After spending years as one of the most notorious rakes of the ton, Anthony Bridgerton has decided it's time to settle down and carry on the family line. He knows love exists, because his parents were a shining example of a loving, happy marriage. S...
He had rolled his pants up and he was taller than her, which meant he was older, and was smiling at her.
"Mind if I join you?", he had asked.
Amelia ignored him. She enjoyed speaking to the daughters of the servants but her mother and her father and all her brothers and sisters and even her teachers had instructed her that whatever she do, she never talk to any boys. Unless in the company of an adult.
Her father had than whispered to her (they were in the company of her mother as well) so only she could hear. "If you abide this rule, all else can be forgiven". In other words, she could break any rule except that one.
And Amelia knew when not to test her boundaries.
So Amelia ignored the boy next to her and instead finished feeding whatever little else was left over from the bread to the ducks and quickly pulled herself out of the lake, not bothering to put on her shoes.
"My name's Charles by the way, in case you ever see me again!", the boy called after her.
Charles.
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There was something about that boy that eased the tightness in Amelia's chest. For the first time in her life, Amelia was able to feel something other than loneliness. Because any attention Charles gave Amelia, was only hers. She didn't share it with her siblings or her parents.
Charles made her feel brave.
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That was why she kept meeting him, kept sneaking away so they could explore the park together, and feed the ducks together. It was why she snuck him inside the palace to show him the library (he had mentioned how much he loved books).
They went through the entire library, 3 times a week. They read first together, then they started to read apart and share the stories and discuss them. A few times, they were almost caught, but Charles hid behind some shelves and the person who went into the library in the first place never noticed him. They were too surprised to find Amelia alone and quiet to notice anything else.
They finished exploring the park and the library fairly quickly. (Their little minds could not comprehend all the books in the library yet). So they began exploring the palace.
