23. Rosalie
Chapter 23
Rosalie
R osalie walked away from the manor the next day with a silent and invisible escort. In exchange for a pouch of coins each, the boys had agreed to escort her home in complete silence and to then return to watch over Dimitri.
“You have to go straight back to him,” she told them when they reached the yard. “I don’t want him on his own. If something goes wrong, and he starts to sicken early, you’ve promised to come and fetch me. Don’t forget!”
“You’re going to be gone for one day,” Vernon said. “Relax.”
She waved them off, listening for their departing footsteps before she went inside to find her mother. She was greeted with great delight and a long hug.
When her mother finally pulled back, she held her by both shoulders, gazing into her face.
“But Rosalie, you look so well!” she exclaimed. “I expected you to look thin and haggard after such a long illness, but your skin is glowing.”
Rosalie clapped both hands to her cheeks, her face flushing. “Is it? It wasn’t a severe illness. I could still eat.” She made a silent promise to tell her mother the truth as soon as she was able. She hated deceiving her.
Her mother talked almost nonstop from morning until mid-afternoon. It made it easier for Rosalie, who didn’t want to make up stories about her supposed convalescence, but it also saddened her to realize how lonely her mother must have been. At least her loneliness was over now. Soon they would be able to bring their father home and end his long trips.
In the late afternoon, someone called from the front garden, bringing both women to their door. The unfamiliar postman waved a letter.
“For Madam Clifford?” he called, peering from one to the other.
“That’s me.” Rosalie’s mother hurried outside and accepted the letter. She brought it back into the house, tearing it open as she walked. “Oh!” she cried when she saw the signature at the bottom. “It’s from one of your brothers-in-law. No wonder I didn’t recognize the messenger. He must have come all the way from their town. Why ever did he spend so much to have a courier deliver the letter directly?”
She scanned the letter’s contents, her furrowed brow deepening as she read.
“What is it?” Rosalie asked in sudden dread. “Has something happened to Violet or Heather?”
“It’s the children,” her mother replied, folding the letter back up. “All of them are ill, and now both Violet and Heather have succumbed as well. My son-in-law has written to beg me to visit and lend my assistance.”
She looked at Rosalie, fresh concern filling her eyes. “But you’ve just returned today! And your brothers are away. I can’t leave you alone.”
“Of course you can,” Rosalie said. “We’ve had the whole day to catch up, and it sounds like my sisters need you far more than I do. If I get lonely, I’ll ask Daphne to come and stay.”
Her mother immediately relaxed. “Dear Daphne.” She smiled. “She makes me feel as if I have four daughters.”
Her smile fell away, and she looked sideways at Rosalie, clearly concerned for her slip of the tongue. Rosalie continued smiling back at her, despite her sudden sadness. Had she really been that sensitive about the Legacy that her family had feared mentioning the number of siblings in their family? As if Rosalie might have forgotten and been upset at the reminder?
Dimitri had been right. She had allowed her fear of the Legacy to rule her life.
“Go, Mother,” she said. “And when you come back, all will be well here.” Better than well, she hoped.
She assisted her mother to pack a small case and waved her off in the direction of Thebarton. The last coach between the towns would be leaving soon, and she didn’t have any time to waste.
But once she was gone, a heavy silence descended on the cottage. It was tiny compared to the manor, but it felt huge in its emptiness. Rosalie went through the familiar routines of the evening mechanically, her thoughts with the inhabitants of the manor. She didn’t mind cooking for herself, but she wished she had Dimitri to share the meal with her.
Just thinking of him sitting at the table beside her made her smile. She rested her elbows on the table and relived their night by the campfire. She had already forgiven him for planning such an elaborate farewell. It had been time, even if she hadn’t wanted to admit it.
But she had only been gone for a day, and she missed him with a fierce ache. It wasn’t only the manor she had grown to think of as hers, it was the manor’s owner as well. The thought that he would be traveling to the capital while she returned to her old life was unbearable.
Rosalie herself had been the one to insist he needed to go, but she regretted her rash words now. Dimitri had only ever lived in a small, remote community, so Thebarton must have seemed grand by comparison. But once he experienced life in the capital that would change. Would his grandfather convince him to stay there? He might even try to plan a marriage for him, with a lady from his own station.
Dimitri had talked as if he planned to return, but he might change his mind once he saw the reality of the capital and its inhabitants. He and Rosalie had gotten along well, but in the capital he would surely meet many ladies more beautiful and more interesting than she was. Dimitri might only be impressed by her because he had no comparison.
