Rose in Bloom (3 page)

No hint of shock graced Lily’s face. None at all. Well, of course not. She’d had a passionate affair with the duke only weeks before.

“It was unbelievable. He said he knew he couldn’t have me, but he wanted at least that much of me. It was so romantic. I melted.”

“But, Rose, how did you go from a kiss to almost sleeping with him?”

“I don’t know. One thing led to another, I guess. He told me I should stop him. In fact,
he
tried to stop it twice. He was a dear, actually. He said I deserved better than to have my first time on the grass. But I wanted him. I wanted him so much. I never imagined that I could want another person like that. It was nearly…uncontrollable.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about this before you left for a month. There’s absolutely no one else who would understand.”

“Rose, you said you
almost
slept with him. What happened?”

Rose bit her lip. “I got scared, Lily. The emotions were…
overwhelming
.”

“Lord,” Lily said, frowning. “He didn’t take it well, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Men are built a little differently than we are, Rose. They reach a point where it is actually…
painful
to stop.”

Rose’s heart sank. She never wanted to cause Cameron any pain. “God, Lily, I didn’t know.”

“There’s no reason why you should have, dear.”

“But I told him I wanted him to take me. That I was his. Oh, he must hate me!”

“No, I don’t think he could ever hate you.”

Tears misted in Rose’s eyes. “I ran away from him in tears. He called for me, and he said he was sorry, but I kept running.”

“You poor thing. Are you in love with him?”

“I don’t know. How do you know when you’re in love?”

“Good question.” Lily paused a moment. “I’m not sure I could tell you exactly when I fell in love with Daniel. Once I realized it was love, I felt like it had been there from the beginning. Does that make any sense?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.”

Lily took Rose’s hand. “You’ll need to figure this out, and I’m sorry I won’t be here to help you. But I’ll be back in a month. What can happen in a month?”

Rose stared into her sister’s warm brown eyes. “Lily, you and Daniel were betrothed after three days.”

“God, you’re right.”

“And here’s another thing. Miss Landon—who wants us to call her Auntie Lucy, as if I’ll ever get used to that—has invited me to stay here with Auntie Iris and the girls for the summer. Sophie and Ally have decided to forego the season and stay. If I stay, I’ll have to see both Evan and Cameron, and if I don’t, I won’t see either of them.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Last night I thought I had made up my mind to return to Hampshire. To forget both of them and start again. Maybe have a season by myself. But now, talking to you, I just don’t know.”

“I think you should stay.”

“Really. Why?”

“Because you can’t run away from your feelings, Rose. Lord knows I tried. It doesn’t work. You need to sort this out and decide whether you want Evan, or Cameron, or neither.”

“But what if it’s Cameron? Papa and Mummy would never let me—”

“Nonsense. It’s
your
life. You have a generous dowry. You’ll want for naught, no matter whom you marry.”

“Papa could disown me. He could take away my dowry.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“He might.”

“I don’t think so, and even if he did, Daniel would give you a dowry.”

“Oh, I could never—”

“Hush. It’s unlikely it would come to that,” Lily said. “The fact remains that you need to work this out. And if you stay, you’ll be here when I return and we can spend the summer together!”

“Don’t you want to spend the summer with your new husband?”

“Of course. But he sees to estate matters during the mornings. That leaves me free to spend time with you.”

Rose sighed. “All right. I’ll stay. My, what have I done?”

“You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’ve been compromised, Lily.”

“Yes, but no one knows, and Cameron won’t tell anyone.”

“No, I don’t think he will. I think he…cares for me.”

“Of course he does. Anyone could see it from the moment he first laid eyes on you.”

Rose smiled. “I felt something the first time I saw him too. It was a…well, almost a stab, in my…you know.”

“Yes, in your womb.” Lily smiled. “I know the feeling well.”

“And then, last night, he did something to me, with his fingers. It made me feel… I’m not sure I can describe it, except that it was the most sensational feeling ever. Something I never imagined.”

Lily giggled. “It’s called a climax, dear. It’s heavenly, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Rose sighed. “Yes. Have you ever…with anyone other than Daniel?”

“No. He’s the only one who made me come.”

“Come?”

“That’s just another word for it.”

“Oh.” Rose warmed and her insides tingled. “How can you talk about these things so nonchalantly? I don’t feel at all like a lady right now.”

“Of course you’re a lady. Ladies can enjoy the bedchamber as much as gentlemen can, Rose.”

“Still, it makes me feel a bit…
wicked
.”

“Rose, need I remind you that you aren’t the same person you were before we came to Laurel Ridge. You’ve engaged in some scandalous behavior since we’ve been here. We got foxed together celebrating my betrothal, and you punched a woman in the nose.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Rose laughed, recalling the antics. “And I nearly slept with a commoner, and had a…a…”—she lowered her voice—“a
climax
.”

“You don’t have to whisper,” Lily said. “It’s not a bad word.”

“I suppose not. Anything that feels so good can’t be bad.” Rose giggled. “So Daniel’s the only one who made you…
come
, and you married him.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to marry Cameron.”

“I suppose not,” Rose said. “But I would like to have that feeling again.”

“You will.”

Daniel entered the room, clearing his throat to announce his presence. “I’m sorry, love,” he said to Lily, “but we need to be going.”

“Yes, of course.” Lily rose and gave Rose a quick kiss on the cheek. “I am going to miss you, Rose. Please don’t worry. Stay here, and follow your heart. I’ll be back in a month, and we’ll talk then.”

“Yes, Lily. Do have a good time, both of you.”

“We will,” she said, smiling and taking the arm of her handsome husband. “There is no doubt about that.”

