9: Spill the Tea

Please note, I have added about 1500 words to chapter 3 (the one with Greer) which provides more context on Alex and Rosemary's relationship when they were kids. Please so give it a read! xx Flo

Rosemary rolled over in her bed, staring at the decorative moulding on the ceiling above her. She had become quite familiar with the design across the course of a sleepless night, and looking at the detailed leaves now only filled her with resentment. It was not the plaster's fault though; it was hers.

With a sigh, she pushed back the covers and slipped out of bed, ringing for a maid to help her dress. Part of her – a large part – considered calling up for tea and hiding in her room all day, but that would not help. That would only put off the inevitable.

There was a faint knock at the door.

"Come in."

One of the maids entered quickly, her gaze fixed on the floor as she dipped a curtsy in greeting. Then, so quickly that Rosemary might have thought she imagined it, her eyes flicked up to scour Rose from head to toe. And then she was staring at the floor again, her cheeks warmed by a blush.

Rose's heart gave one forceful thump in her chest, and she swallowed. "The cream dress please Anna," she managed to say.

The moment the last of the buttons was clasped at the cuff of her wrist, Anna was curtsying and scurrying from the room, leaving Rose blinking into the space the woman had occupied. The maid's strange behaviour could not be related to the dress – it was a rather pretty off-white colour with embroidered pink flowers at the hem – which left only Rose as the reason for the awkward behaviour.

And her newly tainted reputation.

"Goodness," she said, her words barely loud enough for her own ears, "News does travel fast."

For a brief moment, she considered staying hidden away for the day. But then that would tell the world that she was ashamed of something.

"And I am not ashamed."

Rose took a fortifying breath, feeling the fabric strain across her ribcage, and straightened her shoulders, before reaching for the door handle and stepping out into the hallway. She found Anna, still outside the door, with her head bowed in whispered conversation to another maid. Struck still in the doorway, she watched as Anna covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, and then turned her head to cast a surreptitious glance at the door to Rosemary's room.

Instead she found Rose watching her.

The maid let out a squeak of surprise, and ducked into a curtsy. She needn't have bothered, however; Rosemary was already moving.

With every step that put the gossipy maid behind her, she seemed to encounter another member of the household staff. Maids, footmen, the butler... each new appraisal turned the nervousness that had been swirling in her stomach into a pool of dread. She fixed her chin high and refused to meet anyone's gaze, striding deliberately through the house. She barely paused when she reached the sitting room, the doors flying open as she stepped inside.

Fours sets of wide eyes found her face, staring at her as she loomed in the doorway. Her mother sat closest, her lips parted as she blinked at her eldest daughter. Her hand rested on her younger daughter's knee, and as Victoria leant forward to smile widely at her, Rosemary was fairly certain she saw their mother's grip tighten. In the armchair furthest from the door was Greer, her hands folded lightly in the lap of her green dress. And then, perhaps most horrifyingly, on the chaise on Rosemary's left sat Cordelia Kilroy, whose surprise at Rose's sudden appearance had transformed into something far more terrifying; a small, secretive smile.

"Rosemary Claire," Victoria announced, having squirmed free of their mother's grip and launched herself to her feet. Her blond curls were expertly pinned around her face, softening her sharp features as she grinned at her sister. "Am I to understand you have finally gone and caused a scandal?!"

With a sharp exhale – a laugh or a sigh, even she wasn't sure – Rose held up a hand towards the enthusiastic younger woman. "Please Victoria. Tea first."

The table before them all had a fine teapot set upon it, surrounded by a few pastries. Food did not appeal to Rose in that moment, but tea sounded... bolstering. She took a few steps into the room, swallowing heavily as she realised the only remaining seat was beside Cordelia, and offered the woman her best smile as she sank onto the settee. If her expression was brittle, no one commented on it.

Greer reached for the teapot, pouring a full cup of the dark liquid and popping in a sugar cube. Then she glanced up at Rose. After a brief moment of scrutiny, she looked back at the teacup and added a second cube. She gave it a quick stir and passed it over the table with a sympathetic smile.

Rose tried her best to ignore that, gulping down a mouthful of the lukewarm liquid. The temperature raised the rather alarming question of exactly how long these four women had been sitting there. Although there was no question as to what they had been discussing.

Victoria had been ignored long enough, and she sank quickly back onto the lounge with a huff. "Rosie, there are some quite tawdry rumours floating around about you and Alexander! You must tell us what happened!"

It was a challenge in that moment for Rosemary to remind herself that she actually harboured a great deal of love for her sister, and generally appreciated her enthusiasm for life. She took another quick sip of tea.

"It's quite an easy story to tell, Victoria," she said eventually, forcing her polite smile into place as she shrugged. "Nothing happened."

Her sister pulled a face, but it was their mother who spoke.

"Rose, dear, in situations like these," Jemima shifted in her seat and brushed a wisp of blond hair out of her face, smiling reassuringly at her daughter, "it is best not to be too bashful. It's quite important that we all know exactly what has happened so that we can help you navigate through the aftermath."

It was a truly lovely response, as could be expected of a truly lovely mother, but Rosemary couldn't help but squint at the woman, looking for some sign that she didn't believe what she was saying. Red eyes from crying all night, a stern frown that expressed her disappointment, chipped nails from where she'd worried... Rosemary could see none of it, but that did not assuage the guilt.

"I'm not hiding anything, Mama," she said, her fingers cupping the teacup in her lap for whatever lukewarm support it could offer. "But still, I am sorry for the rumours. I never meant to embarrass you."

"Oh, not to worry my dear." Jemima flapped her hand at her daughter. "After all the scandals our lovely Humphrey cousins have caused over the years, it's quite refreshing for our sides of the family to be the target of the gossips for once."