Rosalie stood and paced in the small space available to her. When she had left for the manor, she had feared the Legacy might manipulate her emotions. But that fear had long since disappeared. Now that she truly knew Dimitri, it was obvious that no manipulation would be needed to make a girl fall in love with him.
She froze at her own thought. Is that what had happened to her? Had she fallen in love with him?
She didn’t even have to think about the answer. Of course she had. The realization filled her with a buoyant feeling, but it remained anchored by a subtle churning in her gut. She had been swept away by her feelings once before and been hurt. Giving way to them again scared her.
She didn’t fear that Dimitri would use her as Jace had. But that didn’t mean her heart was safe. Dimitri had made her no promises, and he had been open about his intentions to leave. She could already see how much it would hurt when she lost him.
She pushed aside those thoughts for the moment and let the buoyant feeling fill her again. For now, it was enough to admit to herself that she had fallen in love with Dimitri.
Despite the revelations of the evening, pacing could only occupy her for so long. She wished she could return to the manor immediately, but she had said she would come back after she awoke in the morning, and she needed to fulfill her final role.
With no one to talk to, and no current projects underway, Rosalie climbed into her bed early. She had thought she would be sleeping beside her mother that night, but she was once again alone—just without her comfortable bed from the manor. She had feared she might find her old bed uncomfortable after enjoying the manor’s comfort for so long, but after her lack of sleep the night before, she drifted off quickly, despite the poor quality of the mattress.
Her last thought as she fell asleep was that she would go straight to the manor as soon as she awoke. She wouldn’t even risk eating breakfast beforehand.
A loud bang woke her several hours later while the sky outside was still dark. It took a moment for her scrambled wits to make sense of where she was. She sat up just as her bedroom door crashed open.
The form of a man stood silhouetted by a faint light, making it hard to see anything but a dark outline. She screamed, but the startled cry was short-lived. There was no point wasting her breath when there was no one close enough to hear a call for help.
She tried to stand, but in the seconds it took her to untangle herself from the sheets, he had reached the side of the bed. Before she even had a chance to fight, the man had ripped one of the blankets off the bed and wrapped it around her, immobilizing her. She tried to protest, but a sack was placed over her head, and she was hoisted efficiently over his shoulder.
He grunted something to someone nearby, and she realized he wasn’t alone. Any attempt to fight him off and escape would be useless. She was only glad her mother was gone. She would have tried to fight the men and ended up hurt or taken as well.
She tried calling questions to her captor, but her muffled words were ignored, and she quickly desisted. From the length of time they traveled, and the sounds beneath the men’s feet, they were taking her into the woods. Her heart sank. It was a more sophisticated abduction this time, but they were treading a familiar path. She had made a similar journey already, and she could guess who was waiting at the end of it.
When she was finally lowered to the ground, she could barely keep her feet. Half her muscles cramped in protest, and the blanket upset her balance. Someone unwound it, and the moment her hands were free, she ripped the sack off her head.
It took her eyes a moment to adjust, but when they did, her fears were confirmed.
“Jace!” she spat out, too furious for a complete sentence.
“Naturally,” he said with what she had once thought was a charming smile. “Were you expecting another? I even sent a warning to your mother to make sure she was out of harm’s way. You should be thanking me.”
“My mother?” Rosalie groaned as she thought of the unfamiliar postman.
Her sisters were going to be very surprised when their mother turned up unannounced. But Rosalie couldn’t be sorry she and her mother had fallen for the ruse. Her mother wouldn’t have been able to stop the abduction alone.
“Only you would do something so foolish as abduct me a second time,” she said, wishing the words weren’t so hollow.
“Is it foolish?” Jace smiled again. “I thought it was inspired myself. You helped, of course.”
She glowered at him, and he stepped closer. She wanted to step back, but she didn’t want him to know she was afraid, so she held her ground.
“So convenient of you to have last night’s meal outside,” he said.
She stilled, the blood rushing from her face. Jace had been there? Watching them? She shivered.
“I hope I’m not one to make the same mistake twice,” he said, clearly pleased with himself. “After my first failure, it was obvious that a great deal more reconnaissance was needed. And since the Legacy evidently disapproved of a frontal assault, I’ve had to resort to more…Legacy-approved methods, shall we say. As I said, inspired, in my opinion.”
Rosalie’s mind scrambled as she tried to work out what Jace might have overheard and how he might plan to use the information. Her hurried thoughts led her to one conclusion, and she swayed, her knees nearly giving way.
