A Common Scandal (25 page)

Epilogue

Six months later—The Arabian Sea
,
off the coast of India.

The ocean breeze was warm and damp, making the stray wisps of Amelia’s hair curl against her face. She swiped them away before shielding her eyes and gazing eastward toward the horizon. The deck of the
Angelica
was abuzz with activity as the sailors prepared for their arrival in port.

“How much longer until we get there?”

Nate looked up from his chart and squinted against the sun. “By tomorrow morning, unless the weather changes unexpectedly.”

“I’m so excited.
India
. I plan to buy so much cloth, there won’t be room in the hold for your cargo.”

“I’ll leave it to you to explain that to Julia.”

“Oh, no, I’d never cross that woman in a matter of business.”

Nate chuckled as he slid an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I can scarcely believe it. You’ve finally met someone who intimidates you.”

“When it comes to Julia and profits, I confess I’ve met my match.”

Julia had them on a tight schedule. A week in Bombay, three days to unload and reload cargo and four more for Nate to conduct meetings with local merchants. Then they were headed around the tip of India and up the coast to Visakhapatnam. Amelia might not be able to pronounce it yet, but she couldn’t wait to visit it. After that, it was back to sea as they sailed for Kuala Lumpur. They’d stay there long enough to refill their stores and do any necessary repairs to the ship before starting for home, with a brief stop off at Sri Lanka on the way.

As much as she loved traveling, she’d be glad to get back to London to see Mother. Beatrice had lived to see Amelia’s wedding, and then she’d surprised everyone and lived on. Her doctor said her weakened heart would never recover, but he couldn’t say with any certainty when it would give out. She carried on, weak and fragile, but happy. And now that her sister was firmly back in her life, Amelia had no reservations about leaving for extended periods of time. Beatrice had her loving husband and her affectionate sister, who came to sit with her nearly every day. She was in good hands while Amelia accompanied her husband on his business trips abroad.

Julia’s role in their newly merged shipping empire was still a secret, but the hiding was soon to come to an end. They expected to pick up several more lucrative clients on this trip and once news of the business got out, there would be no denying the success of their partnership or Julia’s abilities, especially not with Nate there to vouch for them. Lord Hyde was still uneasy at the prospect of his daughter becoming gossiped about not for who she was marrying but for the fortune she’d earned, but Julia was tired of living in the shadows. She was prepared to claim her role in the business, and—unbeknownst to Lord Hyde—she’d purchased a small town house for herself where she planned to set up an independent household. Lady Julia Harrow was about to give London Society a greater shock than Amelia Wheeler had ever done.

Nate turned his attentions back to his navigational charts and Amelia turned her attentions to him. Her handsome husband was never as alluring as when he stood braced on deck, the wind in his hair, the sun warming his golden skin. She loved to watch him work on the ship. She’d loved it even more as they’d passed into tropical waters and the weather had grown hot, forcing him to shed his coat and roll up his shirtsleeves when he worked. Just the sight of those tanned, muscular forearms could weaken her knees.

He wouldn’t always captain a ship. There was far too much work in the London offices, never mind the Portsmouth, Marseilles and Lisbon headquarters, to allow for it. But there would always be a need to meet with new clients in far-flung corners of the world, and since Julia wouldn’t step foot on one of their ships, those trips would always fall to Nate. Amelia didn’t mind in the least. On this, her first voyage, she’d already been to so many places and seen so many things. While another Season dragged along back in London, she had been prowling exotic foreign cities, seeing amazing sights, eating outlandish foods and generally having a marvelous time.

There were more trips in the offing. Short ones to Oslo and Algiers, and longer voyages to New York and Buenos Aires. Amelia intended to be there at Nate’s side for all of them. When she thought back on her life a year ago, expecting to soon marry a dull man with a title and live out her existence making small talk in a London ballroom or ordering new draperies for some obscure country estate, she could hardly believe this was real. It was the life she’d dreamed of, first as a girl and then as a woman, the life she’d never thought to have. And it was made all the sweeter because the love of her life was at her side for all of it. Nate had been her partner in adventure as a child; it was really no wonder he’d become the partner in the adventure that was now her future.

“There’s a glint in your eye that makes me uneasy,” Nate said, straightening from his charts. “What are you thinking of?”

“Always expecting trouble from me.”

“Usually getting it. But seriously, what is putting such a look on your face, Amelia?”

She stepped into the shelter of his body and his arm came up around her. “I’m only thinking how very happy I am.”

She tipped her face back to see him. He smiled, and those eyes—the eyes that matched the sea glass he’d had fashioned into the unusual wedding ring on her left hand—glowed with joy. “I like to hear that.”

“Are you as happy as I am?”

“Amelia, when a person gets everything they never even dared to hope for and then a great deal more, words like
happiness
begin to feel insufficient.”

“We are the luckiest people alive, aren’t we?”

Nate laughed. “Well, I like to think my years of struggle and hard work had something to do with it, too. Not just luck.”

“Yes, yes, of course that. But I meant you and me. That we found each other again after all these years. Don’t you think it was a remarkable stroke of luck?”

He curled a finger under her chin. “I’ve been drawn to you since we were children and I suspect I always will be, like true north on a compass. I would have found my way back to you one way or another.”

“And you’ve always been my true home, Nate. The first person who loved me exactly as I was, even when I was a wild, untamed creature.”

