The Duke’s Auctioned Spinster (The Hartley Matches #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“It would not be remiss of you to keep your eyes and mind open, Rose. You never know who you might meet,” her father said in a rather stern voice.

Rose maintained a placid expression on her face, quelling the urge to roll her eyes at this request that had been stated frequently over the past couple of years.

It seemed as though wherever she went, she was faced with the possibility of marriage.

At a ball, she could understand, for that was the purpose of those events.

But she did not wish to be troubled by such things when she was walking through the park, having picnics in the countryside, or here, at an auction.

“Of course, Father. I shall remain observant as always,” Rose said, which seemed to satisfy her father. She then gave a side-eyed glance toward Lydia.

“I don’t know how you can lie to him so freely,” Lydia said, her face etched with concern. Rose’s father, Thomas, leaned toward his wife and began a conversation with her. The auctioneer’s voice boomed out loud, and people started raising their hands.

“I am not lying. I shall remain observant. I simply do not feel the need to ruin my evening with thoughts of marriage. My life would be far more straightforward if people accepted that I was not interested in such things.”

It was a discussion she and Lydia had had many times before. Lydia had stopped trying to persuade Rose that marriage was something to strive for, for the most part. Their friendship was stronger than this trifling difference in opinion, though.

“Have you come up with some scheme to avoid anyone who might approach you tonight?” Lydia asked.

“I have a few ideas,” Rose replied. Her little scheme of filling her own dance cards had to be abandoned a while ago, not that it would have been applicable at this auction anyway.

But people began to get suspicious when they realized that although Rose’s dance card was full, she never seemed to dance with anyone.

However, Rose still managed to avoid dancing for the most part.

She learned to be quite nimble on her feet, darting away whenever she sensed any suitor coming to approach her.

She was also adept at feigning illness as well.

In fact, it became quite a challenge to find new ways to avoid dancing. Of course, as Lydia often pointed out, it would have taken far less effort to simply dance with these suitors, but such a thing sounded like defeat to Rose.

“Father, might I bid on the next lot?” Rose said.

She had already heard whispers that an opportunity to ride ponies was about to arise.

She wore a beseeching smile and fluttered her eyelashes.

Thomas turned toward her. For a moment, his stern demeanor cracked, and his face softened, as it had done so many times in the past.

But, unlike then, he found the resolve to harden his heart.

“I am not sure such a frivolous thing would be worth the money. Wait until something more substantial appears,” Thomas said.

“I don’t know why we even bothered to come if we are not going to bid on anything,” Rose muttered, although her father had already turned away and did not offer a reply.

“It is still a pleasant evening out,” Lydia said.

“I understand that, but it seems strange to come to an auction and not indulge in the intended purpose.”

“Almost like attending a ball without dancing with anyone,” Lydia countered. Rose narrowed her eyes.

“Sometimes, Lydia, you are too intelligent for your own good. It might cause trouble for you to be both pretty and intelligent. Most men only desire one of these qualities.”

“For someone who avoids them as much as she can, you claim to know an awful lot about the inner workings of men’s minds.”

Rose lifted her chin airily.

“They are hardly complicated creatures. And I have read enough books to know their minds. It is why it is so easy for me to avoid them, and to not wish that plague upon my mind.”

“You would describe love as a plague?” Lydia asked, her eyes widening in astonishment at the savage description of such a noble and lofty pursuit.

“Is it not? It renders people quite mad. It possesses them. Sometimes they become distraught and lose themselves in this emotion. They cannot live properly unless they bow to its whims. If all the books are to be believed, of course,” Rose said, directing her gaze toward Lydia, who often cited romance books as examples of happiness and a good life.

Lydia sighed and decided to change the topic.

“Well, that does not have anything to do with the auction. We can still enjoy the evening. I like seeing people getting excited as they bid,” Lydia said as another lot was won.

A ripple of polite applause filled the room, although the losing party looked quite despondent.

“Besides,” Lydia added, “it doesn’t seem as though bidding on these lots has done Edmund any good. He hasn’t won a thing all night, and I believe he’s bid on everything.”

“Oh, is your brother here?” Rose said, almost as an afterthought.

However, she had noticed him almost as soon as she arrived.

How could she not? He stood taller than the other men who clustered around him, and he was by far the loudest. He had a booming laugh that echoed through the room, and he was always driving the conversation forward.

He had been surrounded by people all night, and they were all in good spirits. Edmund had a devilish smile, projected confidence with his body language, and nothing seemed to escape his hazel eyes.

Although, as yet, Rose had not caught them.

And it was only out of idle curiosity that she had the desire to, of course. Lydia had spoken often about Edmund over the past couple of years, and he seemed a strange and fascinating creature, someone who threw himself into life with abandon and seemed rather carefree.

Yet despite his reputation as a rake, and by all accounts, this reputation was well-earned, Lydia had always spoken about him with a sense of reverence.

While she was always prone to seeing the best in things, she was no fool, and so there must have been something worthy about Edmund for him to earn a place of such esteem in Lydia’s eyes.

This contradiction played on her mind. A man who took such a casual approach to life, and yet must have had some sense of responsibility to be a duke and to have taken care of his sisters when their parents died in a tragic accident.

When Lydia first described her brother to Rose, Rose was quite confused and thought she was speaking of two different men.

But no, there was just one.

Rose noticed that her parents were getting a little anxious. Her mother, Margaret, nudged her father, and they whispered to each other. They glanced toward Rose and shifted their weight between their feet.

“You should pay attention to the next lot, Rose,” her mother said.

Rose barely glanced in her direction.

“How are you getting on with the current book, Lydia? I am finding it rather dense. It feels like the author likes the sound of his own voice a little too much, as though he is trying to prove his intelligence,” she said, ignoring her mother’s words.

