Page 41 of The Duke Who Loved a Widow
“I hoped you might find me,” came that low, sultry voice.
“Your Grace is mistaken. My dog heard a noise and wanted to investigate, so I merely followed the spaniel here. The other guests have retired.”
“Exactly as I hoped it might be. Here we are, Robert, alone in a darkened orangery. You look handsome by candlelight. You always did.”
Her voice, always soothing, made him catch his breath. He saw that she had moved over to the open door and stood looking at the sky. For a moment, he felt himself spinning back in time. A younger Robert had stood here once with the woman he had wanted to be with for the rest of his life.
She beckoned for him to stand beside her. “Venus is strong tonight. Look there, the brightest star, which signifies love.”
“And you are engaged to my brother,” he stated.
“Simon. He is, of course, devoted to me. Am I devoted to him? I know not. I have a curious feeling standing next to you, here in the candlelight, looking at a starlit sky, that this is where I am meant to be.”
She smiled at him, the brilliant blue of sapphires shining in the soft light. He saw her lips open as she let her hand brush against his.
He took a step away. “My poor brother. He thinks you love him, yet you are still playing your games. This is despicable behaviour.”
Rosalind was undeterred. “You know there is a spark, something special between us. There always was, and there is tonight as we stand under the stars.”
“No, madam, you are quite wrong. I feel nothing but pity for you and my deluded brother,” he said with disdain.
As he spoke the words, he knew he was speaking from the heart. He remembered that pair of green eyes, dazzling in the sunshine, and knew that was where he wanted to be.
“There’s someone else,” Rosalind said thoughtfully. “It makes no difference. We can still be together.”
He heard a sound behind him and realized it was Mickle, growling quietly, alert, and in tune with his master.
“I bid you a good evening and look forward to your leaving Castle Montbury in two weeks’ time. If you prefer to leave earlier, then I’d be delighted,” he told her.
“How you tease.” She laughed, clearly confident that she could have exactly what she desired in life. “You will come to recognize your destiny is by my side,” she murmured.
“There is no point saying any more. I would ask that you secure that door before retiring for the evening and shall bid you goodnight.”
With that, he walked away and had no desire to look back. He felt nothing anymore for Rosalind. He despised the way she schemed and played people off against each other. He hoped his brother realized, before the marriage took place, that his bride did not love him.
He shuddered as he climbed the central staircase to his bedchamber. He had once loved Rosalind, but he knew now that his Rosalind had been created by his imagination, and the real Rosalind cared for none but herself.
Chapter 15
Southerton Gentlemen’s Club, London
“More wine,” Mr Christopher Farrington called. A group of acquaintances had gathered around him, sensing he was in a mood to spend.
“You’ve come into money?” asked one of them.
“I thought you had lost everything. The last we heard, you had the money lender at the door asking for his money.”
Christopher went quiet. It may be true, but he didn’t like his private financial affairs being common knowledge. It was all Arabella Farrington’s fault.
“A minor problem,” he said. “All due to my cousin’s intransigence.”
He sipped the warm, red claret wine from the decanter on the table.
“I’ve good news from Yarborough, my solicitor,” he whined.
He vaguely remembered that his solicitor had told him that under no circumstances should he discuss his case against Lady Arabella Farrington in public.
Why not? Everyone should know what a dreadful mother the chit had turned out to be.
