Page 64 of A Duke for Stealing
Everett caught Tristan’s intense gaze, and it only made his frustration grow. It was as if his friend was trying to see within him.
“Why do you make this decision?” Tristan asked. “Out of guilt?”
“Enough,” Everett said, shooting from his chair.
“I only wanted to see that you all are well. Clearly, you are.”
“Everett, wait,” Dominic insisted. “Do not go. Speak with us. We are here for fun, but we are also here for the serious aspects. If you have something on your mind-”
“Good night,” Everett said stiffly, cutting Dominic off. And though his friends called for him to return to the table, Everett left without looking back.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Why, Miss Gravesmoor,” Gerald greeted warmly.
As Rose smiled at the butler she’d grown up with, he let out a hearty chuckle, shook his head, and bowed.
“My deepest apologies. I mean, Your Grace,” Gerald corrected himself. “My, it has felt so long since we have seen you.”
“No need for apologies, Gerald,” Rose replied as Gerald escorted her into the house, “It was how you knew me for so very long.”
“Would you entertain an old man’s curiosity and tell me how you are?” He asked, closing the door.
Rose thought for a moment about how to respond. At the moment, her feelings felt…precarious.
“I am well,” she decided to say. “I am hoping you are as such?”
“As well as to be expected,Your Grace,”adding a fond emphasis to her proper title.
She reached for Gerald’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You have always been loyal to my mother and I, Gerald, and for that I thank you,” she told him.
“It is my duty and my honor,” he replied, but Rose did not miss the flicker of worry in his eyes.
“Has my mother been paying you properly?” She bluntly asked.
His moment of hesitation was all she needed.
“I will be taking over your pay from now on, Gerald,” Rose stated. “Rest assured, you will never have to worry about such things again.”
Gerald’s eyes glowed with an almost paternal affection.
“Your Grace, you have grown into such a fine, noble woman. Your father would be proud,” he replied, his tone emphatic and full of awe.
Rose was not at all sure if he would, but she nodded all the same.
“I am here to see my Mother. Is she in?” Rose asked, changing the subject.
It had been weeks since Betty had made her visit to the Lightholder Estate, and Rose wanted to check in. Even if part of her was resistant to the idea, Betty was still her mother, and she would not abandon her.
“She is,” Gerald agreed, sounding nervous again, “She is entertaining some guests in the parlor. I shall escort you.”
“Thank you, Gerald, but I know my way around,” Rose replied. She wasn’t sure what she was about to walk in on, but she wanted to save the butler from any unsavory images if she could.
She walked through the great hall alone, taking in the portrait of her father that hung across the door to the parlor. His scowl had been painted with definite strokes, as if he’d always known what his wife was going to do to his legacy. Rose heard her mother’s laughter from the parlor, and she could tell by the lilt of it that she was already drunk. With a sigh, she turned away from the portrait and walked in.
“Rose!” Betty exclaimed, sloshing her wine as she shot both arms up, “What a lovely surprise! Gentlemen, you remember my daughter, do you not? She is a duchess now.”
