Well, she thought to herself,it is only five promenades, not a betrothal.She had endured plenty of unwanted offers from suitors before, so this was merely something else to add to the pile, and perhaps after all this, her parents would finally be convinced that she was not to be married.
“Oh no, not him,” Lydia whispered as Lord Whitcombe made a large bid, one that surely could not be matched by anyone else. Rose could not fail to notice the hushed anxiety that imbued Lydia’s words, but before she got a chance to notice it, another bid was made.
This one prompted a gasp from those present as it seemed that Lord Whitcombe had won the day. But an even more preposterous bid was made, doubling the sum Lord Whitcombe offered.
“I think we can do better than that!” a lively voice cried out.
There was no counteroffer from Lord Whitcombe or anyone else. The crowd parted, and Rose saw who had made the bid.
The color drained from her cheeks.
It was Edmund, the Duke of Stonewood.
He had made the bid without even looking at her, his gaze being directed at Whitcombe, who was clenching his fists beside him. The matter was announced, and then the auctioneer moved onto the next lot, although Rose felt as though she had become unmoored.
“Oh, Edmund,” Lydia whispered.
Thomas and Margaret looked delighted, but Rose was barely aware of anything as Edmund came striding toward her. He wastall and undeniably handsome, but he was just the same as any other man in that he would fail in trying to court her.
“Lady Rose. It’s a pleasure to see you again, and it seems as though we shall be seeing far more of each other,” he said, his mouth stretching into a smile, his eyes glowing with mischief. He might have been thirty, but he looked younger, still a boy who thought the world was a game.
“Perhaps, although I do hope you have not wasted your money,” Rose replied.
“I had no idea you were going to bid on that, Edmund. You are aware that Rose is my friend, yes?” Lydia said in a strained tone, glaring insistently at Edmund.
If he noticed his sister’s discomfort, then he did not seem to care and merely shrugged away her words.
“I intended to win one bid tonight. It happened to be this one, but I am glad to see my money going to a good cause.”
An idea flashed in Rose’s mind.
“And it is the cause that is most important of all. Given that I am friends with Lydia, perhaps we might agree to abandon the promenades? You will still have the satisfaction and accolades of giving such a hefty sum to charity, but we will not need to bother ourselves with all the extra trouble.”
Edmund grinned, the kind of grin that must have made dozens of other women weak at the knees. It wasn’t going to have that effect on her, Rose decided.
“It’s no trouble at all,” he said breezily. Then, he lowered his voice in a way that made Rose’s stomach tighten. “I have no intention of giving up my prize.”
She wasn’t sure if he was talking about the promenades or her.
Chapter Two
“Thank you so much for offering time with your daughter as a prize. It was an inspired idea, and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it. I am very impressed, and I swear that I will take the utmost care of Lady Rose. She will be safe in my hands. We must sit down together at some point as well, because I do like talking with people who think unconventionally. I believe London could use a lot more of it,” Edmund said.
When he spoke, he made flourishing gestures with his hands, making the whole thing seem like a performance to Rose.
As reality set in, Rose could feel a mix of emotions coursing through her. Her stomach was churning, and waves of nausea rolled through her mind. Beads of sweat gathered upon her temples, and her breathing became ragged. The weight of everyone’s curious gazes bore upon her, and while the auction continued, she sensed that people would be speaking about this and nothing else.
Her parents had utterly humiliated her, and all she wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Thankfully, she had Lydia beside her. Lydia tugged at her arm and pulled her to the side of the room, offering some distance between herself and the others.
“I promise that I had no idea he was going to bid. Did you know that you were going to be one of the lots?” Lydia asked.
“Of course I didn’t,” Rose said sharply, her frustrations boiling over. When Lydia recoiled, Rose shook her head and offered an apologetic look. “This is not your fault, Lydia. I am sorry. This is all my parents’ doing. Now I know why they were not intent on bidding on anything. They did not come here to win a bid. They came here to offer me as one of them. It is entirely awful,” Rose put her hand to her head and cringed.
The more she thought about this, the worse it seemed.
“There is no need to panic, Rose. My brother is not that bad, after all.”