Rosemary smiled lightly, and cautiously turned her attention to the other mother involved. Cordelia nodded at her. "I'm sure they'll do something in the next few years and this incident will be forgotten about completely. Matthew, in particular, has much more mischief in his future, I'm sure."

She hadn't realised how worried she was until the wait across her shoulders suddenly lifted, letting a genuine smile rise to the surface for the first time that morning. With the support of the two matriarchs, her future seemed significantly less daunting.

"However..."

Rose froze.

"We should still discuss the rumours that are circulating, even if they are fabrications." Cordelia sat up straighter in her seat, angling her body towards Rose. "Lady Elliot – I believe you're acquainted – spent the better part of last evening telling everyone who would listen that you will be my newest daughter-in-law. But from what Alexander says, I will not have the pleasure."

Rose flinched – first at the phrase 'daughter-in-law' and again at Alexander's name. Her tea sloshed dangerously in her cup, but luckily did not attempt to darken her skirts. It was lucky really; she wasn't sure how many more stains she could cope with at that moment.

"She has told anyone who will listen that she found the two of you alone in the library last night, oh how did she phrase it..." Cordelia's dark brow crinkled briefly, before she pinned Rose with a sharp look. "Oh, yes; 'intimately positioned'."

Rose very nearly upended the teacup entirely.

"Lady Elliot," she said slowly, leaning forward to set the cup safely on the table, "does not know what she is talking about."

Aunt Delia tilted her head to one side. "She also claims to have see the two of you near the stables, unchaperoned and 'embracing'..."

"We were not embracing! He was lifting me over the-" Rose cut herself off abruptly, holding both palms out as if warding off further attack. "It does not matter, anyway. I am a widow and Alexander is unmarried. Even if Lady Elliot-" There was still more vitriol in her tone than she would have liked. "- is believed, there will not be any long-lasting damage to either of our reputations."

Victoria snorted. "What nonsense, Rose! How can you expect to marry with this scandal hanging over you." She shifted forwards in her seat, grinning eagerly at her sister. She seemed oblivious to the chill that had descended over Rose's face. "And you would be such a lovely bride! You could have a wedding just like mine – invite all the members of the Ton that are whispering about you now, and show them how respectable you really are!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw their mother wince, her head shaking slightly. "Vict-"

"I have been a bride." Rose barely realised she had spoken until she felt the eyes of the room back on her. Whatever emotion was hiding in the line of the brows and the set of her mouth, it was enough to chase the enthusiasm from Victoria's face, leaving the younger woman looking quite perturbed.

"Well, yes, I mean..." Her sister swallowed, an awkward chuckle escaping. "But if you were a bride again it could be more... conventional. More..." Her fingers twitched at her side, as if searching for the word that would not insult her sister further. "Appropriate."

That was not the word.

Rose stood so quickly that the settee let out a squeak of protest. Or perhaps that was Victoria. "This," she snapped, gesturing between them, "is why I will not remarry. Since the moment I married Harry I was told that he was unsuitable, that I was 'debasing' myself through the union. And then when he died," she swallowed down the emotion in her throat and convinced herself it was anger. "Was I sent commiserations? No! I was invited to balls where mothers took turns offering their sons to me as improvements upon what I had lost." Her hands were in fists at her side, the sting where her nails dug into her palms the only thing keeping her from the grief.

When Harry had died it was sudden and unexpected, and it had been the worst day of her life. But the months that followed... they were worse. She was coming to terms with the end of her marriage, and the Ton was pretending it had never existed. Society welcomed her back with eager arms and one clear sentiment; 'we forgive you, you're welcome.' And it had been agony.

"So, no," Rosemary said as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye, "I will not give those cretins the satisfaction of seeing me make a more appropriate match."

The silence that reigned after her outburst was broken only by ragged breathing, from Rosemary and her audience. Victoria had tears in her eyes, staring up at her sister with an open mouth and a trembling lower lip. Greer, who was still yet to speak, took a long sip of her tea, which drew Jemima's attention. Ever the good host, she leant forward and raised a plate of pastries in their guest's direction.

"Tart?" As soon as she said the word, her mother seemed to rethink it. "Perhaps that's not the most suitable dessert, given the topic."

All the emotion in Rosemary's body was sitting in her chest, and with her mother's whispered comment, she had no choice. She laughed. It was a quick burst, nearer a sob than a giggle, but it was undeniably a laugh.

Greer chuckled next, winking at Rose as she took one of the offered tarts, and Cordelia shook her head with a broad smile. Even Jemima spared a smile, a little relieved to see a smile – even a teary one – on her eldest daughter's face.

The only person who was not amused was Victoria. As Rose raised a hand to brush some of the moisture from her face, her sister lunged to her feet, barely circling the table as she threw herself at Rose. Her arms wrapped around her neck and shoulders, gripping her in the tightest of hugs as shaky breaths wracked her body. For fear of being toppled, Rose had no choice but to return the hug, squeezing the woman around the waist.

"I am so sorry, Rosie," she murmured into the side of Rose's neck. "I am an imbecile and I did not think."

Rosemary was not sure she had ever received an apology from Victoria, least of all one so vehement. She managed a nod.

"Ladies," Cordelia's tone was friendly, and she smiled up at the hugging sisters. "Might I have a word with Rosemary alone?"

~~~

Hello Lovely Readers!

Now we get to see Rose's side of things - and there was so much turmoil, that I had to split it into two chapters! And, in even greater news! They are both written! And, the best news, because I have no self-restraint / leave you guys hanging A LOT I'm going to upload both of them tonight  - you're welcome!

Let me know what you think about Rosemary's reaction to the 'scandal' - do you think it makes sense? Is she being naive? Is she right to not trust the Ton? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Please remember to vote if you enjoyed the chapter!

xx Flo