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night
and then all would be well.
    ***
    Amelia willed the knot in her stomach
to go away and stared blankly at the tapestry above her bed. It was
too dark in the room to actually make out the designs embroidered
into the fabric, but still there was enough of an outline to study
to rid her mind of thoughts of her husband.
    Oh, who was she trying to fool? She
could no more forget his presence in the room next to hers as much
as she could deny that she was the one who put that scar above his
left eyebrow when he snuck up behind her, startling her so much she
threw a rock at him.
    Would he visit her
tonight? She'd peeked in the hall to
confirm that Bennett had put him in the room next to hers...with
the adjoining door. So where was her groom? Mary, Lady Templemore's
lady's maid had helped her undress and left her to wait more than
an hour ago.
    She'd spent that time thinking of what
she'd say to him once he entered, and still couldn't decide. Should
she try to put him off tonight or tell him all of her shame and
live with whatever consequence came from it?
    She flipped over and
shoved a pillow under her stomach, but it did nothing to alleviate
the nausea that swirled in her gut. All day Elijah had been nothing
but kind to her; and how was she going to repay him? With a cuckoo.
Now, that would
endear her to him for life, to be sure.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Death would be a welcome
part of life just now. Yes, death .
    Similar to that awful morning two
weeks ago, she had a horrible headache and was nauseous, presumably
due to the bundle of nerves she'd been last night; unfortunately,
she couldn’t blame this particular feeling on a fruity
drink.
    She had to tell him. He deserved to
know.
    Wearily, she rolled out of bed and
rubbed her tired eyes.
    “ Good morning, Mrs. Banks,” a familiar voice said from the
adjoining door.
    “ Elijah?”
    “ Or am I Henry?” he teased.
    She offered him a weak smile. “That
never worked with me.”
    “ I know,” he said, frowning. He walked further inside and
kicked the door closed behind him. In his hands, he carried a tray
filled with several pastries and fruits. “Templemore had these sent
up, and I thought I'd see if you'd like to have breakfast with
me?”
    Her face burned. “Can't we just
leave?”
    Elijah set the tray down on the
vanity. “Is something not to your liking?”
    “ It's not that. It's just—” She tucked a tendril of her dark
hair behind her ear and swallowed her unease. “They think we're up
here becoming better acquainted as husband and wife.”
    “ And we're not?” Elijah asked, gesturing to the tray of
food.
    “ You know what I meant.”
    “ Indeed.” He lifted the tray again and walked toward her bed.
“But I feel compelled to ask when you started caring what other
people think about you?”
    Since I woke up to find
I'd been unknowingly stripped of my virtue, might be carrying a
child and foolishly agreed to marry Lord Friar . She forced a shrug. “I don't want to seem impolite or
inhospitable.”
    A sharp bark of laughter
filled the air. “You're a new bride the morning after her wedding,
nobody expects you to be holding court in the breakfast room.” He
snorted. “Clearly, Templemore didn't even think you'd be awake yet.”
    Amelia's cheeks burned. “You are your
father's son, aren't you?” she mused, remembering all the times his
father had made some sort of dry remark that hedged on the side of
being considered scandalous.
    With a hint of a smile, he did a mock
bow. “Guilty, I'm afraid.”
    “ Do you miss him?” she asked, taking a strawberry tart from
the tray.
    Elijah set the tray down on the bed
next to her and then made himself comfortable on the other side.
“Sometimes; but not the same as Alex and Weenie,” he added,
snatching a biscuit.
    “ Because you have a twin and they don't?”
    “ No. I think Alex was closer to Father because he was the
oldest and they shared more common interests, what with their love
for all things science