waits for someone to come and help with the carriage, can’t we? She shouldn’t have to wait here as well.”

“I…of course.” Edmund managed to recover, aware that everyone was watching him. He smiled at Amelia. “We can do that. For you and your maid.”

Amelia’s expression was a little wary, but when she smiled, it softened her features. The freckles on her face were still there but a little muted. It was still as cute as it was five years ago.

He was going to have to stop himself from staring at this girl, otherwise she was going to keep him off-kilter.

She didn’t have any idea how easy it would be for her to capture a man’s attention when she looked as stunning as she did.