Page 25 of A Duchess to Reclaim

Dominic turned back to her with a devilish smile so handsome it made her shiver.

“Oh no, dear wife,” he said, sliding his hands into his pockets. “You are coming with me.”

Amelia’s eyes widened as a sense of true fear- her first in nearly a year, crept over her body.

“Dominic, no,” she whispered, dropping her haughty air. “I can’t go back there. Tothem.”

“You had no issue visiting the city when attending theDevil’s Masquerade,”he pointed out. “Besides, were you not just telling me last night that you have changed? No longer the cowering woman I rescued or something like that?”

Amelia opened her mouth but quickly snapped it shut. Yes, she’d changed. Or least she thought she had. And she had no yearning to test that theory by going back to London.

“That was different,” she replied carefully, taking a step toward him. “It was a few hours at most, and I wasn’t with theton.Please, Dominic, don’t make me go back to those horrid people.”

A fleeting look of sympathy passed through Dominic’s eyes.

“Believe it or not I am not thrilled over having you return to London either,” he replied, that sympathy coming through in his deep voice.

“We have to clean these rumors up now, though. Make the proper appearances. And I say again, Theo’s mother is in failing health. Surely you won’t turn your back on your friend’s needs at a time like this?”

Feeling defeated, Amelia’s shoulders sank. No. She certainly didn’t want to do that. It was why she’d offered to have Theo and even her mother come to Ellsworth. Though it was only Theo that ever appeared, and even then she spoke so briefly about her mother. She now wondered if she had been helping her friend by giving her a place to escape- or hurting her by giving her an opportunity to ignore the real world.

She also knew that if rumors truly were circulating about her being in the red rooms of theDevil’s Masqueradewith strangers, then the only way to dissolve them was to appear in public by Dominic’s side looking happier and confident than ever.

“When do we leave?” She muttered in agonizing resignation.

“Tonight,” Dominic told her. “We’re going to organize a ball, invite everyone who’s of importance, and you, myself, and my little spies are going to get to find who’s responsible for this entire mess.”

“But…my aviary,” Amelia sighed, looking back at the partially finished cage. She hated how small and adolescent she sounded. But there wasn’t a single part of her that was ready or willing to go back to her old life in London. The life of stuck up parties, degrading rumors and pitying, condescending looks.

“You can have the workers continue their work if you like,” Dominic said to her surprise. “Perhaps they’ll have it finished by the time we come back.”

CHAPTEREIGHT

“Amelia, I’m so sorry,” Theo said, opening her arms to Amelia.

“You’re sorry?” Amelia’s voice trembled, “No, darling,I’msorry. This was all handled so poorly.”

As the two of them embraced, Ophelia and Rose came around behind them, all four of them moving into a group hug.

“Tristan told me what he’d heard of us,” Theo explained, pulling away. “I really was careless in my behavior.”

“Come,” Amelia urged, leading them all to the table in the sunroom, “Let us sit and talk. Figure a way out of this awful mess.”

Dominic’s London house was vastly different from the Ellsworth estate. Like the other grand houses on the street, it was made of sand-hued stone and the light-colored painted walls inside caught all of the light through the windows.

It appeared warmer than the one in Ellsworth, but when she’d first stepped into it, her body already tense with anxiety, she felt nothing but cold pretense. It was a ruse; a way to make all the other members oftonthink that Dominic was just like them. Already she wanted to venture back into the dark space of the vast monetary-like home she’d grown to love over the past year.

“First things first,” Amelia said, reaching for Theo’s hand. “How is your mother?”

Theo’s eyes grew red as her chin wobbled.

“She grows worse by the day. I missed much by escaping to Ellsworth with you. She rarely recognizes me any more.”

“What have the physicians have to say?” Rose asked.

Theo’s brows furrowed.

“Physicians,” she scoffed, folding her arms. “More like torturers. They suggest the most cruel treatments. None I suspect will actually help my mother get better.”

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