His Jilted Bride (Historical Regency Romance) (29 page)

She glanced at Edwina
again. She really needed to talk to her, to clear up
her...er...earlier statement. Now certainly wasn't the time, but
it
was
important
that Amelia clear up any confusion. She still hadn't started her
monthly, but had noticed that while her breasts were still
sensitive and her emotions were a little off, she wasn't nauseous.
Perhaps in her worry over it, she'd made herself sick and convinced
herself of symptoms that weren't really there. That was silly, of
course, but possible considering the young ladies she'd heard of
who took to the waters in Bath more frequently than they bathed in
their own homes. All of their ailments couldn't possibly be real,
could they?

A soft knock stole Amelia from her
wandering thoughts.

“
Yes,” Caroline called, appearing as confused as Amelia felt.
Why would any of the other ladies knock before entering Caroline's
private sitting room?

“
Is everyone decent?”

Amelia's heart fluttered with
excitement. She knew that voice.

Caroline winked at her. “You'll just
have to wait to see your wife at the ball, Mr. Banks.”

“
Caroline, this is not the time. I need to come in, is
everyone decent?”

The fluttering abruptly stopped, panic
taking its place. His tone was strained, holding a similar edge
that Henry's had held earlier. She got up and walked over to the
door. “Is everything all right?” She hadn't meant for her tone to
be so shrill, but his unkempt hair, rumpled clothes and stoney,
impassive face had set her on edge.

“
Yes.” He peered over her shoulder. “I need to speak to my
mother for a moment.”

Amelia looked to Regina and then
turned back to Elijah. “I think we need to speak first.”

Elijah hesitated, but then took a step
backwards.

“
What's going on?” she asked when they were out in the hall
together and she'd closed the door to Caroline's sitting
room.

“
I need to speak to my mother,” he said as if he'd lost all
other words in his vocabulary.

“
Yes, I heard that. Why?”

Elijah took a breath. “I
need to ask her if she has a copy of
Debrett's
.”

Amelia fought to contain her mirth.
“You're not helping your mother find Henry a wife by looking up
daughters of the titled, are you?” she asked, smoothing down the
front of his coat. Her finger brushed something stiff by his
pocket. When he bristled, she moved her hand to cover it. “You
don't have a piece of foolscap with possible brides listed, do
you?”

He covered her hand with his.
“No.”

Her humor fled. “What are you hiding,
Elijah?”

He clamped his jaw, but didn't release
her hand.

“
I know you're not above ripping pages out of books, you
know,” she whispered, trying to hide her smile as she inched her
fingers toward the opening of his pocket.

“
I know. But that's not what's in my pocket.”

“
Then just let me see it.”

His hand tightened. “No.”

“
Elijah, much tighter and you'll hurt me.”

He relaxed his hold a bit. Not a lot,
but just enough for her to reach into his pocket and pluck out the
note.

She closed her fingers around it and
stepped backwards out of his reach. “Is this a letter?”

“
No,” he barked, taking it from her.

Her hands flew to her hips. “Then why
does it have a seal?”

“
Because it's private.”

“
Then it is a letter,” she countered.

“
No.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. “Then
show it to me again.”

“
No.”

“
Now, Elijah.”

Something flashed in his eyes. “I'll
explain everything later.”

He couldn't have hurt her more if he'd
slapped her. What was so important he couldn't explain it to her
now? “What are you hiding from me?”

“
Nothing,” he bit off.

“
Then show me the letter.”

“
It's not a blasted letter, Amelia. It's just a
missive.”

She crossed her arms. “Is there a
difference?”

“
I consider letters to be a lengthy compilation of someone's
feelings—which this is not. A missive is just a short note giving a
directive or soliciting one's opinion on a simple
matter.”

“
I still don't see the difference between the two,” she
muttered. Perhaps it was some sort of nonsense that only gentlemen
understood. “All right, then let me see the missive.”

“
I don't have time—”

“
For me?” she finished for him, anger now mixing with the hurt
from before.

He grumbled something then unfolded
the paper and quickly turned it toward her then away so fast she
hadn't had time to actually read it, but had seen it was in fact a
very short, to the point piece of correspondence.

“
Why do you have a
missive
with the Kirkham seal on it?” she asked after
he'd tucked it back into his pocket.

Elijah's eyes widened and his hand
stilled. “What? Whose seal?”

“
The Kirkham seal.”

“
Kirkham?”

“
Perhaps not.” She shrugged. “That's just what it looked
like.”

Elijah pulled the paper out of his
pocket and handed it to her. “Is that the seal you thought it
was?”

“
Yes.” She nodded her head. “That's Philip's seal all
right.”

***

Elijah's gut clenched. “Philip?” he
echoed in disbelief.

Amelia nodded and then chuckled.
“Although he's normally not so sloppy with how he stamps it. Quite
the opposite, in fact. He's usually very careful with how he stamps
it to make sure the receiver can see its every line and
groove.”

Unless he didn't want
anyone to recognize it.
“I didn't think
your father had any lesser titles.”

“
He didn't. Not always, anyway.” She reached up as casual as
could be and readjusted one of those hideous feathers sticking out
from the top of her hair. “Mother was the only child of Baron
Kirkham. When no male relative could be found after his death, his
title went unclaimed.”

