Page 41 of The Lord who Seduced Me
Rose
London, England Dec 1812
Rose had gotten another letter from Persephone begging her to accompany them to another ball.
While Rose did not wish to go, she also needed to get out of the house.
No one had left much after Burk’s rescue and Rose was getting anxious. It had been just over a sennight since his wounding, and she was tired of being cooped up.
She penned a reply that she would be happy to attend and after it was sent off, Rose walked upstairs to see what dress she had that she could wear.
She knew Cabe would not be there, and while she did not want to dance with anyone, she still wanted to look beautiful.
She opened her wardrobe and found a dark green silk dress.
It was much like the dress she had worn when Cabe took her innocence on the desk.
She blushed and pushed the thought away. It made her body tingle when she thought of that night and she wished it could be relived.
She missed Cabe and his kisses. His touches and his huge warm arms surrounding her. Reminding her who she belonged to.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and pushed him away. He did not want her.
Deciding on this dress for the evening, Rose went to her vanity and looked in the mirror.
She looked tired. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Pulling her shoulders back like her mother taught her, Rose gave herself a small shake.
“You don’t need him. You need to be happy in your life without him at your side. You will be happy and love life as an aunt, a sister and daughter. So much has happened that should bring you joy and instead you see it as something else. That has to stop. You can allow your family to be happy, and you can be happy for them. Especially Aidan. He deserves it more than anyone else. Do not taint their love. You need to do better. Go to the ball tonight and enjoy yourself.”
Rose nodded to her reflection and pulled the pins from her hair. She was going to enjoy herself.
And despite her promise, she would dance tonight. It was fun and something she would not do again for a while.
She had decided that after they went back home for Christmas that she was going to stay there.
While she had enjoyed going to the balls and things, it was not for her. She was happy to be in their country house, taking care of the villagers and reading in the library.
She knew Aidan and Rhia wanted to stay in the country for a while and Rose was happy to be there with them.
Lydia had also said that she and Jacob would stay there too.
Lily and Burk would come back to London, as would Cole and Eden.
And while that was hard, not being able to see her sister, Rose was going to be happy for them.
Lily had almost lost everything, and she would never begrudge her sister her happiness.
Pulling her hair into a semblance of a style and making herself look presentable, Rose finally rang for a maid to help her with her corset.
They tied in the back and were difficult to do up alone.
The maid came in and helped Rose dress and as she was slipping her shoes on, a soft knock sounded at the door and Eden peeked her head inside.
“Persephone and her parents are outside. Oh, Rose. You look so lovely. That dress makes your eyes look even more green.”
Rose blushed and ran her gloved hands down the dress. “Thank you, Eden.”
