Free Lady Amelia's Secret Lover by Victoria Alexander Page B

it did seem that tonight he had been somewhat less reticent to express his feelings. It was, he realized abruptly, the very real threat of losing what he couldn’t live without. Certainly he had told her he loved her any number of times through the years, although perhaps not as often of late. But he wasn’t sure he had ever told her before tonight that she was the love of his life.
    He set his jaw in a determined manner. That needed to change right now. He started toward the door, then pulled up short. This might not be the best time. She was still upset and obviously confused. He wouldwager she might take learning that her husband had been in the carriage with her and not his brother badly. Still, who knew what she might do if left to her own thoughts. She hadn’t said as much, but he feared she could well decide to leave him.
    No, she had to know how much she meant to him. And if he couldn’t get out the words, Harry could.
    He again stepped toward the door and again paused. But this was not the way Harry would do it. It wasn’t nearly dramatic enough. Robert circled the house and was at once relieved and annoyed that the latch on the back garden gate was properly secured. He hadn’t scaled a fence since his youth, although he suspected his brother had probably done so any number of times. Robert squared his shoulders. This was his turn. He scrambled over the fence and hopped to the ground with a growing sense of confidence. This would work; it had to.
    He picked up a handful of pebbles from the path and continued around the house until he reached a spot directly beneath her window. There wasn’t a light showing, but he was fairly certain she would not have wanted to linger downstairs and answer the well-meaning questions of servants as to when Sir Robert was expected. She would have checked on the children and would be in her rooms right about now. A shadow passed by the window, and he grinned with satisfaction.
    He took aim at the window and tossed a pebble. It plinked against the glass, and he waited. Nothing. He tried again, a bit harder. Again, no response. Maybe he needed a rock rather than a pebble, although he would prefer not to break the glass. Still,this was not the time for practicalities. He weighed the pebbles in his hand and threw them as one. They smacked against the window in a noisy staccato. If that didn’t get her attention, nothing would. In less than a moment, the window flew open and Amelia leaned out.
    “What on earth is going on down there?”
    “It’s me.” He paused. “Harry.”
    “Who else? I should have known.” She huffed. “What do you want?”
    “I have come to plead my brother’s case.”
    “Now?”
    “This very minute.”
    “Why?”
    “Because…” Why indeed? “Because he’s my brother and he can’t live his life without you.”
    For a long moment she didn’t say a word. “Very well then, plead, but do lower your voice. I would prefer not to attract the attention of neighbors or servants or whoever else might be about at this hour.”
    “He has loved you from the first moment he saw you,” he said in a loud whisper.
    “What?”
    “He has loved you from the first moment he saw you,” he said again, a bit louder.
    “Go on.”
    “You are indeed the love of his life.”
    “I am sorry, Harry, but I’m not hearing everything you’re saying.”
    “Blast it all,” he muttered. This wouldn’t do any good if she couldn’t hear what he only had the courage to say as his brother. “This is absurd.” In the dim starlight he could make out the ivy that crept over muchof the back of the house. The vines were ancient and thick and, with any luck at all, more than up to the task of supporting a man. He wound his fingers through the ivy and tugged.
    “What are you doing?”
    “I’m climbing up to talk to you.”
    “Don’t be insane, Harry. This isn’t one of your amorous adventures.”
    “All of life should be an adventure.” It struck him that he had