Page 76

R ose couldn’t hide her surprise that a small spa town nestled on the rocky northern coastline should be capable of drawing such a smart crowd.

She looked about wide-eyed at the elegantly dressed couples parading arm in arm through the park, and the polished carriages gliding along the main street.

A cobbled landing stretched down to a sandy cove, upon which several wooden fishing boats had come to rest. Small children ran hither and thither, whilst harassed-looking nannies and governesses ineffectually demanded their return.

Rose tightened her lips and looked away. She had always loved children but was under no illusions regarding the challenges of her newly chosen career.

Elin and Sebastian conversed in low voices nearby, neither of them seemingly affected by the bright sunshine which had already brought a flush to Rose’s cheeks.

Elin wore a high-waisted pale-blue gown, with matching ribbons on her bonnet.

Sebastian looked as handsome as ever in pristine breeches and a starched white shirt paired with a double-breasted waistcoat which he had left unbuttoned.

With his golden-brown skin and inky black curls, he was already attracting a great deal of attention from a group of young women, all daintily arranged upon picnic blankets laid out on the sand.

Neither the gentle rolling of the waves nor the screeching of the gulls could block out their giggling.

Rose sank back into the shadows of a row of shops behind her, wishing she might disappear altogether. She could find no fault in Elin’s plan, neither in the efficiency of its execution nor the likelihood of success.

But Rose would never have agreed to it had she known so much hinged upon her proximity to Sebastian Shawcross. The only man to have ever made her heart and head pound.

“Rose, are you listening to me at all?”

Elin’s sharp tone indicated this was not the first time she had tried to capture her friend’s attention.

“Sorry.” Rose stepped closer to the dark-haired siblings, feeling hot and uncomfortable in her sprigged muslin. It had become too tight under the arms as if her whole body was inflating with heat.

“I said we should go into the coffee house. I shall sit at a side table, inconspicuous and out of sight. You and Sebastian will take that one in the window.” Elin nodded dramatically to the shop front directly behind Rose. “It shouldn’t take long for someone significant to see you.”

Rose shifted on the hot cobbles, all too aware of Sebastian’s unflinching gaze.

Something about this endeavor displeased him, even though he had agreed to it readily enough.

But Sebastian had always been a devoted brother.

No doubt he had acquiesced only as a favor to Elin.

Perchance, he thought of Rose as a troublesome young chit and a drain on his precious time.

He was a duke, after all. He must have far better things to do than parade himself in public with a soon-to-be-disgraced debutante.

But it was too late to change their plans now.

Rose could only nod mutely and allow Sebastian to take her arm.

Their short stroll to the coffee house felt unnatural and forced, with every sinew of his body straining away from her.

It was a relief to step out of the glaring sunshine and inhale the enticing aromas of cinnamon and sugared pastries.

When Sebastian pulled out her chair, she made sure to smile with as much sincerity as she could manage.

Their table was large and round. Rose was able to relax into the cushioned chair without worrying that her legs might become entangled with his.

The very idea immediately made her blush. She lowered her head, hiding her face beneath her hand. From the corner of her eye, she saw Elin take a seat near the door.

“Here.” Sebastian held a menu out towards her. “You must choose what you would like.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was small like a child’s.

He opened his own menu and scowled into it. “I shall not pounce upon you, Lady Rose. This is only a show of ruination.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I know that.”

Sebastian leaned his elbows on the table. “Then why do you flinch so?”

As much as she wanted to, she simply could not look away from his nut-brown eyes.

Sebastian had always made Rose feel that he could see beyond her rather anxious, shy facade, all the way to the real her.

To the Rose who longed to free herself of the shackles of society and live a much simpler life.

The only time she had ever felt truly at home was amongst the hurly-burly of life with the Shawcross family, where artifice and false flattery were abandoned at the door.

And for almost as long as she could remember, Sebastian had been at the head of that family.

His quiet conscientiousness paved the path of fun and frivolity for his siblings.

He was a good man. Who, through no fault of his own, now suffered from a dark reputation.

