Page 48 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

Lucinda laughed. “She would not leave you, even for little William.”

“Who came to visit you then?” Rose asked.

Lucinda smiled. “Edward.”

“Our Edward?” Marianne asked.

“It was awkward, but also sweet. He stood in the doorway and said he had wanted to check that I was well.” She smiled. “I asked him to come in but he declined. Do you think he is afraid of William, well, not of him exactly, but of what he may make him feel?”

“I am surprised,” Marianne said. “He left the house when you were in labor. It must have brought back bad memories for him. I cannot blame him for leaving, but at the same time…”

“Well, it was more than I expected and so I am happy he came to see me.”

“He gave Tony an expensive bottle of brandy at dinner. Poor Tony did not know whether to thank him or smack his brother over the head with it,” Rose said as she set herself up next to the cradle with her sketching paper.

Lucinda frowned. “Oh, dear. Tony is not at all pleased with him.”

“That was evident, but now they are both holed up in Edward’s study, most likely drinking to William. My dears, I will tell you that men are strange creatures,” the dowager said as she fussed about Lucinda’s blankets and pillows.

Thankfully, the baby slept while Rose sketched, and the others all made their remarks on her work. Lucinda was delighted with one of Rose’s sketches of William’s chubby hand.

“Which one will you send to Max?”

“I had thought the one of him asleep, as it is a full picture of him.”

“Perfect,” Marianne said. “But you must have it framed before you send it. It will protect it when it travels.”

“Absolutely, I will send John Footman to take it to the framer tomorrow,” announced the dowager.

“Would you do another one just for me?” Lucinda asked.

“Of course,” Rose said. Thrilled that her artistic skills were so well received, Rose hoped that Max would also appreciate her skill.

*

Tony nodded as he read the notes Edward had made. Although they were not always on the same page as brothers, their work united them in their goals to keep the Regent and England safe. “I will get on this straight away, but unless we have the correct map, how are we to tell if they have tampered with it?”

“Luckily, someone sent us the maps nearly twelve months ago, but nobody has seen them but Robinson and Goulburn. I believe a review of the maps and our demands have already started. They will know the differences, if any, but were it incorrect, we need to step carefully, as we need the cooperation of the Americans to make this convention work. The war in the Americas cost us greatly, but we can salvage our reputation with this if they accept it. I do not like the idea that someone may have been paid to let the Americans know of our demands for not only the fishing rights but the British North American border issue. Lord knows what else they may have told them.”

“I will report anything we find.”

“Good. Now go to your wife,” he said with a shooing motion. “Do not forget our rescheduled meeting with Brookhaven’s solicitors tomorrow afternoon.”

Tony nodded and left the room. Edward sat back in his chair. Things had gone much better than he had anticipated this evening. Although he would never be fully forgiven for what happened when Max was born, he knew their efforts were better placed with Tony, Lucinda, and baby William than with him for now.

Rose had been radiant at dinner, even giving him a smile he did not deserve. Pity was the last thing he needed, but as soon as the subject of shopping came up, he could see she remembered her brother’s threat. Hopefully, they would be able to put her mind at ease after the meeting tomorrow. If, by some chance, the rogue had managed to get around his father’s will, Edward would have to come up with a plan to protect Rose. He would not permit her brother to exploit and manipulate her for his own greedy reasons.

*

The house was finally quiet while Rose wrote to Max. She would place it in the package with the framed picture. Writing to a child was more challenging than she had thought, and she had to be careful about what she wrote. So, she stuck to safe topics, mostly about the sights and sounds of London. She usually sent her a small watercolor or a sketch. Rose knew that Marianne also wrote to her about more family matters, so she did not need to include any of that. Neither in her correspondence to Max nor Max’s to her was her father brought up, thankfully. She would not know what to write if she did. She was so confused by that man. He was an enigma. How could she like and dislike him at the same time?

By the time Elsie had done her hair and Rose was ready for bed, she pondered her own problems. Why could her brother not just leave her alone? Would his life not be better off if he just forgot he had a sister? She did not want anything from him, just the freedom to live her life as her father wanted. As she wanted. As she deserved.

It was revenge, she knew, for not taking his side in every argument he had with their father. She had tried to play mediator, but her brother was unwilling to listen to reason. He did not understand it was not all about him and what he wanted. Other people relied on him to keep them safe, or to ensure that they could run their farms with his support. All he wanted to do was raise their rents, even if that meant their children might starve, or not fix their houses, even if that meant that the wet and the cold might make his tenants sick, and that she could not side with.

Rose wished she could have changed her brother’s mind, for she had no power of her own to help the tenants. So many of them she had grown up with, and now she felt as if she had let them all down. It was a horrid business, but now it appeared that Cecil was determined to make her pay for her empathy for the tenants and her loyalty to her father.

What would she do if he had indeed succeeded in taking away her allowance? How would she live? Perhaps she would have to become a governess after all. As she sat in the chair by the fire, her heart heavy, she let a tear fall from her eyes, then another and another.