Rosalie doesn’t know where her father is, and Catherine’s parents have settled across the aisle from them. What a tableau they must make to the ton. At least there’s an hour of music and Catherine’s wonderful warm presence between her and that pathetic public scrutiny.
Mother’s leg jiggles beside her. Rosalie looks over at her and finds her jaw tight, eyes shining. She’s twisting her hands together in her lap hard enough for her gloves to go taut. She keeps turning her head, glancing back into the rest of the audience.
Rosalie does the same and realizes mothers all over the room are glancing at them, speaking behind their fans, more focused on Rosalie and her mother than the beautiful concerto.
Rosalie knew getting Mr.Dean to forsake her would be a challenge, and she rose to the occasion. But now there’s a price being paid that she didn’t consider.
What there is of Mother’s social life might hang in the balance of her own happiness. She’s so proud of their position in Bath. And in one short boating trip Rosalie totally upended the careful balance her mother has spent her life achieving.
“My mother looks deranged,” Catherine whispers against Rosalie’s ear.
Rosalie nearly jumps in her seat. Mother glances at her and Rosalie fakes a shiver with a tight smile. Mother doesn’t react, her eyes a little glazed over.
Rosalie turns in the other direction, looking over toward Mrs.Pine and Mr.Pine. Mrs.Pine does look a bit triumphant, almost maniacal.
“Going swimmingly, isn’t it?” Rosalie whispers back.
Catherine’s lips twitch up and Rosalie goes back to watching the concert, trying to enjoy the brief respite of Catherine against her.
She hopes she’ll come up with something clever to protect her mother’s reputation, to save Catherine from a terrible marriage—to give herself the chance to spend a potential forever with her lover. But when the concert ends, Rosalie’s no closer to a mastermind plan. All she has is a desperate urge to somehow fix everything.
“Lady Rosalie, might you fetch yourself and MissPine a refreshment?” Mr.Dean asks as they step away from the chairs so the attendants can clear the hall for mingling.
A month ago, Rosalie would have balked, but now she goes gratefully, exchanging a look with Catherine, who rolls her eyes, her head turned away from Mr.Dean even as he takes her arm. Short of Catherine throwing food on Mr.Dean, Rosalie’s not sure what they can do to deter him. Even Mother wanders away from Mr.Dean, hopefully in search of Rosalie’s father, since everyone seems to be giving her a wide berth.
Rosalie grabs a plate and a few finger sandwiches and pastries, enough to share with Catherine and Mr. Dean. He may be publicly dissing her, but she’s not about to leave him alone with Catherine.
It’s only when she’s walking back to the two of them, now standing in a group of Mr.Dean’s friends, does Rosalie notice that not one person has stopped to talk with her. It’s the first time she’s crossed a room without interruption... ever. She doesn’t know if she’s relieved or concerned.
She steps gratefully into the circle on Catherine’s other side. Everyone in the circle gives her a confused look.
“The cucumber is on the left,” Rosalie tells Catherine.
Mr.Dean reaches across Catherine and grabs that exact sandwich without even looking at her, which raises more than one eyebrow around them.
“Thank you, Lady Rosalie,” Catherine says, a little overloud. “Very generous of you to think of both of us.”
“Of course,” Rosalie says with a bright, forced smile. “Good to see you all, gentlemen,” she adds to the circle.
A hoarse, loud cough startles everyone. Rosalie looks over to find Mr.Dean’s eyes wide, his hand scrabbling at his throat. The greedy, rude jerk is choking on a cucumber sandwich, how gauche.
Then his eyes start bulging.
“Mr.Dean,” Catherine says, grabbing what’s left of his sandwich and shoving it back onto Rosalie’s plate while everyone else just stands there. “Mr.Dean, can you breathe?”
Mr.Dean shakes his head, his cheeks going red as he coughs to no avail.
“Call a doctor,” Rosalie hears herself say.
WHACK.Catherine’s hand comes down on Mr.Dean’s back, forcing him to bend at the waist. He coughs, but nothing comes out. Catherine whacks him again, her open-palmed slap ringing around them as everyone in the room turns to watch.
Rosalie looks to the grown men across from them, just staring at Mr.Dean and Catherine, eyes wide, disgust and confusion smattering their useless faces.
“One of you go call a doctor,” Rosalie insists.
She’s asking for help, and no one’s doinganything. There’s just the horrible sound of Catherine thumping Mr.Dean, and the gurgling of his rasping breath—
Catherine brings her fist down on his back with a mightythwumpand Mr.Dean finally coughs out his bite. It falls with a splat as he gasps in air, Catherine’s hand still on his back, his face almost purple.
