Page 46 of A Duke for Stealing
The stories she’d heard from her friends were still churning wildly in her head, and Rose wanted some clarity, if anything, to be able to prepare herself for her upcoming reintegration into theton.She also desperately wanted something else to think about other than Everett and the way he’d left her the night before.
He’d given her so much pleasure, so much attention. He’d even been uncharacteristically sweet by carrying her to her room- and then he just… left. Leaving her with a head full of doubts and a body full of renewed tension.
She wanted to be angry at him. She had wanted to believe that this was just who Everett was, but now she was starting to doubt that. She was starting to catch glimpses of a different side ofEverett. One, very few, if anyone, had ever seen before. Was it possible that beneath his flirtatious, confident exterior, there was a person who felt just as lost as she did? Someone in need of being taken care of the way she did? And if so, could they possibly give that care to one another?
“Well, it is a lovely, if not overly pompous house, I suppose,” Betty mused as she took a seat in the sitting room, “But I would expect no less from a Duke’s estate. However, I do expect better service. Where is that wine? Did your maid run off to the vineyard to harvest the grapes?”
Rose pushed her thoughts of Everett away and turned, ready to track down the maid she sent for it. She was relieved to see her walking in with a tray topped with a bottle of open red wine and two glasses. To her surprise, though, Diana and Leah came walking in behind the maid.
“Lady Rose! There you are,” Diana said happily, “We were looking for you.”
“See, I told you if we followed the maid we’d find her,” Leah stated, then looked from her sister to Betty.
Rose immediately noticed how Leah stiffened and pulled her sister closer.
“Who is this?” She asked Rose.
“Leah, Diana, this is my mother, Lady Lightholder,” Rose explained, forcing a smile. “Do be polite and say hello, girls.”
To Rose’s relief, both girls curtseyed and said their hellos in adorable unison. Betty, however, was not as polite.
“Who are these girls? When did you have children?” Betty asked, pouring herself a full glass of wine. “Oh, God in heaven, they are not your husband’s daughters, are they?”
Rose frowned. Her mother had barely given the girls a look! Instead, she was too focused on the wine before her.
“Mama, you know I did not have children, and no, Everett does not have any either!”
Rose sighed, already feeling exhausted with the visit, and did her best to reach for patience. “This is Leah and Diana. They are my husband’s nieces.”
After swallowing over half of her glass of wine, Betty finally turned he attention to the girls and gave them a lopsided smile.
“Well, are you two not as pretty as flowers.” she praised, already lifting her glass to her lips once again. “Be careful who you allow around them, Rose, or some gentleman may want to pluck their petals early.”
Rose blanched at her mother’s words.
“What does that mean, Lady Rose?” Diana asked curiously.
“Nothing,” Rose quickly replied, then whirled to face the girls, trying her best to give them a warm smile. “Lady Lightholder only means that you are precious.”
“Is something the matter with her?” Leah whispered, eyeing up Betty. “She seems quite thirsty.”
Rose turned back to her mother and saw her pouring yet another full glass of wine.
“She is fine,” she assured the twins. “Just a little warm. In fact, I am sure you girls are too. Why do you not find your nurse and tell her I gave my blessing for you to play in the fountain outside?”
Both girls’ eyes lit up instantly.
“Truly?” Leah asked, bouncing on her feet.
“Why not? Just be careful, no rough play, and when your nurse says it is time to get out, you must obey. Are we in accord?”
“Yes!” The girls shouted in unison.
They both gave a quick curtsey toward Betty, who simply raised her nearly empty glass toward them and hastily left the room.
“Mama,” Rose scolded, turning back to face her mother, “That wasmostinappropriate! How could you say such a thing!?”
“Oh, calm yourself, girl,” Betty replied, waving a careless hand through the air, “It is not as if they understood. But you certainly should. You need to be careful of the younger beauties. You do not want to be replaced by them.”
