Page 36 of The Perfect Rose

The duke looked at Miriam, a flash of hurt in his eyes, before he put back on his court mask and looked to Rose. “Mr. Hastings does not need your dowry. He is quite well off. As I share many investments with him, I know that information as a fact. He has extensive lands and properties that all produce a profit. When I was invited to this house party, it was Miriam who asked me to come. She explained to me that you and your mother had already accepted the invitation. She knew that this information would not induce me to accept. What she did not know at the time, was that I would do anything she asked of me, no matter how inconvenient it seemed.”

Rose looked at Miriam, who had turned beet red. “You told me the duke would be in attendance when you issued the invitation to me.”

Miriam looked miserable. “I lied. I asked Frederick if I could host a house party and invite you. He refused me. He didn’t want you here and he didn’t want me to feel like I was second to you. I invited you still, knowing that if you accepted, he could not back down from his word.”

Rose was getting a headache. This was all too much information, too fast. And yet, nothing new at all. Everything she heard aligned with what Mr. Hastings had already told her. “Then why do you wish him to marry if he doesn’t want to and doesn’t need to financially?”

Miriam stood and spread her arms open wide. “Because Frederick has lived his entire life trying to make others happy. But he has given up on finding that happiness for himself. He has lost trust in love.”

Rose scoffed. “He has plagued me from the very first moment with his teasing and cutting remarks. I cannot believe that he tries to make everyone happy.”

Miriam frowned. “He protects himself the best way he knows how. Through jokes and teasing. And after really getting to know you, Lady Rose, I realized that you are the only woman I know who puts Kendra to shame with your spirit.” Miriam’s chin began to quiver.

Kendra, the woman who married one of Mr. Hastings’s close friends. Rose rubbed her temples.

The duke cut in. “Freddy has not been the same since that wretched woman jilted him. We want him to be happy and we both believe that you are the only woman who could provide that for him. We are selfish, a human trait, but not as you accuse us. We aren’t suggesting this match because it would improve his financial situation, only to secure his happiness. But I ask you again, what do you feel for Freddy?”

Tears welled up in Rose’s eyes. “I hardly know,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I want. For so long, I’ve been focused on satisfying the demands of others. The only thing I know is that I cannot marry Mr. Dillard. He would make me miserable. And I refuse to be used poorly. I am tired of being thrown about as a bargaining chip.”

Miriam started to cry in earnest, she scooted herself across the settee and hugged Rose fiercely. “I’m sorry, for everything. The way you have lived, the way you’ve felt like you needed to earn love, it is foreign to me. But I can see how it has shaped your view of society. And I’m sorry for playing an underhanded role in getting you here to this house party.”

Rose had never been held like Miriam held her, like she could hold together all the tiny fragments of a broken necklace if she just held on. No matter the mistakes Miriam had made, she had become a friend to her. “Miriam, don’t apologize for bringing me here. If you hadn’t, I would be engaged to Mr. Dillard at this very moment. At least now, I have some options.”

Miriam sniffed loudly, her tears still running down her cheeks. “Hold out hope, Rose. Please, please let me try to fix this.” She stood and practically ran out the door.

Rose watched her go. She hadn’t energy left to try to understand what was happening. She slumped onto the settee and covered her eyes with her hands.

Chapter Twenty-four

Frederick caught Miriam in his arms in the corridor, her head in her hands, weeping like a child. “What is wrong, Miriam?” He tucked her close to his chest. He hadn’t seen her cry like this since the carriage accident that took their parents.

She shook her head and buried herself deeper into him. “Oh, I’ve ruined everything, Frederick.”

He put one arm around her shoulders and steered her to the library. “Come with me, I’m sure everything will be fine.” He turned into the library and saw Samuel sitting across from Lady Rose in hushed conversation.

He locked eyes with his friend and then turned abruptly, heart hammering. He leaned heavily on Miriam, feeling more guilty with each step. She needed him. And yet, what he’d just seen weighed so heavily on his heart that he didn’t feel capable of being the parent in this moment. Instead, the siblings clung to each other the entire duration of their journey up the stairs and into the family wing until Frederick closed the door to his bedchamber and led her to sit on a lounge chair in the corner. He knelt before her and took her hand in his own.

He needed to at least try to comfort her. “What, what happened?”

She wailed into her elbow. “Lady . . . Lady Rose . . .” She seemed unable to finish her sentence. But Frederick didn’t need her to.

He’d seen Samuel and Lady Rose together, and Miriam had been running from that direction. No doubt she had either been in the room or come upon a scene that broke her heart. She loved Samuel. It was glaringly obvious now. And Samuel, his best friend, was likely at this moment proposing marriage to the woman who held Frederick’s heart. He’d been too late, again.

He’d gone to the Smith’s only this morning to look at the rosebush she had pruned with Clara. It was there that he’d decided to put his past behind him, to cut out the dead branches in his soul, and make room for new growth. He’d felt so confident and sure that she would see the truth of his feelings. And even if it took time to convince her of his love, he’d been confident she would choose to spend her life with him over Mr. Dillard or Mr. Redford. What a fool he was.

Miriam’s sobs slowly subsided from the corner, and she turned her eyes on him. “I’m sorry, Frederick. I’ve been so selfish. I . . .”

“Stop.” Frederick forced her to cease speaking. She shouldn’t be apologizing. She’d just seen the man she loved with a woman she’d worked so hard to befriend. Talking about it would only make it worse. “I cannot bear to hear you apologize. If only I’d not been so blind, this would never have happened.”

He stumbled over to his bed and sat down on the edge, allowing his head to fall into his hands. What a terrible protector he’d been for his sister. He’d been so consumed in the complexity of his own feelings, he’d hardly spared a thought for how she was getting along. Once Lady Gardner had been satisfied enough to learn her place and stepped aside for Miriam to lead, Frederick had not been concerned with Miriam in the least.

He felt the bed shift as she sat next to him. “Frederick. Why do you think I’m upset?”

He groaned. “Talking about it doesn’t make it better. I know from experience.”

She touched his arm. “I need you to tell me.”

He faltered. She said that she needed something from him, and he wouldn’t disappoint her even if he didn’t think it was likely to help her situation. “It is not a light thing to speak of broken hearts and shattered dreams.”