Page 37 of A Duke for Stealing
“We are here for you, darling, so yes, we must,” Theo replied.
They had all come together to pick her up and take her to London, where she would, as Everett commanded, have a new dress made to represent her rise to Duchess. She did not particularly like the way he’d made such a demand, but she did agree that a new dress was warranted, and an opportunity to see her friends was much appreciated.
“Please,” Amelia encouraged once they were tucked into the carriage and heading for London, “Tell us how you are faring. Are you doing well?”
“Well enough, I suppose,” Rose replied.
“You can be honest with us,” Amelia insisted, a touch of worry in her eyes. “I recall how strange it felt to be married to Dominic. We knew another yes, but we did notknowone another. In many ways, we were strangers.”
Rose smiled, appreciating her friend’s worry.
“It is the same with Everett, I suppose,” she admitted. “At times, we find another getting close. Then one annoys the other, and we are bickering again.”
“And pray tell, what does this bickering consist of? Seraphina asked.
“His nieces,” Rose began, then frowned. “Though, I suppose we have stopped arguing about that.”
“What else?” Seraphine asked.
Rose opened her mouth, then closed it. In truth, she could not think of another reason they bickered.
“I do not know,” she confessed, “But he frustrates me either way. Especially when he is in close proximity.”
Theo giggled.
“It seems as if you are struggling to come up with a reason to explain this frustration,” she said, “Perhaps he does not frustrate you as much as you think.”
“Oh,” Rose said with a dry laugh, “He certainly does. Every time he is around, my skin itches.”
“Itches?” Theo asked, “Or tingles?”
“Does it matter?” Rose asked.
“Yes,” Theo, Seraphina, and Amelia answered in unison.
Their intense stares made Rose blush, and she looked to Ophelia for help.
“Ignore them,” Ophelia said, taking her side, “These three are simply love-addled. If he makes your skin itch, that is that.”
Rose gave a positive nod, thankful that at least one friend was taking her side. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if the others were right. Was there a difference between an itch and a tingle? And if so, which sensation had Everett stirred within her?
“Pray, let us speak of anything else,” Rose pleaded. “What is the newest gossip?”
To her relief, her friends quickly dropped the subject and filled her in on the talk of London. For a moment, she was blissfully distracted by the gossip, but she felt her heart stutter again as the topic of theDevil’s Masqueradewas brought up, as was Everett’s name.
“Everett? You thinkEverettis behind theDevil’s Masquerade?”Rose asked.
“Oh, no, not us,” Amelia immediately replied. At the same time, Seraphina and Theo shook their head. Ophelia raised a single brow, but made no indication of her thought.
“It is just gossip,” Theo said, as if trying to assure Rose. “It is not as if you have seen any proof of such since living with him…have you?”
“No,” Rose said quickly.
She then looked down at her hands and began to fidget; no longer wanting to talk at all. Could it be possible? Could Everett be the mastermind behind the city’s most scintillating parties? Everett was the most rakish man she knew, and the largest proponent of secret affairs. The only reason she was not certain it was him was that, despite all the stories Amelia and Theo had told about their time there, they had not once mentioned spotting Everett there. Still, she understood that masks were to be worn at such events, and what if Everett was just better at hiding who he was more than everyone else?
By the time they arrived at the Modiste, Rose was not only put off from speaking of gossip, but put off from shopping as well. Especially since to do so would be to please her new husband. A man she now trusted even less than she had before.
“So what shall we have designed?” Amelia asked, walking through the rows of bright fabrics. “Something bold, to be sure. Something that signifies your new rise.”
