Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Reuben woke up alone. He thought something disturbed his sleep, but everything was silent. He blinked back the sleep from his eyes and sat up in the bed. Amelia had already gotten dressed and left the room. He frowned. What time was it?

He got out of bed and went to the dresser to retrieve his pocket watch. Good heavens. It was one in the afternoon! He wasn't used to sleeping that late. No wonder Amelia wasn't in the room with him.

Deciding to skip shaving, he hurried to dress. If she was downstairs, it was possible Corin would be, too. Given Corin's state of mind, Reuben didn't want them to talk alone. His stomach tensed as he threw the cravat around his neck. He stilled. It was already the afternoon. The two had all morning to have a chance encounter. He grimaced, threw the cravat on the dresser, and went to his boots. It was unlikely he could stop Corin before he said something to upset Amelia, but he had to try.

When he reached the drawing room, no one was there. He wasn't sure where Amelia would be. It had been her bedchamber that he'd just left. She'd have no reason to go to his. After a moment, he ran to the library. Sometimes she went in there to pick out a book, but that room was vacant as well.

Something was wrong. He could feel it. His stomach knotted up, and he had to take a deep breath to ward off some nausea. He had to get a slice of toasted bread soon or he'd throw up. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. If only he could find Amelia…

He opened his eyes. All he needed to do was think. Where did she usually go when they weren't together? He was used to finding her in the drawing room or this library. But she wasn't in either room. He doubted she would be conversing with the servants about that play she was having them work on so he could have the theatre experience. Not with Corin here.

He didn't feel like checking any of the other rooms in case he ran into Corin. The irony wasn't lost on him. In the past, he would have sought Corin out. He used to be so excited whenever his brother came for a visit. But with Corin wanting to get rid of Amelia, Reuben found no reason to welcome a chance to talk to him.

It was much too quiet in this manor. While he wasn't used to a lot of noise, something was different about the silence today. He didn't even see or hear the servants. It was as if they were trying to stay away from conflict.

His stomach roiled. He had to get a piece of toasted bread, and he had to do it fast. He left the room and headed for the kitchen. On the way, he passed the small den his brother usually stayed in when he had to work on the ledger. The door was slightly ajar. Reuben slowed his steps in case Corin was in there. As he approached, he caught sight of Corin's familiar frame. Thankfully, Corin didn't look up. He was too busy writing at his desk.

Reuben tiptoed down the hall. He waited until he was safely out of hearing range before he resumed his normal pacing. Before he talked to Corin, he needed to find Amelia. He had slept in way too long. What if the two talked this morning? Corin had a habit of speaking first and thinking later. It'd been like that ever since he could remember. It was why Corin had had so much trouble early on in his marriage to Candace.

The cook jumped when he saw Reuben enter the kitchen. "Mr. St. George, is there a problem?"

"No, there's no problem. I came for a slice of toast," Reuben replied.

The cook nodded and went to grab the loaf of bread so he could cut into it. Cook was used to making toast for him, though this was the first time Reuben came into the kitchen for it. Reuben would have had the butler come in here for this, but he didn't want to risk running into Corin. Not until he'd had a chance to talk to Amelia.

He put his hand on his stomach and sat down. If he wasn't careful, he was going to throw up. He couldn't let his mind wander to what Corin might have said to Amelia that morning. Curse him and his stomach. If his stomach wasn't so sensitive, he could handle this situation right away instead of needing the toast. If he hadn't gotten sick so easily in London, he could have stayed there. Then Corin would never have panicked and insisted he come back here. Reuben closed his eyes and took deep, easy breaths in order to soothe his nerves.

No, it wasn't fair to just blame Corin. As much as Reuben hated to admit it, there was someone else he had to point the finger at. In all the years he'd been alive, Reuben had followed his brother's advice. Whenever Corin had told him he needed to do something, he did it without question. Corin was a good deal older than him. That made him wiser. It was understandable that he would look up to him. But there had to come a day when Reuben started thinking for himself. He couldn't let Corin run his life anymore.

Cook held out a toast and a cup of tea to him. "The tea has some peppermint in it to help you."

"Thank you." Reuben took both of the items and sipped the tea before he took a small bite of the toast.

"You'll think it's funny, but I was beginning to wonder if we'd need that peppermint anymore," Cook said with a chuckle. "I don't recall you needing it for well over a year."

Reuben frowned. Had it been a year since he'd last had issues with his stomach? What had he been doing a year ago? He hadn't left for London yet. He'd still been here, doing his usual day-to-day thing. He rummaged through the recesses of his mind to pick out when he'd gotten sick to his stomach.

Oh yes! He remembered now. He had been upset that he hadn't been able to go to London yet. Ever since he turned sixteen, he'd been wanting to go to London and see all of the fascinating places that he'd only heard about. But last year, he'd wanted more than to see Hyde Park or check out a play or a symphony. He'd wanted to meet ladies. He was tired of being alone. Corin and Candace had done their best to fill in the void, but it wasn't the same. What he'd most wanted was to find a wife. He had expressed this desire to Corin, who'd been visiting here at that time. Corin, however, argued it wasn't the right time to take him to London. He and Corin had ended up in a big fight about it. To this day, Reuben suspected Candace was the one who had ultimately talked Corin into letting Reuben attend a Season.

Why had it taken Candace for Corin to listen to him? Why hadn't his own words been enough to convince Corin to let him go to London? Did Corin really think so little of him that his opinion didn't matter?

Reuben forced himself to swallow the piece of toast he'd been nibbling on and then sipped the tea. "You wouldn't happen to know where my wife is, would you?"

