“No.” Rose shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“How come?”
“Because…” She felt her heart swelling inside her chest, and it did not surprise her at all. Not after last night. Not after everything that had happened. “As I said, my marriage to the Duke is not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be. And do you know why?” She raised an eyebrow at Marianne, keeping the smile on her lips. “Because I gave it a chance. I did not run. I did not hide. I accepted my fate, and I made it work.”
“But the Duke, he is so…” She grimaced.
Rose laughed. “He is not nearly as bad as you think.”
“Truly?”
Rose’s smile was as honest as it had ever been. “As in all things, there is more to the Duke than meets the eye. When we married, I did not think there would be any connection between us. Worse, I did not want there to be. But he is different, Marianne, a better man than I could believe. I want to stay with him.”
Marianne leaned back and studied her sister as if searching for the lie. “Are you saying… No? Surely not.”
What am I saying? That I am starting to care for my husband? That I am starting to see this marriage as more than what it was? That Christopher and I have what it takes to be like Marianne and Julian? Am I really saying that?
Once, not so long ago, Rose would have denied such a claim vehemently.
Now, to say so would have been an outright lie. Despite everything, Rose could feel herself falling for her husband in ways that were once anathema to her very being. Her own happy ending was right there, so close that she could almost feel it, and it had everything to do with the man to whom she was married.
She no longer hated her husband. Dammit, she was starting to fall in love with him.
“I am saying that I am happy,” she said gently, kissing her sister’s hand again. “And if I can be, why not you?”
“I can be,” Marianne said, sniffing back more tears. “It is Father who –”
“Is my problem, not yours.” Rose looked pointedly at her sister. “Now, do you trust me, or don’t you? If you don’t, then I suggest that you leave as soon as Julian arrives, because I cannot help you. But if you do trust me, then come home, Marianne, and let me help you. Please.”
She knew then what her sister was going to do.
Rose was more than an older sister to Marianne. She was as close to a mother as the girl had ever known, and because of that, she trusted Rose with her life.
What was more, Rose had always seen herself as sister and mother both, and she knew there was nothing she would not do to help her little sister. All she ever wanted was for Marianne to be happy, and she knew that to run away as she meant to do would not achieve that happiness.
“Fine,” Marianne said. “I will come home.”
“It is the right decision,” Rose agreed.
“Just promise me…” Marianne took both her hands. “Promise that you will help. That you will do whatever it takes…”
“Haven’t I already?” Rose said with a smile.
Words were one thing, but her actions were what would convince Marianne. For now, her sister would trust her, and she would return to face their father, who would not bend so easily.
Rose had no idea how she was going to change her father’s mind, just that she had no choice. This was, after all, Marianne’s future that she was dealing with, and to see it secured, there was nothing that Rose would not do.
She had proven this once already, after all, so what was one more time? And hopefully, the ending to this gambit would be as fulfilling as the first time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It was after they dropped Marianne off at home that Christopher told Rose of the surprise he had for her. It came as a shock, mostly because Rose was still thinking about her sister and what the future might hold.
“I can’t help but think that we should have invited Marianne to stay with us,” Rose mused as the carriage pulled out of the driveway. She was sitting by the window; her gaze fixed on the manor where she could see her father leading Marianne back inside.
“I thought you said it was best not to do that?” Christopher asked her.
“I did…” Rose sighed and forced herself to turn away from the window. “But only because I did not want Father to become worried, and then irate because of it. Leaving her alone like this…” Her stomach twisted.
