The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (39 page)

She took her time, despite the fact that no
one came to converse with her or her fiancé. When she finally
finished, she took the earl’s arm and walked regally toward the
stage. She stopped when they got to the seats.

“
Edward, surely you do not
expect me to sit on such awful chairs?”

If Edward was mortified at his fiancée’s
question, he contained it well. He looked around him and pointed to
a love seat along the edge of the room. “Will that do, my
love?”

Colette sighed heavily. “I suppose it will
have to do. Have them bring it over here.” She pointed to the front
of the stage.

There were several gasps from the other
guests. And then murmurs. How dare she sit right in front after
having made everyone wait for her?

But Colette seemed oblivious to the hateful
stares and mumbling. She waited for the hastily summoned servants
to move the love seat.

“
Edward, you will have to
sit on the left, so I do not have to see that horrible looking
man.” Though Colette’s statement was uttered in a stage whisper, it
was clearly heard in the waiting silence.

Amelia stood, stepped behind her seat, and
lifted her chair.

“
My dear Amelia, whatever
are you doing?” Edward asked. “There’s no need to move your chair.
I believe there is plenty of room for this in front of
you.”

Amelia plastered on a semblance of a smile
for her brother. “Perhaps there is, Edward, but I believe
Mademoiselle Colette would be much more comfortable if I move my
chair. That will, er, give her more leg room.”

Phillip popped up from his seat. “Allow me
to assist you.”

Amelia started at Phillip’s announcement.
She hadn’t expected help. She simply wanted to watch the program
without a view of Colette and the love seat in front of her. The
chair wasn’t heavy, though a bit unwieldy. But Phillip took her
chair with one hand and his own with the other and walked ten feet
to their left. He set both chairs down then gestured for her to
resume her seat.

A flurry of activity had her turning her
head and nearly gasping with surprise. The entire audience followed
Phillip’s suit, wordlessly moving their own seats approximately ten
feet to the left. The action left Colette and Edward sitting alone
on one side of the stage, and the rest of the party on the
other.

Desiree, standing on the edge of the stage,
watched the proceedings without comment, though Amelia thought she
noted a smirk on her lovely face. Laurel and Merilee, having
already taken their places on the stage, cast curious looks as they
observed their audience’s migration to one side. They were young,
but they knew the significance of the action. It was as good as a
cut.

As soon as the group
re-settled, Desiree clapped her hands for attention. “Dear friends,
thank you for returning. The Linden girls have some more
entertainment for you. They will now perform together the Andante
movement from Mozart’s
Piano for Four
Hands in D Major
.”

The girls plunged into their music as if to
stave off another disruption. Amelia stole a glance to her right.
Colette lounged in the love seat, either blissfully unaware of — or
stubbornly unconcerned about — the discontent she had caused. But
Edward, seated in a regular chair beside her, squirmed
uncomfortably. He knew the audience had snubbed him. Hopefully he
had finally come to his senses and realized the damage his fiancée
could do to him.

She turned her attention back toward the
stage. Beside her, the tall man sat at a respectful distance yet so
close the nearness produced heat.

Perhaps she needed to wear lighter
clothing.

Amelia settled her
bonnet over her curls and reached for her gloves.
She didn’t call for Jeanne. Getting herself dressed for an outing,
especially when the weather outside was sunny and relatively warm,
wasn’t that difficult. It had always seemed a waste of time to wait
for servants to assist her with tasks she was perfectly capable of
doing on her own. Besides, if Jeanne knew she was leaving, the rest
of the household would find out, and she didn’t want everyone
knowing about her excursion.

“
Lady Amelia!” The butler’s
voice stopped her just before she reached the gate.

She froze. Marks was a stickler for
convention. As a woman — especially an unmarried woman — she
shouldn’t leave the house unattended. But a companion would slow
her down and make it more difficult to go and do as she wished.

“
Lady Amelia, Giles is
ready to accompany you. Kindly wait a moment.” He didn’t have to
add a reprimand, though displeasure was evident in his voice. There
would be a dressing down later on from her brother.

Seconds later, the gangly young footman
rounded the house from the servants’ entrance, hastily adjusting
his hat as he ran. He skidded to a stop a respectful three paces
from Amelia and bowed.

“
Apologies, my lady, for
keeping you waiting.”

Amelia suppressed a sigh and resumed her
walk toward the street.

“
Lady Amelia, please allow
me to carry your satchel for you.”

She paused. The satchel wasn’t especially
heavy, but it was large and awkward.

“
Thank you, Giles,” she
said as she handed the bag to him. “But you must let me take it
myself into the, er, establishment where we are going.”

The young man frowned but nodded.

Amelia led the way, plotting as she went.
Though she usually took time to observe the changing of the
seasons, today her mind focused on one thing: how to get rid of
Giles. The young footman was relatively inexperienced, so it should
be easy to dupe him.

She took a circular route, hoping to lull
her companion into thinking she was merely out for a stroll.
Pausing at a popular milliner’s, she made a show of looking in the
window then turned to the young footman.

“
I think I’ll go in here
for a while. I need a new hat. I’ll take the satchel now. You may
wait for me out here.”

Giles bowed his acquiescence and handed the
satchel to her. She hoped he wouldn’t question her need for a
satchel in the milliner’s shop, and like a good servant, he didn’t.
At least not aloud.

She carried the satchel into the shop.
Madame LeFevre, the proprietor, rose to greet her potential
customer.

“
Bon
jour
,
mademoiselle
.”

“
Bon
jour
, Madame LeFevre. I wish to place an
order for a hat. Er, something to go with my new winter
cloak.”

“
Oui
,
mademoiselle
. Ze new cloak, it is in your bag?”

“
My bag? Oh, no. I, er,
forgot to bring it along. But it’s... blue.”