And she was about to make it worse.

She sighed and answered honestly. “Simply because this is all so terribly awkward.”

His slow smile was as welcome as afternoon shade. “It is, isn’t it?”

She smiled back, trying to pretend that her insides weren’t quivering like jelly. “I hadn’t any idea of what Elin was planning.”

“In my experience, that is often the case.”

“I’m so sorry to drag you into all this.” She twisted a pearl bracelet about her wrist.

“Please, stop apologizing.” He reached out and put a hand over hers, sending a scorching heat all the way up her arm. When she gawped at him, he grinned wickedly. “We must give the good people of Hawkesmere something to gossip about.”

Rose felt laughter bubble up inside her. “I guess that is what we have come here to do.”

“Indeed.” He leaned across the table. “Why not give me your other hand as well?”

Rose did not at first believe her ears. The suggestion bordered upon scandalous, but under the circumstances, there was no good reason to refuse. She hesitantly reached out towards him, her breath hitching as his fingers entwined with hers.

“There now,” he said, squeezing gently. “That isn’t so bad, is it?”

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. There was nothing the least bad about it. She only wished she weren’t wearing her gloves so that her skin could press against his.

“You’re blushing,” he taunted her, not unkindly.

“That is perhaps for the best.” She raised her eyebrows towards the window.

“Of course.” Sebastian let out a low chuckle. “We want everyone to think that I am whispering indecent suggestions into your innocent ear.”

She squirmed in her chair and would have pulled her hands away when the uniformed waitress appeared, but Sebastian held her tightly.

“Tea for two, if you please,” he ordered. “Unless there is something you would prefer instead, Lady Rose?”

Was it her imagination, or did he raise his voice so that her name rippled through the busy coffee house?

“Now everyone knows who I am,” she protested once the waitress moved away.

His eyebrows inched up beneath his shock of hair. “I rather thought that was the idea.”

Rose exhaled, leaning her body against the edge of the table and fixing her eyes on the cream tablecloth. “I am simply not designed for this level of subterfuge.”

“Whereas I, however, am a notorious rake.”

“No.” She looked up, anguished. “That is not what I meant.”

But Sebastian’s dark eyes were laughing. “I am teasing, Rose. I know well enough that deceit and deception do not sit well with you.”

“And I know well enough that the rumors circulating about you and Miss Evermore are untrue.” She held his surprised gaze. “I have never believed them for a second.”

A beat passed and Rose fancied that the slightest blush may have crept into Sebastian’s chiseled cheeks.

“That is most gratifying to hear,” he said, his voice grown deep and gravelly. Still, he held her hands in a gentle but firm grasp, but Rose no longer wished to pull away.

“And that is why I continue to question the justness of involving you in this scheme of Elin’s,” she whispered.

Sebastian gazed at her a moment longer, before giving himself a little shake. “You need have no fear on that score. It matters not how society sees me.”

“But it does,” she began to object.

Sebastian held up his hand, dropping hers in the process. “It does not,” he insisted. “Because I have no intention of ever marrying.”

His words were like a splash of cold water, even though they were an echo of what had been said yesterday.

Rose found herself sitting back, unaccountably dejected, as the waitress spread their table with porcelain cups and saucers, platters of daintily cut sandwiches, freshly baked scones, and little plates of sweets.

It all smelled heavenly, but Rose did not think she was capable of eating a single thing.

She fixed her gaze away from Sebastian, towards the wide window, watching a governess shepherd her charges across the cobbles.

A small boy in knee breeches paused to pet a passing dog, and the governess flapped her hands in protest.

Was this truly to be her fate? To guide and remonstrate other people’s children, and never know the joy of raising her own family?

Salty tears blinded her. Rose stood up hurriedly, scraping her chair back on the wooden floor and all but unsettling a plate of scones.

“Forgive me.”

“What is it?” Sebastian had already risen to his feet.

“I cannot do this.” She put out a hand to steady her balance but instead found herself tugging at a fold of the cream linen tablecloth. She felt a sickening give in the fabric and knew what was surely about to follow.