Free Mockingbird's Call by Diane T. Ashley

She stepped forward. “I would never betray you or those you are trying to help.” She lifted her chin and refused to back down as Melek glared at her. Her heart thumped so hard she thought the people in the room might be able to hear it. What was she doing here? She could be inside dancing the night away instead of standing in a dark barn confronting an angry man. Yet something compelled her to her present actions.
    No one spoke for a moment, and the tension built. But then one small sound changed everything. A quiet moan.
    Amelia remembered why she had come. She followed the sound to a mound of what she’d taken to be rags. This must be the child.
    â€œNebo.” She whispered the word and was rewarded when a dark head raised up from the ragged coverings.
    The other people in the room faded as she knelt next to the young boy and checked his arm, then placed a hand on his hot forehead. “You’re a very brave boy.”
    Amelia pushed herself up from the floor and faced the cook’s son. “I have some willow bark in my room. I can send it down to your mother to make a tea for the child. It should bring him some ease and may reduce his fever.”
    He inclined his head slightly. “Thank you.”
    She nodded to the others in the room. “Do you need anything else?”
    â€œOnly that you will not speak of our presence here.”
    She straightened her shoulders and stared directly into his eyes. “I would never do such a thing.”
    â€œI hope your words are true, not the changing songs of the mockingbird.”
    A laugh broke out as she thought of the gift she had received for her birthday. “Your secret is safe with me.”
    â§
    A blush heated Amelia’s cheeks as she hurried down the hall to a mirror to check her appearance before returning to the ballroom. She groaned at the bedraggled woman who stared back at her.
    Tabitha had fixed rosebuds in her hair earlier this evening, but they had slipped toward her right ear. She poked and prodded at the silly things until they once again perched across the center part in her hair. Pulling a pin from another part of her head, she affixed the flowers and nodded briefly. She opened her fan and waved it in front of her hot cheeks. It wouldn’t do to return to the guests flushed.
    Amelia glanced downward and groaned. Her skirt was a mess. She smoothed it as much as possible without help and picked off a couple of strands of straw that had clung to the material when she knelt to care for poor little Nebo. Amelia would have liked to escape upstairs, change clothes, and go back to the stable to watch over the child. But that option was out of the question. She squared her shoulders and practiced a smile before turning from the mirror.
    The orchestra was taking a break, so the people in the ballroom were standing in small groups talking as she made her entrance. She glanced around to find Jared, eager to resume their conversation about Mr. Dickens and his novels.
    â€œWhere have you been, cousin?” Benjamin’s deep voice tickled her ear.
    Amelia jumped slightly. She’d not realized anyone was behind her. She spun around and opened her fan, waving it briskly in front of her face. “I had a slight tear in my flounce.” The lie slipped easily between her lips and guilt made her heart beat faster. She hadn’t had much practice at telling untruths. “It took me awhile to get it mended.”
    Benjamin nodded. He spread a hand to indicate the ballroom. “It seems your ardent swains have given up, and I must say I’m relieved. This is the first time I’ve gotten to talk to you without being elbowed by a dozen eager suitors.”
    â€œYour mother and father have been very kind to introduce me to their friends.” Amelia glanced around the room, hoping to find Jared Stuart, but she could not spot his slender figure. “I’m sure everyone was being kind to me because I’m a