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ROSEMARY WALKED BACK in the direction she’d come, sat down on her own front doorstep, and leaned back on her palms while the sun shone down on her upturned face. Winter had been intolerably long that year, and her first holidays without Andrew had taken their toll.
Now that summer’s heat had returned, Rosemary wanted to soak up as much of it as she could. It was almost as though she had awakened from a terrible nightmare, and even though she still mourned, the fear and the pain and the dread of it all had begun to dissipate.
“Excuse me, Miss Rose.” Anna appeared in the doorway with a large tin cradled in one hand. “Cook has made up a batch of boiled sweets for the trip. She said to tell you she used a special recipe and added plenty of ginger as a remedy for seasickness. Shall I put them in the black valise or the brown one?”
Wrinkling her nose, Rosemary replied, “I’d greatly prefer you to wrap them in brown paper and drop them in the nearest bin. I absolutely cannot abide the flavor of ginger.” Looking over her shoulder, Rosemary took in Anna’s pinched expression and assessed her maid’s mood as fearful. Cook could be formidable when she got an idea in her head. “Though I suppose we could offer them to Vera. She has a passion for the warmer spices.”
“Yes, Miss Rose,” Normally talkative, Anna seemed somewhat sober, and Rosemary wondered if there was something troubling her maid. Before she could ask, Anna hurried back inside.
As though thinking of her friend had summoned her, a town car pulled up to the curb and had barely come to a full stop before Vera veritably bounced from the rear door. “Rosie, dear!” she called, sashaying across the footway to kiss her friend on both cheeks. “You’re positively glowing. I told you a little sun would do you some good. I simply cannot wait to sink my toes into the sand. Have Frederick and his little friend arrived yet? Or am I the first and best prepared?”
Vera fired off questions without waiting for Rosemary to answer, a habit Rosemary had long since stopped chiding her for and simply accepted as an immutable facet of her personality.
“Of course not. You remember the way he and Desmond were as children, don’t you? Always chasing metaphorical butterflies—and oftentimes, real ones. I imagine they’ve found themselves embroiled in some outrageous pursuit yet again and won’t arrive until the final second. Or, they’re skulking behind the rose bushes, listening to our conversation.” Rosemary peered around her with a raised eyebrow to illustrate her point; she was only half kidding, and wouldn’t have been at all surprised if her joke was entirely correct.
Vera laughed and instructed her driver to unload her luggage from the boot of the car just as Wadsworth opened the front door of the townhouse. “Miss Vera, it’s a pleasure to see you, as always.” Rosemary’s butler had a soft spot for her best friend, even though Vera enjoyed teasing him as often as possible. Had she been anyone else, Wadsworth would have given her his version of the evil eye, but even he could not resist Vera’s charms. As if many men had ever dared to try.
“And you as well,” Vera said, allowing him to take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze before handling the luggage. “If you’re not careful, Rose, I’ll steal this fine specimen away from you.” She winked at Rosemary behind Wadsworth’s back.
Rosemary grinned. “I’m not worried. Your flat is far smaller than my townhouse. The poor man would be bored inside of an afternoon.”
Tossing her head, Vera retorted in her loftiest tone, “My flat is fabulous, as you well know. What would I do with more space? I’m only one person, after all.” The color drained from her face as she realized she might have made an enormous gaffe. Rosemary hadn’t intended to live alone; she had expected to have started a family by now. “I’m sorry, Rosie, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Don’t apologize, Vera, for goodness’ sake. I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not made of glass. At least, not anymore.”
Vera said nothing but gave her friend a reassuring pat on the hand. “I know, Rosie, but I’m still sorry. My mouth often runs without the benefit of my brain being engaged.”
“You know my invitation to come live here with me still stands, don’t you?” Rosemary ignored the apology and instead homed in on the more pressing concern. Vera’s point was valid. Rosemary practically rattled around in the townhouse all alone, and she wouldn’t mind the intrusion. In fact, it might give her something else upon which to focus.
“I do,” Vera said slowly, “and I’m seriously considering the prospect. Why don’t we see how this holiday goes, and then decide? You might discover that my annoying habits have worsened rather than improved since our school days.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.” Rosemary softened the criticism with a smile and added, “Just as I’m certain all your positive attributes far outshine the bad, and even if they didn’t, I wouldn’t care a jot.” She hoped there wasn’t another reason for Vera’s reluctance, but didn’t have time to dwell on the subject because just then, another car pulled to the curb.
