Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

R osalyn closed the door of the broom cupboard and smiled. She'd finished her last day of extra chores. She'd apologized to Iris two days before, but she was still giving her the cold shoulder. She'd never been overly friendly with Rosalyn, so it wasn't the end of the world. The only person she had left to apologize to now was Ash. Well, now was as good a time as any.

When she got to Ash's office, the door was open. He sat behind his desk in deep concentration, his brow furrowed. Perhaps now was not as good a time as any after all.

Just as she turned to leave, he said her name. "How can I help?"

"It's nothing. I just wanted to talk to you, but I don't want to interrupt what you're working on. It can wait."

"You can interrupt me anytime, Rosie." A warm smile tipped the corners of his lips. "Come in and close the door. I actually wanted to talk to you, as well."

"Working on something important?" she asked as she seated herself across from him. "I'm sorry. It's none of my concern." She waved her hands in front of her, as if she could erase what she'd said. Her grand apology was going great so far. She shook her head.

"There are no rules against curiosity." He smiled reassuringly. "This is estate business. My least favorite thing."

It was easy to forget that Ash was, in fact, an earl. He had a whole other life outside of all of this. Somehow that had never even occurred to her, and it brought up so many questions. But this was neither the time to ask, nor was it her place.

"What can I do for you, Rosie?" he asked, when she failed to respond because she'd gotten too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

"I still owe you an apology," she said, deciding just to get straight to the point before she said something else that was completely idiotic.

"It isn't necessary, Rosie. I was only teasing you when I said I was expecting one."

"I know," she said with a nod, "but it's important to me."

"Very well." He folded his arms across his chest. "You have my full attention."

"I've had a lot of time to think over the last week. You know, while washing teacups, and sweeping floors."

Ash chuckled. "After twelve years of doing this, Rosie, I am immune to feeling guilty about assigning punishments."

"Believe it or not, I'm actually grateful for the consequences you chose. Not that I want to continue doing the extra chores," she said, holding up her hands. "But it forced me to really think about why I was having to do them." She paused, trying to figure out how to explain in a way that would make sense. "I guess the truth is, rather than apologizing, I actually want to thank you. Not that I enjoyed the extra work, but in some strange way, it made me feel like I belong. Like my actions matter just as much as anyone else's here."

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," Ash said, shaking his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You are the first person who has ever thanked me for their punishment."

Rosalyn shrugged. "I never said I was normal."

"Rosie, you are far better than normal. Now," he said, resting his clasped hands on top of the desk. "As for the reason I wished to speak with you, Patrick has been begging me to allow him to visit you."

Her cheeks warmed. "He didn't beg."

Ash put his right hand across his chest. "On my honor. The roses were a compromise."

Rosalyn's heart warmed. Everyday, a rose of a different color had appeared, each one with an identical note. A beautiful rose, for my beautiful Rosie . The thing that made her heart skip every time she read it was the word my. Perhaps she had given it more meaning that it deserved, but it felt important to her.

"That was very kind of him," she said finally.

"Since it's the last night of your confinement, and it's his night off, he talked me into allowing him in for a visit."

Rosie gasped and whipped around, half expecting him to be there in the corner.

"Easy, Rosie. He's not here. I would never do something like that."

"I'm sorry." Rosalyn held a hand over her pounding heart. It was a strange thrill, comprised of a combination of elation and terror.

"This is precisely why I wanted to speak with you about it. I told him he could come if, and only if, you also want him here."

"I do," she answered without any hesitation. "But I would like to have a little time to get cleaned up and gather my thoughts."

"You're certain?" Ash asked, looking deep into her eyes.

"Yes." Rosalyn nodded. "I'm certain." Some of the revelations she'd had during this week had shifted the way she viewed his actions toward her, and she desperately wanted to talk to him.

"Patrick will be delighted," he said with a smile. "I am, however, going to impose a couple of rules.

"Of course you are," she said with a teasing grin.

"Firstly," He held up an index finger. "The two of you must remain in common areas at all times. That means, he's not allowed in your bedroom, and you're not to sneak off somewhere private or duck into an alcove together. I've seen what the two of you get up to when there's no one about."

Heat flooded Rosalyn's cheeks. She dropped her face into her palms and folded down onto her lap. She'd never felt so embarrassed and just wanted to crawl away and hide.

