Page 83 of Rakes & Reticules
She frowned. “And you, Your Grace?”
He cast her a warning glower that sent a noticeable shiver up her spine. “Are you interrogating me?”
“No...no, of course not. I...do forgive me. We were worried about dear Amelia when we saw her slip away from the parlor.”
“How considerate of you,” he said with a coldness designed to turn the conniving girl to ice. “But I suggest you concern yourself with you own affairs and leave Lady Amelia to hers.”
Dorothea and her friends now backed out of the library and were preparing to return to the parlor when Amelia traipsed down the main stairs.
Dorothea gasped. “Where were you? You were supposed to be in the library.”
“Me?” Amelia patted her hair. “I merely went upstairs to fix a few pins that had loosened. Why?”
“No reason.” But she stared at Amelia with venom in her gaze.
Callum realized he would have to keep Amelia close for the duration of the house party. Not that he minded in the least, for she was stealing his heart.
Unfortunately, Dorothea sensed it.
Pennington’s eyebrows shot up as he, too, noted the exchange between Dorothea and Amelia. He sidled over to Callum. “Trouble brewing?”
Callum nodded. “Remind me not to host any more house parties.”
“It isn’t the parties that are the problem. It is the quality of those invited.” He shook his head and sighed. “That girl is Machiavelli reborn. Makes me rethink my marriage quest. I shall have to pay more notice to the quiet, unassuming wallflowers.”
Amelia had now joined them and heard Pennington’s comment. “Stop placing us in your neat, little categories and just talk to us. You might find an intelligent diamond or a sparkling wallflower in our midst. But you’ll never figure it out if you only regard us as candy.”
“They teach us mathematics, science, history, Latin and Greek at university,” Pennington said with a light groan, “but they really ought to provide intensive lectures on women. We are sent off into the world completely ill-equipped to deal with them, and yet our lives can be a misery or bliss depending on the one we choose. Makes a man shudder.”
“It is worse for women, Lord Pennington,” Amelia said. “We are not only trapped if we choose unwisely, but we have also lost any assets we bring to the marriage. What recourse do we have when all the laws favor men? We cannot even keep our children without our husband’s consent if the marriage falls apart. It is barbaric to deprive a child of a mother’s love.”
Pennington groaned again. “Lady Amelia, now you are depressing me. I hope I shall never be such an ogre to the woman I marry.”
“I am certain you will be fair, but not all men are honorable.”
“Nor all women,” Callum added, holding out his arm to Amelia to escort her back to the parlor. “This is why the Marriage Mart is a battleground. One needs to know who one’s allies are and who are the enemies. One needs to prepare for surprise attacks and be alert to ambushes.”
“Dorothea almost ambushed me just now, didn’t she?”
Callum nodded. “She tried. I think there must be no more library adventures for you, Amelia. I want you to stay close to me as much as you can.”
“But won’t that rile her even more?”
“This is not about her. It is about protecting you. Just don’t walk anywhere on your own. Let me know if you must leave for any reason.”
The three of them followed Dorothea and her disgruntled pack to the parlor.
Pennington excused himself, muttering assurances he was determined to search for a wife who was more than mere candy for his eyes.
Amelia also excused herself. “You do not need me hanging on your arm as you move about the room to chat with your friends. I am duly chastened and shall remain with my aunt for the remainder of the afternoon.”
Callum watched as she settled beside Rosie and her circle of elderly friends. The girl was charming and engaging when she wanted to be, but this marriage business had her tied up in knots. Yet, when she was not concerned with it she radiated beauty.
That evening, he escorted one of Dorothea’s friends to supper, his purpose to sow discord among her band of schemers. The young woman, Lady Alice, was anothertondiamond, a bubbly blonde with pretty dimples and not a lick of brain matter between her ears.
Amelia was seated between his uncle and his brother, and all of them appeared to be having a grand time, enjoying lively conversation as the courses were served. It was a lavish meal starting with a white soup and ending with an elaborate array of Viennese cakes rich in raspberry and chocolate sauces. The main courses consisted of roasted game fowl and fish pies.
While his friendsoohedandaahedover each elaborate tray brought out, and enjoyed a refreshing bite of eachamuse-bouchedesigned to clear the palate, all he could think of was having the interminable meal draw to a close so he might be near Amelia again.
