A Pineapple in a Pine Tree by Eve Pendle

Author:Eve Pendle [Pendle, Eve]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2018-12-30T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

The first thing Amelia became aware of when she woke was that her head felt like a Manchester power loom, clattering away. Then there was the smell of tea and she opened her eyes to see her mother sitting at the foot of her bed. She opened her mouth. No sound came out.

“Here.” Her mother held out a cup to her, her expression dark and her back straight. “You’ll need this.”

Sitting up, Amelia took the tea and sipped. Pieces of last night slotted into her mind between the throbbing ache. Playing Snapdragon. Robert lying with her on her bed. Him refusing to kiss her.

“When were you going to tell me about your engagement?” Her mother’s voice could have sliced glass.

“What?” Her fluff-filled mind struggled to understand.

“Your engagement to Mr. Danbury.”

“Engagement? No!” Her mother’s statement roiled through her. For a second the feeling of otherworldliness was so great, she thought her head might be detached from her body.

Her mother reached out and took the cup of tea from her, which was tipping at a perilous angle.

She relinquished it. What had happened last night? She wracked her memory, but it all went cloudy after Robert had refused to kiss her.

“Mrs. Wisbech found you and Mr. Danbury in bed.” Fury tinged her mother’s words. “He said you were engaged.”

“We’re not engaged.” A memory of Mrs. Wisbech at her bedroom door emerged from among the noise. “Mrs. Wisbech must think that because Robert accompanied me upstairs last night.” How to put this tactfully. “I was feeling a bit out of sorts. There’s no need for any of this.” She tried to smile reassuringly but suspected it came out as a grimace. Panic wrapped around her arms like a too tight sleeve. She got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown. This discussion might be about her whole future, so she probably ought to hold it somewhere more dignified than on her bed.

She sat on her sofa and the worn springs dipped beneath her. “Nothing happened.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Sighing, her mother came over to Amelia, bringing the tea with her. She held out the cup again.

“Thank you.” Amelia accepted the cup and took a mouthful of the warm, milky sweetness before putting it onto the side table.

“It doesn’t matter because you were found together. He says you’re engaged, and doubtless he’ll follow that assertion with the actual proposal today.”

It was probably the wine that made her feel so wretched. But Amelia couldn’t help thinking it was the vague knowledge that last night Mrs. Wisbech had upended her life. After being so careful in London to ensure no-one, not even the servants, knew about her lovers, it was ironic to be caught and punished for an incident that was entirely innocent. It was a mess. What about Henrietta, who would lose her companion? How would she cope? Amelia put her head in her hands and stared at the swirling red patterns of the Aubusson carpet beneath her feet. This was a cursed fairy boon.

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