Page 10 of Ravishing Among the Roses
Edmund shook his head. “You’ve made the point. My father was obsessed with boxing. He ran a training camp and produced many prize fighters like The Colossus. And he named all his children after famous historical pugilists, and for me, his second son, he chose his second favourite boxer Elizabeth Wilkinson. She was undefeated in at least 45 bouts, and I carry her name with honour because it means her legacy continues.”
He was being serious. Gabby’s heart skipped a beat at the way Edmund spoke about honour. His earnestness would bring Gabby undone if he wasn’t careful. The man kissed like a champion, and was proud of his long winded and frankly, ridiculously gentrified, name. He dedicated his life to growing beautiful flowers whose thorns threatened people with bloodpoisoning. Gabby needed to leave, to forget about Edmund, before he did something completely foolish like fall in love.
“And are you going to name all your children after flowers?”
Edmund shook his head slowly, his eyes suddenly sad. “It is not my destiny to have children. My roses are my legacy.”
Gabby needed to get as much distance as he could from Edmund. “Some of us, most the world in fact, are too poor to worry about a legacy. We are just surviving.”
Edmund frowned. “Are you angry with me? Why?”
Why were his feet so heavy? He wanted to leave, but his body refused to move. “No, Edmund. I’m not angry at you. Look around you.”
“I do not understand.”
“Look at the world. Look outside these walls.” Gabby was angry and yes, maybe a little bit at Edmund, or maybe that was merely an excuse to avoid the inevitable. This man could easily break his heart. If he pushed him away first, then maybe he had a hope of surviving. And—he lifted his chin—he was a survivor.
Edmund was still frowning. “But you asked me to kiss you.”
Gabby sighed. If he ran now, he’d be a coward, and he wasn’t a coward. “Yes. And it was wonderful. But imagine, if you can, a world where we didn’t have to look over our shoulders and worry that someone might see. Imagine a world where your nephew wasn’t thrown out of home for not obeying his father’s whims.”
“Imagine a world where I could breed roses without my brother threatening to destroy them.”
Heat prickled up Gabby’s spine and he knew he’d never be able to leave. “How dare he?”
“He’s the Duke. He gets what he wants. And right now, he needs to paint a picture to society that he’s not the problem. That it’s George who is to blame, and unfortunately, he knows how much I care about my roses, so he’ll use that to get his own way.”
“If you weren’t so obsessed...” Gabby regretted the words as soon as he spoke them, because Edmund turned pale, like he might faint.
“This situation is not my fault.”
He gulped, the apology sticking to his dry tongue, because the ache in his chest told him that he already cared too much. His mother cared for George and Edmund, and he found that he did too. And even that was a lie. He was standing on a precipice, about to fall completely in love with Edmund and he was making excuses and lying to himself to avoid the fall, because when it inevitably ended, it was going to hurt more than any of the hurts he’d endured up to this point in his life.
“If it wasn’t my roses, it would be something else. His Grace has a gift for finding what people care about so he can use it. Most people who meet him say that he’s very charming, but of course, they don’t see what I’ve seen. They forgive him for being self-absorbed, because he’s a Duke and they want proximity to his power. They don’t see that he wields that his position in society for power and control. All they see is the charm. They laugh at his jokes, even the mean ones.” Edmund shook his head. “Especially the mean ones. And they don’t realise that they will become the joke if they stop propping up his status.”
“But you are his brother. Won’t people listen to you?”
Edmund shook his head. “Have you met me? I’m awkward in society. I talk too much about the wrong things. I’m a bore and I only want to talk about roses. I have no friends in society. He tells people that I’m jealous of him, because he’s the Duke and I’m not even the spare anymore. No one would believe me.”
“You aren’t any of those things.”
“I am. Or at least, His Grace has taken the truth and twisted it into a nastier version, so his version becomes true in society. I won’t be believed.”
“Why don’t you leave?”
Edmund scratched his temple. “How do I weigh up the pain of leaving against the pain of staying? You are asking me to abandon my life’s work because my brother manipulates me and says a few mean things about me to a society that I don’t care about or belong in. I know what he’s like, and I don’t know what would be out there for me if I left.”
Gabby’s heart grew heavy. It was too late. He should’ve left before the kiss, because now he cared for this impossible man in an impossible situation. “And by staying, you can protect your nephew too.”
“I hope so.” Edmund gulped. “Or maybe I am as selfish as he says, and all I care about are my roses.”
Gabby wanted to hug him. “It is possible to care for your roses and for your nephew. Mama says that hearts always have space for more. Love is not like cake, it doesn’t need to be cut up and shared. Love grows.” And damn it, Gabby already wanted Edmund to love him too. He was a fool.
“Maybe for some people that is true.”
The defeat on Edmund’s face finally pushed his feet towards obeying him. “I’ve just remembered. I need to go.” Gabby fled from that garden as quickly as he could, before he plastered himself all over Edmund and made impossible promises about fixing all the problems in his life. It wasn’t until he was several streets away that he realised his fundamental error. He needed Edmund to save his job, because the rose lecture was the only half-decent idea that he had.
Chapter 8
