Page 50 of Undercover with the Heiress
‘I couldn’t ask it,’ Iris interjected. ‘You two are newly married. You need time away to settle into one another. You need—’
‘We aren’t married.’ Phineas announced. ‘It was a front to stop Mrs Crofts from gossiping while we worked out what business Lord Richard was involved in. Everything will be annulled. And after this, no man would be stupid enough to think he can fool Rosanna Hempel into a loveless marriage for her money again.’
‘You seemed so…’ Hamish frowned. ‘So happy. Not so much you, Rosanna, you’re always happy. But I’ve never known Phineas to smile so much. Truth be told, I didn’t even know youcouldsmile.’
The carriage slowed to a stop, right at the point in the row of townhouses where Numbers 1 and 3 met. Phineas climbed out first, and on the pavement, he held out his hand. Rosanna steadied herself against him as she descended the few thin steps. After she had alighted and the carriage had rolled away, he kept hold of her.
‘You don’t have to leave tonight if you don’t want to,’ Phineas said. ‘You can take a few days to get your things packed and moved. For appearances’ sake, it probably shouldn’t be too long though.’ He squeezed her fingertips. ‘Will you come inside?’
‘I’d like to speak with my parents.’ She withdrew from his hold. ‘I’d like to tell them what happened myself.’
They walked in parallel up the stairs to each door, taking each step at almost the same pace. Phineas paused on the landing. Rosanna tapped at the door to her family home. Light spilled onto her feet, and laughter and family filled the brief incandescence.
‘I’ll be home soon,’ she called across the gap.
The door to Number 1 snapped off her words.
Some hours later, Rosanna walked down the stairs of her family home, took the few short steps across the pavement, then ascended to the house where she had felt herself grow, whereshe’d learnt to feel love and passion. To the place where she had transformed from a girl into a woman. Into becoming all the things she’d been so certain she would have to flee home to experience, to fly dozens of bunched miles to understand. Yet, all along, she hadn’t needed distance or forced bravado. Only belief.
Belief in herself. Belief in her worth. And to find a different way of understanding her value—not as a darling or a diamond, but as Rosanna. She fumbled at the key in her pocket, drew it out, and twisted it in the lock. The door clicked open. Once inside, she secured the entrance again. She untied her bonnet and laid it on the table.
From deep within, she tried to find the resolve to condense her feelings into a few sentences, into a plea for acceptance, and into a hope for something new. To mould her words into the argument she’d been so intent on making that morning. But her heart beat weakly. Her hope had shattered when she’d seen how viciously Phineas had questioned Lord Richard, how desperate he’d been to find Pennington.
All he wanted was the woman on the mantlepiece.
The clink of glass on wood filtered through from the library. A fresh bottle of whisky sat on the table between the two chairs, the amber liquor still inching into the neck.
With a smooth gulp, Phineas emptied his glass. ‘I had Hugh go out so we could celebrate. I poured you a drink.’ He clinked his empty glass against her half-full one, then let it drop. His head fell back against the leather. His breaths came heavy, his chest rising and falling with a slight snore.
Rosanna curled into the space beside his knee. He shifted with a slighthmph, making room for her in the chair, and she rested her cheek against his chest. His breath settled back into a steady rhythm. Just as she felt herself drifting into sleep, he trailed a finger lightly over her cheek.
Tomorrow, she would tell him what she’d learnt. About Imogen.
Tonight, he was still hers.
Chapter Twenty-one
‘I don’t like surprises.’ Phineas looked across at Rosanna, who sat opposite him in the cab they’d taken from Chelmsford station.
She smiled, but not with her eyes. ‘You’ll like this one,’ she said. ‘Trust me.’
Perhaps she was tired. Or maybe it was relief that this chapter of her life had closed. He knew from each transition of his own that sometimes, instead of elation, one only felt depleted. The small joy, the adjustment, perhaps even feelings of celebration would come later, but today, the gnawing emptiness and looming question ofwhat nextcreated a void.
And what next, indeed? His original plan remained within his grasp. He could still take the train south, then a boat, then another boat—and after that, he hadn’t decided if he’d take another boat or a train. He would be completely lost to the system by then and would reinvent himself with a new name on a passport. He would forge it himself using the skills he’d learnt in Newgate, as he’d done before.
Outside, green strips of farms and long rows of stone walls and thick hedgerows sped by. Arley’s estate had been close to this district, and with a mix of guilt and contentment, he thought of the duchess, Arley’s mother. She must also be grappling with a life upended, still searching for the next in line to claim the title. Was his former drinking friend and companion in sullen Christmases happy? Had love been worth the sacrifice?
Rosanna steadied herself as the carriage leant into a slightly rougher dip in the road, and the next thump of Phineas’s heart hurt a little more than any beat he’d felt before. Because the emptiness that gaped before him had nothing to do with resolution. It lay in knowing that Rosanna was free to return to her life. To petition for the separation and annulment that he and Lawrence had agreed on and that he wouldn’t contest.
But what if he did? What if he made his case, not to a court demanding the vows they made be upheld, but now, to her?
His wife on the opposite side of the carriage. So distant, even though their knees brushed as the carriage swayed. If he stretched, he could take her hand. He wouldn’t have to raise his voice. If he could find the words…
I know I’m not the life you wanted, but please… Could we be more? Maybe? Could we try?
Phineas jerked forwards as the vehicle pulled to a stop, then jolted back against the seat. Rosanna smiled again, that same stretched smile with only her lips. She looked out of the window. Phineas followed her gaze.
A rough wooden fence ran alongside the road. Behind it, a small stretch of lazy grass, clover, and wildflowers rippled with the breeze. A cow, ready for milking, lowered her head and ripped off a mouthful of pasture, then looked up to them, chewing methodically, as if in deep contemplation.