“
And then?”

Amelia shrugged. “Philip
always hated that he didn't get a lesser title as other earl's sons
who waited until they inherited, so after years of Philip's
begging, Father finally petitioned the Crown to have Kirkham
assigned to him. It took a while and a lot of convincing, but the
prince finally approved, considering Father had no lesser titles
already and that Kirkham
did
pass to a male relation.”

Elijah nodded numbly. So
much about the last clue made sense now. The clue about church was
right there: kirk; and even why it was worded
thy maiden fair
, the person who
wrote it clearly knew Elijah had married Lord Kirkham's sister. His
heart twisted, Amelia. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around
her and brought her against him, those dratted feathers tickling
his nose.

“
I cannot wait to have my own wardrobe again,” she commented
when he released her.

A memory from yesterday sparked in his
mind, but he couldn't come out and ask her about it. “Isn't that
what your brother came by for yesterday?”

“
He said something about it,” she agreed, her brows furrowing
just a little. “But I don't remember what exactly.”

“
Do you not think that was his real reason for coming?” he
hedged, hoping she wouldn't suspect
his
real reason for
asking.

“
No, I suppose not. He was too interested in a
favor.”

Elijah squeezed his toes in his shoes
and took a deep breath. He couldn't afford to give himself away or
say too much here. Amelia really might be in danger. “What kind of
favor?”

“
I don't know,” she whispered, her voice terribly uneven.
“Look for some sort of paper?”

“
What sort of paper?”

“
I—I—don't know.” She took a ragged breath. “He once asked me
to find a piece of paper in my cousin's house, but I don't know
what I was looking for. I think he wants me to look
again.”

A lead weight settled on Elijah's
chest. There was no denying it, Amelia was involved in this
somehow. He didn't know why or to what extent, and doubted she did,
either, but she was involved and he'd do everything humanly
possible to protect her and keep her safe. “Listen to me, Amelia. I
have to go get dressed for the ball tonight. I want you to stay
with my mother. Do you understand? Do not leave her side until I
come back.”

“
Why?”

“
Do you remember the time you climbed to the top of the big
oak on the south border of Watson Estate and I told you to just
stay there and not to move?”

“
Yes. There was a giant wasps' nest on one of the
branches.”

“
Right. But you didn't know it and had to trust me,
remember?”

She nodded.

“
I need you to trust me again, Amelia. Please don't leave my
mother's side until I come back for you.”

Amelia folded her arms.
“On one condition. You had better tell me
everything
I want to know
tonight.”

“
Tonight, I promise.” He kissed her hand then led her back
inside the sitting room.

Chapter Twenty-Six

A thousand questions ran through
Amelia's mind. The least of which was why Henry was standing in
front of her asking to escort her down to the ballroom.

“
Where is Elijah?”

“
He was having trouble with his costume and didn't want you to
have to wait to go downstairs,” he said loud enough for everyone in
the room to hear. He held his hand out to her to help her off the
settee.

There was something hard in his hand
that he shoved into hers. Her fingers closed around it: a note.
Excitement coursed through her. What did it say?

“
Read it later,” Henry whispered, offering her his
arm.

She scowled at him. She knew that. She
took his arm and allowed him to escort her down the stairs. “He
does plan to attend, doesn't he?” she whispered.

Henry nodded. “Yes. He'll be
here.”

Because Amelia and Regina had waited
for Elijah's return, the ball had begun a half an hour ago and
already there was a crush of people. All around the room colorful
skirts swished as couples danced around them.

“
Good evening, Mr. Parker,” Henry said, bowing. “Have you met
my wife? Lady Amelia Banks?”

Mr. Parker, who was nearly as round as
he was tall, bowed to her. “What a pleasure.”

No, a pleasure would be when Elijah
arrived and Henry could leave her side.

“
Ho there, Elijah,” Philip said, clapping Henry on the
back.

“
Philip,” Henry clipped.

Philip was clad in solid black and
wore a silver demi mask. He gave her a low bow. “Amelia. It's very
nice to see the doting groom is treating you so well. May I have
this dance?”

“
Actually, I've claimed her first waltz,” Henry cut in. “You
wouldn't want to waltz with your sister anyway, would
you?”

Philip's lips thinned. “Very well, but
I'd like your next dance, then.”

Henry nodded stiffly, then led Amelia
to the dance floor.

“
Why are you pretending to be Elijah?” she
whispered.

“
I had to introduce you somehow,” he murmured, his eyes
looking everywhere but at her.

She stepped on his foot to get his
attention. “Not to my brother.”

He ignored her and kept spinning her
around the floor.

“
Is there a reason there's enough space for another body
between us?”

“
I don't want to seem too eager. It wouldn't be good to make
tongues wag.”

“
You're absurd. Tongues are more likely to wag
because
we're so far
apart.”

He frowned. “Do you think someone
might think we have an unhappy marriage?”

She stared at him, unable to think of
a suitable quip. Fortunately, this was a short waltz and the end
was very near. Then she'd put as much distance between the two of
them as possible. She'd promised Elijah she'd stay close to his
mother, she'd never said anything about spending the evening with
Henry.