And it was this that finally calmed him.
He leaned back in his chair and drank down the rest of his whiskey in one gulp. “Well, I suppose if I were in your position, Iwould do the same thing. But you have nothing to fear, James: I had already resolved to marry the girl.”
James blinked, and a look of relief came over him. “You had? Really?”
Nathan snorted. “Of course, I had. Despite what you might think, I have not changed so much in two years. I wouldn’t leave the girl to face ruin after what happened.”
“But… you didn’t offer for her at the time.”
“I was in shock! The whole of your house nearly missed being burned down!”
James sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, I must say I’m relieved. Violet was in hysterics last night. I’ve never seen her like that. She’s usually so calm. I think she’s exhausted by all the scandal that keeps following her family.”
“Did she put you up to this?” Nathan asked.
“Of course not!” James looked affronted by the question. “She would murder me herself if she knew I was calling you out and putting both our lives at risk.”
“Well then, I’m glad one of you is reasonable.”
James looked at him hard. “Are you truly upset with me?”
Nathan didn’t answer. He stood, dusted off the front of his breeches, and reached for his jacket.
“Nathan.” James spoke again, more urgently, “is this going to lead to a rift between us?”
“Maybe it wouldn’t have with the cousin you used to know,” Nathan said darkly, “but you’re right: I’ve changed. And now, I hold grudges.”
He didn’t look back as he stormed from White’s.
“First my hasty marriage to Eavestone, then Father’s arrest, then his escape from prison, then Violet’s marriage to the Devilish Duke, then her being kidnappedtwice…and now this?! When will our family stop attracting scandal of every kind!”
Iris threw herself down on the couch of Violet’s sitting room and buried her face in her hands. “It’s insupportable!” she cried, her words muffled now by her hands. “We will never be free of it!”
“Don’t be so despairing,” Violet said from where she sat calmly embroidering on the couch across from Iris. “Everything else has worked out so far. You and I fell in love with our husbands, despite their less-than-savory reputations, Father is back in prison, and James managed to save me both times I was kidnapped.” Violet laughed. “It is rather dramatic when I put itlike that, but my point is: this will work out as well. Things have a way of shaking out.”
“But the scandal it will cause!” Iris lamented, looking up at Violet. “If the Duke doesn’t propose, Rosalie will be ruined!”
Rosalie was sitting by the window in a hard-backed chair, staring outside at the drizzle, half-listening to her sisters, half preoccupied by worry. At the mention of her name, however, she turned around and watched her sisters as they debated her fate as if she wasn’t present.
I have barely spoken for the last twenty-four hours. Maybe they’ve actually forgotten I’m here. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“We have weathered scandal before,” Violet said, still speaking soothingly to Iris. “And we are both duchesses, married to two of the most powerful dukes in England. If that doesn’t help insulate Rosalie from the worst of the scandal, then I don’t know what will.”
“Marriage to the Duke will!” Iris said shrilly. “But he didn’t propose! Where is he? Can’t you ask James? Can’t Jamesmakehim offer for Rosalie?”
“Just because they’re cousins doesn’t mean James can tell Nathan what to do,” Rosalie argued, frowning at her sister.
Both sisters lapped into silence so that all Rosalie could hear were the raindrops landing on the windowpane and the rapid beating of her own heart.
“How could this happen?” she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper.
Both her sisters started and looked over at her. “Rosalie, are you all right?” Iris asked anxiously, standing and going to her.
Rosalie stared at her sister with wide eyes. “I don’t understand how this happened,” she repeated. “All I wanted was to marry a good man, a kind man, a man as opposite from father as possible. And even with all the scandal attached to our family, I could keep my head high and hold out hope for that man. Someone who could look past the sins of my father and everything unfortunate that has happened to us. But now… I will be ruined. No one could look past me being found alone, and in such a vulnerable position, with the Beast of Carramere.” Her eyes filled with tears. “No one will want me now.”
“Oh Rosalie…” Iris knelt down in front of her and took her hands in hers. “I am sure that he will do the honorable thing and offer for you. He is a duke, after all. He will not resign you to this fate.”
All of a sudden, anger erupted inside Rosalie’s chest. She knew Iris was only trying to console her, that she only wanted the best for her, but she could no longer stand having her life dictated to her by other people, especially men. All her life, her father had dictated to her; now, she was supposed to let the Duke of Carramere dictate her fate?!
