Page 62 of Waking Roslyn

I grabbed her wrist and tried to smile at her. “It’s not your fault.”

John

“Johnny!” I turned at the sound of my mother’s voice. She was one of the few people who still called me Johnny.

“Yes, Mum?”

“Will you run to the Lockleys’ cottage and get a salve from Anne? One for bruises?”

I wondered who had hurt themselves. It was after dark, after all. “Of course, but don’t we already have one?”

She shook her head. “I used up the rest of it on Tyson the other day.”

“Right. I’ll be back soon.” I headed for Sutton land, grateful for the moonlight as I fell into an easy jog. Mr. Lockley and his son, Rowan, were the gamekeepers of Sutton, while Mrs. Lockley had an extensive herb garden. Anne’s knowledge of healing plants rivaled that of the local apothecary.

When I returned, I handed it over to my mother and she gave a grateful sigh. “Thank you. Now watch this stew while I go tend to Miss Rose.”

Shock ripped through me, but she’d bustled off before I could find the words to ask why Rose needed tending to. My instinct was to run upstairs and check on her, which was insanity, of course. Nothing gave me the right to intrude on Lord and Lady Rockwell or any of their guests. I had no right to track Rose down, no matter how much I worried for her.

It took me a few minutes to calm the anxiety that had so quickly reared up inside me. Once rational thought returned, I reminded myself that it was likely a minor injury. A scrape or a bruise from some small accident, and I would do well to get out of the house before I let my imagination run too far.

I didn’t see her until the next day. I was trimming the back hedges to the south of the veranda when she walked out. Her steps were slow as she turned to the north and walked along the veranda toward the stairs that would lead her down to the yard. I immediately dropped my sheers and jogged in front of the veranda so I could intercept her. She descended the steps and then turned toward the yard and consequently toward me. I had a smile fixed to my face, ready to greet her and ask after her welfare. But the moment I caught sight of her face, I stumbled to a stop. My smile dissolved and my mouth fell open in shock and empathy.

Her hands flitted to the cut that marred her cheek and the bruising around her eye before she settled them in front of her and lifted her chin as if reminding herself that she had nothing to be ashamed of.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my tongue felt swollen and dry. Had she fallen? Was there some sort of accident that I hadn’t heard about?

“It’s not as bad as it looks, truly. He was angry and he only—”

“He?” I asked, finally able to take a step forward. “He who?”

She looked away and crossed her arms.

“Did someone do this to you?” Suddenly, much of my concern was shunted aside and replaced by boiling anger. “So help me, Rose, if you don’t tell me who—”

“It was my own fault. I shouldn’t have gotten in the middle—”

“Who?” I demanded. “Who was it?”

“I’m fine.” Her voice shook.

“This isn’t fine,” I said, reaching out and brushing my fingertips over her purple cheek. “When I got the salve, I had no idea how bad it was. What happened?”

She shook her head a little, and I dropped my hand. “Lisette and Edmund were arguing. He was being unreasonable. He grabbed her. He was hurting her, so I tried to make him stop—”

“Lord Rockwell did this?” I couldn’t help the sneer that marred my face. Of course it was Rockwell.

She just pressed her lips together, looking strong and stoic but also a bit fragile.

I let out a sigh that turned into a growl as I shoved my hands through my hair. “And what argument was so fraught that he ignored the bounds of human decency and did this to you?”

“We…we went to a dinner party. It was…not pleasant. Edmund scowled and made underhanded comments throughout the whole of dinner, and by the time we got back, his mood was so foul that he took it out on Lisette.”

I was utterly confused. “A dinner party?”

She nodded. “With the Suttons.”

My mind took an extra moment to absorb this information. “Lord Rockwell had dinner with the Suttons?”