Page 29 of A Duke for Stealing (The Devil’s Masquerade #4)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“ H er fever is broken, but His Grace has insisted we let her rest. Quietly now, quietly.”

Rose slowly awoke as she heard whispers around her. She opened her eyes, feeling surprisingly well rested, and looked around. Her maid, Edie, and Mrs. Mulberry were in her room. One was setting down a tray on her bedside table; the other was collecting vials of what looked like medicine.

“Who has a fever?” Rose asked.

Both maids startled at her voice, then genuine smiles broke across their faces.

“You, Your Grace,” Edie answered.

“My, it is good to see you open your eyes, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mulberry crowed in a rare bout of excitement.

Rose’s brow furrowed, and she sat up. The last thing she remembered was reading the twins their nightly bedtime story.

“Me?” She asked.

“His Grace was mightily concerned,” Mrs. Mulberry replied, “Said you likely caught it from your fall in the lake. It broke last night, though, and the physician said you should be fine.”

Rose’s confusion grew.

“I saw a physician last night?” She asked.

“Every night, Your Grace,” Edie answered, “And nearly every other hour of each day. The Duke insisted on it.”

Every night??? Each day???

“How…how long have I been asleep?” Rose asked.

“Nearly three days, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mulberry answered, “And we are so very happy to have you back with us.”

Rose’s mind spun at the news. Three days? She had been asleep for three days?!

She hurried out of bed, and the spinning grew worse.

“Easy, Your Grace!” Edie implored as she and Mrs. Mulberry steadied Rose. “You have taken some broth these last few days, but you need the opportunity to get your strength up. Let us put you back to bed and bring you a proper meal.”

Rose shook her head, not at all tired.

“I am well,” she assured the well-meaning servants. “I want to see the twins.”

She also wanted to see Everett. She had a fuzzy memory of a dream where he held her in her sleep and brought her great comfort- but she was not going to share that with them.

“They are lunching right now with His Grace in the dining room,” Mrs. Mulberry informed. “Perhaps after you rest a little more and have some lunch yourself, you could visit them in the nursery.”

“No,” Rose replied, getting her bearings back. “If I make haste, I can join them. Would you be so kind as to help me dress?”

Though Mrs. Mulberry and Edie looked as if they wanted to argue, they both kept their lips pressed together and did as they were told. After Rose was dressed in a simple, light pink day gown and had her hair up in a twist, she went downstairs.

“When can we see Lady Rose?” Rose heard as she approached the dining room.

“Soon,” she heard Everett reply. “But we must let her rest. We want our Lady Rose all better now, do we not?”

“Yes, Uncle Everett,” the twins replied in unison.

Rose’s heart swelled at what she’d just heard, and she smiled as she entered the dining room. Both girls looked up before she could greet them, and gasped.

“Lady Rose!” Both exclaimed, then jumped out of their seats.

Everett’s head shot up as they did so, and a look of pure relief covered his face as his eyes met Rose’s. She barely had time to nod at him before the girls clung to her legs.

“Hello girls,” Rose said cheerfully, bending down to accept their tight hugs.

“Are you better?” Diana asked.

“Uncle Everett said we could not disturb you, that you needed your rest,” Leah added. “Uncle Everett read our stories to us since you could not.”

“We were very good,” Diana added. “Uncle Everett said if we were very good, you would get better faster. Did it work?”

“Yes,” Rose answered with a laugh, “I could tell you both were very good as I feel better than I have in a very long time.”

“Yayyy, we did it!” Diana crowed.

“We made you better!”

Rose looked up to meet Everett’s eyes again. He still looked relieved, but there was something new in his eyes. Something she could not quite identify.

“You certainly did,” she said as she looked at Everett, then hugged the twins tightly once again.

“Are you hungry?” Everett asked, rising from his chair.

“We only just started,” Leah spoke up. “Oh, do join us!”

“I would love to,” Rose replied, moving with them toward the table.

For a moment, as Everett stayed standing, she worried he meant to leave.

Instead, to her surprise, he pulled out the chair directly to his seat and then took her hand to help her sit.

A bowl of roasted chicken and vegetable soup sat down before her shortly after, and Rose’s mouth watered with hunger as she inhaled its savory scent.

As they ate, the girls chatted animatedly about what they had been up to while she was asleep.

She was both surprised and pleased to learn that Everett had taken a break from his work and spent most of his time with the girls playing games, reading stories, and even trying to teach them a few lessons.

Once the final course was finished and the girls seemed to be talked out, Everett kindly asked them to retire to their room for an afternoon nap.

Unlike they had just a week or so before, the twins did not argue or try to get out of their nap; instead, they dutifully rose from their chairs, hugged Rose one last time, and then left.

“You have done well with them,” Rose said to Everett once they were alone.

“Well, I only tried to keep up with what you have done,” he replied with a charming smirk. “I did not realize all that you do for them until I was forced to step into your shoes, Rose. I owe you a great thanks.”

Rose blushed at the sincerity of his compliment and looked down.

“They truly are no trouble. They are good girls. I am glad you agree with me on that.”

“I do,” Everett replied, “But even so, I have made the decision to hire a governess.”

Rose’s head shot back up, and she gave Everett a questioning glance.

“But why? The girls are no longer as wild as they used to be. They are behaving, they are-”

“This is not a punishment for them, Rose,” Everett gently interrupted, reaching out for her hand.

Rose gave him a wary look, but let him continue.

“As I said, what you have done with my nieces has been a great work, but what you need to do is alone. You and I both have duties to fulfill with our stations, and it is taking too much from you. You may see the twins any time you wish, I promise you, but when you do not have that time, they will be taking lessons with the governess I hired. They need to start their schooling, Rose, and I cannot ask you to take on that burden.”

Rose sighed in disappointment- but she could not argue Everett’s logic. It was true that she had been burning her candle at both ends, and her tiredness had probably exacerbated her apparent fever.

“I understand,” she said at last, “And I suppose I do agree. It would be well to have a governess here so they may begin their lessons.”

She then gave him a timid smile and slid her thumb over the back of his hand.

“I also want to thank you for what you did while I was sick,” she went on.

“I do not remember much, but Mrs. Mulberry told me that you were very insistent on having me watched closely by the physician. And, although I am shocked that it was three days, I am grateful for the rest you were able to give me. I truly do feel better than ever.”

Everett’s smile grew more handsome than ever, and he leaned toward her with a look of contentment in his eyes.

“That is very good indeed,” he replied, his voice dipping into a seductive tone. “For I have hired the governess for an additional, more selfish reason aside from logical ones.”

Rose trembled at the sound of it, felt her body flush with a heat that had nothing to do with her cured fever.

“Oh?” Rose breathed, tingling as Everett’s grip on her hand turned into a caress. “And what selfish reason is that?”

He leaned further forward and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly.

“Because I believe it is time we spent more private time together,” he said through his kisses. Then his smile turned into a handsomely devilish grin. “And because I made you a promise. My dear wife, it is time I take you to the Devil’s Masquerade.”