‘Please, Grace. Don’t speak to Talek.’
Grace frowned. ‘Why not?’
‘Because I already know all about it.’ Amelia let her hand go. ‘Henry thought it was a good idea,’ she said, briskly folding her letter and slipping it into an envelope. ‘He will use the extra profit to reinvest. I saw nothing wrong with it and agreed.’
Grace sat down, horrified. ‘Does Talek know?’
‘No.’
‘Why didn’t you discuss it with him?’
‘He was away. Henry thought he would try to sell it for the best price possible. It was a good deal. Is that not what everyone does?’
‘But why would he not record the money properly. Why is he trying to hide it?’
‘Henry would not hide it. That part was probably a miscalculation. I will speak to him and he will correct the figures and Talek need not know.’
‘But he must.’
‘Talek and Henry have an agreement. Talek runs Bothick. Henry runs Stenna. There is nothing untoward. Talek does not need to know what is happening at Stenna Pit if the money is being invested for us all to profit from.’
‘It doesn’t seem right to not involve him.’
‘If Talek finds out we made this deal without consulting him, he will feel betrayed. Combined, our shares are bigger than his and he would have been outvoted anyway. The end result would have been the same.’ She fell silent for a moment, turning the letter slowly over in her hands. ‘Once Talek feels someone has not been transparent, he finds it difficult to forgive. The uncertainty in our partnership would destabilise the business. Miners’ jobs will be put at risk . . .’ Amelia let the letter fall onto her writing desk and lifted tear-filled eyes to her ‘. . . and he will hate me for my part in it, Grace.’
Grace crouched before her. ‘Talek would never hate you.’
‘I mean Henry. Don’t you see? He is the only man who has looked at me as a woman since the accident. It is alright for you. You just have to walk into a room and men fall silent. I don’t think you realise just how beautiful you are, and that in itself has a charm of its own. Me . . . I have been invisible since the accident, someone to avoid. And my withered legs are a constant reminder of why I am being treated like this. I thought this was how it was going to be, outwardly pretending to accept it, but inwardly dying a little more each day. Henry’s changed all that. When he visits, when he writes, he makes me feel . . .’ Amelia searched for the right word.
‘Special?’ suggested Grace.
Amelia shook her head. ‘It’s more than that, Grace, so much more. He makes me feel alive. He makes me want to live.’
Grace wrapped her arms around Amelia as she began to cry, her body heaving with rasping jerks as she tried, but failed, to speak.
‘Hush, Amelia. You don’t need to explain. Please don’t cry.’
Amelia withdrew a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her cheeks. ‘You don’t understand, Grace. I thought I would never have the chance of marriage, but Henry has changed all that. He wants to marry me.’ She clasped a fist to her chest. ‘Me! A cripple!’
‘Don’t talk like—’
‘I have the chance of becoming a wife and a mother. Don’t take that away from me.’
‘I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.’
‘If Talek found out about Henry’s new contract and that I sided with him, he would refuse to have Henry in the house and I would never see him again. I’m not like you, Grace. I can’t just board a carriage and go wherever and whenever I please.’
‘You are asking me to keep quiet?’
‘I am begging you to keep quiet. The extra profit is going to be reinvested. We will all profit from Henry’s excellent contract.’
Amelia’s eyes bore red threads of anguish and pulled at Grace’s heart. ‘But if it is such a good business decision, why keep it quiet from Talek?’
‘Because Talek would not allow it. You know what high morals he has. He expects everyone to think the same way as he does and doesn’t forgive easily.’ Amelia blew her nose delicately. ‘What if I ask Henry not to renew the contract again? Although I don’t see what harm it can do. He only got a better price than his competitors . . .’ Amelia reached for her hand. ‘Please, don’t tell Talek. He’ll be angry and never forgive me for not sharing it with him.’
The burden of discovery grew heavier by the moment. ‘I don’t know . . . bad things happen when secrets are kept.’
‘No harm has come from it and the truth would only hurt Talek. Please, Grace, I beg you.’
Grace withdrew her hand and stood, still unsure what to do.
‘I helped you when you needed someone. I opened my home to you, Grace. I gave you a job so you could earn your keep and not feel beholden to us.’
Grace began to wring her hands as she considered her options. Amelia was distraught and begging for her help, but she was right, she had helped her in her time of need. Yet could she keep a secret like this from Talek? She was only now beginning to know him and she liked what she saw. She closed her eyes to shut Amelia out.
‘Please, Grace.’ She felt Amelia tug her dress as if she was no higher than a child. ‘Please forget what you found.’
‘I can’t forget . . .’ she opened her eyes, and saw Amelia’s pained expression looking up at her ‘. . . but I won’t tell Talek. On one condition.’
‘Name it.’
‘That the practice will stop.’
The door opened and Talek walked in, startling them both. Talek’s searching gaze darted from one to the other.
‘Amelia? You are upset? Why?’
Amelia laughed. ‘You know what I’m like. I get maudlin when I haven’t been out much. Grace was comforting me.’ She turned to her and forced a bright smile, her lips trembling as she tried to maintain the façade.
