Page 25 of The Perfect Rose

The contact seemed more possessive than companionable. She glanced about, hoping to come up with a better direction for their conversation, and saw her mother, framed in the window of her bedchamber, looking out upon them. Rose bit back a sigh.

“We must agree to feel at odds in this, Lord Hanby.”

“But I do not wish to be at odds with you, Lady Rose.” His words, though flowery, were so empty, so emotionless, she could well-believe that he preferred her uninspired musical abilities to Miriam’s expertise.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.” Although she wasn’t. She felt absolutely no pull toward this man. He was turning out to be exactly the same as any suitor she’d been led to believe would court her from the time she left the nursery.

“You could never disappoint me.”

She laughed. “I doubt that very much indeed. I’m quite in the habit of disappointing people, I assure you.”

His jaw clenched for a moment. “And which people would that be? The irksome Mr. Hastings?”

Her head jerked back of its own volition before she could check her reaction. She had disappointed Mr. Hastings, certainly. But he was only one in a long list. “Perhaps, but his opinion is of no concern to me.” But that wasn’t quite true; she found that she did care what he thought about her. Why else would she have lost so much sleep over their conversation last night? Regardless, she’d rather not tell Lord Hanby anything else about how she did not measure up to expectations. “Do you enjoy gardens, my lord?” It was an awful turn of subject, but she didn’t care.

He deigned to raise one eyebrow in question but followed her conversation. “I do enjoy gardens. In fact, I have quite the resplendent garden at my home in Derbyshire. Perhaps you could come explore its paths with me. There is even a hedge maze, cultivated for many generations with the purpose of keeping me out of doors for far too long.”

The idea of exploring a hedge maze was the first enjoyable topic she’d had all morning and she took up the conversation with renewed energy. The idea in her mind was more fascinating than conversing about it with the viscount, however. As the walk progressed, she found herself unable to answer some of his questions because her mind kept wandering from what he was saying. Despite this, she saw more than felt Lord Hanby’s opinion of her soften. She guessed, by the end of their walk, that he’d even enjoyed himself a little. That was an accomplishment, indeed.

When the ladies sat down to tea later that day, Rose’s mother sequestered herself on the far side of the room with Lady Gilfordshire. Rose had seen them talking when they met, but since the dowager was hard of hearing, her mother had previously shown little patience with the elderly woman. Today, however, was different.

Miriam must have caught Rose watching the women, for she sat beside her and smiled. “It does my heart good to see your mother taking a liking to Her Grace. Frederick has worried about her over the years. The more she loses her hearing, the more of her past companions have disappeared.”

As much as Rose wished she could reassure Miriam that her mother was genuinely interested in the dowager, she could not in her heart believe it. Her mother always had a reason for the relationships she made and kept. “I do hope that they find joy in each other’s company.” She could hope, even if she didn’t believe it. But she wouldn’t dwell on something she had no control over. “Oh Miriam, I never had a good opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed your performance last night. It was simply amazing.”

Miriam seemed to shrink into herself. “It was nothing to your performance, it was full of mistakes and far too long.”

If Rose had learned anything from her argument with Miriam’s brother, it was that perfection was not always beautiful. It had been a difficult argument to take in; she’d rolled it over in her mind for hours before coming to the conclusion that he was right. Rose reached across the small space between them and squeezed Miriam’s hand. “I disagree. In fact, I have argued with your brother about this already, and he agrees with me. A flawless performance does not equate to an enjoyable performance. You make music come to life; I enjoyed listening to you far more than I enjoyed playing myself.”

“Did Frederick tell you he didn’t enjoy your performance? I could take him to task for you and have him do some awful punishment.” Miriam was indignant and yet, still she smiled, making Rose feel quite confident in her reply.

“Is there a single punishment you could think of that your brother wouldn’t make into a game or a spectacle? I for one, cannot think of anything fitting.”

Miriam’s face paled. “Wait, he did tell you he didn’t enjoy your performance? What on earth could he have to critique?”

Rose shook her head. “I’m not offended, and in fact, I agree with him. So don’t judge him too harshly. We simply have different ways of looking at music. But if you do think of some sort of punishment, I will pretend I am highly offended in order to see it play out.”

“Do you dislike him very much?” Miriam cast her gaze toward her hands.

“No.” That much was certain. “No, I do not dislike him. He is vexing at times, but he treats me differently than most people do, and for that, I am grateful. I wouldn’t go so far as to pretend we are friends.”

Miriam nodded as if she were pacified. “Good, because being your friend is my good fortune. Would you like to join us to go visit some of the tenants this afternoon?”

“I would enjoy that very much, Miriam. Is there anything I can help you prepare? Baskets perhaps?”

“I put the baskets together this morning. Just to have you there will be wonderful!”

Chapter Eighteen

It had been a quiet morning, something Frederick was grateful for after spending so much time occupied with the lively events of the house party. He did like being around people. And truly, the liveliness of the house party did not upset him. But he felt weighed down and he attributed it to the fact that Lady Rose had taken too much of his attention, and he needed to realign his priorities. He’d spent some time in his Bible and then he’d caught himself up on the ledgers. He wanted the most current information before he went to visit the tenants today.

He asked his steward to saddle horses for Miriam and himself, and he assumed that there would be a handful in the party that wished to explore more of Greenridge Manor. He walked into the stable and stroked his horse, Bug. It wasn’t that Bug reminded him of an insect, it was quite the opposite, in fact. Bug was beautiful, especially when he was brushed to a shine like he was now. Actually, the horse’s chestnut hue matched Lady Rose’s hair, and Dragon’s too for that matter. Frederick liked the color very much, and enjoyed the connection, but he had the greatest inclination that Lady Rose would not. After comparing her to his dog, what would she do if he compared her to his horse? He smiled to himself.

“Something’s got you in a good mood, Freddy. What is it?” Samuel asked as he entered the stable.

Frederick laughed. “I was just getting Bug ready for a ride, and I couldn’t help but notice that he has the same color as Lady Rose’s hair.”

Samuel brought his finger up to his lips as if to hush Frederick, but it was too late. Lady Rose and Miriam followed the duke into the stable in the next moment, and Lady Rose already had fire in her eyes and an unwavering purpose to her step. Heavens, anger looked good on her.