Regency Romance Collection From Christina Courtenay by Christina Courtenay Page A

began to strum a few notes softly while she collected herself and decided what to sing. She was out of practice and hadn’t sung for a while, so she decided on something simple and chose one of the lesser arias from the opera they had just seen. She knew it by heart and once she began to sing, albeit haltingly at first, she soon forgot where she was and lost herself in the music.
    Her voice gained confidence, and rang out sweet and pure, and towards the end of the ari a she sang with all her might. By the time she had finished, a crowd had gathered in the doorway and everyone began to clap enthusiastically. James said nothing, just offered her his arm as she stood up and prepared to leave. She swept past him, however, still angry, but smiled mechanically to acknowledge the applause. Then she went straight up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
    If he was going to be this dictatorial, how on earth was their marriage going to work? One thing was for sure, she would not put up with it.
     
                               

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    James was in a quandary. He had a feeling he had just made a great fool of himself and it was not a feeling he relished. His wife had proved to him that she did indeed possess a rare talent. In fact, he would not be surprised if she had reduced grown men to tears with a voice like that, but it still rankled that she had sung to other men, married or otherwise. He was beginning to wonder why that should matter to him so much.
    It would seem he was j ealous, but how could that be? Being jealous meant that he would first have to be in love, and he refused to acknowledge any such thing. He didn’t even dare believe in Amelia’s innocence, so he couldn’t possibly love her. Or could he?
    No. He decided that without trust there could be no love. He had to be sure and what was needed was a breathing space, some time for reflection. Everything had happened with such speed, they had to slow things down a little. The best thing would be for him to leave Amelia at his home in Surrey for a few weeks while he attended to some of his other properties. Perhaps after some time away from her he could begin to think clearly again. He had found that being with her played havoc with his senses and his brain didn’t seem to function like it normally did.
    I have to get away.
                 
    When Amelia woke the next morning, James had already gone out.
    ‘ Said as how he had some business to take care of,’ the maid informed her.
    Amelia wondered what to do while she waited for him yet again and decided she had better just stay in the hotel. She had no idea why James had acted so strangely the night before, but during the night she had calmed down and come to the conclusion that it had probably all been a misunderstanding. She knew she needed to be patient until she learned more about him. They were, after all, virtually strangers still, and no doubt she would understand him better once they got to know each other properly. But it made her cross that he had the power to upset her so.
    She went downstairs to look for a periodical with which to pass the time, and sat down in the lounge by herself. She had just finished the first page when a footman came over to her with a card on a silver salver.
    ‘ There’s a gentleman who’d like a word with you, my lady.’
    Amelia looked at the card, which bore the name of Captain M arshall, and groaned inwardly. She wasn’t sure she ought to see him without James being present, but on the other hand she was sitting in a room full of people so there couldn’t be any impropriety in simply talking to the man.
    ‘ Very well, show him over here, please,’ she said to the footman.
    Soon after, the captain’s booming voice rang out. ‘Lady Demarr, how do you do?’ He bowed over her hand, but she snatched it back as quickly as possible.
    ‘ How nice of you to call. Please take a seat,’ she said. ‘How did you know where