Page 65 of Legacy of Roses

“Violet and Heather?” Rosalie looked surprised. “Have I never mentioned them?”

“Certainly not by name.” He hesitated. “Were they cruel to you?”

“Cruel? No, never!” Rosalie frowned before realizing the source of his misconception. “Oh, you’re thinking of the merchant’s family from the history. My sisters were nothing like the original older sisters. Violet and Heather were…like normal big sisters, I suppose.”

“Since I don’t have any siblings and grew up in a community with few children, I’m not sure I’m the best judge of normal.”

She laughed. “There was an age gap between Heather and me, so I annoyed them a great deal. When I was very little, they doted on me, dressing me up and treating me like a live doll.But eventually I got old enough to protest such treatment and to have my own ideas about how we should play our games.”

Dimitri grinned. He could no doubt imagine how Rosalie would have disliked being ordered around.

“But then Mother had the triplets, and my sisters soon realized I wasn’t annoying at all,” Rosalie said with smug satisfaction.

Dimitri laughed. “I can imagine.”

“You probably can’t.” Rosalie’s eyes had lost focus, and she could feel the fond smile on her face as they walked slowly down the latest corridor. “I don’t think anyone can really be prepared for triplets until they experience them.”

“So Violet and Heather were closer to each other than to you. And now they’ve both married and moved to the same town?”

Rosalie nodded, refocusing on the conversation. “They married cousins, actually, and live next door to each other. I miss them sometimes, but I have Daphne, so I’m not lonely. Even when they still lived here, they tended to spend their time together, while I spent my time with Daphne. Since she’s an only child, and her family lived so close, we basically became sisters.”

“That would have made it easier when they moved,” Dimitri murmured.

“Yes, I’m grateful they did move given how everything turned out,” Rosalie said. “Actually, I think that’s why I haven’t mentioned them. Violet and Heather belong to my old life—when I was the daughter of the richest merchant in town and lived on the village square. They were never part of our current life in the cottage on the edge of town, so I’m rarely reminded of them.” She looked down. “I wonder if they’re hurt by that? We’ve been so busy trying to survive that I haven’t really thought about it from their perspective.”

“I’m sure they understand why you built a new life here instead of going to them,” Dimitri said reassuringly. “They’reprobably grateful that you’re protecting them from the Legacy. And I’m sure they’re busy too. Do they have children of their own now?”

Rosalie brightened. “They do! And once this is all resolved, I’ll be able to visit them again. Mother and Father will be so pleased.”

“And your brothers, too, of course,” Dimitri added with a straight face. “I’m sure they would love to be swarmed with small children.”

“Naturally,” Rosalie agreed, equally seriously. “Once I move back home, I’m going to suggest Mother send them to our sisters for a couple of months to help with babysitting. Poor Violet and Heather must be exhausted, and the boys will only be underfoot while we’re getting resettled.”

A lamp sconce on the wall creaked abruptly—as random objects in the castle had a habit of doing. It distracted Rosalie enough that she only just caught the end of Dimitri’s disturbed expression before he smoothed it out.

She frowned, trying to remember what she had said that might have bothered him. Was he concerned for her brothers?

“Don’t worry,” she said quickly. “I’m only joking. I wouldn’t really do that. And I’m sure my sisters wouldn’t want them even if we offered.”

Dimitri smiled. “I don’t know…It might do them some good after all the trouble they’ve caused.”

“True,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe we should threaten it, at least. Just the possibility might be enough to scare them into line. And if it isn’t, I’m sure Violet and Heather could put up with them for a week or two.”

“Just make sure you don’t mention that I had anything to do with the idea,” he said, alarmed.

Rosalie laughed because it seemed entirely natural that Dimitri would remain a part of her and her family’s life when she finally left the manor and returned home.

Chapter 19

Dimitri

Dimitri woke to the same sense of anticipation that had greeted him every morning since Rosalie arrived at the manor. He hadn’t dared hope he would get to spend all of every day with her. The original history had only talked about the Beast and the merchant’s daughter sharing evening meals. But Rosalie always seemed so enthusiastic to see him, and he could never resist returning to find her each morning. And once he was by her side, he could never bring himself to leave just for the sake of the play they were enacting.

Being around Rosalie made him feel alive in a way he never had before. A future in Glandore was starting to feel real, and he had begun dreaming about how he would fill it.

Rosalie was still encouraging him to leave the manor, but for his own sake, not for the Legacy. She thought he should go to the capital to find his grandfather, and she had promised to get an address from her father. His heart had sunk the first time she mentioned it—he had thought they had moved past the issue of him leaving. But when she chatted away about the trip, various innocent comments made it clear she was assuming he would return. That realization changed his feelings, and he had becomeenthusiastic about the prospect of finding his grandfather. He was even eager to see the capital, at least once.

It was paradoxical to want to travel so far considering he could barely tear himself away from Rosalie for the night hours. But her energy was catching, and if he was going to plan a future, he needed first to establish his roots. He also needed to make sure his claim to the manor was secure.

---