What a fool she had been.
They talked there in the garden, their voices low and intimate. Dreams and plans all coalesced in the cool summer night air, brought into being under the endless night sky: when they would marry, where they would live. The stars twinkled their approval from above in the cloudless, inky heavens.
Soon they turned to matters more immediate. Tristan told her of Josephine, how he had gone to her, what they had said. And she told him of Mr. Carlisle’s revelation, of her sister’s child. And that she had learned of Tristan’s fight with Lord Kingston.
“And so poor Miss Weeton is without a beau after all we have put her through in the last weeks,” he mused into the crown of her head. “I feel so horrible that she is alone. She deserves to be happy.”
Rosalind snuggled closer into his warmth, and his arm tightened around her. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, trying and failing to keep the amusement from her voice. “I do believe Miss Weeton will be fine.”
He pulled back, eyeing her suspiciously. “What are you keeping from me, you minx?”
She did grin then. “Only that Grace and I learned right before we left that Miss Weeton shall not remain Miss Weeton for long. That cousin that she was going to be married to at the end of the Season should she fail to find a husband? He came to London when he learned of her sudden popularity. From all accounts it was love at first sight. They are to be married by the end of the month.”
He gaped at her. “You must be joking.”
“Not a bit. Although,” she said, forcing her expression into one of concern, “this does pose a problem for us.”
He cocked his head. “Does it now?”
“Oh, certainly. For we had agreed on the payments that must be made only if Miss Weeton should marry men of our choosing. We did not even consider her marrying a third option.”
His lips turned up in a smile, his eyes growing heavy-lidded. “And what do you propose the remuneration should be?”
She pretended to consider but could not remain serious. Instead she melted against him, eyeing his mouth. “I do believe that making me happy all the days of your life would be ample payment.”
“Well then, I’d best get started on that right away,” he murmured with a smile before pulling her close and covering her mouth with his.
