support, but the woman was right. There was no telling how long this hallucination thing was going to last, and she might as well face up to whatever—or whoever—it would bring. “Very well, Mama, I shall return shortly, and present myself at—what time can we expect the onslaught?”
“Not until after luncheon, but—”
“Well, then, I have plenty of time, haven’t I?” She waved a cheery hand and turned to depart.
“Amanda, I insist that you return to your room!”
But she spoke to the empty air, for Amanda had pushed Hutchings outside and, exiting herself, shut the door firmly behind her. As the waiting carriage pulled away, Amanda turned her head and waved cheerily to Serena, who stood on the steps, frustrated affront apparent in every line of her plump body.
Some minutes later she stood before the Grosvenor Chapel. It was rather unimpressive, as London churches went, being foursquare and built of brick, with a tall, spare, New Englandish steeple. Inside, the chapel was not dark at all, the walls being painted white and spaced with a profusion of windows. It reminded her a little of the interior of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. As before, she was alone in the church, except for Hutchings and the footman who had accompanied them. Instructing these persons to wait outside, she moved to the pew in which she had been seated at the moment of her remarkable—episode. That’s what they called it in medical terminology, didn’t they? She sat down gingerly and, leaning her head against the smooth, dark wood of the pew, she closed her eyes.
All right, now. Relax. Make your mind go blank. Think only of returning to your proper place in time and space. You are a cloud. You are —
She opened her eyes with a jerk as a door slammed behind her, followed by the sound of a long stride up the side aisle.
“Now, what the devil are you up to?”
She swung about, her mouth dropping open.
“Lord Ashindon!”
“You must know it will do you no good to play the innocent with me.” The earl glanced around the church. “Been stood up again, have you?” he inquired nastily.
Amanda had been about to favor him with an amiable greeting and the explanation she had earlier ladled out to Hutchings, but at his words she shot to her feet. “Don’t you dare talk to me that way, you overbearing oaf! You have nothing to say about where I go or why. Now, why don’t you buzz off?”
If she had dashed a cup of coffee in his face, his expression could not have been more startled. It took him only a moment, however, to recover.
“I have every right to talk to you like that. We are betrothed, and—”
“The fact that we are betrothed does not give you the right to rag at me like a disapproving parent. What are you doing here, anyway?”
He smiled unpleasantly. “Why, I was carrying out my obligations as a devoted fiancé, presenting myself for an early morning call. Imagine my surprise when I observed my betrothed leaving her house at an exceedingly fast clip. Imagine my further surprise to find her apparently embarked on another assignation.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Amanda coldly. “I am not here to meet anyone. I merely wished to medi—that is, to find a little peace and quiet in which to heal my, er, disordered mind.”
Lord Ashindon’s dark brows slanted upward in disbelief.
“Ah-huh. One would, of course, choose for such a purpose the inconvenience of a distant church over the solitude of one’s bedchamber, or even an early morning stroll in the park.”
“Yes, one would,” snapped Amanda, “Particularly if one were trying to create the same set of circumstances that led to one’s brain disorder in the first place. Now, if you’ll go away and let one alone, one would very much appreciate it.”
To her surprise, the earl loosed a bark of laughter. “Oh, no, I don’t think I can do that. Judging from your mama’s display of indignation on the front steps of your house as I passed,
“Not until after luncheon, but—”
“Well, then, I have plenty of time, haven’t I?” She waved a cheery hand and turned to depart.
“Amanda, I insist that you return to your room!”
But she spoke to the empty air, for Amanda had pushed Hutchings outside and, exiting herself, shut the door firmly behind her. As the waiting carriage pulled away, Amanda turned her head and waved cheerily to Serena, who stood on the steps, frustrated affront apparent in every line of her plump body.
Some minutes later she stood before the Grosvenor Chapel. It was rather unimpressive, as London churches went, being foursquare and built of brick, with a tall, spare, New Englandish steeple. Inside, the chapel was not dark at all, the walls being painted white and spaced with a profusion of windows. It reminded her a little of the interior of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. As before, she was alone in the church, except for Hutchings and the footman who had accompanied them. Instructing these persons to wait outside, she moved to the pew in which she had been seated at the moment of her remarkable—episode. That’s what they called it in medical terminology, didn’t they? She sat down gingerly and, leaning her head against the smooth, dark wood of the pew, she closed her eyes.
All right, now. Relax. Make your mind go blank. Think only of returning to your proper place in time and space. You are a cloud. You are —
She opened her eyes with a jerk as a door slammed behind her, followed by the sound of a long stride up the side aisle.
“Now, what the devil are you up to?”
She swung about, her mouth dropping open.
“Lord Ashindon!”
“You must know it will do you no good to play the innocent with me.” The earl glanced around the church. “Been stood up again, have you?” he inquired nastily.
Amanda had been about to favor him with an amiable greeting and the explanation she had earlier ladled out to Hutchings, but at his words she shot to her feet. “Don’t you dare talk to me that way, you overbearing oaf! You have nothing to say about where I go or why. Now, why don’t you buzz off?”
If she had dashed a cup of coffee in his face, his expression could not have been more startled. It took him only a moment, however, to recover.
“I have every right to talk to you like that. We are betrothed, and—”
“The fact that we are betrothed does not give you the right to rag at me like a disapproving parent. What are you doing here, anyway?”
He smiled unpleasantly. “Why, I was carrying out my obligations as a devoted fiancé, presenting myself for an early morning call. Imagine my surprise when I observed my betrothed leaving her house at an exceedingly fast clip. Imagine my further surprise to find her apparently embarked on another assignation.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Amanda coldly. “I am not here to meet anyone. I merely wished to medi—that is, to find a little peace and quiet in which to heal my, er, disordered mind.”
Lord Ashindon’s dark brows slanted upward in disbelief.
“Ah-huh. One would, of course, choose for such a purpose the inconvenience of a distant church over the solitude of one’s bedchamber, or even an early morning stroll in the park.”
“Yes, one would,” snapped Amanda, “Particularly if one were trying to create the same set of circumstances that led to one’s brain disorder in the first place. Now, if you’ll go away and let one alone, one would very much appreciate it.”
To her surprise, the earl loosed a bark of laughter. “Oh, no, I don’t think I can do that. Judging from your mama’s display of indignation on the front steps of your house as I passed,
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