A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian

Author:Cat Sebastian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Amelia’s cheeks were hot with outrage, and that was the final straw. She had spent years perfecting her ability to wipe her face clear of any emotion and Sydney had stripped her of that. She was furious with him, she was furious with the entire world, but most of all she was furious with herself. She didn’t know how she had reached a point in her life where she assaulted a duke’s friend in broad daylight. Even her ultimate disgrace in London hadn’t quite risen to the level of public battery. Every last bit of armor she had constructed over the years was now ragged and useless, and she felt vulnerable and exposed.

“I slapped Mr. Goddard in the lane,” she said when she returned indoors. Attempting a walk had clearly been a misguided notion. “No, don’t ask, just use your imagination and you’ll get exactly where you need to be.”

“Are you all right?” Georgiana’s eyes were wide.

She opened her mouth to reassure her friend that she would be fine, that she was the same as ever. But why even bother? Georgiana could see the evidence for herself, in the tears on Amelia’s face and the color in her cheeks. “No. I’m far from fine. I can’t imagine ever being fine again. I’m afraid I’m going to spend the rest of my life alone in this cottage or in an institution for women with delicate nerves.”

“Oh, Amelia. I’m so sorry. First of all, you won’t be alone so long as I can draw breath, you absolute idiot. Second—no, be quiet, why in heaven’s name would you think working as a governess a preferable state to sharing a home with my dearest friend—second, nobody will put you in an institution, and I’ll murder them for trying. Third, tell me what transpired between you and Mr. Goddard? You were so fond of him.”

Amelia told her friend everything, from chance meetings and dog bites to that day in the ruins. Georgiana only offered fresh handkerchiefs and sugary tea.

“He said I was flighty and unserious and that he believed that what happened between us was of no consequence to me.” Amelia’s eyes pricked again with tears. “As if I’ve ever had the luxury of letting anything be inconsequential. As if I don’t weigh the consequences of every step I take and every word I say, even when I don’t want to. My God, if I could only stop doing that, then maybe I could leave.” She blew her nose. “And then he had the nerve to say I was unkind. He accused us of writing those letters with the design of mocking the duke.”

“What?” Georgiana squawked. “That’s outrageous. We intended no such thing. He had written a badly researched diatribe and we had a bit of fun poking holes in his argument. He then seemed to amuse himself thoroughly in poking the holes in our badly researched arguments. His letters attacked our position as strenuously as we attacked his. Perhaps Mr. Goddard does not

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