“A woman as glorious as you should never be tamed.”

“You couldn’t, even if you wanted to.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve been adept at getting out of your way since we were children. Sometimes I think that’s why you married me. You’d have eaten any other man alive.”

“Leave it to you to spoil a wonderfully romantic moment.”

“You don’t like romantic moments.”

She reached out to finger the open collar of his shirt. “Your romantic moments have grown on me a bit.”

He flashed her a wide, white grin. “Have they?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She hummed, running a finger along his collarbone. “Along with some other parts of you.”

He rested a hand on her hip, giving her a subtle but deliberate caress. “All your parts have grown on me.”

“Now look who’s the wild one.”

“I’ve never claimed otherwise.”

She moved closer, sliding her arms around his waist, pressing her body along the length of his. “Good, because I like you when you’re wild. A little wildness makes life worthwhile.”

“Well, then, you’ve got a worthy life ahead of you with me at your side.”

Nothing had ever been truer. With Nate at her side, her life was so very worthy—full of passion, adventure, friendship and this deep, abiding love. She leaned up to press a kiss to his lips.

“Indeed, I do.”

* * ***

Look for the third book in
THE GRANTHAM GIRLS
series,
A
RELUCTANT BETROTHAL
, in September 2016

Acknowledgments

From Ship’s Cook to Baronet:
Sir William Reardon Smith’s Life in Shipping
,
1856—1935
by
David Jenkins was invaluable for insight into the British shipping industry in
the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Thanks to Alissa Davis, my editor at Carina Press, for
helping to turn this series into something I’m very proud of.

As always, many thanks to Anne Forlines, who reads everything
first. When she tells me I kept her up all night reading, I know I’ve done
something right!

When I started writing again several years ago, I wasn’t
alone. I had a community of people supporting me. Some have gone on to become
real-life friends, others remain a username on my computer. They all made a
difference. Without them, I wouldn’t have accomplished any of this.

To Anne, Sara, Rocky, Jenn, Lucy, Jennifer, Tracy, Eleanor,
Sue, Anya, Rachel and Shannon, thanks for the cocktails, the viewing parties,
the potlucks, the trivia nights and the searches for a restaurant in New York
big enough to seat us all but quiet enough that we can hear ourselves talk.

Other online friends have become writers, too, and have
provided much-needed advice and support along the way. Thanks to Ellis Leigh,
Brighton Walsh, Angel Lawson, TM Franklin, Alice Clayton, Leisa Raven, Kira
Gold, Rebecca Grace Allen, Mary Whitney and so many others. We made quite an
army!

Also available from
Amanda
Weaver
and Carina Press

A Duchess in Name

Coming in September 2016

A Reluctant Betrothal

About the Author

I’ve loved romance since I read that very first Kathleen E.
Woodiwiss novel at fifteen. After a long detour into a career as a costume
designer in theater, I found my way back to romance, this time as a writer,
where I get to combine my love of writing and my love of pretty, old
dresses.

Although I grew up in Florida, I transplanted to New York
City many years ago. Now I call Brooklyn home, along with my husband, my
daughter and two cats who drive me mad.

Don’t miss news about the next Grantham Girl book! Sign up
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You can also catch all the latest news at my website:
www.amandaweavernovels.com/.

I love connecting with readers. You can always find me on
Twitter, live-tweeting award-show red carpets and talking about my cats:
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of other things I adore:
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Travel
back
in
time
to
Regency
England
for
a
story
of
family
obligation
,
betrayal
and
romance
.

THE MARRIAGE ACT

By
Alyssa
Everett

“Everett ignites sparks between wedded strangers in this
tender Regency romance.”

—
Publishers Weekly

Though bitterly estranged since their wedding night, warring
husband and wife John and Caro must mask their hostility to play a devoted
couple for Caro’s unsuspecting family in a second-chance-at-love Regency
romance.

Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to
exclusive offers and much more!

Visit
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Craving
more
historical
romance
with
characters
who
push
the
boundaries
?
Discover
this
Victorian
romance
with
a
dark
twist
.

THE FIGHTER AND THE FALLEN WOMAN
by
Pamela
Cayne

London
,
1883

“
People like us don’t get happy endings.
”

In twelve years as a bangtail, Lady has never feared a man’s
kiss. Owned by the ruthless Hannibal Adams, the “Earl of the East End,” she’s
draped in jewels and dead inside. Lady learns fear, however, when she kisses Mr.
Adams’s best fighter for luck—for King sees the real woman locked away behind
finery and falsity.

King’s life is made of fists and scars, the only things that
have ever felt real to him. Even his name came from the man who owns him—the man
who turned him into a champion. From the moment Lady’s kiss sends him reeling,
King resists wanting what he can’t have. Mr. Adams never gives up what he
owns.

When Lady is sent to nurse King during the tournament, she
finds a new strength through the one man who’s never treated her like a whore.
King discovers that the woman who shares his dark world might also be the one to
lead him out. And as the tournament comes to a violent finale, Lady and King
must decide—stay spoiled and shackled, or break free and risk what happens when
fear and dreams collide.

Is a chance at love worth life and death? A champion fighter
must risk it all for forbidden love and freedom...

Order
your
copy
now
!

Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to
exclusive offers and much more!

Visit
CarinaPress.com

We like you—why not like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress

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Twitter.com/CarinaPress