Page 49 of Legacy of Roses

“She’s out the back,” Oscar said quietly. “In the garden.”

“You can stop worrying,” Rosalie murmured quietly when she confirmed they were alone. “I’ve found a way to get the money we need. I should have it for you by tomorrow evening. Or the next day at the latest.” She hoped she wasn’t wrong about how quickly the Legacy would move.

“You have? How? Where is it coming from?” Vernon grabbed her arm, his eyes locked on her face. Ralph leaned in as well, although he looked too relieved to speak.

“I can’t tell you that,” Rosalie said.

Vernon’s brows immediately lowered. “Why not? You haven’t done something terrible, have you?”

“Of course she hasn’t.” Daphne stepped forward and wound her arm through Rosalie’s, smiling beatifically at the boys.

Vernon immediately nodded in silent acceptance of her reassurance. Rosalie rolled her eyes. If she had said the same thing, he would have refused to believe her and kept pressing her for answers.

With the buoyancy of youth, the boys recovered almost instantly in response to her news. They fell over each other to show off their cooking to Daphne, who largely ignored them. She did, however, wink at Rosalie.

Rosalie grinned back at her friend, relieved to have Daphne at her side. Everything would have been harder without her.

They waited until the whole family, plus Daphne, were seated around the table for the meal before Daphne passed on the news about her father.

“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that.” Rosalie’s mother’s voice was laced with genuine concern. Not only was Daphne like another daughter to her, but her family had been the only ones to offer to take them in during the immediate aftermath of the fire. She viewed them all as family. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Actually,” Daphne said, “I was hoping you might loan Rosalie to me. I’ve already been alone in my house for days, and I don’t fancy being alone for weeks more. Do you think she could come and stay with me?”

“You could come here,” Oscar said eagerly, earning a repressive look from their mother.

“You can’t ask poor Daphne to squeeze in here!” she said before smiling at Daphne. “Of course Rosalie should stay with you. It’s the least we can do after everything your family has done for us.” She reached out and squeezed both Daphne’s and Rosalie’s hands.

Rosalie looked away, blinking furiously to fight back the moisture gathering in her eyes. She didn’t want to deceive her mother, even in the mildest way. But they couldn’t risk telling more people about their attempted ruse. If her family knew, they would just try to stop her, and it was too late for that.

The boys would probably be dramatic and claim she was sacrificing herself for them when she was only going off to live in luxury for a few weeks. At least, that was what she was telling herself. It was easier to focus on the luxury of life at the manor than to think about who would be sharing it with her.

Rosalie moved through the rest of the evening in a daze, helping her mother clean the dishes and tidy the kitchen, only pausing from time to time to chase her brothers away from Daphne who was barely staying awake. They were like bees to Daphne’s flower, but Rosalie was willing to take the stings as she swatted them away. She couldn’t even stay annoyed at them for long when she knew she would be leaving in the morning.

Squeezed into bed that night between Daphne and her mother, Rosalie listened to the steady rhythm of their breathing and wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake. Dimitri had said the Legacy didn’t create love—or any other emotion. It just manipulated situations and created oddities.

But sometimes, when the memory of her past foolishness was hardest to bear, Rosalie wondered how anyone could be sure. What if they were wrong, and the Legacy could create emotions? Maybe it hadn’t been her fault she had fallen so quickly and foolishly in love with Jace. Maybe the Legacy had made her do it.

Although she usually shook off such thoughts with the light of morning, she was susceptible to them again in the dark of night, especially as she contemplated the task before her. Could it be true? And if it was, what would happen when she moved into the manor? Would the Legacy force her into false feelings of love just so history could repeat itself? Was she about to make a fool of herself for yet another handsome face?

Chapter 15

Dimitri

It was hard to turn around and walk away from the two girls. At least they had each other, while he was left alone with nothing to do but wait. He had no other option, though. If they were going to follow the story, they had to leave at least a little time for the substitution to be arranged.

As he walked back to the manor, he felt hot and itchy all over. His mental discomfort seemed to be leaching into his body, making him want to break into a run.

He pulled at his collar, dislodging the snowy white scarf he had carefully arranged before heading for the Mortar and Pestle. At least he would be sleeping in a proper bed that night after his efforts of the morning—a morning that felt impossibly distant.

He scratched at his back through his vest, irritated. Wasn’t it enough for his mind to be in turmoil? Did he have to be so uncomfortable as well?

His fingers tried to reach the spot through the material, but there seemed to be something in the way. Did he have something stuck under his shirt? If some leaves from the garden had slipped down his collar that would explain the discomfort.

Pulling the ends of his shirt loose, he reached up his back for the itchiest spot. Yelping, he pulled his hand free. It didn’t feel like a leaf. It felt like?—

He touched his back again, swallowing hard when he felt the same furry sensation. Slowly his eyes dropped to his other hand.

Instead of a yelp, he gave a bellow. His once familiar hand was barely recognizable. The hair of his arm had grown so wildly long that it was bursting from the cuff of his shirt and obscuring most of the back of his hand.

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