"I'm sorry, Rosie. That may not have been very nice." She could hear that he was holding back laughter as he spoke. "I just needed to make sure we're on the same page."

"We're on the same page," she said into the heels of her hands.

Ash choked, his laughter breaking through in full. "Don't be embarrassed, Rosie. I should never have said that. I'm sorry." His fingertip tapped the top of her head, the only part he could reach from across the desk. "Will you forgive me?"

Rosalyn nodded. Ash sat silently, and finally, she peeked her eyes over the top of the desk to see what he was doing. Apology was written over every inch of his face. With an exasperated groan, she sat back up again.

"Can we just get to the other rules so that I may be excused to run away and hide?"

"Alright, alright. There's just one other rule. No leaving Raven House. Simple enough?"

"Yes, Ash." she nodded, her cheeks still on fire.

"I'm sorry, Rosie. I was a bounder saying what I did."

He obviously felt genuinely remorseful, which somehow helped to ease her embarrassment slightly. "You're forgiven, Ash. Now, may I be excused?"

"One last thing. If for any reason you no longer want Patrick here, you simply tell the man at the front door, and he will take care of it."

"Patrick would never hurt me."

"Oh, I know he would never intentionally hurt you, but I also know that he can sometimes be a feckless arse."

Rosie laughed.

"So," Ash made sure she was listening. "If at any moment, you want him to leave, you don't need to confront him. Just tell the doorman, or tell one of the other ladies in the house, and it will be dealt with."

"Alright, I understand."

"Good. Go over it with me one more time." He held up a finger and waited for her.

"No…" She closed her eyes briefly, trying to keep her embarrassment at bay. "Seeking out privacy."

Ash nodded and held up a second finger.

"No leaving Raven House."

"Good, and number three?" he said, holding up a third finger.

"If at any time, I want to be left alone, tell the doorman or one of the other ladies in the house."

"Perfect!" He smiled warmly. "You are now excused." He cupped his hand around the side of his mouth and whispered, "Although, you're always allowed to leave my office at any time and don't need my permission."

"Now you tell me." She threw up her hands in feigned exasperation.

Rosalyn stood and reached across the desk to take hold of one of his hands. "Thank you, Ash. For everything."

* * *

Patrick tried to calm his nerves before entering Raven House. He was determined to tell Rosie exactly how he felt about her tonight. The fear that she may not feel the same way about him, that she might actually want nothing to do with him after everything he'd put her through, made him feel as if he might cast up his accounts.

"Evening, Stockton," Patrick said to the doorman. He'd already been allowed through the front gate, so surely he'd be able to enter the building. The man nodded and pulled the door open. Thank God for that.

To his surprise, Rosie was waiting for him in the foyer, her smile welcoming him.

"Good evening, Patrick."

"It is now." He closed the distance between them. "I've brought you something." He held up a bouquet of roses, all different colors, just like the ones he'd sent her throughout the week. "Beautiful roses for my beautiful Rosie," he said as he handed them to her. He could hear the nervousness in her laughter.

"Thank you." She breathed in the flowers' aroma. "Your gifts were the highlight of my week."

"I'm so sorry, Rosie." He pressed his lips gently against her forehead.

"You're sorry I enjoyed your gifts?"

Patrick chuckled. The little imp was teasing him, and for some reason, it filled his heart with absolute joy. "I'm sorry I caused all of that mess. And Ash, bloody tyrant."

Rosie laughed gently. "As much as I'd love to rail about the injustice, the truth is, Ash has been nothing but kind to me." Rosie slipped her arm through his and they slowly made their way to a small sitting room.

"I thought, for old time's sake, perhaps we could talk over a game of Battle." Patrick pulled a deck of cards from his breast pocket.

Rosie's answering smile was brilliant.

Before they could seat themselves at the small table against the far wall, Daisy entered the room. "Why don't I take those and put them in some water?" She took the flowers and leaned in to whisper something in Rosie's ear that made her laugh. They squeezed each other's hands before Daisy left with the flowers.

"It looks like you've made at least one friend since you arrived." Patrick pulled out the chair for Rosie and then seated himself opposite her.

"Everyone has been so wonderful and welcoming, Daisy especially. She's been incredibly caring and sweet, and I hope wherever life takes the two of us, we can always remain friends.

Patrick was relieved, but not surprised, that she'd been able to make friends so quickly. He dealt the cards and they each turned over their top one.

