Page 34 of The Perfect Rose

Rose followed the look and saw her mother looking in on the guests with so much pleasure, Rose was afraid she might do something awful like burst into song. She knew exactly what her mother saw. There she was, standing next to and conversing with a duke, his attention fully on her, and he looked pleased. Her mother’s mind was very likely to run away with her in the hopes of her daughter as a duchess. If only she knew how impossible and even unwanted that was for Rose.

She would trust the duke, if only for Miriam’s sake and the fact that in a single moment of time, he had made her seem like the daughter her mother had always wanted. The fact that the truth of the matter was far from what it seemed was uncomfortable, as if someone forgot to remove a pin from the bodice of her dress. It seemed likely that she would battle that discomfort for the next week at least.

“Thank you for your help, whatever it is.” Rose found the words on her tongue tasted foreign. Had she had so little opportunity to express gratitude? Was this what it was like to have friends? To have people wanting to ensure your success? Or were these people ensuring her success just so that they could ensure their own? She rejected the thought, or at least she tried to.

The duke looked at Miriam and then back to Rose. “Don’t thank me yet, we have much to do. I have heard some alarming information I would like to discuss tomorrow morning, if you are available.”

Miriam flattened invisible creases in her dress. “Where should we meet you?”

“The library, after breakfast. Frederick should be out with his steward, and Lord Hanby does not keep early hours.”

Miriam looked to Rose for confirmation.

Rose nodded. “It’s been too long since I’ve sat down with a good book.”

The duke bowed and excused himself to check on his mother.

Rose reached over and squeezed Miriam’s hand and smiled. What does a person say when they’ve made a real friend? I don’t know. “Goodnight Miriam.”

Miriam pulled her into an embrace. “Goodnight Rose. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Rose’s shoulders drooped with fatigue from the events of the day. She crossed the room and picked up her basket of embroidery. She would continue to work on her stitching in bed while she attempted to let her mind relax. She walked down the corridor with her mind still in the drawing room. She’d found a friend today in Miriam, and even though she still had a very real problem to face, she knew she had Miriam and Frederick’s help. There was still hope.

A creak in the floorboard behind her caused her to turn around. Mr. Owen Redford had followed her into the corridor. He walked quickly to her side. “Lady Rose, will you . . .”

“Owen! Just the man I’ve been searching for.” Mr. Hastings emerged from the room behind Mr. Redford and cut him off. “I’ve been thinking about Miss Coolidge. How do you think she is enjoying the house party?” He jogged down the corridor and caught up to the pair of them. He put a hand on Mr. Redford’s shoulder. “She seemed quieter than normal this evening. Perhaps some neighborly attention would be appropriate?”

Mr. Redford caught Rose’s eye and then shook his head a little. Rose breathed a little easier. She wasn’t confident in her acceptance of what Miriam had guessed was his imminent proposal. It would be impossible for her to give him an answer when she knew she would be learning something new from His Grace tomorrow morning. She was grateful for Mr. Hastings’s interference.

“Miss Coolidge seems well to me,” Mr. Redford answered. He turned to Rose again. “Will you walk with me tomorrow morning, Lady Rose?”

He wasn’t to be deterred easily. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have another engagement for tomorrow morning.”

Mr. Redford’s eyes flashed, not in anger, but in sorrow. Mr. Hastings’s eyes bore into her own, but what he was trying to say, she couldn’t guess. If the man wanted to ask about her prior engagement, he refused to do so in front of Mr. Redford. Rose didn’t know whether she wanted him to tell her what he was thinking or not; she had so much to think about already.

“Goodnight gentlemen.” Rose curtseyed and finished her trek to her room.

She embroidered her little apron until the candle next to her bed was almost spent. She’d have the apron complete before tea tomorrow. Her mind wandered over the different gentlemen at the house party and what she felt about each of them. Her thoughts raced round and round in circles before she gave up speculating and drifted into a restless sleep.

After an unrestful night and a quick breakfast of toast and eggs, she tucked the handle of her embroidery basket into the crook of her arm and made her way to the library. The duke was already there, sitting in an armchair next to the fireplace reading a book. He got to his feet when he heard her come in. “Good morning, Lady Rose.”

“Good morning, Your Grace.” She sat on a settee and pulled out the apron from her basket. She had only the initials left to add to it. She chose her darkest pink thread and pulled out an arm’s length before snipping it from the spool. She stuck the very tip of the thread into her mouth and wetted it with her lips. Then she stuck that end through the hole of the needle.

The duke cleared his throat. “I don’t know how you can be determined to get anything done right now, Lady Rose. I’ve been sitting here pretending to read a book for the past quarter of an hour, and you take up your needle and thread as if you are not concerned in the least about what I will say to you.”

Rose smiled and glanced at his book, Romeo and Juliet. “My embroidery is my safe place, Your Grace. It is the one pastime where I feel at peace. No one can see me embroidering and tell me that I am not making a good use of my time. It allows me to work out some of my anxious energy into something that will add beauty to the world around me and others. Besides, I believe you have Miriam’s book.”

The duke’s cheeks reddened. He closed the book and tucked it beside him. “Yes, but you must be quite concerned over how the next few days must play out for you.”

She filled her lungs slowly with air and then blew it out much faster. “Of course I am. But I don’t want you to have to explain everything twice. I can wait a few minutes until Miriam joins us.”

He dipped his head and pulled out the book again, bringing it much too close to his nose.

She laughed but took up her task again. They had a few moments of peace, where Rose’s fingers flew up and down through her fabric and the duke sat, never turning a page in his book, until Miriam fairly flew into the room, knocking her shoulder against the door frame upon her entrance, flushed and out of breath.

The duke jumped from his chair as if he’d been bit by a snake. “My dear Miriam, is anything the matter?” He rushed over to her and touched her arm where it had collided with the doorframe.

She laughed. “Do I look as bad as that? Nothing is wrong, Samuel, you may sit. I only just sent Frederick off to see his steward, and he peppered me with questions for so long I was wild with fear that you would tell Rose everything without me. And you know how I feel about being left out. It just wouldn’t do. So, now I want you to tell me the plan all over again.” She fell onto the settee next to Rose as if her knees had just given way.