Page 85 of Marry in Secret
He glared at her, frustrated. “If you’re going to fling biblical snippets around, how about the fact that you vowed to love, honor and obey me.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never been good at the third one—ask Cal, ask anyone. But I do love you and deeply honor you. And I’m coming with you to—what’s the name of that horrid place again?”
He groaned. “Rose, Rose, be sensible. If anything happened to you, I couldn’t live with myself.”
Her voice hardened. “And what about me, Thomas? How am I supposed to bear it if something happens to you. Again? You left me once before and it was unbearable. And you ended up in an unimaginably dreadful position. So ifyou think I’m going to let you go alone, let you risk yourself again in that horrid place, well, you’ve got”—she glanced around for inspiration—“rats in your attic.” And she galloped away.
Thomas and Ashendon watched as she disappeared behind a copse—she was a magnificent horsewoman.
“Your sister is a glorious creature, there’s no denying it,” Thomas said after a while. “You won’t hold it against me if I lock her in the cellar the day my ship leaves, will you?”
Ashendon shrugged. “Only reasonable thing to do.” He glanced at Thomas. “You will make sure she has some bread and water?”
“Naturally.”
“Well, then.”
The two men rode on, for once in complete, if silent, accord.
***
“I think we should sleep at Ashendon House on the night of the ball,” Rose said as they were preparing for bed that night. By mutual consent the argument about who was going to Mogador had been shelved, unresolved.
It was a standoff between two equally resolute and stubborn people. Their previous accord was slightly stiff now; politeness ruled rather than passion, but Rose was determined not to let their differences come between them. Especially since she knew she was right.
“We?”
She removed her slippers and stockings and stepped out of her dress. “Yes, we. I’ll be dressing there for the ball with my sister and George—it’ll be such fun, all girls together again—and it’s silly to have to change to come back here, or to order the carriage at three or four in the morning, and I’m certainly not going to walk back here in my ball dress at that time of the morning. No, it’s much simpler for us to just go upstairs to bed. And then we can all have breakfast together in the morning and talk about how it all went and find out all the gossip.”
“But don’t you share a bedroom with George?”
“She’ll be sharing with Aunt Dottie. It’s all arranged.”
Dressed only in her chemise, she took the candle they’d brought up to bed and lit several more candles around the room. They threw out a soft glow. Candlelight was so flattering to a woman’s skin.
She glanced at Thomas, who was in the process of removing his shirt. Candlelight flattered a man’s skin too. She feasted her eyes on him. He had no idea how beautiful he was.
“You all have breakfast together anyway, after you’ve been out riding every morning.”
“Well, of course. Poor Emm can’t ride at the moment with the baby almost here, and we don’t want to leave her out of things.” She turned back the bedclothes. “So are we agreed? About sleeping at Ashendon House, I mean.”
“Yes, and you might as well stay on there while I’m away.”
“Thomas, we agreed. I’m going with you.”
“No, you agreed.”
“If that’s how you’re going to be...” She sighed. And took off her chemise. No charming little House of Chance piece of frivolity tonight. Just Rose in her bare skin, fighting for her happiness, and her man.
He groaned. “Rose, Rose, you’ll be the death of me yet.”
“Thomas, my darling, I’m fighting for the life of you. But let’s not talk.” She opened her arms and Thomas came to her.
***
The day of the ball finally arrived. Despite the prospect of an evening that would end in the wee small hours, the Rutherford ladies and their gentlemen—and dog—still went out for their early-morning ride.
The family breakfast afterward, however, was dominated by talk of dresses and jewelry, what other ladies might be wearing, and what interesting snippets of gossip might be discovered. They discussed the gathering ofgreenery, the arrangement of flowers and decorations, the musical selections. And the dishes prepared for supper. It seemed to Thomas that a ton of food was required—much of it already prepared. Delicious smells had been wafting through the house for the last three days.
