Chapter 47
"Are you alright, Amelia?" Margaret rushed to Amelia’s side when she spotted her near the entrance to the dining room. She had been waiting to speak with Amelia but Amelia did not allow visitors.
"Yes, grandmother. I had a lot of time to think I accepted everything that had happened while I was away. What do you think the cook will prepare for dinner?" Amelia began to walk ahead of Margaret.
Margaret was confused by Amelia’s calm behavior. Hours had passed since they learned her father had arranged for her to be married but it was not enough time for Amelia to have accepted leaving the castle. Something was fishy. "You can speak to me, Amelia. I won’t say anything. I can talk your father out of this."
"Nonsense," Amelia rejected Margaret’s offer. ’I’m sorry, grandmother but I cannot tell you anything. He’s still your son,’ she thought.
Amelia wanted to limit the plan to only her and Cyrus. Adding anyone else would only lead to the plan being exposed before it could happen. She trusted Gina and her grandmother but they would both try to talk her out of it and in the end spoil it somehow.
After conversing with Cyrus, Amelia came to the conclusion she would not create a loud fuss about the engagement but she would also not stay silent. She needed to be somewhere in the middle where suspicion could not be thrown on her and be named one of the culprits.
Amelia knew her father and Annabelle well enough to know they would mention the engagement to get a certain reaction out of her. She would act surprised and hurt as if they had won. Nothing more than that. She could not storm off or mention any plans to get out of the engagement.
"There is something going on and if I cannot know about it yet I will not push you to tell me. Come to me when you are ready, Amelia. I will always protect you," Margaret reminded Amelia. She would never be Amelia’s enemy.
Margaret did not want Amelia to be sent off far away and regardless of if Amelia wanted her to speak with Richard or not, Margaret had already planned to have a conversation with her son. It was time they discussed the relationship between her son and granddaughter. She would not only allow Richard to walk away again without giving her a proper reason why he never treated Amelia like his child.
’Is he foolish enough to think Anne had an affair? He is foolish,’ Margaret sighed as she realized this was Richard. No matter the resources she placed in front of Richard, he was still a big letdown. If only she had birthed another son who could have challenged Richard for the throne.
"We’re going to be late for dinner," Amelia hooked her arm around Margarets.
"A royal is never late, Amelia. They must wait on us to start," Margaret patted Amelia’s hand. "I hope for a peaceful dinner but the castle is never peaceful."