Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

“ R osalie, you’re back!”

Iris threw her arms around Rosalie, who felt as if all the air had been crushed from her lungs in her sister’s embrace.

“We missed you so much,” Iris gushed, continuing to squeeze her as if she hadn’t seen her in a year. And indeed, it did seem like more time had passed than Rosalie realized as Iris’ bump had gotten even bigger. She could feel it pressing against her as she hugged her sister.

“It was just a month,” Rosalie said, laughing, as Iris finally released her. “Although you are so much further along already!”

“I know, isn’t it wonderful?” Iris beamed. “I’ve started to feel her kick!”

“You think it’s a girl?”

“I do,” Iris said, her eyes sparkling. “Although, of course, there’s no way to know…”

“Well, I hope it is,” Violet said. “I like girls.”

Violet was standing right behind Iris, and she held out her arms to Rosalie as well. As she took Rosalie in her arms, she was significantly less forceful than Iris had been.

“And how’s my niece?” Rosalie asked as she released Violet. “Is she doing well?”

“Never better! She is learning to walk now, and every day, it seems that she can accomplish something new! It’s a joy to watch her grow up, I almost wish the time would slow down…”

“You’re such a good mother,” Iris assured her, placing her hand on Violet’s arm. “The mother we all wish we’d had.”

Violet wrinkled her nose. “We’ve all forgiven Mama, Iris, don’t forget.”

“Right…” Iris winked at Rosalie. “I just get a tad protective over my little sisters from time to time. Anyway, come, sit down, Rosalie, and tell us all about your honeymoon to the countryside!”

Iris motioned for her to sit on one of the couches. The sisters had gathered at Iris’ townhouse because as her pregnancy advanced, it was harder for her to travel, even short distances. Rosalie had written both her sisters notes the moment she’d returned to London, and she was so happy to see them that she felt as if she was going to weep. She also had so much to tell them although she didn’t know exactly where to start.

They all seated themselves on the sofa, and Iris rang for tea.

“Speaking of children…” She looked meaningful at Rosalie. “Do you have any news for us in that department?”

Rosalie blushed scarlet. She had never discussed such a scandalous topic with her sister before! “No, no, not at all,” she said, trying to act as if this question wasn’t a big deal—as if she were a worldly woman who understood the mysteries of married life. “The Duke and I are not in any rush to have children. It wasn’t the reason we married, and we would rather get to know one another better.”

Violet offered her a kind smile. “James and I also took it slow,” she assured. “It was the right decision. Then, when it came time for our relationship to evolve, we were on the same page.”

Rosalie nodded although she wasn’t sure she understood exactly. Why do women always speak in riddles when discussing their marriages?

But she was also speaking in riddles, she supposed.

“But how is it going?” Iris asked. “Has Nathan been treating you well? If he hasn’t been, then Violet and I are happy to have a word with him or send our husbands to have a word with him. I’m sure Phineas would call him out if he had to…”

“I don’t want Phineas to duel one of his best friends!” Rosalie said, alarmed. “Anyway, that won’t be necessary, the Duke has been very attentive and kind. Yes, he can be a tad abrasive at times. There’s a reason he has the reputation that he does. But underneath all that, he is a good person, I believe. Just a man with a tremendous amount of pain…”

There must have been something dreamy in her eyes because Iris and Violet exchange knowing—and amused—looks.

“If there are any two women who understand the allure of a difficult, troubled man with a heart of gold, it is us,” Violet observed. “We both married dukes with fearsome reputations, but we have both found that this outer layer is usually just hiding a soft, tender heart that he is afraid will get hurt.”

It was hard to imagine her duke with a soft, tender heart, but then again, he had confessed his fears to her after he’d rescued her from the caved-in floors; that had felt more tender-hearted than anything else he had shown her so far.

