.
“The ton says he’s haughty, but I didn’t get that impression in the least.”
Alex turned to Rose and glared at her bright, upturned face.
They were in Rose’s room at Chris’ townhouse. The walls, as one could imagine, had been done with pale rose wallpaper. Softer pinks flowed throughout the room, matching not only Rose’s name but also her nature. She was sweet and dainty, which were two words no one associated with Alexandra.
But what truly set them apart was Rose’s unwavering optimism. If one had only just met her, it was easy to assume that Rose had grown up not in an orphanage, but in a lovely cottage in the country where her parents were happy and in love and every day had been sunny and bright.
Yet in reality, Rose had never known her family at all. She’d been settled into Mary Francis’ arms as a babe, and the older woman had been more than happy to hand her over to Chris, who’d only been a teenager at the time. Rose had grown up under the Smith protection, which was better than most of the other children had it. Alex had been a large part of the wall that had sheltered Rose from the truth of the world.
They were seven years apart in age. Alex was twenty and five and knew better than to hope for more than what she’d been given, especially when it came to men. That Justin Padmore was a lord only made him further from her reach.
“Did you see when he all but ran away from my hand?” Alex asked. “And he’s quite arrogant, assuming we share a mother and that I wish for his help.” She settled into the chair across from Rose that was closest to the open window. The rain had stopped for the time being, leaving behind a cool breeze, though the breeze wasn’t the reason she sat there. Rose’s window overlooked the street, and she was watching to see when Justin’s carriage arrived.
She was anxious to get the day over with, she told herself. That was the only reason she was anticipating seeing him again.
“Any woman in our situation would want a handsome lord’s help.” Rose leaned toward the table that held an old gossip rag; her blue eyes danced as she looked over the months-old article that had been about Lord Chantenny. Then those eyes found hers again and Alex knew Rose’s imagination had taken flight from her senses. “He’s an earl and he wants to make you his ward. One could not ask for a better fairytale.”
“I’ll not accept it,” she told her. “Ward simply means I’ll have to do whatever he says, and I’m not inclined to listen to anyone’s instruction.”
Rose leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “That is true. It’s the reason Chris made you a manager at the store. You don’t take direction very well.”
That was putting it mildly.
“Can you imagine me married to a lord?” Alex asked. “He’d die from apoplexy after we shared vows.”
“You’d make a fine wife,” Rose told her. “Everyone loves your cooking.”
“Wives of peers don’t cook,” Alex reminded her. “My talents would go to waste.” She stood. “It’s settled. I won’t marry. Now, tell me what else you read about the earl.” She needed to distract her mind from where it had gone.
To thoughts of a wedding that didn’t just take place with any lord, but Lord Chantenny himself.
As though he’d marry her. He’d have to take her hand in order to exchange vows and he couldn’t even do that.
“He doesn’t mingle with many peers, and they say he never flirts with women.”
Alex grunted. “Maybe he doesn’t like women.” Maybe that was the reason he hadn’t taken her hand. That thought frustrated her for some reason.
“He has a mistress,” Rose went on. Her head was down so she missed the surprised look that filled Alex’s eyes. “Her name is Mrs. Lydia Shaw. Her husband owned a silk company that she partly owns now.” Rose looked up. “So I think it’s clear that he likes women.”
So, it was just Alex he didn’t like. At least not in that way.
He had smiled at her though, and the memory of it made her…
The sound of horses’ hooves coming to a halt made her look out the window.
He was here.
Alex licked her lips and tried to settle her heart.
Then she remembered why he’d found her and why she was allowing him to take her away from the world she knew. She was going to learn about her father. What she would gain from it, she wasn’t sure, but Justin and Rose had both seemed sure that she should do it.
She smiled at her sister. They couldn’t have been closer if they’d actually been blood. “I love you.”
Rose stood and pulled her into a hug. “I’d go with you if I didn’t have to return to the library.” She’d taken the day off to help at Chris’ store but would spend half the evening at the library categorizing returned books, an activity that Rose didn’t mind doing at all.
Alex kissed her hair and turned to the door. “I’ll tell you all about it when I return.”
Rose waved her away, and Alex took another step toward what could change her life forever.