The Viscount's Rose (The Farthingale Series Book 5) by Meara Platt

Author:Meara Platt [Platt, Meara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency, Romance, Historical, Fiction
Publisher: Meara Platt
Published: 2016-09-18T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

“ROLF! THERE YOU are!” Nicola called out from the earl’s carriage the moment it drew to a halt beside the copse of trees where she and Julian were hiding. They’d been forced to walk closer to the main road than planned because most of the wooded footpaths were either flooded or too muddy, just as she had predicted.

“Nicola! Thank goodness!” Rose eased away from Julian to run toward the carriage, her relief at being found quite sincere, for she and Julian had been walking for over three hours, much of the time buried up to their ankles in mire and thorny brambles that slowed their progress to a crawl.

They were still another three hours on foot from Darnley Cottage and despite her assurances to Julian that she was fine, the truth was that she was exhausted and sad and humiliated enough to crawl into bed and hide for the rest of the summer. Whatever hold Valentina had over Julian was still firmly in place. The misguided plot Julian’s family had contrived had failed, except that she was now ruined for any other man, not because Julian had touched her or because they’d been alone overnight, but because she’d fallen in love with him.

Hopelessly in love.

He would never reciprocate, not after what she’d done to him.

Nicola swung open the carriage door. “You poor thing! How’s your ankle?”

“It’s held up just fine.” In truth, it hurt like blazes and felt swollen, but she wasn’t about to admit it within Julian’s earshot. The effort of slogging through the flooded woods had left her spent and she had simply refused to ask Julian for help or accept it when he offered, something he had done with irritating constancy.

One would almost think he cared.

She knew that he didn’t. Love might conquer all, but not for her and Julian. She’d gotten her moment of magic last night, but with the morning sun came a painful clarity. He could never love a liar, even a well-intentioned one such as her.

She had to get Julian out of her heart.

Could she?

Being with him these past few hours had been a torment, especially agonizing each time he lifted her into his arms to carry her across a particularly bad stretch of stagnant, dirty water that had yet to dissipate under the hot sun. His arms were perfect and she was meant to be held in them.

She ought to have been glad Nicola had rescued them. Now if they were seen, no one would think anything of her and Nicola going out for a carriage ride with her brother. Perhaps an eyebrow would wag for their lack of an elderly chaperone, but no horrific scandal would erupt.

Rose paused to wipe her mud-stained shoes before climbing into the carriage, but Nicola waved her in. “Don’t worry about that. I’m so glad I found you! I went to the lodge first, but you were already gone. I’ve packed up the belongings you left behind and stowed them in the carriage.”

“Good,” Julian muttered from behind her.

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