Page 48 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Count Fife, the family friend, already salivated at the mere sight of her, and from what Amelia had heard, he had also offered her marriage, but Beth had refused the proposal.
Something was not right. Amelia could feel it.
“Amelia?” a maid called out to her, and Amelia smoothed her expression before turning around.
“Yes?”
“Lady Victoria is calling for you in the parlour.”
“Lady Victoria?” Amelia was confused.
Whenever Lady Victoria needed any work done, she only asked Beth to do it and hardly ever called Amelia. However, now, she was specifically calling for her, and that worried Amelia a little. What could the matter be?
She nodded at the maid, quickly making her way towards the parlour where Lady Victoria was seated already. Amelia went in and curtsied before her, hoping she would not ask Amelia to do some work for her. She was awfully particular and critical.
“Amelia,” she began speaking, eyeing Amelia from head to toe, “You must do something for me.”
“Anything, My Lady.”
“I believe Beth is up to no good, and I want you to keep a closer eye on everything she does. Whatever she does, no matter how large or small, you must report back to me immediately. Is that understood?”
For a second, Amelia wanted to do nothing more than tell everything to Lady Victoria, but the unspoken rule between servants of never ratting out one another stopped her from saying anything.
“I will do just that, My Lady.”
“Bravo.” Lady Victoria smiled. “You can leave now.”
Amelia quickly turned around to leave, unable to understand the events that had taken place today. Although, now she knew exactly who she needed to go if she felt the need to reveal the secrets Beth was keeping from everyone, and she would use them against her at exactly the right time.
***
Victoria barged into her mother’s bedchamber, finding her mother laying comfortably on the settee in her room, a maid massaging her feet. She turned to stare at Victoria as she entered but did not comment.
Instead, she closed her eyes once again as if trying to ignore her very own daughter. This angered Victoria even more, and she paced around the room, already worried about everything Count Fife had just revealed to her.
“I believe I must ask you what is wrong,” her mother finally sighed when Victoria stayed silent, “But you will tell me yourself in just a few moments, I am sure.”
“I am delirious with anger right now, Mother,” Victoria said, breathing in deeply. “And you will be, too, once you hear what I am here to tell you.”
“I am sure.” Her mother rolled her eyes and got up from her lying position to sit on the settee.
With a flick of her wrist, she dismissed the maid so she and Victoria could finally be alone in the bedchamber. Once the maid was gone and just the two of them were left behind, Victoria finally sat on the sofa in front of her, still unable to control her anger.
She did not understand if what she felt was anger or annoyance, but the emotions were intense, and she needed to do something about them immediately.
“Count Fife just came to call.”
“I hope you did not receive him alone, my dear,” her mother immediately interjected. “Despite his advanced age, he is still a man, and his intentions never look noble to me. You must keep your distance.”
“Of course I didn’t meet with him alone,” Victoria sighed impatiently, “Margaret was with me.”
“Now, what is it that he did or said that has sent you into a flying rage?”
“He casually mentioned how he had seen Eliza with the enigmatic stranger, the mystery man of the ball on the night of the masquerade!”
“First of all, her name is Beth,” her mother corrected, “where exactly did he see them together?”
“According to him, the pair were together in the alcove and upon asking what they were doing in the alcove all alone, he simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
