“You took the one thing that I wanted.” Rosie’s hands bracketed her hips. “You know how much this match meant to me!”
Polly swallowed. Hung her head. “I know.”
“I would have never done the same to you,” Rosie raged on.
“I’m sorry,” she said wretchedly.
“He was the answer to all my problems, and you stole him away!”
Polly didn’t know what else to say. Yet in the midst of her spiraling self-recrimination, Sinjin’s words came to her.
If your sister cannot relinquish some stupid fantasy… seeing as she knows nothing about me… that is not your problem. If she cannot forgive you… then she does not deserve your affection.
Harsh words and ones that Polly did not agree with—at least, not entirely. Shewasat fault for hurting Rosie. But Sinjin’s assertions did make her think: how welldidRosie know him? It wasn’t as if she had spent a great deal of time with him. And, as he’d said, other than the usual courtesies, he hadn’t shown any intentions toward her.
Inhaling, Polly said, “What I did was wrong, but I didn’t steal him.”
“Yes, youdid. You knew I wanted him.” Rosie’s arms crossed over her bosom.
“I did know, and, for that, I can only ask for your forgiveness. I was wrong not to be honest with you from the start. The truth is, I didn’t understand my own feelings, and I didn’t know that Sin—the earl had any interest in me.”
“How could you bloody not know?” her sister snapped.
“Because no one’s been interested in me before,” she said quietly. “Not truly.”
Something flitted through Rosie’s eyes, but her chin remained lifted. “That doesn’t excuse what you did. You stole the man I love—”
“Doyou love him?” Polly studied her sister.
“He’s handsome, rich,anda peer. Everything I wanted. I would have fallen in love with him eventually—if you hadn’t snatched him from under my nose!”
Rosie’s words confirmed what Polly believed. And gave her courage to say what was in her heart.
“I’m not trying to excuse my behavior. It was my fault for not sharing my feelings about the earl, confused as they were.” Releasing a breath, Polly went on, “But I didn’t take anything from you, Rosie, because the truth is he wasn’t yours to take. You may have been infatuated with him, but you don’t know him. Sinjin is more than a stepladder to social success; hedeservesto be seen as more.” The truth flowed from her like water released from a valve. “I don’t know if he and I have a future together, but I’m going to stand by his side now. To help him through his present troubles because I believe in him—in the man he wants to be.”
The room fell silent. Polly didn’t know what else to say. She’d let it all pour out in a way she’d never done before, and now there was nothing left for her to do. Except wait.
“Get out,” Rosie said flatly. “I don’t want to see you or speak to you ever again.”
Anguish gnarled her insides. Heat pushed behind her eyes, but she pushed it back.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Just go!”
She did as her sister asked.
Chapter Eighteen
At one o’clock the following afternoon, Sinjin strode into Kent’s study. His gaze circled the room, noting the presence of the Strathavens and Kent before landing on Polly. Despite the undercurrent of tension in the room, the sight of her calmed him, his apprehension replaced by a swell of possessiveness.
He’d never known that sense of… rightness about a woman before—hell, about anything in his life. When he’d proposed to her, he’d done so on blind instinct, with a gut-deep hope that somehow he could make a marriage work. But then she’d told him the kind of unionshewanted, and the truth had struck him: she was exactly what he needed and never thought he could find.
A gently bred lady who saw him as more than a fashionable catch. A sweet wanton who aroused both his body and his mind, showing him pleasure unlike any he’d experienced before… and he hadn’t even had her yet. In truth, everything with her felt new and different, giving rise to a heretofore dormant sense of optimism: could his future be better than his past?
Although he didn’t fully comprehend the reasons behind her need for privacy, he didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, it made her theperfectmatch for him. They would have passion and, he hoped, a kind of… friendship.
I believe you.Her three simple words had rocked him to the core.
