Page 16 of A Mismatch Made in London

“It is so lovely to see you,” they both said. Then I heard, in Mrs. Kendall’s much lowered voice, “I have so much to tell you. Amelia has managed to—”

Anne Granger, a good friend of Juliet’s she had introduced me to at another ball, came rushing toward us, hands outstretched, saying, “Juliet and Amelia! How good to see you! You are both looking so lovely.”

I smiled and let Anne and Juliet talk quietly with each other while I strained to hear what my aunt was saying.

Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Selkirk had put their heads together, oblivious to anyone else.

Mr. Beaumont stood between me and my aunt. He could obviously hear every word, and his face was thunderous.

Mrs. Selkirk said, “She has become Juliet Beaumont’s particular friend so quickly? What a clever girl. You taught her well.”

My face began to burn.

Mr. Beaumont’s eyes met mine. He immediately turned and walked toward the refreshments.

My cheeks were on fire and my stomach churning. If he hated me before, what must he think of me now? But the worst thought was, what if he convinced Juliet that I was only befriending her to get to him?

The amount of artifice it would take to befriend Juliet just to get close to her brother was beyond me. All of this “marriage market” folderol was outside of anything I’d experienced before. I obviously didn’t belong in London, and my aunt’s scheming was making me look like the worst kind of grasping, marriage-hungry country girl with eleven siblings.

Thatmust be what Jeremy Beaumont had thought of me all along, only to have it confirmed just now by my aunt and Mrs. Selkirk.

“Dear Amelia!” Juliet cried, grasping my arm. “Whatever is the matter? You look as if you’ve heard your own death knell.”

“She does look awfully pale,” Miss Granger said. “Are you well, Miss Moore? Shall I loan you my smelling salts?”

“I am quite well, I assure you.” I forced myself to smile even as I pushed down all thoughts of Juliet’s brother. I vowed not to think of him and to ignore him the rest of the night.

Juliet and I danced so much all evening with so many gentlemen that we often went three or four dances before talking to each other again. Several gentlemen asked if they might call on me, and I said yes to all of them, as Mrs. Kendall had instructed me.

The next dance was to be the last of the evening, and Juliet was motioning me to her. I began walking in her direction when the man beside her—her brother—suddenly turned around. His eye caught mine.

My heart sank. I knew what Juliet was about to say.

“Amelia, Jeremy wants to dance the last dance with you.”

I did my best to smile at him and pretend I believed her.

He held out his hand without even speaking.

I placed my hand on his arm and allowed him to lead me to the dance floor.

I would have to speak with Juliet about not pushing her brother to dance with me. He didn’t like me, and that was that. Besides, I didn’t need him to like me. I had conquests enough, gentlemen who didn’t frown at me and act as if they despised me.

As we stood waiting for the other couples to line up with us, I blurted out, “You don’t have to dance with me just because Juliet wants you to.”

He looked surprised for a moment, then his expression turned stoic. “You are her friend, so I am glad to dance with you.”

I felt insulted but didn’t pause to think why.

“I know that you dislike me.”

He said nothing.

“Whydoyou despise me so much?” I immediately regretted saying that. Especially as I remembered that he overheard what Mrs. Kendall had said.

He lowered his voice to a gruff whisper. “Your aunt confirmed earlier this evening what I already knew, that you only befriended my sister in order to use her.”

I wanted to prove him wrong with everything inside me. He was no gentleman. If he were, he never would have mentioned what he’d overheard my aunt and her friend saying. He would have realized that I was not to blame for what someone else said or thought.