Lady Amelia dropped her head and, after a moment, nodded. Charles shook his head, running one hand over his eyes and wondering if he should be taking Amelia to this evening’s assembly. It was certainly going to be an excellent evening but there would be a great many people present and he feared that Amelia might choose to behave in a fashion that verged on impropriety, given what she had done last evening.
“I will do as you say,” Lady Amelia said, her voice low with no trace of a smile on her face. “I did not mean to upset you both.”
Charles did not know whether to believe this or not but after stating one more time, very clearly, that there would be no further opportunities to prove herself should she continue along this path, he gestured to his mother and the three of them made their way to the door.
“My Lord?”
The butler was waiting for him.
“Might I remind you, my Lord, that you have still urgent correspondence?”
Charles hesitated, his mother and sister going on ahead of him. He had slept for a longer time than usual that morning and thereafter had spent the afternoon in town and accompanying his sister during her walk in Hyde Park for the fashionable hour.
“Might you remind me who it was from?” he asked, as Jamison inclined his head.
“A Lady Selina, if I recall correctly,” came the reply. “The fellow who brought it stated that the lady begged you to open it at once.”
“Do hurry up, Barrington!”
The call of his mother sent a slight wave of frustration through Charles but he kept his expression entirely blank.
“I am sure I will see Lady Selina this evening,” he said, with a small shrug. “I will speak to her of her letter and apologize for my lack of response.”
The butler nodded, wished him a pleasant evening and withdrew, although Charles’ frown remained as he made his way to the front of the house, ready to step out into the carriage. Whatever had Lady Selina written that was of such great importance? Part of him wanted to hurry back to his study, to find the letter and read it so that, at the very least, he would know what it was that she had said before he saw her again that evening, but he knew he could not do so, not when his mother and sister were waiting.
“Do not forget what was said, Amelia,” Charles warned, as the carriage pulled away. “Nothing will be tolerated. One foolish choice and we shall make our way back to the estate where you will spend the rest of spring and all of the summer regretting your ridiculous decisions. Am I quite clear?”
There was silence for a moment or two and then, after a moment, Lady Amelia sniffed and murmured that she understood. Satisfied, Charles leaned back against the squabs and closed his eyes, his thoughts returning to Lady Selina.
She was, he had to admit, a very lovely young lady. She bore no ill will, it seemed, for even though his sister had changed her manner towards Lady Selina upon discovering she was the daughter of a Duke – a change that he was certain Lady Selina herself had noticed – the lady was gracious enough to continue a conversation with his sister. And then, when Amelia had turned towards her friend without even ending her conversation properly with Lady Selina, Charles had felt such an embarrassment rise within him that he had wanted to apologize, only to find himself distracted in a very similar fashion!
Being quite certain that the lady would no longer wish to remain in their acquaintance, he had been astonished to see her standing with Lady Amelia and Miss Newington only a short time later. His admiration for her had grown all the more as he had realized what she had done, and since that moment, he had found himself thinking very well of her indeed. Certainly, she appeared to be a little quiet and reserved, and on some occasions, her conversation was a little lacking, but there was a heart of great compassion and consideration within her, he was sure of it. She was, he considered, the sort of young lady he wished might become a very close acquaintance of his sister, merely so that she might choose to behave a little better, but given that Lady Amelia and Lady Selina were of such different characters, he doubted such a thing would ever occur.
His thoughts drifted back towards the letter that Lady Selina had sent to him, wondering again at its urgency. What had she written that demanded his immediate attention? Sighing, he shook his head to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose as though to rid himself of an irritation. Whatever it was, he would find Lady Selina that very evening and apologize to her for his lack of time in reading the letter. No doubt she would be able to inform him of its contents this evening. Charles just had to hope he was not too late in learning of it.
“Have you seen Lady Selina this evening?” Lord Banfield’s eyebrows rose with such swiftness that Charles wanted to laugh aloud. “I seek her only to ask about a letter she sent to me,” he continued, before Banfield could even begin to exclaim over Charles’ request. “And not for any other reason, I assure you.”
The surprise and evident delight that had been beginning to spread across Banfield’s face immediately fell away.
“I see,” he muttered, as though he was a little disappointed. “And I thought that you were going to be in search of her for some other purpose!”
Charles grinned.
“I am very well aware of that,” he replied, as Banfield sighed heavily. “No, it is only that she wrote
