Page 74 of A Match Made in London
“No doubt. But I have things to do, and so cannot be waylaid by your abundance of charm. I shall see the both of you later this afternoon?” Without waiting for an answer, she was off, sailing up the stairs.
Leaving him alone with Rosalind.
Tristan grinned. Never say his cousin did not have impeccable timing.
He moved closer to Rosalind where she stood on the bottom riser. “You’re looking well this morning.”
She said nothing. As a matter of fact, she had hardly moved at all since he had come upon them.
It was only then he noticed the pallor of her cheeks, the tight line of her lips. She was upset, deeply so.
Frowning in concern, he took up her hand in his. Even through her glove he could feel the chill of it. He removed her glove, hastily chafing her fingers between his own. All the while she stood mutely, her hand limp in his.
“Damnation, I knew I should have left word. Rosalind, I’m sorry. I did not think I would be gone so long, I swear it.”
She finally reacted. But it was not with a relieved laugh and a smile. No, it was with that same disdain she used to show him, the one that made him feel he could do no right.
She pulled her hand from his. “You owe me nothing, Sir Tristan. Not your apologies, and certainly not word as to your whereabouts.”
The very marrow in his bones froze as she turned from him and started up the stairs. He reached out to stay her. “Rosalind, you’ve got it all wrong—”
“Unhand me, sir.”
Immediately he released her. Of course, he should not be talking in such a familiar way to her in such a public setting, where no doubt someone was within hearing. At least not until things were settled between them. “Come with me into the sitting room then,” he murmured. When it looked as if she would deny the request he said, a touch of frustration making the word come out harsher than he intended, “Please.”
She considered him with narrowed eyes, eventually nodding. Together—yet it felt as if they were worlds apart—they moved down the hall to the small private sitting room at the back of the house.
Immediately she scurried to the far corner as he closed the door, choosing an uncomfortable high-backed chair that denoted more than words her wish to have this conversation over and done with as quickly as possible. Pressing his lips tight, knowing he only had himself to blame for this debacle, he strode toward her, taking the closest possible seat, moving it even closer until their chairs touched. She stiffened but said nothing as he sat, keeping her profile to him as he turned to face her.
“I know you must be angry with me—” he began.
“You are mistaken, for I have no reason to be upset with you at all. If anything, you saved me from a very uncomfortable morning by disappearing from my bed. Which it surely would have been now that we have had our fun.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “Our fun?”
“Certainly.”
“You make it sound as if that was all there was to it.”
She laughed, the sound of it like sharp branches scraping windows in the dead of winter. “Ah, I see it now. You worried I would be one of those women who would expect a ring and a promise after performing such an act. Well, you may rest assured, I never wished for or needed such a thing from you.”
Part of him thought she must be pushing him away on purpose. This was not the Rosalind he had come to know in the last several days. That Rosalind had been warm and giving, confiding in him things she had never told another, giving to him of herself.
But the greater part of him was louder, shouting that he should have expected as much. For if he had never been good enough forhis father, his own blood, what made him think he was good enough for someone like Rosalind?
“Don’t do this, Rosalind,” he rasped.
“Do what? I assure you I am not doing anything.”
“You are. You’re pushing me away.”
“Of course I’m pushing you away.”
The bluntness of it, the faint way her lip curled, as if she thought him the biggest simpleton in history, was like a punch to the gut. “Why?” he managed.
“I would think it was obvious.”
He ground his teeth together so brutally he thought they would shatter. But he would not win this by taking the defensive with her. He forced his jaw to relax, enough to grit out the words, “Enlighten me.”