Without even realizing she was doing it, Rosemary held her breath and smoothed her hair. Her actions did not, however, escape Vera’s notice. Whether she knew it or not—and Vera believed she did, deep down—Rosemary was excited to see Desmond after all these years, and Vera intended to thoroughly enjoy watching the show.
Frederick exited first and tossed a dazzling grin in Rosemary’s direction. A lock of golden hair the same shade as hers fell into his eyes, and he brushed it aside absently while making a beeline for his sister. He scooped her up into a hug and swung her around until she giggled.
“Put me down, Freddie! Right this instant!” But there was no sting to her words. For that, he was grateful, since the playful mood seemed more like her old self. Frederick hoped the time away from London would bring back even more of her vigor.
Rosemary might have known her brother to be full of mischievous intent, but she had been wrong in her assumption that Frederick hadn’t brought Desmond along in an attempt to unnerve her. She had believed Frederick clueless regarding her girlish infatuation with the man, but she’d underestimated the amount of attention brothers pay to their younger sisters. Now, Frederick had Rosemary right where he wanted her and, like Vera, couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when she came face-to-face with Desmond.
For both of them, it was a little bit of a letdown, because Rosemary had got quite used to hiding her emotions. On the inside, however, her heartbeat quickened while she held her breath and waited for Desmond to emerge from the back seat of the car.
When he unfolded himself and rose to his full six feet, two inches topped by a mop of curly, chestnut hair, Rosemary’s hopes fell to ruin. By the look of it, there was little to no chance of Desmond going bald anytime soon, and neither had he grown an unsightly hump. There he stood, a dashing man with sparkling hazel eyes and a set of full lips over an impossibly straight row of teeth. In short, he could get a woman thoroughly syncopated with little effort.
“Rosemary Woolridge, as I live and breathe,” he said with a wide grin, striding the short distance between them and enveloping Rosemary in another hug, this one gentle and friendly rather than rib-shattering like Frederick’s.
“Hello, Desmond. You look well.” The understatement of the year, but all Rosemary could manage. She didn’t even bother to correct his misuse of her maiden name.
Desmond smiled down at her. “As do you.” He winked at Rosemary, raising a blush to her cheeks, and deposited a kiss on her outstretched hand before turning his attention to Vera. “I see you’re still keeping deplorable company.”
The two stared one another down through slitted lids—it seemed that the men who didn’t fall for Vera’s spectacular good looks and charming personality tended to regard her as rather a handful. The standoff ended when Vera deadpanned, “I can still take you, Desmond dear. Don’t let the heels fool you.”
He laughed, and the ice was broken. What’s more, the heat had dissipated from Rosemary’s face, and for that, she was grateful. Her color had returned to normal, and she’d already forced the memory of the butterflies in her stomach out of her mind and deep into her subconscious.
“Wadsworth will handle your bags and take them up to the guest rooms. Vera will stay with me. We leave tomorrow by the four o’clock train.”
“Which leaves us the evening. Quite enough time to get good and sozzled, huh, Des?” Frederick elbowed his friend in the ribs and wiggled his eyebrows as he followed Rosemary up the steps to the front doorstep.
Desmond shook his head, ruefully. “Not all of us can handle your level of drinking, old friend. But I won’t say no to a night on the town. How about it, ladies?”
“Actually,” Rosemary said, “we have tickets to a show this evening, and Vera is demanding the two of you accompany us.” She cast a sideways glance in Vera’s direction. “As moral support.”
Frederick peered at Vera curiously. “I’ve never known Vera’s morals to be in want of support, scant as they are. What gives?”
“None of your business, Frederick,” Vera snapped.
“Come, Vera, we can’t expect them to go to war blindly. Not without at least giving them the lay of the land first,” Rosemary admonished.
“Fine,” Vera huffed. “If you must know, I was up for a part in the production, but that miserable Jennie Bryer stole the role right out from under me. Now, I feel it is my duty to attend the premiere and heckle her to my heart’s content. I assume I can count on you two fools for some shameless ill behavior?”
She stalked into the front parlor without a backward glance, as she needed not a whit of reassurance that her wishes would be honored. “And if either one of you breathes a word about how beautiful she is, I swear you will regret it for the rest of your days.”
Both Frederick and Desmond knew from experience how seriously Vera took such promises and made a solemn vow not to ogle Jennie Bryer overmuch. Rosemary smirked to herself, sure the venture would never go off as planned, and amused at the thought of what form Vera’s retribution might take.