“There is something alluring about the Duke,” Rosalie admitted slowly. “He is very protective. I know that when he’s with me, nothing and no one could ever harm me. And he’s resilient. He has overcome so much in his life, and it has made him strong. He’s also just a good man. I admire so much his commitment to bringing down the criminal elements that are proliferating all over the country. His work with Scotland Yard is astonishing.”

She didn’t mention their attempt to take down Redfield; not only did she not think she should mention it to anyone in case it got back to him, but she also didn’t want to mention Redfield to Violet since she’d almost been forced to marry his father.

“It makes sense that you are drawn to the fact he is a good person,” Violet said. “Especially after growing up with Father. I understand why you would want something different.”

“Yes, well…” Rosalie bit her lip. “I do worry sometimes about my husband’s temper. There are moments when he shows the same flare of anger that Father used to, but he never makes me feel small or as if I am to blame for his anger. It’s usually at injustice that he gets angry. Still, I always envisioned myself with a calm, even-tempered man—the opposite of Father.”

“Sometimes the person we want to be drawn to and the person we actually are drawn to are quite different,” Iris said with a small smile. “Unfortunately, we humans do not always want what is best for us. Although it does sound like your husband is good for you.”

“He has been surprising,” Rosalie said. “I like him more than I thought I would.”

She blushed again, and both of her sisters smirked; well, Iris smirked, and Violet hid a smile behind her hand.

“Is it as good as in those romantic novels you love to read?” Iris asked.

“Actually, what I like best about the Duke is that he encourages me to live my own life more fully instead of relying on my characters to live for me.”

This seemed to surprise both her sisters, who exchanged another glance.

“What?” she asked, looking between them.

“It’s just… Iris and I had discussed something similar,” Violet said at last. “In the past, we worried that you escaped into novels so much that real life wouldn’t interest you anymore, or it would always let you down compared to a novel.”

Rosalie smiled. Once, this might have offended her. Now, she understood where her sisters were coming from. She even agreed with them.

“The Duke encourages me to read,” she said, “but he also encourages me to live. I think it’s good for me.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Violet agreed, taking her hand and squeezing it.

A maid came in with the tea, and Iris began to pour it for the three of them.

“So, the match has turned out better than you had supposed?” Iris looked pleased as she set down the teapot. “A year ago, I never would have guessed that the three of us would all be married—and to men we actually like!”

“I’m still not sure exactly how I feel about the Duke,” Rosalie said quickly, but Iris waved a hand as if to dismiss this.

“Well then, at least we didn’t have to marry the men Father would have picked out for us! That’s something we can be grateful for at the very least.”

Violet laughed. “It was a close call, though.”

Rosalie set down her tea and looked between her sisters. “Actually, speaking of Father, there is something I wanted to discuss with you two.” And she told them briefly about seeing their father at his prison. When she was done with her story, both sisters were staring at her in shock.

“You actually went to his prison?” Violet breathed, eyes wide. “Rosalie, that must have been terrifying!”

“Actually, it wasn’t that bad.”

“I can’t say I approve of you going there,” Iris interrupted. “And your husband allowed that? I will need to have words with him! What was he thinking, bringing you to such a place? What if there had been a breakout while you’d been there? What if you’d been harmed? What if?—”

“There are guards there, Iris,” Rosalie said, annoyed. “And the Duke is also very capable of protecting me. Anyway, I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m a grown, married woman. A duchess!”

“You’re still a little girl to your eldest sister,” Iris reminded her.

“Anyway,” Rosalie said, rolling her eyes, “I wanted to know how you two feel about father. As in… do you forgive him? Are you still angry? Do you ever want to know why he did the things he did?”

Iris sighed and set down her teacup as well. Violet looked down at her hands which were fidgeting in her lap.

“There is a part of me that wonders why he turned out so evil,” Iris observed after a moment. “But I suppose that I’ve made peace with it. There are some things that we can’t understand in the world, some mysteries that it isn’t worth it to try and solve. And Father never made it easy to try and know him. Perhaps something terrible happened to him in his youth to make him the way he is, but would he ever tell us? No. So there’s no point in trying to find out.”

