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Page 24 of Benefactor to the Baroness (The Seductive Sleuths #3)

R osemary stood at the door to the Big House, her fretting escalated to panic. As much as she’d tried to reassure herself that Fontaine had been raised on the street and was therefore a resourceful woman, she couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Had the owner of the house seen through Fontaine’s act? Were there constables on their way, ready to cart Fontaine away for—what, exactly? Rosemary shook her head. She was being ridiculous. They had broken no laws. There had to be some other reason Fontaine was delayed.

She knocked on the door, and a small child with large, blue eyes opened it.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m looking for—”

“I wondered how long it would take you to show up,” a familiar voice said.

The child scurried away as the man who had asked about Fontaine on the S.S. Great Arcadia stepped out of the adjoining room into the hallway.

Mr. Prue.

He raised his arm, and Fontaine walked out of the same room and put her hand on his arm. When she met Rosemary’s gaze, her eyes widened. She jerked away from Mr. Prue, but he held tightly, trapping her next to him.

“I’m sorry,” Fontaine said. “I had to.”

“What—” Rosemary started, before Mr. Prue spoke over her.

“I am pleased to inform you that your employer has agreed to be my wife.”

Each word was a dagger in her heart.

“Of course, the orphans you’ve been accompanying are welcome to stay until the wedding,” Mr. Prue continued. He snapped his fingers, and an older woman in a black gown appeared. She kept her head tilted to the floor and her hands clasped at her waist.

“See Lady Kerry and her companion to the diamond suite, Mrs. Feather,” Mr. Prue said. “And have their possessions transported here from wherever they were staying before.” He released Fontaine and walked toward Rosemary. The malice shining out of his face made her shiver.

“I trust you will enjoy your stay,” he said.

Then he exited the house.

The moment the door closed behind him, Rosemary rushed toward Fontaine and took her hands. “What did he do to you?” She could not imagine Fontaine agreeing to a marriage unless Mr. Prue had backed her into a corner.

A tear trailed down Fontaine’s cheek. Rosemary cupped the other woman’s face in her hands, even as Mrs. Feather stood patiently beside them. Rosemary didn’t care. Fontaine was hurting, and it was Mr. Prue’s fault.

“Not here,” Fontaine whispered. She took a step back and dashed her tears away.

Rosemary longed to close the distance between them with every inch of her being, but she would not go against Fontaine’s wishes.

Mrs. Feather silently led them up three flights of stairs, then down a hallway to an open door. When Rosemary stepped inside, she hissed in a breath. Every piece of furniture was covered in gilded gold, from the four-poster bed to the dressing table. Even the frames surrounding the large, circular windows overlooking the back of the house sparkled with gold dust.

“So, this is to be my gilded cage,” Fontaine said. She drifted over to the enormous bed and thumped onto it.

“What happened?” Rosemary asked. She joined Fontaine on the bed, putting her arm around the other woman’s shoulders. Unlike when Mr. Prue had done the same, Fontaine didn’t cringe away from her touch, but leaned into her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her jaw trembled.

“Did he threaten you?” Rosemary asked. “I don’t know the laws here, but I am sure he cannot compel you to marry him.”

Fontaine hiccupped a laugh. “He didn’t threaten me. He wants me to oversee his business.”

A gnawing sensation started in Rosemary’s stomach, as if she hadn’t eaten in days. “And you believed him?”

“I could make a real difference. Don’t you understand? There’s so much suffering here and I’m to blame for much of it. I owe the orphans in this city a debt that I’ll never be able to repay.” She looked at Rosemary with tear-filled eyes. “He said you could stay with me. We can still be together.”

Rosemary wanted to take Fontaine’s shoulders and shake her. “You made a mistake. That doesn’t mean you should have to throw yourself on his sword. We can go back to London, and you can tell the foundation everything.”

Fontaine shook her head. “I can’t abandon the children who are already here.”

Rosemary gritted her teeth. “Have you already accepted Mr. Prue’s offer?”

“I told him I’d consider it,” Fontaine said. “But he knows as well as you I’m going to say yes . What else can I say?”

“Anything but that!” Rosemary shouted. “How could you give in so easily? What happened to investigating? Bringing the snatchers to justice?”

Fontaine dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief but didn’t respond. That somehow only made Rosemary angrier. The determined, passionate woman she cared for had vanished inside the miserable, guilt-ridden creature sitting in front of her.

“Fine. Give up,” Rosemary said. “But don’t expect me to help you or stay. Married women don’t need companions .”