Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aweek had passed.
A week of silence.
Rose was due to be taken on one final promenade, though she doubted it would happen. They seemed to have reached a mutual agreement that the fourth would be the last, and, frankly, the party had spanned a few days, so it was easy to consider it worth two promenades.
They had said all they needed to say, and there was nothing more to it.
She was free, again, although it did not seem as much of a blessing as it once did.
Suddenly, Rose was startled by her mother’s voice.
“Rose, you have a letter and a parcel! It’s from His Grace,” Margaret said.
Rose furrowed her brow in consternation.
There must have been some kind of error.
Surely Edmund would not have sent her a letter now?
Unless he wished to make a formal goodbye and bring the agreement to an end.
That must have been it, she thought, and he had even gone so far as to include a parting gift.
Well, it would at least add to her story of being heartbroken.
“All right, I am coming,” Rose called downstairs. She gathered herself and then descended the stairs. Thomas and Margaret were waiting beside the parcel with expectant looks on their faces.
“I knew it would not be long before he contacted you again,” Thomas said.
“He must have been busy this week,” Margaret replied, making excuses for Edmund.
“Or he’s building up to a grand finale. The man is fond of theatrics after all, and I mean that as a compliment,” Thomas said. He then looked at Rose eagerly and gestured for her to open the parcel.
She stared at the small box with trepidation, wondering what kind of game Edmund was playing.
He had already won. He had gotten what he wanted.
The public had seen him being charming and courteous, and they had witnessed him and Rose being close with each other.
There was every reason for them to believe that he was interested in settling down.
So why keep the game going?
Just when she thought she knew what was going through his mind, he went and did something that completely upended her expectations.
Rose picked up the parcel. It was a small box that had a red ribbon tied around it. She undid this, and it fell away. Thomas caught it before it reached the floor. Inside, she found a pair of fine new ivory gloves.
“What is it?” Margaret asked curiously.
“Gloves, I presume to replace my damaged pair,” Rose said, handing them to her mother. Margaret handled them delicately.
“These are so well-made. And how thoughtful of him,” Margaret said.
“He has clearly spared no expense,” Thomas said with a nod, as though this proved something.
At first, Rose assumed that the gloves were the only gift, but as she removed them from the box and handed them to her mother, she realized there was something else resting in the box.
It glinted gold. She pulled it out and saw that it was a delicate pendant.
A small gold charm that was shaped like a winding pattern. It was simple and beautiful.
The charm nestled in the middle of her hand. Margaret and Thomas were filled with effusive praise, as they saw this as further proof that Edmund’s intentions toward their daughter were long-lasting and concerned with marriage.
It only served to confuse Rose even more.
Her father handed her the letter. She opened it, and her gaze danced over the words.
Dearest Rose,
This Friday will be our fifth and final promenade. We must remain true to the terms of our agreement, after all. Please wear my gifts. I am sure they will look wonderful on you. This will be grander than all of our other promenades combined. There shall be nothing left unsaid.
Please find details attached.
Edmund.
Rose felt a lump form in her throat.
“I am to see him on Friday,” Rose said, her voice shifting with uncertainty. Thomas and Margaret rejoiced, while Rose remained stoic.
“This is going to be the moment. He must have wanted to wait until the two of you were alone together. I knew he would bring this to an end with a grand climax. Prepare yourself, Rose, because your life is about to change forever,” Thomas said.
“We should start thinking about the party we are going to host. It would be good to repay their favor and celebrate the engagement. Come, Thomas, we have a lot of work to do,” Margaret announced.
They marched off. Rose could not remember a time when they had been so in tune with one another. Well, if this chain of events brought her parents closer together, then at least some good had come of it. She was left standing in the hallway. The gloves had been thrust into her hands again.
She ran her finger over the fabric. It was soft to the touch, like she imagined a cloud would feel. This showed that he remembered what she had lost and had spent time thinking about her and the moments they shared.
And now she was thinking about them too.
“What is your game now, Edmund? Why are you doing this?” she whispered to herself.
No answer came to her mind. As far as she was concerned, they had already said everything that needed to be shared, but there was the part of his letter that chilled her.
‘There shall be nothing left unsaid’.
“What do you have to say to me, Edmund? Why can you not just leave this alone? Do you not understand the extent to which you are making this difficult?”
“My lady, are you well?” Jenny emerged from a nearby room, wearing a concerned expression. Rose swallowed the tension and nodded.
“Yes, yes, I am fine,” Rose said breezily.
She gazed at the pendant, turning it over in her palm.
On the back of the charm was a pattern that reminded her of a maze.
It did not bring to mind anything that she and Edmund had shared together, and so she wondered if there was a deeper meaning he was trying to convey.
“Does this remind you of anything?” Rose asked, turning to Jenny.
Jenny peered over Rose’s shoulder but then shook her head.
“Can’t say that it does, my lady, although it is a beautiful pendant. Doubt I could afford something like that if I worked all my life,” she chuckled.
Rose did not laugh. She was not in the mood for laughing.
“I shall require you on Friday night, both to dress me and then to accompany me to meet His Grace.”
“Of course, my lady. I shall be there, and I will be proud to do so. If you don’t mind me saying, I did miss you when you left for the party.
The house felt empty without you and, well, I know that His Grace has his own staff, but if you do get married, perhaps you would consider bringing me with you,” Jenny said.
“If such a thing should occur, then of course I will.”
“Thank you, my lady, that brings me so much relief,” Jenny said, clasping her hands together. “And I do not see why it should not occur. I can’t think of any reason why he would not want to marry you.”
“I appreciate your words, but then again, who knows what goes on in a man’s mind?” Rose said.
Jenny laughed heartily at this and then gathered up the parcel and the letter, carrying them to Rose’s room for her. Jenny then shut the door behind her, leaving Rose alone.
Rose placed the gloves and pendant on her dresser.
The letter was beside it. Was this some final game that Edmund was playing?
Was there some twist of the knife that he needed to perform?
Was he still trying to make her lose, to declare her feelings so that he might have the smug satisfaction of knowing he had bested her?
She could no longer deny that these feelings existed. They had grown beyond her control and had continued to intensify over the past week. She had hoped that being apart from Edmund would provide a cure, but it was not to be.
She stared at the letter and read its words again.
“I could refuse you, Edmund. I could deny you the chance to provoke me and humiliate me, but I will not. I shall join you for our final promenade, and it will be our final meeting. I can endure this. I will wear this pendant and these gloves, and then I shall survive the ending. It will be the end of our time together, but it will not be the end of me.”