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“No one?”he asked.Because he knew whom she had told, and once he’d read the private letter, resealed it and sent it on its way, he faced a dilemma that Rose herself had solved.She’d gone to Madame DuPuis.And then there was Anne VanLandingham, the Duchess of Pelham, her curious fingers in Rose’s pie.Did Anne know or just suspect?The Duchess of Pelham was a known quidnunc, in that she thought she could solve everyone’s problems, if she but knew what they were.
Maybe he should start gambling, because it was a stroke of luck and a fateful convergence he couldn’t have planned any better.
“No one who will betray my confidence or shame me in public,” she said with confidence.Misplaced confidence it turned out.
Matthew knew a fair bit about the duchess, but he would lie by omission for the foreseeable future.
Alice returned, glowing and pulling along the bodies necessary to facilitate atonmarriage.
“Mr.Hardy, shall we begin?”the minister asked.
“Rose?”he said, giving here one last chance to say no.
She nodded but bit at her lip and accepted the hand he held out.It was a colossal leap of faith.One Matthew would ensure she never regretted.
He couldn’t blame her for any last-minute jitters.He wouldn’t blame her at all for walking away.For a woman, the situation was untenable.How many women in London experienced the same sort of terror?Terror like his mother had, or Beatrice Eggers.
Matthew said his vows strongly, well, because when he saidI doorI willorI should, he meant it in every aspect of his life and with every fiber of his being.
Rose had thrown her shoulders back and also answered firmly.She hid herI dobehind anif I must.
He felt the intensity of expectation, their little group all looking to him to seal the deal with his new bride.Matthew could imagine a real kiss with real consequences here in the hell, but chaste it would be.He set a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face to his, and he pressed a soft kiss to even softer lips.
When he glanced at her, there were more tears in her eyes, but this time the liquid pooled there.He was hopeful the tears meant relief rather than horror.She didn’t look away, a promising sign.
Alice was thrilled with another success for her burgeoning matchmaking skills, though he suspected Anne VanLandingham would take all the credit, at the right time, and poured drinks for those in the room.Matthew took Rose aside and spoke quietly.“My carriage is waiting outside, to take us to Islington when you are ready.”
“Mr.Hardy, I need to return to St.George’s Square this evening,” Rose said.
Caution, he thought.His plans needed to be flexible and for a moment, he hadn’t thought about her need to collect her children.“Your home is no longer with Sandhurst.”
“I know.He is in Brighton until Wednesday and has no idea I will be gone when he returns.”
“Your belongings.Of course.We can go there first.”
“My trunks are packed.I doubt one carriage will be able to collect everything, including my daughters.”
“Daughters?”What could he actually admit to her?Better to play ignorant for the time being.He knew about them because he had been reading the duchess’s mail.
“Why, yes.You didn’t know?”
“A small detail someone forgot to mention.”
“Madame DuPuis knew.They are my world since Edmond died.”
Yes, he’d known about the children but admitting it would serve no purpose, only raise questions.Chiefly, he wondered at the other man in Rose’s life and the babe she carried and why that man was not her world.Some night he would ply her with drink and learn the truth of her life since she’d married into Sandhurst.Naturally, he would be in his cups as well, and one never knew where that could lead, joyful as it could be.
“Tell me their names.”
“Ava is six and Elaina just turned eight.”
And now they had no real father, save him, and he was hardly an exemplar.He waved a hand, getting Alice’s attention.
“Yes, Mr.Hardy?”
“I need to deliver a message.Do you have a runner I can quickly send to the docks?”
Madame DuPuis’ own servant hurried to do his bidding, including fetching paper and ink.Cooper would arrange the transport along with the four men Matthew thought he needed.He glanced at his silver watch—forty minutes ought to do it before they could get to Sandhurst’s.
