Page 99 of A Duke for Stealing
Harriet’s eyes widened at first with shock, then narrowed with suspicion.
“Why? Why would you do that?” She asked.
Rose drew in a long breath through her nostrils, took another measured glance at the poor, fallen woman before her.
“In a way, we owe you our thanks,” Rose admitted. “If you had not tried to cheat him the first time, he and I would have never married. Never would I have discovered how much we mean to one another. You deserve something good for that, and this is what we offer.”
“However, I must warn you,” Rose added, stepping forward with a finger raised in the air, “If you ever spread gossip again, if you ever try to harm our family in any way, not even God above can rescue you from our wrath. And we will not stop at you, Harriet. We will take down your parents. Your friends. Everyone you rely on for comfort now will be ruined. Do I make myself clear?”
A tear rolled down Harriet’s cheek as she looked at Rose.
“Yes,” she rasped. “You are very clear, Your Grace.”
Rose’s smile was instant and wide.
“Ah! Finally, a show of manners,” she replied, and could not hide the fact that she felt pleasure upon seeing Harriet’s deepening blush.
“Well, that is all I have come to say,” Rose said, tapping the tip of her parasol against the hardwood floor a final time. This time, Harriet winced at the sound.
“Do be well, my dear. Do work with haste. The sooner you clean up your mess. The sooner you shall start receiving your reward. And remember, I never came here. We never spoke. If your friends ask, this is simply a way of clearing a guilty conscience.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Harriet whispered.
Rose gave a happy, singular nod and walked the few steps back to the front door. As she opened it, she paused and turned to Harriet one last time.
“Despite all of this, I do wish you would find the love of your life, Harriet. As I have found mine. We all deserve love, and as my husband and I can attest, it can be quite transformative.”
Without waiting for a response from Harriet, Rose turned back to the rain, put her parasol up, and walked back out into the rain.
“How did it go?” Everett asked as soon as she was back in the carriage.
“Perfectly,” Rose replied.
Everett raised a curious brow, as if expecting her to say more, but Rose only smiled as she reached forward and caressed his cheek.
“Let us go home,” she said gently, “I miss our girls.”
Everett’s smile was slow and full of warmth. He kissed her palm, then nodded.
“I miss them too,” he agreed.
With a knock on the carriage ceiling, the driver urged the horse to move. Back to Stapleton. Back to their girls. Back to their life. Together.
EPILOGUE
Four Months Later
“It is good to have you back,” Tristan said, clapping Everett on the back.
“Well, perhaps not you entirely. You have changed much,” Dominic goaded, giving Everett a rueful grin.
Everett smirked as he elbowed Dominic in the ribs. His friend let out a grunt, but his smile never faded.
“It is true, I have changed,” Everett agreed, holding his glass of lemonade up, “But I am grateful to you all for sticking by my side through the transformation process. Even when I was at my most irritable.”
Tristan, Dominic, Hugo, and Alistair all raised their glasses to clink against Everett’s.
“I believe they are called growing pains,” Hugo remarked, “And trust me, friend, every man must go through them.”
