Page 67 of His Grace, the Duke
Reaching out, he brushed her shoulder with gentle fingers.
She shifted away from his touch. “George only confirmed it for me.”
A stone sank in Burke’s stomach. This was bad...
“Then who told you?” James pressed.
Rosalie’s eyes didn’t leave Tom’s face. “Your darling friend... Mrs. Young.”
Goddamn it, Burke was going toburythat scheming bitch!
Tom reached for her again. “Rose, I’m so sorry—”
She stepped away, holding her little glass of gin like a shield. “Yes, she cornered me with a few of her lovely friends. They said the most horrid things.”
Burke turned his fury on Tom. “Where the hell were you? We agreed you would be the buffer tonight! You were to stay by her side and keep the worst of the gossips at bay. It wasn’t bloody difficult—”
“I got distracted foronemoment,” Tom replied. “West Price was there. I blinked, and she was gone.”
“It was clearly a mistake to use Renley,” James muttered. “He’s too popular here in Town. It should have been you, Burke. Next time, it will be.”
Burke nodded, even while Tom hung his shoulders with frustration.
“Hold on...” Rosalie glanced from James to Tom, her eyes settling on Burke. “Youallknew, didn’t you? Was that your plan, then? To use Tom as a shield against insult? You think I intend to spend the rest of my life with one of you on my arm so the high-society vultures cannot peck out my eyes? I am not yours to protect!”
Burke was by her side in a moment, holding her shoulders. “Yes, you bloody well are!”
“Let me go,” she hissed, nearly tipping her drink on them both.
“You think we didn’t know there would be gossip? Of course, we did. This isourworld, Rosalie. You are an innocent, uncorrupted by these social politics. We are trying to keep you safe.”
“I’m so sorry about Marianne,” Tom said from behind her. “What did she say?”
“It’s not worth repeating,” Rosalie murmured.
“Itis,” he pressed, stepping around her to stand at Burke’s side. “No secrets, Rose. Not here, not with us.”
She huffed an empty laugh. “No secrets? That’s rich seeing as you’ve all just admitted to gossiping without me...aboutme... again!” She struggled in Burke’s grasp, and he let her go. She stumbled back, clutching her glass of gin as she moved towards the fireplace. “You want me to open up, but the three of you constantly keep me on the outside. How can I trust when you don’t let me in?”
“How can we trust whenyoulet no one and nothing in?” James countered, finally crossing the room.
She turned her anger on him. “Don’t you dare take the high road, James Corbin. You plot and plan, making decisions for me, dressing me like your little doll,” she added, gesturingto her gown. “All the while, you are a mighty fortress with thick walls a mile high.Youare the one who cannot let anyone in! And my opinion clearly doesn’t matter to you. To any of you!”
“That’s not true,” said Tom.
But James was steaming mad now. “Why would I trust you when you pull stunts like this? Climbing out a window with my brother? You’re mad! Where was the consideration? Where was the discernment that we might have been able to help you, defend you,protectyou—”
“I don’t need your protection—”
“No, of course not,” he barked, cutting her off with a wave of his hand. “You don’t need our protection. You’re a one-woman bloody army!”
Tom took a step closer to Rosalie, sensing she was about to break. “James—”
“You’re reckless, Rosalie Harrow,” James bellowed. “Reckless and fearless, and I do not trust you. I don’t trust you in my house. I certainly don’t trust you with my friends.” He stepped closer, eyes narrowed. “You’re going to break them. You’ll shatter them when you inevitably leave, and I will be left picking up the pieces.”
Burke’s heart was in his throat. He was losing it—his bright, shining vision of the future. It was slipping away before his very eyes. How did he hold the four of them together if two were determined to pull them apart?
“James, please—”
