Chapter 9
London1813
The creakof carriage wheels pulled Rose’s attention away from the garden, where, kneeling in the beds, she inspected the bright blooms she had tended all spring. Lady Julia Thorne’s elegant barouche pulled to a stop outside the cottage Rose shared with her elderly grandmother. Heartbeat accelerating, Rose stood and dusted her hands on her apron, leaving streaks of dirtbehind.
A tall gentleman with raven hair and eyes the shade of the mid-summer sky stood near the open carriage door. Rose caught herself staring at the strong lines of his jaw as he handed her client, Lady Julia, down from thecarriage.
Her pulse quickened as her visitors drew nearer. She kept her gaze on the gentleman--he was the handsomest she had ever beheld. When he looked her way, Rose's cheeks burned at being caught ogling him so unabashedly. Lady Julia smiled as Rose approached. “Miss Woodcourt, I’ve come to select the cloth for my new frocks. Did you manage to get the samples Irequested?”
“I called upon the linen-drapers on Cheapside yesterday,” Rose returned cheerfully. She was always glad to see Lady Julia, who had become much more to her than a client. “Please come in.” Walking up the front walk to her home, she pulled open the weathereddoor.
Lady Julia moved past her in a swish of green organdy. Her companion stopped on the old plank-board porch. “I’ll wait here if it is all the same to you, miss.” His breathtaking grin revealed straight whiteteeth.
Rose stared, awestruck by his good looks. The door handle slid from her palm, causing the door to slam. She jumped at the noise, her nerve endingscrackling.
He pulled the wooden panel back open, blue eyes twinkling. “Allow me,miss.”
Warmth flooded Rose’s cheeks as she took a step toward the opening. A flush spread to her neck. Taking a breath she inhaled his heady aroma of clover andsage.
“What is your name,miss?”
“Rose Woodcourt.” She glanced at his hand and noticed a signet ring glinting upon his finger. She quickly added, “mylord.”
Of course he was a lord and she a bird-witted fool for reacting so strongly to him. It would best serve her to remember her place in society. Lords did not go about courting common misses. They dallied with them until they grew bored, tossing them aside when the affair no longer held their interest. Rose’s indignation stirred at memories of poor Annie. A rakish earl cast her old friend away after he had gotten her with child. Abandoned and afraid, Annie came to Rose for help. But alas, there was nothing to be done. Annie died bringing forth that odious man’sson.
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Woodcourt.” He offered a smile. “I am Hunter Thorne, Earl ofAubry.”
Rose dropped into a low curtsy, holding his gaze. Try as she might, she could not stop looking athim.
A ball of nerves unfurled in her stomach as she accepted his offered hand. A moment later, she pulled her hand free. “Excuse me, Lord Aubry, but Lady Julia iswaiting.”
Upon entering her workroom, she found Lady Julia perched on a faded high-back chair. The sweet aroma of fresh bread wafting through the cottage, coupled with the teacup in Lady Julia’s hand, told Rose her grandmother had seen to Lady Julia’s comfort before returning to the kitchen. “Please forgive my disheveled state. I am afraid I lost track oftime.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. Shall we?” Lady Juliasmiled.
Rose hurried to her shelves and scooped up several bundles of cloth. “Yes, of course. Here are samples for your consideration.” She placed the pile on her sewing table. “The linen-draper assures me these are the newest available. Some came directly from theOrient.”
Rose watched Lady Julia lift a swatch of blue organdy.The very shade of Lord Aubry’s eyes.The pair shared the same eye color and shade of hair, the same smile. Were they related? As hope set its hooks in Rose’s heart, she cast away her fancies. She should banish him from her mind lest she wind up like poor Annie. “What a lovely shade, mylady.”
Gran’s voice rang out from the entryway. “I said you shan’t disturb Rose. Mr. Wolfe, you mustn’t go inthere.”
Good heavens! That reprobate, Dewitt Wolfe, had darkened her stoop again. Would he never leave her inpeace?
“Please excuse me for a moment, Lady Julia.” With her heart thumping, Rose moved to the door. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? She had broken their betrothal and made her position clear. Yet he refused to accept herdecision.
Mr. Wolfe stopped mid-step. Gran came just short of colliding into his backside. “Ah, there you are, my dear.” His mouth twisted into a grin. “I have cometo--”
Frustrated beyond reason, Rose forgot she had company. She cut him short, speaking sharper than she intended. “I know why you have come. You need not go on. I have given you my answer.” As she stared into his beady brown eyes, her stomach roiled. “I will not marry you, Mr.Wolfe.”
Flashing a tight smile, Wolfe marched toward her, his dull brown hair disheveled and sticking out from under his tall beaver hat. “You will marry me.” He reached into his pocket and whipped out a folded document. “I had hoped you would not force my hand thusly.” He held the folded parchment out to her, his darkened gaze bored into hers. “The unpaid mortgage to this humble dwelling, my dear. Should you refuse to wed me, I will sell your home out from underyou.”
Rose grabbed the document, peeled it open, and scanned the print. Her stomach rolled over, and a knot formed in her throat. She crumpled the parchment in her fist before glaring at him. “You cannot. This is nothing but a trick. Papa paid off the mortgage yearsago.”
“I can and Ishall.”
Something sinister flickered in his eyes. His stony glare sent a chill through herbloodstream.
“Do not allow this brute to force your hand, Rose,” Gran said, dabbing her eyes. “All will be fine. Even if we lose the cottage, we will find a way.” Gran shook her head, freeing a few strands of graying auburn hair loose from herbun.