Jace closed the short distance between them, steadying her with a hand on one arm. She desperately wanted to shake him off, but at the same time she was afraid she really might collapse if she did.
Jace was right. Horribly, tragically right. She had made it too easy for him.
“Ah, I can see you already understand,” he said. “Your quickness is one of your many virtues, my dear.”
She was afraid if she opened her mouth to insult him, she might lose the previous night’s meal on him instead. So she kept her mouth clamped shut.
“Since I’ve already been so very patient,” he said, “I did appreciate you setting the time to a single day. We won’t have to wait long.”
Rosalie swallowed. Why hadn’t she predicted Jace might do this and taken steps to prevent him? She had gone over the original history so many times in her mind that the outcome had seemed a certainty already. But Jace had so easily pulled her off course.
All he had to do was keep her here past the morning. She didn’t know how quickly the Legacy would cause Dimitri to sicken and die, but based on its speed thus far, she didn’t think it would take long.
Her stomach heaved.
“You needn’t look so alarmed, Rose,” Jace said, still holding her arm. “This is by far the neatest way, you know. And if you choose to be cooperative, there’s no need for you to lose out.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she snapped, finally finding her voice again.
“That you can still be mistress of the manor when this is over. Once the Legacy deals with the current owner, there will be no one to fight me for either the manor or its riches. Who’s to say I’m not a descendant of the old lord as much as Dimitri? No one in Thebarton has reason to know different. I certainly look the part.”
Rosalie’s hot repudiation of his claim didn’t make it past her lips. Both she and Daphne had noted Dimitri’s similarity to Jace the first time they had met him. It was possible Jace’s claim might actually be believed. He might even be able to convince the guards that Dimitri had attacked his men over a family squabble turned sour rather than the other way around.
His biggest problem was Rosalie herself—her and her family and her friend. They were the ones he had originally cheated, and they were the only witnesses to what had really happened in the manor. If he wanted to live openly as a free man, he had to secure their compliance. Jace’s oily smile took on a whole new meaning.
He let go of her arm, running his fingers lightly up its length. She shuddered in disgust, but he seemed to take it as a promising sign.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten how well we dealt together once,” he murmured in her ear. “I’ll acknowledge that I used your family ill, but that can all be undone now. I can pay back every coin with the wealth from that manor and still have enough to keep us both in luxury for the rest of our lives. You can share it with me. You’ll lose nothing.”
His hand glided into her hair, his fingers twisting around a lock of it. “You liked me well enough once, I’m sure you can like me again. For myself, well…” His smile grew. “I said before that you were just as beautiful as ever, but I think I was wrong. You seem to get more beautiful each time I see you. A wife fit for the lord of a manor. I’m sure we can deal extremely well together once more.”
Rosalie pulled back, not able to keep the disgust off her face. Strategically, it would have been better to play along, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. And she suspected that no matter how cooperative she seemed, Jace wouldn’t drop his guard until enough time had elapsed to doom Dimitri.
“I was sincere in what I said at our previous meeting,” she said. “I hope I never see you again. I certainly won’t be marrying you.”
Jace’s hand dropped, and his expression turned ugly. He laughed—a harsh mocking sound.
“I certainly hope you haven’t been foolish for a second time and fallen for your Beast,” he said. “I thought you knew better than to let the Legacy play you yet again.”
Rosalie’s stomach writhed to hear her own thoughts and fears echoed from his mouth. She raised her chin defiantly.
“Oh dear,” he said. “You have.” He patted her face condescendingly, and she flinched away from him. “Poor Rosalie. It seems all your loves are doomed to end in tragedy. But think on my words. It’s too late for your lover, but it’s not too late for you. You can still accept my offer. I’d much prefer to marry you and have you willingly revoke the charges against me than to be forced to dispose of all my accusers. Given the past connection between us, it will be a tricky thing to get rid of your whole family without raising suspicion. But I have faith in my ingenuity, so the decision is in your hands. I will be lord of that manor. With you,” he said, pausing meaningfully, “or without you.”
He turned to one of the men standing a respectful distance away.
“Tie her up.” He jerked his chin toward a nearby tree.
Rosalie stepped hurriedly backward, but she stepped straight into the restraining grasp of someone behind her. Within moments, she was bound and secured to the tree Jace had indicated.
She sat there with her head high, determined not to cry. But as the first rays of dawn pierced the leaves, silent tears ran down her cheeks.