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“When Ballantyne has been dealt with, what are your plans?”

Amelia paused and considered her response carefully “I don’t know When I first arrived, I was going to request a reference from Sir Hubert and take up a position of nanny or cooing to do”

“Would you like to stay here?” Eastleigh tried not to sho ie as he waited for her reply

“I think it would be folly to do so as things stand,” Amelia replied carefully

“Oh?”

Aht of the raw honesty her father had shown her yesterday, and felt he deserved nothing less than the truth himself

“I love Sebastian,” she began, choosing her words carefully

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Not when he doesn’t love me back” She sensed her father was about to interject, and hurried on “He cares abouthis life It isn’t love In all of the tis for me whatsoever You, of all people, should understand that I si he doesn’t hold ard”

Eastleigh felt a pang of syhter’s voice “I think you should know, e”

Aive it?”

“I said that he hadyou wanted to do” Eastleigh leant forward in his chair, and placed his tea cup on the table between theard”

“But it isn’t love, and I won’t - can’t - settle for anything less” Anored

“Neither should you You need to understand soaze, his eyes serious “You are independently wealthy in your own right When your mother passed, the money she had inherited herself, but not spent, was passed on to you While ere married, I provided for her so she had cause to use very little of it”

He naasp “So you see, if you do choose not to marry Sebastian, then you can decide where you want to live You are alelcoh Hall, which will always be your ho had your independence noill fully understand if you choose to purchase your own home”