Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Is it true? Could he want me? Should I ask him to actually help me get out of the situation I’m in? Maybe he could take me somewhere. Instead of worrying about losing my virginity, maybe he could help me get out of London to somewhere safe. She allowed him to help her into the chair and didn’t look away from him as he bent over her hand. His gaze cooled as he glanced beside her. “Keely.” Then he was gone.
“I like this opera,” her friend said, leaning close. “Last time I went, I was with a group of friends and not my parents.”
A laugh threatened to escape. “I’ve never been, so thank you for bringing me.”
“We’re friends, and don’t take this wrong but I don’t like your family, so I thought you deserved to get away from them for a while.”
“I don’t like them either.”
They shared a smile before turning their focus to the start of the night’s spectacle.
* * * *
At the intermission, she walked with Keely and got a small glass of punch. While they strolled through the building, she spied Bryn in a darkened corner with another woman. Her heart shrank a bit more as she watched him, arm over the woman’s head, nearly caging her in between the wall and his hard body.
As she neared, he lifted his head and held her gaze. Rosamunde smiled at him and gave a small nod before carrying on like he wasn’t dancing on her heart. They had made no promises to each other and he owed her nothing. The man was an earl and had plenty of prospects. Beautiful ones. Her hope from the modiste faded, but she had to get over this foolish notion he would be her knight in shining armor. They had an agreement for a short time.
While the opera was incredible, the joy within her cooled after seeing Bryn. He again sat across the room from her, keeping many others between them. However, she would have sworn his gaze was on her once the lights went down and the focus went back to the stage.
They rode back to the townhouse in separate carriages. Exhausted, Rosamunde didn’t think much of anything other than sleep as the maid helped undress her and she slid between the sheets of a soft bed in a warm room.
* * * *
The next morning, it was a whirlwind of activity as trunks were packed and carriages loaded. She and Keely got a carriage to themselves.
It lingered on the tip of her tongue to inquire as to where Bryn and Falcon were but she kept the words contained. Somehow.
“How long have you assisted at the home, Keely?”
“A few years now. My mother said I needed to do something that helped me feel better about myself. That is one of the things I do. I also work at a home that caters to women who have fallen on hard times and are trying not to have to work the streets simply to make a coin.”
“And do you still love to travel? I remember overhearing your brother and Falcon talking about your love of travel.”
A smile that made Keely go from beautiful to absolutely stunning filled her features.
“Yes. I go when I can. London isn’t really a place I enjoy. I’m not a fan of the evil that thrives in such a place.”
They’d barely made it beyond the inn when Keely faced her in the carriage, propping a leg up on the seat as she angled her back against the wall.
“I’ve waited long enough and now I’m going to ask.”
Rosamunde watched her, unsure of what was to come.
“What the hell is going on between you and my brother?”
Never in her life had she been grateful for growing up in the household she had…until now. Able to keep her facial expressions blank when experiencing shock was a blessing.
“We have a deal. That’s all.” Rosamunde canted her head to the right. “Why do you ask?”
Keely held her gaze without blinking for a long while. Rosamunde, desperate to shift beneath the scrutiny, found a way to hold her ground.
“Interesting.” Keely crossed her arms. “I love my family. Make no mistake, I like you a lot, Rosamunde, but I will bury you if you cross them.”
On one hand, hurt speared through her at the threat but on the other, she appreciated the woman being so blunt and straightforward with her.
A trillion words hovered at her lips to explain what was going on between her and Bryn, but she didn’t utter a single one.
How could she when she wasn’t positive herself?
* * * *
Bryn sat easily in the saddle as he rode Triton, the gelding he’d gotten from his mother’s stables. His current horse, Storm, that he’d had since he was a boy, was already out at Heartstone, recovering from an injury.