Page 46 of The Dragoneers of Longbourn and Pemberley
If she became the mistress of Rosings, she would instantly have everything she had been working for. She would have security and a grand nest with hatchlings to take care of. It was entirely the correct option.
It would not be Longbourn. It would not be her home. She would be running away from the sinking ship, instead of repairing the hull.
“I cannot. No.” Valeraine should have said it prettier, with more tact and care. Her mind and heart were in too much disarray.
“It is only natural for a woman to be timid. I am entirely willing to wait to announce our engagement until I have publicly courted you. Will two months suffice? We’ll both be in Kinellan City, and we can attend balls together.”
“I will not marry you.”
This bold statement, delivered with conviction and desperation, finally seemed to turn Rosings’s mind to the possibility that she might be declining him.
Then, he chuckled and thought better of it. “I know women like to play tricks with their suitors, to say ‘no’ when they really mean ‘ask me again.’ It is a technique to test the mettle of their men. Miss Valeraine Longbourn, will you marry me?”
“I will not. I am not trifling with your feelings —”
“I see you are attempting to increase my ardor with suspense! Very well, I will discuss the particulars with your father, and court you as I have outlined. In two months’ time, we will be engaged to be married.”
“I cannot think of a way to put this more plainly if you are so insistent on misunderstanding me. I have no desire to marry you.”
The point would not strike home. Rosings shrugged and merely said, “I will write to your father.”
Valeraine left the nest.
He would never take her rejection, and he would never give Longbourn house an egg. This whole trip had been a waste, her silly hope reaching for the impossible.
She returned to her room, and began packing to return to Kinellan City. She would need to write to Papa as well, to repair this damage before the news reached her mother.
Chapter thirty-four
Valeraine should have taken a measured afternoon to compose her letter, but angry people are not always wise. She wrote to Papa in a panicked frenzy, with many unflattering things about Mr. Royce Rosings. These included, but were not limited to: his intelligence, his manners, his pride, and his attitude toward dragons.
Rosings would write to Papa, and Mamma would smell the marriage proposal from a mile away, pouncing on it with enthusiasm. Even if that offer meant they would no longer be a dragon house. Even if that offer meant this was the year all their tenants would need to downsize and make do without a dragon. Papa would console Valeraine that they had been preparing for this eventuality. Mamma would assert that Valeraine could then use her status as Mrs. Rosings to arrange matches for her sisters.
Valeraine would argue that their reputation as a dragon house was not worth sacrificing for any marriage, no matter how rich and connected the bachelor.
She would be outvoted. But they could not force her to marry, so the whole argument was moot.
It was time to leave Rosings manor. As she shoved her clothes into her trunk, the confrontations of the past days played over and over in her mind. These lords, bragging of their dozens of dragons. Assuming the fall of Longbourn was a foregone conclusion. Assuming their power over her future.
She found she was even more angry with Rosings than with Pemberley, probably because the slight was a whole day fresher. He had thought she would be happy to accept him, and even happier that he was willing to take Lelantos off of Longbourn’s hands. He was justified, too. He could have all but guaranteed that every member of her family would live the rest of their days in comfort. Though, the way he was hosting the Wintgomery family cast doubt on that.
Valeraine would have been the mistress of all of this, of the grand Rosings. She hesitated in her packing. What was she doing? Was she truly going to throw all of this away? This nest with dozens of dragons? The walls and floors decorated with gold and magnificent paintings?
It wasn’t too late to change her mind. Rosings already thought she had accepted, and it would be so easy to go along with him.
Was she making a mistake? She may never receive another offer for her hand. She would certainly never receive an offer from a more affluent gentleman.
Perhaps, she could imagine a future for herself and Kesley, married and entrenched in Longbourn until its demise. That was the best she could hope for, if she walked away from Rosings now. Kesley would at least not interrupt her, and not belittle Lelantos.
That was the first time she had even thought of Kesley in weeks. Would he be upset if she accepted Mr. Rosings? Jealous, perhaps? It thrilled her to imagine him fighting to get her back.Or perhaps he would just pragmatically support her in doing what was best for her, even if it meant leaving him.
If she pursued Rosings, she would be abandoning Longbourn. Valeraine could do better. She could certainly do better than settling for an odious husband who would never listen to her. She had to believe she could forge a better life.
She didn’t want to belong to a house that had won a derby, she needed to do it herself.
Valeraine needed to fly.
She had given up too easily in her struggle against Papa. It was time to fix her problems. She would convince Papa to allow her to come home and fly. She would convince Pemberley not to tell anyone she was the masked rider.