Rosie won the first pair of cards and snatched them up with a triumphant smile.

They turned over two more cards. "I hope Ash wasn't too hard on you this week."

"I told you, Ash has been nothing but kind to me." She raised her eyes to meet his. "If I'm honest, I'm glad all of this happened. The punishment forced me to really look inside myself. I've realized things that I'm not sure I ever would have otherwise."

Patrick felt a bit lost. "Would you mind explaining what you mean by that?"

"I'll do my best," she said with a shrug. "My initial response was that I was sorry that I had been caught. I felt it wasn't fair." She turned over her next card. "Then, I was sorry that Ash and the others had been out in the rain looking for me. I was sorry for being an inconvenience. But eventually, I became sorry that I had been so caught up in my own wants and desires that I hadn't thought about how my actions would impact anyone else."

Patrick nodded, but he didn't interrupt her. Somehow her words were beginning to make sense, and they seemed to call to something inside him, as well.

"I have to confess something. I didn't actually believe Ash would punish me." She looked down and pushed the two cards toward him. He hadn't noticed he'd won the round. "Sure, I thought he might scold me, but I was shocked when he handed down an actual punishment."

Patrick nodded. "To be honest, so was I."

"Well," she continued. "At first, I thought I must have seen myself as entitled, or believed that I was above the rules." She drew her lips in thoughtfully. "I hadn't actually felt that way, though. Then today, I finally figured out the truth. I felt like I wasn't one of you, like I didn't belong. I felt as if I was just an interloper in your world… in this world,"—she spread her arms out wide—"and you had all just taken pity on me." Rosie paused and flicked the corner of two cards together, probably gathering strength for whatever she was going to say next. "I didn't think he'd punish me, because I believed that in his eyes, I wasn't worth punishing."

Patrick's heart ached. "Oh, Rosie."

"Wait." She held up her hand to stop him from continuing. "It gets better. I promise."

"I hope so," he said with a smile, despite the sadness he felt. He reached across the table and took hold of her hand, trying to pour some of his own strength into her.

"What I finally realized was that I had been wrong. Ash wasn't kind to me because he felt sorry for me, nor was he punishing me because he was angry. Daisy didn't put salve on my hands every single day because she took pity on me. They did those things because they care. They care about me."

"Of course they do!" Patrick got up and came around the table, taking her hands in his. "You are a kind, caring, smart, funny, beautiful, wonderful woman. How could they not care about you?"

She shook off all of his complimentary words, but he could see the pink infusing her cheeks. "But it made me finally understand something else." She looked down at their locked hands. "Perhaps, the reason you wanted to send me away, was not because you didn't want me. Not because you were just trying to protect me, or because you were taking pity on me." She looked up into his eyes once more. "Perhaps, it was because you care about me."

Patrick dropped to his knees in front of her. "I've been the world's biggest fool." He pressed his lips to her knuckles. "I don't just care about you, Rosie. I love you." He kissed her knuckles again. "I love everything about you, and I think I have from the first moment you burst into my office in your night clothes, defending Finch with all your might."

Rosie somehow began to laugh and cry simultaneously. "That's good," she said, as she sniffed and wiped tears from her face. "Because I think I have loved you from the moment you wrapped your arms around me inside that hansom cab as we rode away from Maison Rouge."

"Truly?" He could hardly believe what he was hearing. If it was true, he was the luckiest man alive. She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. It turned out it wasn't hard at all to tell her how he felt. And now, what he was about to do, which he'd spent a lifetime swearing he'd never do, felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Rosie… I'm sorry, even in this moment, I can't bring myself to call you Rosalyn. To me, you'll always be Rosie."

"I'll always be your Rosie," she said, softly kissing his forehead.

"Well then, my Rosie." He cleared his throat. "My sweet, wonderful Rosie, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

"Only if you promise to never send me away." Her eyes shimmered with fresh tears.

"I promise I'll never send you away. I intend to spend every day of the rest of my life proving just how much I love you."

"Yes, Patrick. Of course I will marry you."

He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, claiming her mouth with a searing kiss. His Rosie. She squeaked as he spun her around. That's when he noticed Daisy standing in the doorway.

"It's about time," she said, as she came into the room.

Rosie rushed over to Daisy and threw her arms around her. When they parted, Daisy placed her arms on Rosie's shoulders. "Maybe he was worth it after all."