Page 31 of A Fiery Lady's Accidental Affair

What in heaven’s name were they talking about?she thought in bewilderment.“The man will be back.” Are they referring to Herbert? Then what did she mean about treating someone cruelly? Were they talking about me?

Alicia sank down to the floor, covering her face with her hands.If no one has ever told me that it’s a bad idea to eavesdrop, then certainly someone should have done so.Whatever it was that was under discussion, she could certainly not do anything to uncover more of the conversation without outing herself as a base sneak. Once again she felt overcome by a crushing sense of hopelessness.

After a few calming breaths she opened her eyes and spied the sealed envelope lying on a wooden chair.

In the end, she realized with a feeling of surrender,it seems I can truly put off the task no longer. There is nothing I can do but to open the letter and see what Grace has to say.

“Perhaps it’s good news,” Alicia said to herself, hoping to reclaim some of the optimism she had earned through her idyllic day with Laurence. “Perhaps she has been worried about my health and is relieved I am unhurt. Perhaps she has hired search parties and now will be sending me help.”

She sighed, tearing open the envelope with her finger. “Then again, perhaps not.” Fingers clenched, she withdrew the thin sheet of paper, unfolded it and began reading.

“To My Would-Be Imperilled Sister—”

“Not the most promising start,” Alicia muttered under her breath.

Our lives have been filled with all manner of upsets and surprises, and we have faced many terrible things together. But this latest escapade of yours really is beyond belief.

I don’t know where you got this foolish plan in your head, nor how you managed to sabotage our carriage and separate yourself from Herbert. To be honest, I have no desire to know. Whatever you are plotting and however you have managed to do it, all that matters is that you have managed to ruin not only our precious family carriage, but your own sister’s security and reputation.

“Oh, Grace…” Alicia muttered. Her sister had always been prone to paranoid thoughts. It had taken Alicia a great deal of time to begin to understand that the world was not the bloody, cutthroat game Grace seemed to think it was, harsh though London society could be from time to time. In fact, as long as she could remember Grace had bemoaned her poor luck, taking anyone else’s success as a grave affront to her. It seemed this characteristic had not changed in Alicia’s absence.

She read on, fingers clenching the corners of the paper.

From the moment I received your poisonous little letter, I was sent into a frenzy. I could not imagine how you could be so very selfish, knowing how I was relying on you to return home in a timely fashion after visiting Missus Miggins. Then that blackguard Mister Woodruff sent a card inquiring after you, and all your scheming finally fell apart. Did you really think I had forgotten our little fight before you left?

“Fight? And is she talking aboutElliotWoodruff?” Alicia wondered aloud.

Then the recollections came rising up out of the fog of her memory. She had had a row with Grace, indeed, the very day before she had left for Portsmouth. Now all the ugly details reared their heads: how Alicia had raised her voice and screamed at her sister to stop controlling her life.

How Grace had called her an ungrateful brat, telling her that Mister Woodruff was both unacceptably below their station and better than anyone Alicia would ever manage to trick into marriage. How Grace had accused her of secretly trying to marry Mister Woodruff without her consent.

Well, you should know that in repayment for your bizarre little stunt, I have put an end to your designs on Mister Woodruff. I sent him a letter that told him in no uncertain terms that you are not interested in marrying him in the least. So whatever it is you were planning on achieving by wrecking your carriage, rest assured that now that is thoroughly spoiled.

“Preposterous,” said Alicia.Even if Mister Woodruff had held the slightest appeal for me—which he absolutely did not—the thought that I would somehow manufacture a carriage accident to effect an elopement or…or whatever it is she’s accusing me of? It’s completely ridiculous!

There were only a few lines remaining in the letter, but Alicia suspected the largest dose of venom was saved for the end.

I will make my intentions very clear to you, sister: return to London posthaste. Once you have paid from your allowance to have the carriage repaired, I shall consider accepting your apology for this farce. If you are not back within the week, I shall expect you never to return at all.

“What rot,” Alicia muttered. “As though I were personally keeping Herbert from returning with the carriage.”

And if you ever,everattempt to go behind my back with a gentleman again? Or even entertain the notion of marrying before your older sister, damn the scandal that will result! You can be sure I will not be so generous next time.

—Your Suffering Sister, Grace Ramsbury.

Alicia drew in a heavy breath, her arms collapsing to her sides as she allowed the letter to float helplessly to the floor. Suddenly she felt fifty years older.

I was wrong,she thought with a pang of sorrow in her gut.One little letter from Grace is more than enough to hurt me.

As she lay in her bed, staring up at the rafters above her, Alicia’s mind retrieved memories of her golden afternoon with Laurence. But the joy she had experienced now felt curdled by Grace’s words.

What would Laurence think if he heard Grace’s words?she thought, desperately seeking some comfort from this verbal assault. A soft smile returned to her lips, thinking of how Laurence had held her by the riverside, of how soothing she found his presence, how warm and wanted he made her feel. Surely he would make her feel better if she told him just how disturbing Grace’s letter was.

Then her heart wrenched in her chest as she pondered this interaction a bit more.If I told her I wanted to be with Laurence, Grace would never in a thousand years acquiesce to it.

Alicia shivered, realizing how sure she was of this conclusion. The corollaries of this thought were still unclear—Would I want to be with Laurence for good and always, even? Would I be happy if I married him? What would my life be like if I stayed here in the countryside?—but Grace’s refusal was a sure thing. Even putting aside the scandal of Alicia marrying before her older sister, a common farmer, no matter how well-read or cultured, was so far outside the realm of acceptability that it hardly bore contemplating.

She blinked, her eyes forced open as though by glue.

What am I going to do?

---