He sighed when he realized that he was beginning to love Daphney. He let the weight of it all sink over him. Was she falling for him too? Or were her feelings an act? Hope glimmered as he thought that maybe the answer to truly moving on was as simple as pushing into Daphney and seeing where his feelings for her led.
Chapter 20
How was it possible that one man’s smile could make her heart race so quickly? He was too dashing in his black double-tailed dinner jacket and handsomely tousled hair. And the way his grey eyes sparkled in the warm glow of the evening candlelight made Rose feel the sudden urge to fidget with her gloves. How absurd everyone must think their match. Carver looked like he had just been pulled out of a painting of an ancient Titan who no one man could ever possibly resemble. And Rose…well, she was short and plain. And as she had discovered earlier that evening when spending far too long in the looking glass, she had developed a few new age lines in the corner of her eyes, and one on her forehead. No matter how many times she pulled the skin tight, it had sunk right back into the skin of a twenty-six-year-old woman. Which was especially bad, considering she was only twenty-three years old.
She had even considered letting the maid arrange her hair, but in the end it just felt too wrong allowing such a thing. This wasn’t her life—and it wouldn’t even be her fake life after the duke’s ball. She knew it would only be foolish to let herself enjoy the luxuries of such a privileged world. Easier to say goodbye if she never let herself have it in the first place.
Which is exactly why she should not let herself give a dash whether Carver found her beautiful or not.
He means nothing to me.
Or maybe if she reminded herself of it enough, it would start becoming true.
Carver walked to Rose as the rest of the family continued to trickle into the drawing room. He smiled with his eyes, in that way that was uniquely his, and Rose silently reminded herself to remain detached. She said it in her head over and over before she realized it wasn’t working. She had been unbelievably stupid in the nursery that afternoon when she let her guard down. Telling Carver about her childhood had been a serious misstep. How had she almost let herself fall into his arms and feel the warmth of his comfort? That could never happen. Everything and everyone around her was only there temporarily and losing sight of that would only create heartbreak in the end.
Which was why her situation was starting to become very complicated. Rose needed to remain distant and detached. Daphney however, was sweet, charming, and fervently in love with Carver. And it was becoming impossible to separate the two.
Carver’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “You look lovely tonight, Daphney.”
I don’t care.
“I do?” Blast. When had she become so delicate and missish? It wasn’t at all like her to need reassurance or to feel nervous or to blush like she was doing currently.
When she locked with his eyes, she couldn’t help but see his sincerity and feel glad she had asked.
“You do,” he said, his kind smile molding into something else. He had flirted with her before and she had seen a warm look of attraction from him before, but this was something entirely different. It was intense and meaningful and…oh—she couldn’t decide what, and that frustrated her.
His gaze flicked down to her lips, and she felt a heat rush over her entire body. She couldn’t breathe. Thankfully, it was only a quick glance before he smiled and looked back at her eyes. “And when you blush like that, it puts your beauty over the top.”
Rose bit her lips and looked away from this new look of his. That’s when she realized everyone else had begun entering the drawing room. Her heart sunk as she realized that he had just been acting the part of her fiancé.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, studying the expression she must have let slip past her guard.
Rose quickly pulled herself together and turned back to him with a smile. “Just a little headache is all.” This was beginning to be too much.
His brows pulled together. Was it true concern, or something put on? “Are you well? Do you need to go lie down?”
She laughed. “Do you really think I have such a delicate constitution?”
He smiled and stepped in front of her so that he was facing her and his back was to his family. He reached out and gently adjusted her shawl so that it rested higher on her shoulders. She tried to reject the feel of his fingers against her arms, or how incredible he always smelled.
“Not at all. But I wouldn’t blame you in the least if you wanted to forego dinner tonight,” he said. “I’m afraid that we have a little bit of a challenge ahead of us tonight.” He dropped his hands back to his side. “My mother just informed me that we are to have guests for dinner.” His tone was not lost on her.
She tossed him an amused smile. “You say the word as if you were talking about some sort of poison rather than having people over for dinner.”
“Believe me, poison would be preferable to the Gardeners.”
Rose chuckled, feeling both intrigued and thankful for these people who were taking her mind off of whatever it was that was happening between her and Carver. “And just who are these poisonous Gardeners?”
“Our insufferable neighbors, unfortunately, in Town as well as here at Dalton Park. I have no idea why Mother sees the need to be kind to them. Not only is Mrs. Gardener the most obnoxious woman to ever walk the earth, but she insists on foisting her eldest daughter on me every chance she gets.” An
unwelcome pang of jealousy struck her. How stupid. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know that Carver was probably the most eligible gentleman in Society.
“Would you like for me to pepper her tea when we move into the drawing room?” Rose smiled, feeling oddly triumphant that she knew something about Carver that Miss Gardener did not.
Carver tipped a flirtatious smile. “I would be forever in your debt.”
Chapter 21