Page 151 of His Grace, the Duke
“Oh, he is insufferable,” Olivia said on a soft breath. “Why can he not just leave well enough alone?”
Rosalie followed the direction of her gaze across the crowded room. It was impossible to miss the towering form of Captain Hartington standing by the punch bowl. Like Tom, he looked devastatingly handsome in his uniform—not that she’d ever admit it aloud, especially where Burke might hear. “Has something happened?” she murmured, depositing the empty champagne glass on an obliging side table.
Olivia scowled at her. “As if you don’t know. As if you haven’t been egging him on all this time.”
“I have done nothing—”
“Then your men have been hard at work,” Olivia countered.
Rosalie furiously fought her blush as she took a steadying breath. “My men?”
Olivia gave a very unladylike roll of her eyes. “Don’t play stupid with me, Miss Harrow. Blanche and Mariah may be twittering fools, but I am not. And neither is Elizabeth, you should know,” she added with a level look. “Mr. Burke and Lieutenant Renley are in your pockets. How deep, I will not speculate, but I do know they’ve been whispering in William’s ear, spinning him up.”
Rosalie held Olivia’s gaze. In a daring move, she chose not to deny her claim. The time for games and half measures was over. They were quite literally out of time. “Olivia, Captain Hartington still loves you.”
Olivia stilled, tears springing to her eyes. “Did he tell you that?” she whispered.
Rosalie shook her head. “No. He would hardly admit such a thing to me. But he told Lieutenant RenleyandMr. Burke.” She reached out a hand, curling it around the fine satin of Olivia’s sleeve. “I say he is in love with you. A handsome, rich sea captain with a bright future who claims as his relation one of the most illustrious peers in the land. You would be the wife of a captain. Goodness knows he will advance, perhaps all the way to the admiralty. A sister to a duke. Why do you hesitate?”
Olivia blinked back tears, turning her gaze from the captain. “Why doeshe?”
Rosalie’s heart was fit to gallop out of her chest. Burke’s freedom was inches away, she could feel it. “What can you mean?”
“Why hasn’t he asked me to marry him? Is he afraid I’ll say no again?” She turned to Rosalie, clinging to her hand, hope blooming in her eyes. “I wouldn’t.”
Rosalie heaved a sigh of relief. “Then for goodness’ sake,tellhim that. Tell him to ask you again, Olivia. Tell him your answer before he asks—”
“I couldn’t possibly,” she cried. “It’s not right—not proper—a lady does not—”
“Fuck what a lady does,” Rosalie hissed, losing all patience. Her men were clearly rubbing off on her. She’d never said that word in her life before.
Olivia blinked in surprise, eyes wide.
Rosalie took her by both hands. “You have a chance here, Olivia. Arealchance at happiness. Do you know how rare that is? Forget about all these people and their rules. The only thing that matters is that you love him, and he loves you. So, leave your horrible pride behind you, and choose to be happy.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Olivia said, her voice so small and unsure.
“Nothing is ever easy for us,” Rosalie replied solemnly. “The life of a woman is a life of making choices that follow us for forever and a day. You made a choice regarding him once. Life has given you the rarest of gifts: a second chance. It is time to make your choice again.”
Olivia sniffed, glancing down at their joined hands. “You know, I think I might be learning to like you... despite the fact that you stole my fiancé away.”
Rosalie smirked. “He was never yours to steal. And I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to do more than merely tolerate you,” she added.
Olivia revealed her feelings with a soft smile.
Rosalie gave her hands a squeeze. “Now, I don’t mean to hurry this along, but your Captain Hartington is headed this way.”
Olivia gasped, dropping her hands. “Oh heavens, he’s insufferable. He can’t mean to approach me here!”
Rosalie grinned, pointing over the lady’s shoulder. “If you follow that hallway, there’s a painting of hounds on the hunt.The next door is a servant’s stair. Lead him that way. At least it is some privacy,” she finished with a wink.
“Heaven, help me,” Olivia breathed. Snatching a second glass of champagne off a passing tray, she turned and darted away. Within moments, Captain Hartington adjusted his course, ever so like a hound on the hunt.
Rosalie stood alone in the crowded room, taking a few deep breaths. This day was already so overwhelming, and it was barely halfway over. She didn’t know how many more surprises she could take. Centering her thoughts back on James, she glanced around, determined to find him. They needed to talk. She had to know. Their stairwell was taken, so she’d have to improvise.
“We’re to have dancing!” Blanche cried, coming up behind her and looping their arms together. “They’re opening the courtyard for dancing, come and look! It’s a bit cool, but how can we mind the chill when there is such excitement to be had?”
Rosalie gave a weak laugh. “Surely this event ought to have an air of solemnity—”
