Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Valeraine should have taken a measured afternoon to compose her letter, but angry people are not always wise.
She wrote to Papa in a panicked frenzy, with many unflattering things about Mr. Royce Rosings.
These included, but were not limited to: his intelligence, his manners, his pride, and his attitude toward dragons.
Rosings would write to Papa, and Mamma would smell the marriage proposal from a mile away, pouncing on it with enthusiasm.
Even if that offer meant they would no longer be a dragon house.
Even if that offer meant this was the year all their tenants would need to downsize and make do without a dragon.
Papa would console Valeraine that they had been preparing for this eventuality.
Mamma would assert that Valeraine could then use her status as Mrs. Rosings to arrange matches for her sisters.
Valeraine would argue that their reputation as a dragon house was not worth sacrificing for any marriage, no matter how rich and connected the bachelor.
She would be outvoted. But they could not force her to marry, so the whole argument was moot.
It was time to leave Rosings manor. As she shoved her clothes into her trunk, the confrontations of the past days played over and over in her mind. These lords, bragging of their dozens of dragons. Assuming the fall of Longbourn was a foregone conclusion. Assuming their power over her future.
She found she was even more angry with Rosings than with Pemberley, probably because the slight was a whole day fresher.
He had thought she would be happy to accept him, and even happier that he was willing to take Lelantos off of Longbourn’s hands.
He was justified, too. He could have all but guaranteed that every member of her family would live the rest of their days in comfort.
Though, the way he was hosting the Wintgomery family cast doubt on that.
Valeraine would have been the mistress of all of this, of the grand Rosings. She hesitated in her packing. What was she doing? Was she truly going to throw all of this away? This nest with dozens of dragons? The walls and floors decorated with gold and magnificent paintings?
It wasn’t too late to change her mind. Rosings already thought she had accepted, and it would be so easy to go along with him.
Was she making a mistake? She may never receive another offer for her hand. She would certainly never receive an offer from a more affluent gentleman.
Perhaps, she could imagine a future for herself and Kesley, married and entrenched in Longbourn until its demise. That was the best she could hope for, if she walked away from Rosings now. Kesley would at least not interrupt her, and not belittle Lelantos.
That was the first time she had even thought of Kesley in weeks. Would he be upset if she accepted Mr. Rosings? Jealous, perhaps? It thrilled her to imagine him fighting to get her back. Or perhaps he would just pragmatically support her in doing what was best for her, even if it meant leaving him.
If she pursued Rosings, she would be abandoning Longbourn. Valeraine could do better. She could certainly do better than settling for an odious husband who would never listen to her. She had to believe she could forge a better life.
She didn’t want to belong to a house that had won a derby, she needed to do it herself.
Valeraine needed to fly.
She had given up too easily in her struggle against Papa. It was time to fix her problems. She would convince Papa to allow her to come home and fly. She would convince Pemberley not to tell anyone she was the masked rider.
She would ride, not just because she needed to in order to save Longbourn, but because she achingly missed the sky.
Then, she would get a dragon egg and secure the future of Longbourn. Everyone would see it as a respectable house, and she could live the rest of her days with the satisfaction of saving what she loved.
She didn’t need a rich dragon lord by her side; Kesley would do nicely. A handsome man who understood her, who already knew all her secrets and accepted her all the same.
Valeraine sat on the lid of her trunk to close it and clasp the latches.
She would find her coach driver and depart for Kinellan City immediately.
Uncle Haupter would know what dragon houses might be receptive to her deal, and could create an introduction between them.
There had to be a house out there that was desperate enough for a drake that they would settle for Lelantos.
If she returned to Longbourn with a breeding agreement in hand, Papa might forgive her banishment.
Valeraine would craft a future for herself on her own terms, where she could be a dragoneer of a house of consequence. She didn’t need an affluent bachelor to give her a premade nest. She would fill one by herself, and find her own pride in it.