“And then what?” Celia pressed. “Did you call him out for his seduction? Did you threaten to tell Stenfax of his ungentlemanly behavior unless he stopped his torment?”
Rosalinde blinked. She could have done just that, but she’d never thought of it. Perhaps because she had wanted that night with Gray as much as he had, so she couldn’t pretend she had been used when she was an equal party to the passion.
“No, I-I thought if I could get closer to him—”
Celia skittered back, her hand flying up to her face, but not before Rosalinde saw the horror of her expression. It cut her to the bone.
“You’restillbedding down with him?” Celia asked, her voice muffled by her fingers.
Rosalinde flinched at the stark description of her actions. Stark, but not inaccurate. She pushed to stand and straightened her shoulders.
“I have, yes.”
Celia let out a strangled sound and spun away, racing across the room as if getting away from Rosalinde would make this right, make it better.
“I thought you would flirt with him,” she gasped. “Not this!”
“But—”
“No! No! You know what he wants to do,” Celia all but sobbed. “How he is driven to hurt me and my chances of a future.”
“Yes,” Rosalinde admitted, and hated herself for the betrayal her beloved sister now felt. “Oh God, Celia, it wasn’t my intention to—”
“Your intention?” Celia cried out, spinning on her. “You want to speak to me aboutintentionnow?”
“Gray sees you as a potential harm to his brother,” she explained. “But he is not entirely unreasonable. I thought if I could grow closer to him, I could make him see—”
“That we Fitzgilberts have no morals? No control?” Celia interrupted.
Rosalinde recoiled at the accusation. “I—you don’t mean that.”
Celia shrugged, her voice calm even though tears were now streaming down her face. “How could I not? Thanks to Grandfather’s coldness, you and I have always been more than sisters. You were my best friend. I watched you dance around Martin Wilde and what did I tell you?”
Rosalinde swallowed hard. “I—you—” She dipped her head. “You told me it was a bad idea.”
Celia nodded. “I told you Grandfather would retaliate, I told you we mightbothsuffer. But you declared you were in love, and so I closed my eyes and prayed I would be wrong.”
“You weren’t, though. He cut me off,” Rosalinde whispered. “And when he did, Martin realized there would be no great sum settled upon me, upon him, as he hoped.”
“Yes, we both know how your husband turned against you.” Celia stepped toward her. “But do you know what Grandfather did tome?”
Rosalinde drew back. “Did to you?”
“I always kept it from you, so you wouldn’t feel guiltier than you already did.” Celia lifted her chin. “He locked me in my chamber for aweek. When he brought me out, it was only to read Bible verses which described punishments for disobeying the Lord, disobeyinghim. If I didn’t seem impressed enough by his readings, he made up punishments of his own. He let you escape, but he made it clearInever would.”
Rosalinde reached for her. “Oh, Celia. I didn’t know, I didn’t—”
“Of course you didn’t know. You were busy running off to marry, to thwart Grandfather, and only deal with the easiest of consequences.” Celia dodged her hand. “And when he told me that our father hadn’t actually died, as we’d always been told, and that if I did as he wanted, he would tell me about him…I was shattered, Rosalinde. And you weregone. I was left to deal with it alone.”
Rosalinde could hardly breathe as the full weight of her selfishness hit her. She had always only seen her own pain, but now Celia’s burned bright and accusatory.
“You suffered because of me. I cannot tell you how sorry I am.”
“When Martin died and you were going to be on the street, I had tobegto have you return,” Celia continued. “Grandfather was horrible, Rosalinde. It was almost unbearable to hear him disparage you, compare you to our mother and make you both sound so terrible.”
Rosalinde tried a weak smile for her. “But it worked. He allowed me back, not with open arms, but back nonetheless.”
“And it ismehe rails to about you,” Celia said. “When he forced you to remain in London when we came here to begin final wedding preparations, do you know what the topic of conversation was the entire time in the carriage?”
