"Father, we mustn’t let this moment slip by us. With Penelope ruined, I shall have all of the prince’s affection. You will be the father of the queen and future heir to the throne once I am with child. Think of how many would flock to your side or envy you," said Amelia.
Ronan did want to hear his peers praising him for marrying off his daughter to the prince, but there was one issue.
"It is not promised that once she is out of the way, the prince will turn to you. I have never witnessed him making a grand gesture for your hand. Other fine ladies could get his attention. How do you intend to guarantee your spot?" Ronan asked.
Amelia could be pushing away Penelope, all for some other young woman to take that spot.
"Who else is there for him to marry-"
"You must stop saying that. Other brilliant young women would go to any length to get the prince’s attention, even if they were to find their way to his bed. Look at you, blushing over something so small," Ronan said, losing hope in Amelia.
"I am not like those young women, father. Besides, the queen is looking for a refined woman to take her place. If I used such talents for women who have only their bodies to offer, then she will think little of me," said Amelia.
Ronan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Women only have their bodies to use. What else do you have to make you stand out? There are countless beautiful women around the town with fathers who have something to offer to the palace."
Amelia flinched due to her father’s harshness.
"Forget what the queen wants. What matters now is getting the prince’s attention by any means. Like any other man, he will want more than your beauty. You must lower yourself a bit to seduce him," Ronan advised Amelia.
Amelia shouldn’t have had a child before she was married to shame the family, but she had to stop trying to grab the prince’s heart and get him to desire her.
Amelia kept her head bowed. How was she to seduce a man the way her father wanted?
Her beauty had always drawn all kinds of men to her, so she never had to resort to such lowly tactics. These tricks should only be used by women who have no wealth.
How could her father ask her to be like the same women she judged?
Amelia raised her head to meet her father’s eyes. "I will not fail you, father. I will charm the prince in my way. What matters most now is getting Penelope out of his sight. A little bit more and the town will be wary of inviting her to any social event. Trust me."
"Be careful with it. Should the duke come to my doors with any questions, I shall let it be known that I had no part in this, and then you will end up with a man of my choosing. It is either the prince or the man who makes the highest offer," said Ronan.
In the end, Ronan would get back all that he poured into Amelia and so much more.
Amelia smiled despite the anger she felt. "I will not disappoint you, father. I know what must be done to get a man’s attention, and I shall get Tyrion’s. If anyone else tries to get in my way, they shall share the same fate as Penelope."
"There is something else that I need your help with," said Amelia.
"I have been looking into the Collinses a little bit more, and then the Barretts. The duchess’s sister is married to a man named Noah Kennedy. There is the matter of our garden house, which needs fixing. Can you employ him and his son?" Amelia asked.
"I already had someone I planned to bring in for it, but I can change it around. A simple man like that might not be able to fix it to my liking. What do you need from him?" Ronan inquired.
"Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear how the duchess’s sister is fairing? I heard she was a woman who fell far from grace. Was it all her fault, or did the Collinses meddle to put her in that position? I have heard that she cannot walk at all," Amelia said, wishing she could meet Kate.
"That news surprised the town back then. No one could have predicted that such a proud young woman like Kate would have tried to kill herself. She was without her mother and father. Her sister abandoned her, placing her in the care of her uncle," said Ronan.
Ronan would have considered abandoning his sister as well since he was too busy to take care of someone, and it would be too costly with someone who couldn’t walk, but he wouldn’t say it out loud for the town to think poorly of him.
Alessandra was bold. She was suddenly more interesting than Ronan once thought of her.
Ronan had been among the men who were surprised to see her beauty without the mask.
Alessandra would have been so easy to marry before, since her father would have done anything to get rid of a woman said to be cursed.
Had it not been made to sound like the duchess was ugly because of scars on her face in the past, she might have had more offers for her hand.
"I will send someone to have Noah Kennedy come work for us. This might work out in your brother’s favour as well. He could try for Penelope’s hand," said Ronan.
It would pay off well if Ronan could have Amelia as the future queen, and his beloved son tied to the Collinses.
"Be careful not to let it get out that you have plotted all of this. We might be family with the Collinses in the future," Ronan said.
Amelia could not believe her father was pulling her already married brother into this. She did not want to become a family with the Collinses. What Amelia wanted was to see them ruined and Penelope far out of Lockwood, where she belonged.
Still, Amelia didn’t dare tell her father what she felt. She believed there was no chance that Penelope and her brother would ever be together.
Penelope had to go far so Tyrion would not for a second think of courting her again.
"Don’t disappoint me, Amelia. This is your last chance to prove yourself to me and the Castros. You will need a good dress for the next time you see the prince," Ronan said, earning a smile from his daughter. "We’ll see the dressmaker now."