“I feel sorry for him more than anything,” Violet said. “He must not know how joyful and wonderful a life lived in the pursuit of love can be if he would choose a life of violence, deceit, and unkindness instead. He had a good wife and three wonderful daughters, and he still chose to not love us and to hurt us. He must not know how to love or what even it is, and for that, yes, I feel sorry for him.”

“Then you are very wise,” Rosalie replied with a sigh.

“She’s far too kind for her own good is what she is,” Iris said sharply. “I certainly don’t feel sorry for Father. I wouldn’t say I hate him, but I certainly haven’t forgiven him either. Some things cannot be easily forgiven; perhaps they shouldn’t be. And murdering my husband’s parents is certainly an unforgivable offense—to me at least.”

“I do forgive him,” Violet said, glancing first at Iris then at Rosalie. “Not because what he did was okay—of course it wasn’t—but because holding onto my anger harms only me. I can forgive him while still recognizing that he did terrible things and that he absolutely deserves to be locked away for the rest of his days.”

“I still don’t know how I feel about him,” Rosalie admitted. “There is still anger in me, yes. And it bothered me what he said to me about how I didn’t understand him even though I read so many novels. The villains in the novels I read are always one-dimensional, but people in real life are much more complex. That’s why I wanted to know why he did the things he did: I wanted to understand his complexity.”

“Well, he told you, didn’t he?” Iris raised an eyebrow. “He did it for greed and power. Isn’t that why most bad men do things?”

“I suppose so.” Rosalie felt sad still, listless. She had hoped that asking her sisters about their father would help her release her sadness, but she still felt sad. Maybe it wasn’t the kind of thing that just went away; maybe it took a long time.

“Let us speak of better things,” Iris suggested. “Father does not deserve to occupy so much of our minds and conversation.”

“In that regard, I agree.” Violet looked at Rosalie. “And on another topic, you must come with us to Cousin Niles’ ball!”

This news threw Rosalie. “Cousin Niles is throwing a ball?”

“Well, his new wife is. Did you hear—he married just last week! It all happened so quickly; I think they got a special license! And she is throwing this ball as a way to gloss over the hastiness of the marriage and to make her debut as the new Viscountess of Carfield.”

“That’s very exciting!” Rosalie felt perked up already. She did love a ball, and her heart hammered a little faster when she thought of how it would feel to dance with her husband in front of the entire ton . There was no one as handsome as him, after all, and she knew she would be the envy of every young woman there.

“Well, apparently it’s a disaster,” Iris observed, giggling. “Niles came to see me yesterday and said that the Viscountess is making completely bizarre choices for all the decorations and refreshments! He wanted to recruit me to talk her out of some of her choices. Fortunately, I know better than to try and handle a woman throwing her first ball. I told him that she would learn from her mistakes and that he had to let her make them. But I’m quite excited to see what she’s done with the place!”

“Oh, poor Niles,” Violet said, shaking her head. “He always has rotten luck, doesn’t he?”

“He’s a viscount; don’t feel too sorry for him,” Iris pointed out with a snort.

“I think it will be very fun to attend this ball,” Rosalie said. “I’ll ask the Duke, but I’m sure we can make it. After all, we want to support family, and if this is her first ball, she needs our support more than ever.”

“Especially if it’s going to be a disaster,” Iris said, and her eyes glittered with suppressed glee.

“Iris, you’re awful!” Violet said, swatting at Iris, who stuck her tongue out. Rosalie burst into laughter. It had been so long since the three of them had been together like this, laughing and talking, and she felt lighter than she had in a long time. It made her wish that the Duke was with her. She wanted to share this happiness with him, especially since he didn’t have any family of his own anymore.

He has my family now , she thought, and the words brought tears of joy to her eyes.