“It doesn’t matter if there is another reason Nathan pushed me away,” she announced, silencing her sisters, who were still bickering next to her. Both turned to look at her, Iris triumphantly, Violet sadly.
Rosalie reached out and took Violet’s hands. “I appreciate you trying to find a way for Nathan and me to reconcile—and perhaps we will—but it has to come from him. In that regard, Iris is right. He needs to find the courage to apologize to me for pushing me away and to reassure me it won’t happen again. And if that doesn’t happen, well then, I need to start thinking about what my life will be like without him.”
“See?” Iris crowed. “I told you.”
“You’re not exactly right either, though,” Rosalie said, frowning at Iris. “I am grateful to you for standing up for me. You are the best oldest sister I could ever ask for. But it’s not true that Nathan isn’t worthy of me. He’s a good man, but he has demons to overcome, and if he doesn’t, well then… I can be a free, independent woman.”
She swallowed. The prospect was never how she had imagined her future. She had thought she’d find a safe, caring, reliable husband, someone who would protect her and provide for her. But now, she was facing the idea of a future without a man, and although it scared her, she knew she had to be brave enoughto seize it. “Phineas and I will support you,” Iris assured her at once. “You can live with us if you want.”
“You are, of course, welcome with James and me as well,” Violet offered. She bit her lip. “But… how will you live? What will you do, if not be a wife and mother?”
Rosalie’s mind brushed against something Nathan had told her, and she smiled. It had only been a few days, but already it felt like a lifetime ago. All thought of his proposal had been driven from her mind by the appearance of Lord Cain, but now, it came back to her and filled her with tentative hope and excitement.
“I will write,” she heard herself say. “I will find a publisher, and I will write stories and sell them. Perhaps I will even write a book.”
Both her sisters’ eyes were wide. Iris’ jaw had even fallen open in shock.
“Write?!” Iris spluttered. “But… is that possible?”
“Why not?” Rosalie laughed at the dumbfounded look on her sister’s face. “Other ladies write. Not many, but a few. I don’t have to publish under my real name.”
“You should publish under your real name,” Violet said at once, and Rosalie felt a jolt of physical pain in her heart, as if someone had just driven a stake through it.That’s what Nathan said as well.
She tried to force herself not to think about this.
“Have you been writing stories?” Iris asked. “I never knew about this!”
“I haven’t been writing,” Rosalie admitted, “but I am always coming up with stories. Nathan was the first person who pointed it out to me: the way in which I romanticize things and turn them into stories in my head. I’m always hoping things turn out the way they would in a novel, and I’m able to see through to every possible ending that would make it either a romance, a mystery, or an adventure novel.”
“Nathan pointed this out?” Iris sounded uncertain, and she and Violet shared a glance.
“Yes. Actually…” she hesitated. “He was the one who suggested that I become a writer. But I’m not suggesting I do this because of him,” she added quickly. “It was his idea, yes, but it is a good idea. I do want to write. And if he and I do not reconcile, if I’m not able to have the life I dreamed of, then I can create many different lives through my writing.”
She looked around at her sisters, expecting to see skepticism and amusement, but their reactions shocked her.
Violet’s eyes had filled with tears. “Oh, Rosalie…” she murmured, “I am so proud of you. You have truly grown into a strong woman.”
“Violet is right,” Iris agreed, and Rosalie was surprised to see that her eyes were also misty. “I’ve been treating you like a little girl this whole time because I’m so used to you being one, but I haven’t realized that you have grown up right in front of me. You can take care of yourself. I see that now.”
Rosalie felt a lump rise in her throat. “Thank you,” she whispered. “It means the world to me to hear you both say that. It’s not always easy being the youngest and feeling as if I’ll never be taken seriously by my older sisters.”
“We take you seriously,” Violet assured her. She took her hand again, and then Iris took her other one. Rosalie and Violet also held hands so that they formed a circle on the sofa, the three of them together like they always had been, fighting for one another.
“Does that mean you’ll support me in my plan to capture Lord Cain?” Rosalie asked Iris.
Her sister hesitated, then gritted her teeth. “Yes, of course. I trust you.”
“Thank you,” Rosalie whispered. “I know I can do this.”
And she had never felt so sure of anything: shecoulddo this. She could bring down Lord Cain and protect her family, once and for all.
The moment was broken by Violet, who stared at both sisters in horror. “Wait, what’s happening!?”
Chapter Thirty
“Whereishe!?” Nathan growled, slamming his fist down hard on the side of the roulette table. “I was so sure this would be it!”
Grove, who was standing across the roulette table watching him with a frown, shook his head.
