Page 161 of His Grace, the Duke
She gasped. “Sir, that is madness. We are the worst possible match on God’s green Earth.”
“And yet I shall be unmoved in my determination. Marry... or marry me.”
“Are you threatening me with matrimony, sir? Daring to cage me in?”
“I am freeing you, Cabbage.” he said with a laugh. “Get out of your own damn way and marry my brother already, or I will return on swift wings and woo you and together we shall beat our wings against our matrimonial cage until we are weary and broken things. Now, doesn’t a life of bliss with my brother and his lovers sound infinitely more enjoyable?”
She crossed her arms. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course, you don’t,” he replied, giving her shoulder a pat. But then he leaned in, a wicked grin on his face. “But know this: If you expect me to keep my silence, you’ll name your first child George. Now go, Cabbage. You can’t keep your men waiting forever.”
76
Rosalie
After an arduousday of travel, they arrived at Alcott Hall with the fading light. Rosalie begged them to stop at the last turn so she could admire the house for a moment, nestled so beautifully by gardens, hills, and trees. Love for the place swelled inside her.
Home. A family to love her.
It still felt too good to be true.
“What are you thinking?” said Burke from her side.
“I am thinking about how happy I am to be home,” she replied, placing a hand over his knee.
“When we get inside, there is something we must discuss,” James muttered. “All of us.”
Rosalie glanced from him to the others. “Can we not get a hint of it now?”
“Best save it for when we’re inside,” he replied, rapping his fist on the carriage roof.
The coachman gave a call and the carriage rattled on. James left the unloading of the luggage with Mrs. Davies.
He only asked for one small travel case to be brought tohis study. He led the way, Rosalie, Burke, and Tom following. Rosalie knew it would be pointless to get him to say a word before he was ready, so she just helped herself to a place on the sofa and waited. Tom made them all drinks, passing the glasses around, while James stood behind his desk shuffling papers in the travel case.
“The suspense is killing us,” Burke said at last.
“I just need to make sure I have it all in order,” James replied, stepping around his desk with a thick file in hand. He took the glass Tom offered and sat down in the chair opposite Rosalie. “We haven’t really had a moment in all the...”
“Chaos?” Rosalie offered.
“Aye,” he replied. “I have something I need to show you. I think it’s best we all know about it. I only received the report the day after Burke woke up, and since then it’s been—”
“Chaos, yes, we’ve established,” said Burke. “James, for the love of God, just show us the file.”
“It’s for Rosalie,” he replied, giving Burke a pointed look.
“Oh . . . shit,” Burke whispered. “James, if this—”
“Wait, what is for Rosalie?” She sat forward. “James, what have you done?”
James sighed, giving her a guilty look that set her heart to racing. “I knew you would never agree to marry any of us so long as your independence was at stake. You needed assurances that you would not be confined nor controlled. For a lady, freedom in a marriage means financial freedom. I knew I couldn’t possibly give you money and have you accept it, even if it freed you to marry Burke... which was my original plan.”
“Oh, God,” she gasped, glancing from James to Burke. “You were going topayme to marry Burke?”
“I was going to settle a dowry on you,” he corrected. “I wasgoing to settle a sum on you both so that money would be no impediment to your happiness.”
She blinked back tears, knowing that was exactly the kind of heavy-handed gesture James Corbin might perform. “But something clearly changed your mind.”