“
Blue is an excellent color
for you,
mademoiselle
. What shade of blue?”

“
Ah, it’s… a deep blue.
Rather like—” She cast a quick glance around the shop, and her eyes
caught a bright, peacock blue felt hat. “That one.”

Madame blinked, obviously
swallowing her distaste. “
Oui
,
mademoiselle
. Ze entire cloak is that
color?”

“
Perhaps I should return
another day and bring the cloak with me. Forgive me for wasting
your time this morning. I’ll just get going.” She strode toward the
back of the shop.

“
Er,
mademoiselle
? Ze door is this
way.”

“
Yes, but my next errand is
on the street behind your shop. If you don’t mind, I’ll just use
your side entrance to get there more quickly. Thank you for your
time.” She scooted out the door, mindful of the lady’s stare. She
probably wouldn’t be back, at least not this season. But she’d
accomplished her goal and left Giles waiting at the front entrance.
Hopefully by the time he realized her duplicity, she’d have her
errand completed.

The side entrance of the shop emptied on a
quiet street. No traffic. Amelia cast a cautious look around before
proceeding. She had an important errand, and nothing was to be
gained by dawdling.

With renewed purpose, she marched toward her
destination. Making her way to the tiny, nondescript building, she
found the person she sought in a dusty corner of his surgery,
hunched over the papers on his desk.

“
Good morning, Doctor
Jones.”

Cecil Jones raised his
balding head and studied her over the rim of his spectacles. “Good
morning, Lady Amelia.” He tilted his head, attempting to look
around her. “You
did
bring someone with you this time, didn’t you? This is not a
good area for a lady such as you to travel alone.”

“
Oh, yes,” she reassured
him. “My footman is waiting for me at the door.”

She wasn’t actually lying,
she told herself. Giles truly
was
waiting for her at the door. Just not at the door
of the surgery.

But her ruse seemed to work, and he pulled a
large leather sack from his desk drawer. “It seems your stories are
getting more and more popular,” he said as he handed the package to
her. “Mr. Culpepper asked when the next manuscript would be coming.
He says he can hardly keep up with the demand and has had to hire
several additional staff in his print shop.”

“
Very soon, I expect,”
Amelia replied. Her eyes widened at the weight of the package.
Perhaps she wouldn’t have to remain in her brother’s home much
longer. She removed several coins and held them out. “Here’s your
fee, as agreed. I truly appreciate you representing me at Culpepper
and Winston Publishing House.”

The doctor hesitated, as if reluctant to
take the money. “It’s my pleasure and honor to help you, Lady
Amelia. And it’s really not necessary to pay me so much for simply
being your courier.”

“
Nonsense. I am indebted to
you. Without your help I would never be able to have my books
published. At least, not as Amelia Partridge. Use it to buy
medicines and bandages for the people who can’t pay you for your
services.” When his eyes widened in surprise, she explained. “I
have my sources. I admire what you do and wish to assist
you.”

The doctor finally nodded and accepted the
money. “Thank you, Lady Amelia.”

After putting the sack in Edward’s satchel,
Amelia left the surgery and walked with a light step toward the
millinery. Her mind whirled with the impact of the news Dr. Jones
had given her. With this much income from writing, she could afford
to live on her own. Edward had agreed to set her up in a small
house on the outskirts of London with a minimal household staff,
but she would need her own money.

She could just imagine what would happen if
her staid and proper brother heard of her secret career as a
writer. Even though Edward was only two years her senior, he acted
more like he was her father. Perhaps having had to take over the
title at the tender age of twenty had soured him. Whatever the
reason, he’d taken his duty seriously, and in turn he expected all
in his household to behave properly. It was well known that not a
hint of scandal had ever been associated with the House of
Partridge. Now everyone — including Amelia — wondered why he had he
aligned himself with a flamboyant and unpleasant woman like
Colette.

Lost in her thoughts, she gasped when a trio
of street urchins surrounded her. Her hands instinctively lifted to
her chest, and she clutched her reticule and satchel closely.

The tallest one stepped forward with a cocky
grin. “Beggin’ the lady’s pardon, but methinks ye might ’ave a
spare coin ’r two in that little bag ’o yers. Ye wouldn’t want ter
see the loiks of us starvin’ now, would ye?”

Amelia schooled her features into a calm she
didn’t feel. “Kindly let me pass, please.”

The leader tipped his head back and howled.
“As soon as ye ‘kindly’ give us yer coins, we’ll ‘kindly’ let ye
pass.”

“
You boys will need to find
a more honest method of getting your money,” she told them.
“Otherwise I shall have to seek assistance from that constable over
on the next corner.”

The younger boys started to back away, but
their leader was undeterred. “There’s no officer on the next
corner. Yer jus’ tryin’ ter distract me so’s I look away and you
kin scoot off.”

Amelia searched her brain for a way to
escape. Could she outrun them?

“
Leave the lady
alone.”

At the deep, masculine voice, the boys
froze.

Amelia breathed a sigh of
relief.
The duke!
But the ringleader was undeterred. “And ’oo’re ye to threaten
me, mister? It’s one a’ ye aginst three.”

“
On the contrary, there are
two of us. And the lady was correct, there is a constable on the
next street.”

At the second male voice, the two younger
urchins disappeared, and their leader found himself facing two men
alone. The lad’s bravado faded but only for a moment. Raising his
cap, he executed an exaggerated bow.

“
Beggin’ yer pardon, miss.
I didn’t know ye were travelin’ under the gentleman’s protection.
I’ll be off now.” He vanished into the shadows.

Amelia let out the breath she’d been
holding. She turned to thank her rescuers and stared into a pair of
familiar blue eyes. Her lips curved into a rueful grin.

“
It seems you are forever
coming to my aid, Your Grace.”