“My, we must be going, then!” Marianne stood up, putting her violin in its case.
“Nonsense. It is far too late for you to travel. Besides, the horses would be impossible to get through the woods this late. You will all stay here for the night. We have enough rooms, as you all know.”
“We do not want to put you out, Your Grace,” William said, helping his wife to stand up.
“You could never! You know where the guest rooms are. Rowan, Xander, since you know where everything is, why you do not show everyone around while I speak with the staff.”
Rowan tipped his glass back, sighing as he watched the group file out of the sitting room.
“Miss Snow, will you follow me? Let us find you a room fit for a lady.” Cain offered Alice his arm, and she politely looped hers through it. He walked her and her chaperone down the hall to the family bedrooms to get ready for bed.
I specifically told him to not flirt with her… What in the blazes does he think he’s doing?
Rowan pushed down the sudden burst of irritation he felt and decided that was his cue to take everyone else down the guest hall, where all of the doors to the bedrooms were open, glowing from the candlelight that the maids had just lit inside.
Everyone retired to the bedrooms they had been permitted to use in the past when parties had gone late. The group had a tendency to get carried away with the bourbon.
“You are very sweet to that girl.” Sarah turned around in her doorway as Rowan walked by.
“Pardon?”
“You are sweet for showing her a taste of the real world like this, even if she’ll never understand.” She smiled, leaning closer. “I suggest you marry her soon. Every gentleman will be after a young woman with virtue.”
“Madam, you are mistaken. She will be married, but not to me.”
“Well, Your Grace.” She bit her lip. “You know where to find me, then. Good evening.”
“Good evening, Miss Shelley.” Rowan bowed, speeding away from her room before she ensnared him any further.
He was exhausted and did not have it in him to break a woman’s heart by not warming her bed in the morning.
He rubbed his face, walking to his usual bedroom, down the hall from Xander’s. He used to stay here often after his father died, and he had become an honorary family member. He noticed that his door was closed, which was unusual.
Typically, when the rooms had been cleaned and prepared for guests, the doors were left open. He figured that they just closed it for his privacy, but when he turned the cool metal handle and opened the door, he saw Alice standing in the middle of the room, glowing from the light of the fireplace.
“Oh, Your Grace,” she gasped. “I was just getting prepared for bed. Did you need something?”
“This is my room.”
“His Grace told me that this was the only free room on this floor.”
Damn you, Cain. Well played. But your plan will not go as expected.
“He was mistaken, Miss Snow. I would hate to be ungentlemanly, but in all honesty, I am exhausted and would like to go to bed. The couch in the sitting room?—”
“Forgive me, Your Grace,” she said, crossing her arms. Rowan knew at that moment that the alcohol was speaking, but he decided to see where it would go. “But this room was empty when I arrived. It was not when you did. So, technically, you are the intruder.” He could not help but laugh, and she furrowed her brow. “Is something funny?”
“No, no.” He took a seat at the table near the fireplace, where a candlestick was brightening the space. “Your attitude is quite cute, though. Unfortunately, I am not leaving, as this is my room.”
“Well, I am not leaving either,” she said suddenly.
He turned and looked at the stubborn girl with a perplexed expression. “Let’s see about that…”
ChapterTwelve
Alice stood across the room, engaged in a staring contest for the bedroom the two refused to give up. She was tired and wanted to crawl under the covers and enjoy the last hours before her headache set in, but instead, this stubborn man sat in her bedroom, his chiseled features flickering in the light from the flames of the candles.
“We cannot share this room, Your Grace. You must leave.”
