Page 13 of The Perfect Rose

“What was that spectacle, young lady?” her mother seethed as the door closed abruptly behind her.

Rose racked her brain but could find nothing that had been amiss in her actions that day. “Spectacle? Whatever do you mean, Mother?”

Fire leapt from her mother’s eyes. “Don’t play coy with me, Rose. You had the duke and that Mr. Hastings at your disposal for a quarter of an hour and you hardly spared a glance for the duke. If you’re not going to even try for him, then move down the list to Lord Hanby. Mr. Hastings is not the goal.”

Rose ground her teeth and berated herself. She’d almost forgotten: the goal, the target, so to speak, was supposed to be the duke. He was nice enough, she supposed. But he was so easy to forget. If only Mr. Hastings was less . . . less . . . commanding? No, that wasn’t right. Infuriating? Certainly; well, maybe. She shook the thoughts from her head. It was of no consequence anyway. “I’m sorry, Mother. I was distracted. Mr. Hastings challenged me to a contest. Would you have had me turn him down?”

Her mother’s eyes tightened. “Are you so simple that you could not have concocted a way to involve the duke instead of having him as a bystander? I’m disappointed, Rose. Do not waste another chance to spend time with him, am I understood?”

Rose nodded before she turned to her writing desk. The marigolds, forget-me-nots, and primroses in her simple white vase were fresh again this morning. “Will you be returning to the field?”

Her mother turned and put a hand on the doorknob. “No, I haven’t time to watch Miss Haybury follow the duke around if you are not there to dissuade her. You must secure a proposal, Rose. Acting as if your future is not on the line will not do. Remember your purpose here. I will see you at dinner.” The door snapped abruptly as she left.

Rose screamed in her head. Her emotions were so unmanageable, she didn’t know how to feel at all. Her morning with Miriam had been refreshing, though it had turned sour. She’d spent a pleasant morning in several gentlemen’s company but was unsure how to feel about any of them. Her competition with Mr. Hastings had been entertaining, and she’d spent an easy space of time in the presence of Mr. Redford. And now, her mother added distress and anger to her list of warring emotions. Her mother was asking her to make an impossible choice and complete an impossible task she had only partial control over.

Rose suspected that the likelihood of the Duke of Gilfordshire having any desire to rush into a hasty wedding was about as likely as Rose was to sprout wings and fly. He was a kind man, with good friends and more connections than almost anyone in the kingdom. He was not desperate to marry and would make a match of either connection or love. The duke was not particularly known to Rose beyond a few scattered conversations. It was true that Rose’s family was well situated as far as a connection would go, but two weeks would not solidify any feelings for a person, let alone one as free as the duke.

Rose sat in the hard-backed chair and dipped a quill in the jar of ink. It wasn’t often she made lists. Her mother had taught her to do so when she was young to keep herself organized and prepared for what each day would bring. But she’d memorized all those things ages ago. Still, it seemed as good a tactic as any to align her thoughts now. She labeled the top of her paper, Rose’s Attempt to Find a Husband. She wrote down the Duke of Gilfordshire’s name as the top and added what she knew about him:

Samuel William Douglas-Huntington Fourth Duke of Gilfordshire

The duke has at least nine holdings scattered across the country. His family seat is in Gilfordshire. He also owns property in London, Sussex, Collingham, Bath, Shropshire, Liverpool, Yorkshire, and Sheffield. I believe he also has holdings in Italy, Wales, and Scotland. He enjoys the coast, playing cricket, and is considered an excellent dancer.

The duke is an active and conservative member of parliament. He is known to be generous to his staff while also running a tight ship. His mother, Lady Gilfordshire, is hard of hearing. He has a Corinthian build, light-brown hair, and blue eyes. He is worth twenty thousand pounds per year.

After looking at the two paragraphs of information that everyone in the country knew or could easily learn, from his many holdings to his hair and eye color, she stopped. She had completely guessed at his eye color. It was ridiculousness to write the information down, but it helped her clear her mind to think.

Action Plan Step 1: Find opportunities to speak to His Grace after dinner. Learn something about him that would prove you’ve tried, at least.

She had no step 2. The duke was not truly an option.

She moved on to Lord Hanby. After writing even less about the tall, somber gentleman, she put her quill down. This was hopeless. She wasn’t going to get anywhere or make any plan worthwhile until she spent some time with the gentlemen in question. She would try harder tonight.

She stashed the parchment at the bottom of her chest of drawers, pulled on her shoes, and fixed her hair. She needed time in order to make her unflattering offering for Mr. Hastings’s wardrobe this evening, and she needed to start in the garden.

Chapter Ten

A package addressed to Frederick sat on his bed. He looked at his name scrolled in flawless lettering across the paper laid atop the mysterious box.

Mr. Hastings,

Thank you for your company this afternoon. Here is the addition to your dinner attire. I do hope you enjoy flowers as much as I do.

Lady Rose

The loopy, elegant handwriting was misleading. This was not a peace offering, it was the marking of a loser. He was still flabbergasted that Lady Rose had not only beaten him, she’d given him—a self-proclaimed great archer—a lesson on how to shoot. He was torn between nursing his wounded pride and singing her praises. Miriam would undoubtedly become incensed if he started admiring Lady Rose in any way.

He placed the note on his pillow and slowly lifted the lid of the box to see what Lady Rose had deemed ridiculous enough to make him wear. A pleasant smell wafted up to greet him as he set eyes on roses of all colors that had been woven together in a ring. He recognized each hue of rose from their garden behind the estate. And as much as he hated to admit it, he also recognized that this was the working of Lady Rose; her perfection sat heavy upon it. A grand floral arrangement of red, pink, yellow, and white blooms gave him greater appreciation for the gardener. The flowers were not what he’d expected. How was one supposed to wear a floral arrangement?

Oh heavens, it was a crown! A grin slid over his face. Tonight he’d be the rose king. It might look a bit ridiculous, but it could have been much, much worse. He laid the open box next to his window and his valet Jason helped him change. A gentle breeze made the smell of roses swirl around him, reminding him of how close Lady Rose had stood when correcting his posture. She’d smelled just as heavenly. He placed the crown atop his head and looked at himself in his mirror. The sight made him laugh, and his valet chucked behind him. Perhaps Lady Rose had a sense of humor after all.

Frederick grinned widely upon entering the dining room a few short minutes later, knowing full well the picture he painted. Lady Rose, he noticed, was biting back a smile but not succeeding by half. How he wished she would just allow herself to smile fully. He took his place at the head of the table. “I hope you are all aware that we have an expert archer in our midst. Thus, my dignified crown.”

Miss Haybury clapped her hands. “I saw you in some sort of competition with Lady Rose earlier. Well done, Mr. Hastings.” She smiled at him in congratulations.

“Oh, but Miss Haybury. Mr. Hastings was not the winner,” Samuel supplied to the room, a gleam of mischief in his eyes.

Miss Haybury’s eyebrows pulled together tightly enough that they looked like a long brown caterpillar sitting on her face. “So why does he wear the crown, Your Grace?” She turned her confusion into a flirtatious grin and leaned toward the duke as if to hear better even though the two sat side by side.