Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

With no less than five pillows propping her up, it was easy for Jemma to launch forward into a sitting position. "Miles did what?"

She couldn't believe what Cassandra and Louisa were telling her. They were both perched on the end of her bed, Cassandra's blonde coiffure framing her intelligent eyes and Louisa's heart-shaped face full of optimism. But neither fully understood the intricacies of the original Rebels and their lifelong friendship. They had only married their prospective husbands the year before. They couldn't know how tangled the situation was or see the pain Jemma carried.

"Miles feels terrible about kissing you." Cassandra stood and piled a few books on Jemma's nightstand with a soft thump. Cassandra had done so much to comfort her, but these words did not placate Jemma as intended. Cassandra took her seat on the end of the bed. "The auction is his way of distracting everyone from the scandal yesterday. Miles announced that the money will go to the Greek refugees."

Jemma's heart pricked, but she squashed the tender feelings as quickly as they'd come. She stared at the books to refocus her thoughts, familiar titles that normally called to her.

They did nothing for her now.

"Thank you for the books, but I cannot read while Miles is out there selling himself to the highest bidder. It may be a good cause, but this is not like him at all. He hates all the attention he receives from the women in the town."

Louisa took a pillow and plumped it before adjusting it behind Jemma. "Miles is a good man, despite his mistakes. He met with Lisette last night. I cannot imagine how hard that must have been."

"He ... he met with Lisette?" Jemma's hand went to her throat.

Louisa nodded. "According to Paul, Lisette forgave him. They are in agreement about their future plans."

Jemma gripped her collar, her hand trembling. "What does that mean exactly?" Jemma hoped and feared for the answer.

"It means the Rebels have sorted everything." Louisa's smile was much too wide and sure for Jemma. "Normally, Mr. Jackson would be forced to marry you to protect your reputation. But Mr. Bentley is a hero in his own right, because he will not step aside. He insists on seeing right by you himself. It leaves Miles and Lisette to decide their own futures."

"I hope it means a second wedding is imminent," Cassandra said.

"I never expected any of this." Jemma wanted to cry again, but she should be relieved ... hopeful even. The turmoil inside her was reaching a peak.

Cassandra must have noted the catch in Jemma's voice. "I know it's hard, but an unexpected event was the best thing to happen to me. I never would have guessed in a million years that my parents would arrange my marriage to the same man I decided to despise not long before. It's hard to imagine in the moment, but some good may yet come out of all this."

Louisa nodded. "A change of plans can be the beginning of an adventure. Agreeing to marry a stranger was the greatest decision I've ever made. Paul is everything to me."

"Your stories make me want to trust that things will work out, but while everything came together in the end for you both, it seems to get worse and worse around here." Jemma shook her head. "Nothing feels right anymore. Like this auction, for example. It might draw the attention away from me, but what about Miles? What if the town does not focus on his charitable nature and he humiliates himself?"

"Paul says Miles is willing to do anything to rectify his mistake," Louisa said softly. "It might settle your mind if you watch the auction for yourself."

"But how?" Jemma pointed at the lavender quilt. "I am supposed to stay in this bed."

Cassandra took on a conspiratorial look. "When Lady Felcroft heard the news, she insisted on having the auction in the front garden so Miles could stand on the house steps and make it appear official. You will be able to see and hear everything from your window."

"I suppose." Did she want to see him make a spectacle of himself? She was angry with him, but he was still her best friend. Or was he? She didn't know where they stood now.

"There is one other matter," Cassandra said carefully. "Mr. Bentley has asked to speak to you privately."

Dread filled her midsection. It had to be about their marriage. She played with her fingers, suddenly nervous. What must he think about all this? He was still a stranger to her in so many ways. She could not predict anything. She sighed. "When?"

"After the match ends today."

Louisa smiled at her. "Don't worry. Everything will work out as it should."

She could no longer fight their optimism. She let their hope buoy her own. "Thank you both for sitting with me this morning. I know my aunt and cousin will take their turn this afternoon, but I am so glad this news came from the two of you."

Louisa grinned. "And I am glad you want to watch the auction together. It will be at noon, during the players' midday break. The women and staff are in a flurry of activity trying to prepare for it."

"I hope no one is too put out."

"It's for a good cause," Cassandra said. "And the people of Brookeside who I have come to know best are always up for helping."

The women, at least, would be all too thrilled to win a picnic with Miles. Jemma wrung her hands. Certainly she could support whatever woman paid to break bread with him ...

Dare she hope he spent the hour reading scripture to them?

Despite all her commitments against loving him, she didn't care at all for the idea of him spending time with his adoring fans. No, she did not care for it at all.

In fact, the more she thought on it, the more she hated it. Good attitude be hanged.

"We are good friends now, are we not?" she said slowly, gauging Louisa's and Cassandra's reaction.

Both women nodded.

She licked her bottom lip. "Then, I am going to need some help rigging this auction." She might have laughed at their surprised faces, but she was too serious about her intentions to feel any humor. It was time for her to spend the pin money she had so diligently promised to not spend in honor of her lesson on sacrifice. If she had to give Miles up, it would not be to his lady entourage.