The Gentleman Who Loved Me (Heart of Enquiry Book 6)(101)

Rosie shook her head. “They didn’t know about her affair with the butler, her terminated pregnancy, or her forced relations with Daltry. Whenever she needed to get away, she would use the excuse of visiting her friend Miss Bunbury. When Mr. McLeod stopped in Lancashire, he discovered that Miss Bunbury had, in fact, died many years ago.”

Shuddering, Polly said, “How is Peter Theale taking the news?”

“He’s distressed, naturally,” Rosie said, “and shocked to discover that the woman he loves is capable of murder.”

“Thunder ’n turf, I’d be shocked too,” Violet exclaimed. “But what shocks me more is that Mrs. James was carrying on with her own stepson! Remember how hoity-toity she was toward us? Someone ought to tell her about glass houses.”

In his investigation in Kent, Mr. Lugo had found several shopkeepers who did indeed recognize Mrs. James; all of them had put her in the company of a younger fellow who seemed like an “intimate friend”—and who fit the description of Alastair James. When confronted, the Jameses had confessed to their affair; Mrs. James also admitted that she’d first learned the details of the shooting from her lover. She’d begged to have their affair kept under wraps in order to avoid a ruinous scandal.

Rosie, knowing the hurt that gossip could inflict, had assured the other that she would say nothing. A grateful Mrs. James promised to repay the favor by throwing her considerable social weight behind Rosie, and her support, along with the Lady Charlotte’s, would cement Rosie’s position in the upper echelons.

The irony was supreme: now that Rosie had everything she’d once wanted, she realized it meant nothing. Respectability, acceptance—none of it meant a thing without Andrew.

Her heart clenched. Why hasn’t he come to me?

“Glass houses aside, I, for one, prefer to have Mrs. James as a friend to Rosie rather than an enemy,” Mama said. “My daughter has been through enough peril for a lifetime. And I have done enough embroidery to last two lifetimes.”

Now that the threat to her life was over, Rosie found herself confronting an even larger catastrophe. Unable to stand it any longer, she burst out, “Why hasn’t Andrew called upon me? It’s been an entire day.”

Glances skated around the room.

Polly spoke first. “Perhaps because he wanted to give you time to recover? You’ve been through a lot, dearest.”

“Would Revelstoke stay away if you’d been held at gunpoint by a madwoman?” Rosie said.

Looking chagrinned, Polly shook her head.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to compromise your newly restored reputation,” Thea put in.

“But he could have come to me privately last night…” Rosie stopped short, casting a wary glance at her mama and Aunt Helena.

The two ladies looked at each other.

“Why is it,” Mama mused to her best friend, “that the younger generation believes they invented scandalous behavior?”

Aunt Helena’s brunette brows rose. “Because you and I are such paragons of propriety?”

The pair erupted into gales of laughter.

Rosie’s gaze veered heavenward. “Now that you’re done amusing yourselves, may we please focus on the situation at hand? That of my future happiness?”

Sobering, Mama said, “Of course, dearest.”

“What do you want for your future?” Emma said.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Rosie threw her hands out in exasperation. “I’m in love with Andrew. I want to marry him.”

“Perhaps it is obvious to you,” Polly said reasonably, “but up until recently your goal was to be respectable at any cost. Does Mr. Corbett know of your change of heart?”

“Yes. That is, I think so.” Rosie bit her lip. “When he rescued me, I told him that I loved him. How much clearer could I be?”

Fear welled. Although she’d confessed her true feelings and apologized for not giving him a chance to explain about Kitty, he was keeping his distance. He hadn’t even responded to Papa’s invitation to supper. The behavior was unlike Andrew unless… unless he’d changed his mind about her? Had her shameful treatment of him driven him away?

“Love and marriage don’t always go hand in hand,” Mama said patiently, “and Corbett is a sophisticated man who understands that. While you may have told him that you feel the former for him, it seems to me that you’ve said nothing of the latter. Corbett has a sense of honor as strong as your father’s. Knowing his character, I’d wager he’s keeping his distance because he thinks it’s in your best interests. That you deserve better than what he has to offer you.”

The realization plunged like an arrow into Rosie’s heart.

“I’m the biggest ninny who ever lived,” she said in horror.

“Falling in love can do that to one.” A grin tucked into Em’s cheeks. “Don’t feel too badly. It’s happened to all of us.”

“Speak for yourself.” Vi plopped onto the chaise next to Rosie. “I retained my wits entirely during my courtship with Carlisle.”

“So says the lady who pushed her future husband into a fountain,” Em retorted.

“It was an accident.” Vi’s grin was reminiscent rather than repentant. “Besides, Carlisle didn’t mind. In fact, one time he got even by—”