Page 83 of A Mismatch Made in London
Please forgive me, but I must postpone my visit to you and your family. I am very sorry to say that Juliet is planning to delay the wedding while I put a stop to the rumors that Fairweather is spreading about her. In truth, I would much rather see you and make the acquaintance of your parents and siblings, but I will come just as soon as I am able.
Yours devotedly,
Jeremy Beaumont
He put his letter and Juliet’s into the hands of the courier himself, then he took the bag his manservant had packed and departed for London.
The younger children were already asleep when a knock came at the door.
I hurried downstairs, as I was still dressed, but Father reached the bottom of the stairs before me. He was taking something from the servant, and I could see a courier and his horse framed in the doorway.
“Two letters for you, my dear,” Father said, handing them to me. “He will stay and take your reply if you have one.”
I opened Jeremy’s letter first. My heart sank as I read the words. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been looking forward to his visit until the moment I read,Please forgive me, but I must postpone my visit.Then I felt even worse when I read that Juliet might have to delay their wedding. By the end of the letter, I wondered whatkind of violence Jeremy might end up wreaking on Fairweather, that despicable lout.
I said a silent, incoherent prayer before opening Juliet’s letter.
My dear friend Amelia,
I am so sorry for being the cause of Jeremy not visiting you tomorrow as he planned. Please forgive me. F is continuing to cause problems. I hope all will turn out well, but I am struggling to believe. I wish you were here with me. Will you please consider returning to London? I will reimburse your expenses and can send a servant to accompany you. But I understand if you need to stay with your family. I know how much you have missed them.
Your most devoted friend,
Juliet Beaumont
Many thoughts and feelings went through me as I read her letter. But by the end of it, my prevailing thought was that Juliet needed me. And I was glad.
Mother didn’t need me, not as I had imagined she would. My baby sister Diana wanted Lavinia more often than she wanted me. Everyone else hardly seemed to notice I’d returned. And I found myself crying into my pillow at night just as I had done when I was in London and was missing home.
“I will send a reply,” I said.
I hurried to the writing desk in the sitting room and quickly wrote:
My dear Juliet, please tell your brother not to get himself killed, and yes, I will return to London very soon, in a day or two, if my parents allow it. All my love and affection,
Amelia Moore
I folded the paper and gave it to my father, who paid the courier and sent him on his way.
“What kind of to-do is this?” Father asked, a crooked smile on his lips.
How could I explain? “My friend, Juliet Beaumont, is thinking of delaying her wedding. She was supposed to be married tomorrow.”
“Changing her mind, is she?”
“No, not exactly, but she is upset and wants me to return to London to be with her.”
“And what of your fiancée, Mr. Beaumont?”
“He has written to say he needs to postpone his visit to us. It has to do with his sister and delaying her wedding.” The less I told my father about the brewing scandal, the better.
Father pursed his lips together and was silent.
“He asked forgiveness. It couldn’t be avoided.” If I knew my father, he was probably thinking that since Jeremy had written to him to ask if he could visit, he should have written to him to tell him he would no longer be able to.
Truly, I could imagine the urgency Jeremy must have felt, the urgent need to take action to save Juliet’s reputation. It was probably remarkable that he wrote to me at all. But another part of me felt hurt. If I married him, would I always be second to Juliet, in his heart and in his priorities?
I thrust that thought away. It seemed selfish, even childish, especially since this was my loyal and affectionate friend Juliet. She needed her brother’s help. But I couldn’t force away the pain in my heart.