* * * *

After Lily and Daniel left the estate, Rose returned to her chamber and slept for a few more hours. She rose at eleven, dressed in an afternoon dress, and went down to join the others before luncheon. She found her cousins lounging on the front terrace.

“Rose!” Alexandra called.

“Yes, Ally, what is it?” Rose asked.

“Lord Evan has been looking for you. None of us had a clue where you were, so we sent him to the stables. We thought you might have gone riding.”

“No, I slept late,” Rose said. “I was fraught with exhaustion from yesterday’s excitement.”

“I know,” Sophie chimed in. “Can you believe our Lily is married, and is a
duchess?
It’s too romantic for words.”

“Romantic, yes,” Ally said. “But who cares about being a duchess? The duke is rich, rich, rich, and Lily will never want for anything for the rest of her life. What I wouldn’t give for that kind of security.”

“I’ve told you before,” Sophie said, “that there are more important things than money.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Alexandra rolled her eyes. “And I’ve told you that money is paramount as far as I’m concerned. I couldn’t care less about a stupid title. The man I marry will be loaded with gold. I don’t ever want to have to worry about money again.”

“You don’t have to worry now, Ally,” Rose said.

“Only because your parents are supporting us,” Ally replied. “It sticks in my craw, it does. I hate being a charity case.”

“You’re no charity case,” Rose said soothingly. “You know that.”

“What else would you call it? Father left us penniless. If it weren’t for Uncle Crispin and Auntie Flora, we’d be living in the gutters. Poor Sophie and I would probably have had to sell our bodies to support mother.”

“Ally, really!” Sophie admonished.

“I doubt it would have come to that, Ally,” Rose said.

“But you can’t say for sure, can you?”

“We’re family,” Rose said. “We would have never let anything so terrible happen to you.”

“Yes, yes, I know. But I’d like to know for sure that my future is secure, and the only way to do that, for a woman anyway, is to marry money.”

“What about love, Ally?” Sophie said.

“We’ve been through this before,” Ally said. “Love is an illusion, Sophie.”

“I think Lily might disagree,” Sophie replied.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Ally said, “and I couldn’t be happier for her and the duke. But then again, Sophie, Lily also made a great financial match. The duke is one of the richest men in England.”

“She’s so happy, too,” Rose said dreamily. “If only someone that wonderful could love me.”

“I’ve no need for love,” Ally stated. “Only money.”

“You may change your mind about that,” Rose said.

“Yes, of course you will.” Sophie smoothed her dress. “What if you could make a match with an incredibly rich man, but he mistreated you, the way Father mistreated Mother? Would you still marry for money?”

“Probably not. But I’m not Mother. She has a weak spirit. I don’t.”

“How can you say that about Mother?” Sophie cried.

“Because it’s true, Sophie. You know I adore Mother and would do anything for her, but she never fought back. I would.”

“A married woman has little or no legal rights,” Sophie said. “What could Mother have done?”

“She could have left.”

“And spent her entire life running? What would that have been like for her? Or for us?”

“For God’s sake, may we end this drivel?” Ally demanded. “I want to marry money. The end. Case closed.”

“The two of you go round and round on this subject,” Rose said. “Perhaps you should just agree to disagree.”

“Never,” Sophie and Ally said in unison.

The three of them broke into gales of laughter. They were still chatting and giggling when Evan approached.

“Good morning, Rose,” he said, bowing.

“My lord, good morning,” Rose answered.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Evan said. “Could we walk a bit?”

“Certainly. Would you excuse us, Sophie, Ally?” She took Evan’s arm and strode with him toward the stables.

“Rose,” Evan said. “There’s something I would like to ask you.”

Oh, no, not marriage
. He had been courting her for over a month. “Yes, what is it, Evan?”

“Well, I’ve grown quite fond of you Rose, and…”

“Yes?”

“My father has asked to meet you. Would it be all right if he came along with me next weekend when I come to visit?”

“Of course.” Rose breathed a sigh of relief. “I’d love to meet your father, Evan.”

“Then you’ll still be here?”

“Yes, I’ve decided to stay at Laurel Ridge for the summer, along with Aunt Iris and Sophie and Ally.”

“Oh, that’s splendid,” Evan said. “I was hoping I could continue to see you.”

“Of course.”

“My father asks about you so often. I was afraid you might not want to meet him this soon.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m sure he’s just as fine a gentleman as you are.”

“Yes, of course, he’s a fine man.”

“Tell me a little bit about him.”

“He’s a widower, as you know. He enjoys horses as much as I do, so perhaps we can all go riding. I know he’ll be impressed with your riding skills.”

“That sounds lovely. I do look forward to meeting him.”

“He’ll adore you,” Evan said. “We should get back for lunch now. Would you care to take a short ride this afternoon, before I leave the estate?”

“Of course, that would be wonderful.”

“After lunch then. Come on, let’s get back.”

* * * *

Cameron’s head throbbed when he finally rolled out of his bed only slightly before noon. Thankfully, the man he had hired was working the farm, so he didn’t have to rise with the sun anymore. He raked his fingers through his long, thick hair and cleared his throat. He was hungry, and unbearably thirsty. He had never been prone to drink excessively, and he never would again. The water in his basin was stale and warm, but he used it to brush his teeth anyway, and then he pulled on a clean shirt and pair of trousers. He headed out the back door, avoiding his mother and sisters, and walked briskly to the creek behind his cottage. There he stripped off his clothes and plunged his body into the cold water, cleaning off the remnants of the previous evening. The coldness helped ease his hunger for Rose, but did not abate it altogether. He toweled himself off quickly, dressed, and decided to pay a visit to Eloise Warren. She was always good for a tumble.