Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Sobbing prostrate on one’s bed was such a sad cliché that Rosalie made a point never to indulge in it.
Until today.
To make matters worse, she was sobbing over a man. And, most galling of all, the man she was sobbing over was Lucian Deverell.
She told herself that she wasn’t jealous. Whoever he’d been carousing with, she could bloody well have him!
It was the blatant disrespect of coming to call on her fresh after doing goodness knows what with another woman.
She was almost successful in convincing herself that this was true, and that her disappointment did not stem from a tiny sliver of hope that Lucian genuinely cared for her this time around, and that his desire to marry her was in any way sincere. Of course, that wasn’t it!
Suddenly, her bedroom door swung open. Robin began chattering before Rosalie had a chance to lift her head. “I went down to White’s today, just as we discussed, and… Rosie! Oh, my gracious, what’s wrong?”
Perfect. Now her brother had found her in this humiliating state.
She pushed herself to sitting and attempted to dab at her tears with a sleeve. “Lucian called on me this morning.”
Robin sat beside her, taking her hand. “What did he do?”
“He had obviously come straight from an assignation with another woman! Her lip rouge was all over his face.”
Robin sat back. “Oh. That.”
Rosalie looked at him strangely. “What do you mean, Oh. That?”
“I saw him,” Robin said quickly. “While I was on my way to White’s. He was coming down the stairs of his townhouse with a huge bouquet of—”
“Red roses,” Rosalie said along with him.
Robin nodded. “Just so. These two women came up to him. They looked to be…” He waved a hand, searching for the words. “…ladies of dubious character. They were grabbing his arms and trying to proposition him.”
“Which I’m sure he enjoyed,” Rosalie huffed.
Robin’s eyes were urgent. “That’s the thing, Rosie. He wasn’t enjoying it. He kept trying to shrug them off. He said that the flowers were for you. I heard him tell them that he wasn’t interested. At one point, he told them to unhand him. He really wasn’t encouraging them.”
She frowned. “And you expect me to believe that they kissed him in the middle of the street?”
Robin shrugged one shoulder. “That’s entirely consistent with what I saw. Besides, why would he go to the trouble to buy you such expensive flowers and turn up with another woman’s lip rouge on his cheeks? It doesn’t make any sense.”
She rubbed her forehead. She trusted Robin. Had it been anyone else, she would have scoffed at the story. But her brother wouldn’t lie to her.
Alas, this left her feeling more confused than ever.
She straightened her spine. “I’m pleased you happened upon him, then. It seems to have been an honest misunderstanding. So, what did you learn at White’s?”
“Hang on, Rosie. I’ve never seen a man with the power to upset you like this. If I’m going to be advising you, then I need to understand the situation.”
Rosalie’s throat seized at the thought of admitting what had happened aloud. It had been so, so humiliating. “I already told you.”
“I suspect there are some rather significant parts you left out.” Robin squeezed her hand. “Come on, Rosie. You know my biggest secret. Just as you would never betray me, I would never betray you. You know that. And maybe the weight of it wouldn’t feel so heavy if we shared it.”
She nodded tightly. She could not believe she was about to do this.
But deep down, she knew that Robin was right.
Her voice was tight and halting. But she managed to form the words.
“It all started two years ago…”