Cook offered a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. St. George. I've been stuck in the kitchen all morning trying to decide what to do with the food no one ate."

Reuben frowned. "Are you telling me neither my wife nor my brother had breakfast?"

"I'm afraid not. The butler and maid set everything out in the dining room but no one came."

This didn't make things any better. Reuben sipped more tea to help ease the discomfort in his stomach. It wasn't much, but it was allowing him to eat another piece of toast. He had to find Amelia. Corin must have talked to her if they'd gotten so upset that they didn't bother eating something.

Reuben took what remained of the toast and searched for the butler. Of all the servants, the butler was the one who was most likely to know where Amelia went. By the time he found the butler, he had finished the toast.

Though the butler didn't know exactly where Amelia was, he reported seeing her leave the manor. "She went in the direction of the lake," he finished.

"Do me a favor," Reuben began. "Don't tell my brother if he asks."

The butler's eyebrows rose in curiosity, but he didn't ask why Reuben would make such a strange request. Instead, he indicated he would follow Reuben's order.

Reuben would have run to the lake if he wasn't so weak. Having not felt well for the past couple of days, he had lost some strength. It seemed to take forever for him to arrive at the lake, but when he did, he saw that the time he'd taken to come here had been worth it. Amelia was sitting on the boardwalk that led to the center of the lake. Her shoulders were slumped, and she was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

A surge of energy shot through him, and he ran to her. She glanced up at him the moment his foot hit the boardwalk. As he got closer to her, he could tell she'd been crying for some time since her face was blotchy and her eyes were puffy. It was worse than he feared. Her brother had said something to make her cry.

He sat next to her and brought her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Amelia. I wish I hadn't overslept. I wanted to be with you when my brother talked to you."

She pulled away from him so she could get a good look at him. "You knew that your brother doesn't want me to stay here with you?"

He placed his hand on her upper arm in order to maintain physical contact with her. She had no idea how thankful he was when she didn't push his hand away. The last thing he wanted to do was create a barrier between them. He had to choose his next words carefully. "Corin talked to me shortly after he arrived here. I told him that I wouldn't send you away. I assure you that I don't want to live apart from you. You are what makes my life worth living. If we're not together, I might as well not live at all."

Tears filled her eyes, and she leaned into him.

Relieved, he wrapped her in his arms and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. "I had hoped he would leave the matter alone after I talked with him, though I knew there was a chance he might not."

"He offered to send me an allowance if I'd go away," she said. "He seems to think that I'll end up killing you because I'll keep making you sick."

"That's silly. I haven't been sick once since you came here."

"What about your stomach ache?"

"You're not to blame for that. I've been dealing with this for years. It comes and goes. No one else ever has this. It's not something I can get from others like the epidemic cold."

"Then what causes it?"

Reuben frowned. "I'm not sure. I used to think it was something I ate, but I've been mindful of my meals this past year."

And that was rather telling, wasn't it? Something on the edge of his mind was trying to get his attention, but he couldn't seem to retrieve it.

"Reuben, I can't stay at this estate. Corin said I need to either leave by choice or he'll force me to leave."

Reuben's face grew hot with anger. "Corin told you that?"

She nodded and straightened up so she could wipe her eyes. "I didn't want to tell you that, but I also have to leave. I don't want you to think I'm leaving because I don't love you because that's not true."

It took him a long moment to gather his thoughts together so he could speak in a coherent manner. "I'm not going to live without you. Corin might be my older brother, and he might be the earl of this estate, but I'm old enough to decide my own fate. Where you go, I'll go. I don't care how often I get the epidemic cold, I'll return to London with you."

"We don't have to go to London. We could go to my brother's manor. He approves of our marriage."

He bowed his head to hers and kissed her. Even after all of this, she was willing to give up London to be with him. It was a shame Corin couldn't appreciate that. When he ended the kiss, he said, "I have an idea. Why don't we spend some of our time in London and some at your brother's estate?"

"But Reuben, I don't want to risk your health."

"I know you don't, but I'm tired of living my life afraid of what bad thing might happen to me. I miss the balls. I miss the theatre. I miss the dinner parties. I miss the balloon rides."

"You rode in a balloon?" she interrupted before he could go on.

"No. Corin wouldn't let me. He said it was too dangerous. But I want to. It looks like fun."

"It is fun. I've been on one."

Interest piqued, he asked, "You have?"

She nodded. "Only once. I'd love to do it again. Reuben, the view from up there is awe-inspiring. I can't even begin to explain it."

In a way, she didn't have to. The excitement on her face told him that this was an activity he would enjoy. He clasped her hands in his. "I want to get the most out of life, Amelia, and I want to get the most out of it with you. I'll just take things slowly. I don't have to do it all at once. I can take a balloon ride one day then rest a couple of days. Then I can attend a ball with you and rest a couple more. When I was there before, I did everything I could as quickly as I could because it was all new and exciting. I could feel the epidemic cold coming, but I kept going out anyway. I'm sure if I pay attention to what my body is telling me and rest when I need to, I'll be all right. Any time I've rested up at the first sign of illness, I did get better a lot faster. I really think this could work. I have enough money for a townhouse, and some left over to see that we're comfortable. Let's live our lives on our terms, Amelia. We'll pack right away and leave for London."

"Reuben, there's nothing I want more, but are you certain you want to do this? It's a big change from the way you're used to doing things."

"I've never been more certain of anything in my life." He squeezed her hands. "I love you, and I want to enjoy London with you by my side."

"As long as we're together, I don't care where we are." She kissed him then nodded. "Let's pack."

He stood up, helped her to her feet, and led her back to the manor.