Page 143 of The Queen of Roses

“And I was glad to do it when you took seriously your role as my husband.”

“I have been a good husband to you.”

“You have been a husband, but you have not always been good. The drinking.” He winced, so she pressed harder on the open wound. “The gambling. The flirtations with other women. The swing of your moods. All of that I could have tolerated, but what I cannot stand is that you lied to me, Guy.”

“I never lied to you,” he said.

“You withheld things that were important. Things I should have known. These risks that you’ve taken—”

“Are none of your business.”

“But they are. Can’t you see that? They are, because my life is tied to yours. You asked me to be a partner to you—to help you—but you have broken that,” she argued.

“And you have broken our marriage by leaving. I should never have bought you that damned Rosewood House.”

“I needed time away. I needed space,” she said.

“For what?”

“To think.”

“There is nothing to think about, Adele. You are my wife, and you were supposed to be by my side. It is what is expected of you.”

What exactly had adherence to other people’s desires gotten her?

A life she did not want, married to a man she did not love. And yet what could she do? She had nothing without him. No income, no manner of supporting herself. All she had was the house.

The house.

She would go back to Rosewood House. Back to Alex and whatever delicate, shy thing had grown between them over the past few months.

She would find her answers at Rosewood House.

“I believe that the only thing to do at this point, Guy, is admit the failure of our marriage and live apart,” she said.

Rather than answer her, he simply stared at the ceiling.

“I will retrieve some of my things and retreat to Rosewood House. I intend to take my buggy,” she continued.

When still he did not answer, she turned for the door. Her hand was on the knob when he called out, “So that is it? You’re just going to walk away?”

She looked back over her shoulder at her husband. “Yes.”

“You’ll never be welcomed into Pasadena society again if you do,” he threatened.

“I suspect, Guy, that after the events of the last week, neither will you. It would be sensible to pay the servants. This house will not function without them. Goodbye, Guy.”

She shut the library door behind her, making it two steps down the darkened hall before she heard the thud and crash of crystal striking wood.

chapter sixty ADELE

In her bedroom, Adele found Maggie surrounded by tissue paper, two large trunks open in the middle of the floor.

“Madam,” said Maggie, putting down an emerald silk dress to straighten and fold her hands behind her back at the ready. “I thought you might want some of your things.”

Adele inclined her head. A few weeks ago, she might have been mortified to learn that her maid had guessed the sorry state of her marriage. Now she only felt grateful.

“Thank you, Maggie, but I wonder whether a watered silk will be entirely necessary given my change in circumstances,” she said.