The Lady and the Earl (Seabrook Family Saga) Read Free Page A

Sebastian.
    Now Sebastian squeezed her hand. “Yes. I made an ass of myself.” His
eyes flicked to hers and his face paled. “Excuse me, Amelia. I meant I made an idiot
of myself. I never told you the story, but I had asked Emma to marry me .”
    “You did?”
    “As much as I wish it were not true, it is. I believed myself in love
with her. She, of course, tried to refuse my proposal, but I made her think on
it. The next thing I knew, I found Emma in Wentworth’s arms in the library and
I flew into a rage. I tackled our brother right there in front of Emma. Never
mind the hateful things I said to both of them. How can they ever forgive me? I
would not be forgiving if the roles were reversed.”
    “You would,” Amelia said, surprised by her brother’s confession.
    Sebastian’s eyes met hers again. “You don’t know what I said.”
    “It couldn’t be all that bad if our brother did not kill you.”
    That brought a grin to Sebastian’s lips. “He probably would have except
Emma got in between the two of us to stop the fight.”
    Amelia gasped. “She did?”
    He nodded his head. “She did, and without a care to her well-being. And
I’ll never forget the look on her face.” He paused abruptly. “I’ve said too
much.”
    “Yes, you did. I’ll forget you said anything. I can hardly wait to see
little Hamilton. He must be a year old now.” Amelia gave Sebastian’s hand a
little squeeze. “Nearly the same age as Olivia.”
    He squeezed back. “It’ll be difficult, for both of us.”
    “Yes, it will.” Amelia pulled her hand out of her brother’s grasp,
stood up, and approached the window. “I believed Daniel and I would marry. How
could we have known he would die? To be truthful, I loved him deeply with all
my body, heart, and soul. Those memories are enough to sustain me for a
lifetime.”
    “Are they?” Sebastian’s words traveled across the room. They echoed the
ones in her head. To have loved and been truly loved in return should be
enough. Had to be enough. Except now that Amelia had experienced love, she
missed it. Missed the lightness in her chest, the dizziness in her head, the
knowing someone loved her as she loved him.
    Did a better feeling exist in the world?
    ***
    For several days in a row Amelia ventured to her favorite spot by the
stream.
    Each day she spent time with Lord Bridgeton.
    Each day she found herself pulled closer toward him.
    Each day she glimpsed more and more of his soul, of the man he really
was––a man so removed from Society’s gossip about him. How had her fascination
with him come about in such a short time? Amelia had fallen in love with Daniel
at first sight, could it be happening again with the earl? When she was with
him, deep down inside her soul, it felt right. He seemed right. How was she to
survive the Season in London when her heart belonged here in the country with
her daughter? And maybe, quite possibly, with the earl. I hardly know the
earl. I cannot think I love him, will not allow myself to love him.
    There were only a few more days left before she travelled to London.
The thought created a panic inside her chest. She would be separated from her
lovely daughter for weeks, and she would miss the daily meetings she had at the
stream with her neighbor, Lord Bridgeton. Here she was again at the stream.
Hoping, though she told herself she did not come to the stream exclusively to
see him. She kept telling herself that, even though her eyes darted around and
her ears listened for any sound or movement. And when there was no sign of him,
Amelia tried not to acknowledge that the slowing of her heart confirmed her
disappointment.
    Amelia sat down on a large rock, removed her boots and stockings and
waded into the chilly stream. Something had changed in her of late. She did not
come to the stream to daydream about Daniel and his intense green eyes.
Instead, pale blue eyes kept appearing.
    “Hello.”
    Oh, my! Her hand flew to her chest as her heart jumped at