What a Spinster Wants - Rebecca Connolly Page 0,39

mind?” she inquired mildly. “I’ve nothing to gamble with, Owen, and ye ken it well.”

“Offer still stands.” Owen bowed to them both and left the room, leaving Edith to shake her head.

“I have never seen him so accommodating,” Edith said to no one in particular. “Clearly, you are a reforming influence, Amelia.”

There was no response from the girl, prompting Edith to glance over at her, another teasing remark on her tongue.

She bit that back the moment she caught Amelia’s face, devoid of warmth and pleasure, reading over the letter in her hand.

“Amelia?” Edith prodded as gently as she could. “What is it?”

Amelia’s eyes raised to hers, a sheen of tears visible. Her teeth grazed her full bottom lip in a clear sign of hesitation.

“I have…” She swallowed and cleared her throat. “I have, for the last year, been engaging in a rather unconventional sort of courtship. It was slow, but it was fervent. I did not know how much so until we had to start corresponding rather than meeting. Then, for no reason at all, his letters stopped.” She looked down at the letter in her hand, her fingers trembling as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Oh, lass…” Edith reached out a hand, then drew it back when Amelia didn’t take it. “Is that not a letter from him there?”

“No.” Amelia swiped a hand across her face. “It is my letter to him returned to me.” She held it up briefly, a sad smile crossing her face. “He never received it.”

Edith sighed, shaking her head. “Is there not some consolation in that? He never received it, so ye canna know how it would be received. This isna jilting, if he’s not seeing your letters.”

“Isn’t it?” Amelia whispered, the letter crinkling in her lap now. “If he isn’t receiving them, where is he? Why am I not having letters from him? What purpose is there in corresponding with someone who, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists to me?” She clamped down on her lips hard, turning away. “I’m not a woman with an impenetrable heart, Edith, and I do not always wear the countenance of sunlight, as everybody thinks. I have a vulnerable heart, and it is breaking in pieces, but nobody will know that, because he refused to court me for the world to see.”

This was unbearable. How was Edith supposed to comfort the lass when there were no answers to be had? When Edith knew nothing of love herself, only the dream of it? How could she soothe a broken heart when her own had not been whole for years?

And who was this man that had broken Amelia so?

“Refused?” Edith repeated, though she likely should not have done. “How…?”

Amelia shook her head. “He said it was not possible but could not say further than that. I didn’t mind; I only wished to be with him in my own small way. Now, even that is gone.”

Edith reached out again, this time taking Amelia’s hand without hesitation. “This is your disappointment? Lass, this is heartbreaking, even in hearing. What can I do?”

“You’re doing it.” Amelia turned to her and smiled through her tears. “Being here with you, away from my mother’s questions and efforts, away from my home, is a cure beyond anything.” She wiped at her cheeks again, sniffling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to turn watering pot on you. I think I’ll go to my room for a time to collect myself. When I’m better company, I’ll come back down.”

“No rush, lass,” Edith insisted. “And you needn’t go up; I’m no’ fit company much of the time. But if ye need some privacy, I understand.”

Amelia rose and slid the letter between her fingers absently. “I believe there are more tears yet to cry, Edith. I freely admit to feeling guilty for crying them in front of you, given all that you’re contending with at present.”

“Pain is pain, Amelia. It needn’t be compared.”

“And you’ve got more of it than me,” Amelia told her with a serious look. “I’ll recover from mine, but we’re all trying to find a solution to yours. Once I’ve cried my tears, I’ll be better suited to helping you, and that will cure my disappointment, as well.” She smiled once more and left the drawing room, leaving Edith to her thoughts.

There were no words for the girl’s offer, and Edith would not pretend there were. How could she expect to forget her heartache just to give Edith some aid? Her situation was dire, it