Rose by Royal Lauren

Author:Royal, Lauren [Royal, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: ISBN-13: 9780451209887, General, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Signet (7. Oktober 2003)
ISBN: 9780451209887
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2003-01-15T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

Rose’s family was almost more than Kit could take.

They were loud. They were boisterous. And there were so damn many of them.

Rose’s oldest sister, Violet, had brought along her husband, Ford, and their three children—two of which were infant twins and prone to wailing—plus Ford’s niece, ten-year-old Jewel.

Kit’s friend Rand was there with his new wife, Rose’s younger sister, Lily. Lily, as usual, was surrounded by animals—a cat she’d brought, along with a sparrow and a squirrel that had followed her. Her mother had ordered the latter two outside during supper, but they were watching through a window.

And then, of course, there were Lord and Lady Trentingham. And their eleven-year-old son, Rowan.

With Rose and Kit—and not counting the creatures—that made eleven people around the table in Trentingham Manor’s white-paneled dining room, plus two in cradles nearby. Kit was unwillingly reminded of his school days, eating in a huge hammerbeam-ceilinged hall with shouts and conversation coming from all angles. He half expected a food fight to break out. It seemed quite a racket to a man who was used to dining only with his sister.

Ellen. She’d passed her wedding night by now—not that it had been the proper wedding night he had wanted for her—and he wondered how she was doing. Was she happy with her pawnbroker? They’d be happier, of course, when he gave them the money he’d saved for her dowry, but he thought he’d wait a little while for that. A week or two, at least. Let them get settled first—such a windfall was likely to be unsettling, indeed.

In the meantime, he hadn’t wanted to be alone at his house in Windsor, imagining his baby sister and her new husband doing God knew what down the street. So Lady Trentingham’s invitation had been welcome, even though he damn well knew he had better things to do.

But his projects seemed stabilized, and the day had gone well enough. Lord Trentingham had been happy with Kit’s ideas for the greenhouse, and Kit had gone only half hoarse shouting all his explanations. He’d order the materials and hire a foreman when he returned to Windsor. Lord Trentingham was anxious to get his plants inside before winter, so Kit had promised him an accelerated schedule. The groundbreaking was planned for ten days hence.

“This all must be very disturbing,” Rand said.

“Hmm?” Kit had been so deep in his thoughts he hadn’t even noticed that sweets had been put on the table. “Are you talking to me?”

“Wake up, you dolt.” Rand elbowed him in the ribs and laughed. “We were talking about the problems you had at both Windsor and Whitehall.”

“They’re settled now,” Kit said. His plate had been removed by one of Trentingham’s footmen, and he hadn’t noticed that, either. Someone set a smaller, clean plate in front of him.

“Are you sure?” Jewel’s deep green eyes looked wide in her fine-boned, heart-shaped face.

“I’m convinced Washburn didn’t set the fire, so I don’t expect him to try anything else.”

“But how can you be

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