Page 38 of Waking Roslyn

Emeline chuckled. “Maybe two years ago, but not anymore.”

“And you miss it? You enjoy fighting?” I asked.

Emeline nodded with a smile. Then she studied my face for a moment and asked, “You don’t?”

I lifted my hands to my sides. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, or even win. I just don’t want someone to hurt me.”

Emeline’s expression said with perfect clarity that she knew exactly what I meant.

“We all do what we must to protect ourselves,” Cecily murmured. Then she glanced over at me for just a moment before returning her attention to the spindle. “Come sit down, Miss Rose. Tell us about Bridgefield.”

“Yes,” Beatrice encouraged. “We’ve all been wondering how things are now that Lord Rockwell and his new bride have come. You are a relation of Lady Rockwell, are you not?”

“Cousins. Her stepmother was my father’s sister,” I answered as I sat down by Cecily, entranced as I watched the spindle dance.

John

Nellie fixed me up in no time, and I stood and headed for the door. “Thanks, Nellie.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, her voice following me from the stillroom. I stepped back into the kitchen, anxious to be back with Rose and see how she was getting along with the women of Sutton Manor.

The scene that greeted me brought an instant smile to my face. Rose was sitting on the floor with Charles and Miles and appeared to be telling the women about how much she enjoyed living at Bridgefield.

“Well,” Beatrice said as she sipped from her cup of tea. “I’m glad it isn’t so gloomy as it used to be.”

Rose looked confused.

“These three were servants of Princess Marilee when she was living there as Lord Damian Rockwell’s wife,” I explained.

“Oh, yes. He passed quite tragically, did he not?” Rose asked.

The three women all shot each other loaded glances, no doubt debating how to answer.

“Tragic indeed,” Beatrice finally said with all the diplomacy and wisdom that her many years had afforded her.

Still, Rose looked confused, but the women were all clearly uncomfortable criticizing the former master of Bridgefield, so I changed the subject.

“How’s Hunter doing, Emeline? I haven’t seen him for a while.” Emeline’s husband was employed here, but unlike his wife, he had never taken to training with the rest of us, so I didn’t know him as well as I did the other lads.

Emeline and Cecily both started sharing bits about what their husbands were up to, and I was able to sit back and just listen in for a while. Rose seemed to relax more and more, and I wished we could stay longer, but I was neglecting my duties and really did need to return.

I stood, wondering if I could slip away and leave Rose in the care of these women, but as soon as I stood, her attention came to me. “Do we need to go?” she asked.

“I need to get back to work, but you should stay here if you wish.”

She was standing before I had finished my sentence. “I’ll go with you.”

A part of me wished for her sake that she would stay. I had the feeling that she needed the kind of mothering that these women could give. The other part of me couldn’t help but preen over the fact that she preferred to stay with me. “Very well. Come with me, my lady.” I used the title on purpose, to see what she’d do, but it didn’t seem to bother her. Perhaps she didn’t notice. She just bent to run a hand over little Charles’s head and waved to Miles. Then she tried to say a quick goodbye to the women, but Emeline insisted on coming around the counter to give her a hug and a small basket of baked goods to take with her. Cecily thanked her for entertaining her boys, and Beatrice invited her to come back anytime.

When I closed the door behind us, I heard her sigh.

I looked at her face and saw a wistfulness there. “Are you all right?”

A slow smile spread across her face. “They are lovely, aren’t they? Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Of course.” I was glad for the warm welcome they’d given Miss Rose. It was like watching fairies at work, the way they had sprinkled Rose with love and caring.

“They do not think much of Edmund’s brother,” she noted. “Which makes me wonder how alike he and Edmund were.”