Star crossed

Chapter 28: Cute

Amelia knew she was in trouble, as she couldn't stop thinking about Antony. She suddenly found no purpose in her life and could no longer hate and plot against her father. All that time she spent in hatred was now spent thinking about Antony. She found herself waiting for his return every day so they could have dinner together. They formed a friendship talking about their day.

Amelia was waiting for Antony dressed in her dinner clothes while the sun was still shining bright. The maid was preparing their dinner when someone knocked on the door.

They didn't have a butler, but Amelia was the Lady of the house however small it may be. Her dignity did not allow her to answer the call personally. She walked to the door with hesitation. No one would call on her at this time except for an emergency, she thought. She couldn't stop the horrible images of Antony being hurt crowding her head.

"Madam, sorry to interrupt but there is an emergency," said a small boy.

"What happened?" Amelia asked shakily. She was trembling with fear.

"There... there was an accident," the boy paused and took too long to resume his sentence.

Amelia let out a horrified gasp clutching her heart.

The boy was startled by Amelia's reaction and started to stammer "Mam, it... it's-"

"Speak clearly boy," Amelia snapped. She couldn't handle it anymore.

"It's Miss. Dorsey's brother mam, he had a carriage accident."

Miss Dorsey, their maid, who heard it gave a horrified gasp.

Amelia felt relieved for it was not Antony, but immediately felt horrible for being shallow. She sent the maid home with some money. The maid apologised for having to leave in the middle of preparing the dinner. Amelia assured her not to worry and to take care of her brother.

Amelia went into the kitchen to find the carrot soup boiling. She has never cooked except for the one occasion when she made an apple pie. Deciding they would have carrot soup, mashed potato, toast, and apple pie for dessert, Amelia set to work.

Antony came home to find it filled with a variety of smells, all bordering with a severely burnt smell. Coughing slightly, he found a dishevelled Amelia in the kitchen struggling to hold a hot pan.

The dining table was filled with a lot of things that failed to look like food. It could only be best described as a horrible mess.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking dinner," she said in a small voice.

"What happened to the maid?"

"She had to leave due to an emergency." Amelia kept her head bent for having foolishly believed she could cook. She always believed Emma was inferior to her, if a mere nobody could cook, why couldn't she. But this and many other things already proved she was far inferior to Emma.

"I will go change," she said in a low voice and left the kitchen. She was sweaty and stinky, who knew cooking was this messy.

When she came back Antony was waiting for her at the dinner table. She looked at the dishes with a sinking heart. The soup looked more of a muddle, the toasts were black. Somehow she even managed to mess up the apple pie.

Amelia hesitated before settling on the chair.

Antony let out a long sigh and said, "Put on your cloak."

"Cloak!?"

"I don't mind eating your cooking, but I am sure you would. So put on your cloak so we could head out for a proper dinner."

"What makes you think I can't? If you could, I definitely could."

Antony gave an amused chuckle before setting a burnt toast on her plate. The soup seemed reluctant to leave its pot sticking to the bottom and then to the spoon. The apple pie gave out something slimy when Antony picked it up. What resulted in Amelia's plate was a gooey mess. Just the sight of it made Amelia gag.

Antony calmly set his plate and began to eat. His expression revealed nothing, it was as if he was eating an ordinary meal, but the same could hardly be said for Amelia. Apple pie tasted like raw dough, and the toast was ash.

Antony chuckled as Amelia nibbled the toast and hurriedly drank water. Just to prove the point she picked her soup spoon to scoop some soup, which proved to be a difficult task as it sat resolutely at the bottom of the bowl. Amelia managed to scoop some and put it into her mouth. But the spoon got stuck to her mouth. She pulled it, but the spoon stayed inside.

"You should add a little bit less glue the next time," said Antony, laughing.

Seeing Antony laugh Amelia glared at him, which seemed to amuse him even more. He threw back his head and laughed. The force of his laughter made the chair topple and he fell.

"Ammtmmm!" Amelia shouted. What she said was his name, but with the sticky soup and the spoon, it was a wonder she managed to make any sound at all.

She wrenched the spoon out of her mouth and rushed to Antony's side. Antony was sprawled on the ground, still laughing and clutching his stomach.

"Stop laughing, Antony!" Amelia scolded and tried to pull him up.

But he gave a mighty pull which resulted in Amelia falling over him.

"You managed to get the spoon out!" he said in between the laughter.

Amelia tried and failed to glare at him. The laughter was infectious, soon Amelia was laughing too. They laughed till their stomach ached.

"I can't," Amelia panted, clutching her stomach.

When she finally managed to stop laughing, she blushed. She was lying in Antony's arm while her hand was resting on his chest. He had his hand wrapped around her shoulders.

"You always look cute when you scowl," Antony said, gazing at her, which made her scowl.

"See, you are being cute again," he said, cupping her cheeks.

Amelia felt her cheeks grow hot, unable to look away from him. He seemed similarly transfixed. He leaned closer, each minute seemed to be an eternity. Amelia closed her eyes when he was inches away from her.