“Yes, it does rather seem as though he is showing off his vocabulary rather than focusing on telling a good story. I shall be glad when we move on from this one and begin the next one.”

“Are you going to finish it?”

“I am not sure. I suppose I should, if only for the sake of being able to contribute to the discussion.”

“At least it is a challenge.”

“Some would call it a waste of time.”

“Are you not going to listen to the auctioneer?” Lydia asked.

Rose rolled her shoulders. “It’s not as though I am going to be allowed to bid on anything.

I am sure my parents just brought me here in the hope that I might meet someone.

They have dragged me to some utterly dreadful social events.

The sooner they realize that this is not in my future, the better.

Now that, my friend, is a challenge,” Rose said with a wry smile.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s someone offering an engagement,” Rose continued, shaking her head. “Now then, have you thought any more about suggesting your sister’s book for our group?”

“Oh, I am not sure about that. Would a book about botany really interest the others? We do tend to read more... captivating stories.”

“I am sure it would. I enjoyed it, after all, and perhaps you could even get Charlotte to come and talk about her book! Now that would be exciting,” Rose said, although Lydia did not seem to share her enthusiasm.

Lydia had never struck Rose as the jealous type, but perhaps there was some unspoken tension between Lydia and her elder sister, Charlotte.

“We have a very special lot now, an opportunity seldom granted and never before offered. The bidding shall begin at one hundred pounds for five promenades with Lady Rose Bolton,” the auctioneer said.

Rose was only paying half-attention, but the announcement of her name made her freeze.

Her jaw clenched, and confusion reigned in her mind like a storm.

Surely there must have been some mistake.

Surely she must have misheard, or perhaps by some strange coincidence, there was another woman bearing her name.

But when Lydia squeezed her hand, and Rose saw the surprise in her eyes, she knew that there had been no mistake.

“Rose,” Lydia gasped.

Hands began to shoot up like spring flowers that were eager to taste sunlight. Rose’s stomach churned. A warm, uncomfortable tingling sensation rippled across her skin, and the world seemed to tilt around her, as though she was losing her balance.

“Did you know anything about this?” Lydia whispered as all around them, more bids were being declared with growing interest, and gazes were turning toward her. Rose’s shock quickly turned to anger, and her cheeks were flushed with color.

“Father. Mother. What is happening?” she asked tersely.

“Hush, Rose, we shall explain everything later,” Margaret said. Thomas averted Rose’s gaze, but she could not fail to see the guilty expression adorning his features.

Rose began to shake her head. This could not be happening. It was humiliating to be placed on display like this, to be offered as a thing to be bought. What on earth were her parents thinking? She sidled closer to Thomas.

“Father,” she said, taking his arm.

“We’re sorry for springing this on you, Rose, but you never would have agreed to come if we had been honest with you.

Something must be done about your future, and surely a bid like this will show more intention than someone asking for a mere dance.

Please, let us just see what happens. We really had no choice in the matter. ”

While these last words rang hollow, Rose was shaken by the way hope replaced guilt in his eyes. They practically sparkled with delight, and the fact that this meant so much to him, coupled with the shame that would follow her if she made a scene and stormed out, made her remain.

Well, she thought to herself, it is only five promenades, not a betrothal. She had endured plenty of unwanted offers from suitors before, so this was merely something else to add to the pile, and perhaps after all this, her parents would finally be convinced that she was not to be married.

“Oh no, not him,” Lydia whispered as Lord Whitcombe made a large bid, one that surely could not be matched by anyone else. Rose could not fail to notice the hushed anxiety that imbued Lydia’s words, but before she got a chance to notice it, another bid was made.

This one prompted a gasp from those present as it seemed that Lord Whitcombe had won the day. But an even more preposterous bid was made, doubling the sum Lord Whitcombe offered.

“I think we can do better than that!” a lively voice cried out.

There was no counteroffer from Lord Whitcombe or anyone else. The crowd parted, and Rose saw who had made the bid.

The color drained from her cheeks.

It was Edmund, the Duke of Stonewood.

He had made the bid without even looking at her, his gaze being directed at Whitcombe, who was clenching his fists beside him. The matter was announced, and then the auctioneer moved onto the next lot, although Rose felt as though she had become unmoored.

“Oh, Edmund,” Lydia whispered.

Thomas and Margaret looked delighted, but Rose was barely aware of anything as Edmund came striding toward her. He was tall and undeniably handsome, but he was just the same as any other man in that he would fail in trying to court her.

“Lady Rose. It’s a pleasure to see you again, and it seems as though we shall be seeing far more of each other,” he said, his mouth stretching into a smile, his eyes glowing with mischief. He might have been thirty, but he looked younger, still a boy who thought the world was a game.

“Perhaps, although I do hope you have not wasted your money,” Rose replied.

“I had no idea you were going to bid on that, Edmund. You are aware that Rose is my friend, yes?” Lydia said in a strained tone, glaring insistently at Edmund.

If he noticed his sister’s discomfort, then he did not seem to care and merely shrugged away her words.

“I intended to win one bid tonight. It happened to be this one, but I am glad to see my money going to a good cause.”

An idea flashed in Rose’s mind.

“And it is the cause that is most important of all. Given that I am friends with Lydia, perhaps we might agree to abandon the promenades? You will still have the satisfaction and accolades of giving such a hefty sum to charity, but we will not need to bother ourselves with all the extra trouble.”

Edmund grinned, the kind of grin that must have made dozens of other women weak at the knees. It wasn’t going to have that effect on her, Rose decided.

“It’s no trouble at all,” he said breezily. Then, he lowered his voice in a way that made Rose’s stomach tighten. “I have no intention of giving up my prize.”

She wasn’t sure if he was talking about the promenades or her.