Millicent sighed, light and dreamy and far different from the way Freya had sighed. “That sounds exactly like something Yuri would do.”
“But it doesn’t mean he likes her any more than he likes the rest of us.” Jane picked up one of the small sandwiches cut into a dainty triangle. “Do you think he fancies one of us but is just afraid to show it?”
Rosalind ducked her head. She was the last person who should try to answer that question. All she knew was that her heart hurt at the thought of Yuri Amos.
Normally she looked forward to seeing him, even if it was for a few brief moments as they exchanged letters each month. They never said much to each other during those exchanges, yet something about him had always felt safe.
But not yesterday at the post office. She’d hated every moment of that encounter.
Had Leeland not been with her, she would have walked home with an extra bounce in her step and a smile on her face. Would have replayed over and over in her head whatever small bit of conversation they’d shared.
But yesterday morning she’d wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.
What must he think, knowing she was engaged?
She stared into her tea. Nothing. He probably thought nothing. It wasn’t as though there was something romantic between them. Maybe he was kind to her and listened when she talked, but that didn’t mean he had any type of romantic interest in her.
And she wasn’t sure she had any romantic interest in him either. She wanted to marry someone like him, true. Someone kind. Someone who listened. Someone who saw her as a person.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to marry Yuri Amos in particular, did it?
Of course not. It was a ridiculous notion. Half the women in town fancied themselves in love with him, including her friends.
“Well?” Freya nudged her with her elbow, and Rosalind nearly spilled her tea on her lap.
She pressed her eyes shut when she realized it hadn’t spilled. Not a drop.
“Can’t you let us see your ring? Please?” Freya leaned closer. “We don’t need to give anyone the details if you want us to keep it quiet. We really just want a look.”
Was that what her friends had been asking? To look at her ring? She set her teacup down on the table in front of her, then extended her hand toward Freya, ignoring the way her fingers trembled. “Here you go.”
A faraway look filled Freya’s eyes. “Oh, this makes me dream about what our own rings might look like. If one of us marries a man rich enough to give us a ring, that is.”
Jane and Millicent left their chairs and came around the back of the settee for a closer look.
“I’ve never seen a ring with so many stones in it before,” Millicent said.
“It’s breathtaking,” Jane murmured, tilting her head to study it.
Millicent bent even closer. “It’s so big.”
“It’s heavy.” Rosalind blurted.
Millicent’s laughter echoed through the room. “Well, I’d rather have a heavy ring than a small one. I’d say your fiancé has excellent taste.”
Yes. Everyone who saw the ring said that exact thing. Rosalind looked down at it, trying to see it through her friends’ eyes.
Large and heavy, the gold band had been set with a single oval-cut sapphire surrounded by diamonds. She knew it was breathtaking, knew her friends were right about how lovely it was.
Yet she hated it.
The door to the library opened, and the air felt suddenly dark, never mind the giant floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the sound.
She didn’t need to look up to know her fiancé had just stepped inside.
“Ladies.” Leeland’s voice was smooth and deep. “I trust I’m not interrupting?”
Millicent straightened, smoothing her skirt and casting an excited glance at Rosalind. “Not at all. We were just admiring the ring.”
