With Love, Louisa by Ashtyn Newbold
Chapter 13
Jack’s thoughts distracted him for too long. Before he could stop it, a slender hand snatched the bottle from the table in front of him. He grabbed at the air, missing the bottle as Cassandra threw it out the nearby window and onto the ground below. Jack cringed as he heard it shatter.
“What the devil—” he grumbled.
“You should not have picked it up in the first place.” His sister brushed her hands over her skirts, a proud smirk on her lips. “If you are going to invite me here, you must know that I will do all I can to stop you from drinking.” She raised one eyebrow.
Jack sighed. Why he had even invited Cassandra to his house that day was a mystery. But little did she know that he had already drank plenty the night before after returning from his conversation with Miss Rosemeyer. She had rejected him. He traced his finger over the grain of wood on the dining table. Could he blame her? His pride had caused him to speak out of line. The flirting…that he couldn’t help, even if he knew she didn’t like it.
Cassandra sat down on the chair beside him. “What is the matter?”
“Nothing.” Jack shook his head. He had been a fool to invite Cassandra here. All she did was steal his drinks and try to read his mind. But he had wanted a woman’s perspective to help him understand what he was feeling—what Miss Rosemeyer was feeling. Jack had been ready to prove himself, to do the right thing, and she had not even accepted his charity. Why it vexed him so much was a mystery.
Cassandra brushed her ginger hair from her eyes. She had a new set of flowers in her hair that day, arranged like a crown on her head. She squinted at him with scrutiny. “Tell me.”
Jack sighed. What did he have to lose? With a deep breath, he started from the beginning, telling her everything from his mistake with writing the letter to the events Mrs. Chamberlain had witnessed, and finally to the rejection he had received the night before.
When he finished speaking, Cassandra stood from the table, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “You are the reason poor Miss Rosemeyer was wandering the woods alone. She was like a frightened kitten because of you. It is no wonder she would reject your proposal.”
Jack frowned, his defenses rising. “She wandered the woods of her own accord.”
“She was trying escape you. What made you believe she would want to spend her life married to you?” Cassandra laughed. “The idea is preposterous.”
Jack flared his nostrils, but said nothing.
Cassandra covered her mouth, hiding her laughter when she saw his face. “Oh, dear. You are truly disappointed.”
“I’m not,” he said in a firm voice. “I’m simply confused.”
“Have I made anything clearer for you? I cannot blame Miss Rosemeyer for being wary about marrying you. She has already seen you at your worst.”
Jack bit the inside of his cheek, exhaling slowly. “Yes, she has. I—I wanted the chance to have her see me at my best.” As the words came out, he realized how true they were. He had not had a reason to try his best in a long time. “She was demanding that I agree to three stipulations before she would accept my offer.” He shook his head, scoffing.
“What were her stipulations?”
“I didn’t ask. I was shocked that she would even suggest it. I didn’t have to offer to marry her. She acts as though she is doing me a service by accepting my hand.”
“Oh, that she certainly is,” Cassandra said. “You would be much more tolerable with a pleasant, kind wife at your side.” His sister paced in front of the table, a broad smile on her cheeks. “There is only one thing left for you to do.”
“What is that?” Jack asked in a weak voice.
“Beg for her mercy.”
His jaw dropped. “I will not do that.”
Cassandra leveled him with a scolding glare. “Yes, you must. At least ask what her stipulations include. A woman does not like a man who will not listen to her.”
Jack grumbled under his breath. “I refuse.”
With an exasperated sigh, Cassandra planted both hands on the table, looking him squarely in the eye. “You are making a mistake.” She paused. “I have heard Mother and Father talking. Father thinks you will never marry. And I know how you like to prove him wrong.”
Jack crossed his arms. At every mention of his father, he felt smaller. Less significant. He felt the distance between where he was and where he wanted to be like a river, one that moved far too fast for him to cross safely.
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a footman at the door.
There was a guest awaiting him in the drawing room. Jack’s brow furrowed as he stood. Cassandra followed him all the way to the drawing room door. Before walking inside, he glanced through the doorway. Miss Rosemeyer sat on the nearest sofa, her hands linked in her lap, the toes of her shoes tapping on the carpet. He exchanged a glance with Cassandra, who wore a mischievous expression.
“Stay out here,” he whispered.
His sister nodded, but something told him she would not venture far from the door. In fact, she would probably have her ear pressed against it the entire time.
What was Miss Rosemeyer doing here? Did she regret rejecting him? The questions coursed through his mind as he walked through the doorway. He willed a bit of confidence into his stride. She looked up from her lap, her brown eyes just as wide as usual. She had a way of appearing surprised at all times…even seeing him now in his own house. “Mr. Warwick.” She stood and offered a curtsy in greeting.
He bowed. “Miss Rosemeyer. I thought you would never wish to set foot in this house again.” His voice was more curt than he had intended.
“Well, now that your dreadful housekeeper is gone, it isn’t so very bad.”
Was that a smile he saw on her lips? The moment he observed her smile, it vanished.
“I have you to thank for finally driving her away,” Jack said, raising one eyebrow.
“That is right. In which case you owe me a favor.” Her soft, careful voice was endearing, and paired with the sincerity in her eyes, he couldn’t look away from her face.
Both his eyebrows lifted this time, but he didn’t protest. Cassandra was right. He was entirely at her mercy. How could he deny her any request that she had? “Do I now? Is marrying you not enough?”
“I did reject your proposal last night, as you know. I have come today to…make an alteration to my decision.”
Jack rubbed his jaw. “Hmm. I’m not certain I should allow that.” He fought against the smile that pulled at his mouth. She was so very serious, wasn’t she? Each word she spoke seemed to have been meticulously planned, and she wasn’t very skilled at hiding that fact.
A crease formed on her brow. “You said you would not retract your proposal.”
“I am not retracting it, but perhaps I should alter it as well.”
“Alter your proposal?” She frowned.
“If you are allowed to alter your decision, then I should be allowed to alter my proposal as well.” Jack took a step closer.
“How so?” Genuine curiosity shone in her eyes, even though he could tell she was trying to hide it.
“I have come to realize that my proposal was not at all…traditional. It was not phrased in a manner that is pleasing to a woman’s ear.”
Miss Rosemeyer pressed her lips together, nodding. “I suppose it could have been better.” Her voice was shy again, just a quiet squeak.
Jack drew closer again, surprised by the way his heart stalled in his chest when her gaze met his. That was a new sensation. He cleared his throat. “I revise my proposal as follows.” He gazed into her eyes, noting small gold flecks around the edges of her irises. The centers of her cheeks had turned slightly pink. “Miss Louisa Rosemeyer,” he began in a slow voice, enjoying the way her face deepened in color even more. “I know our acquaintance has been brief, but it has been quite eventful.” He threw her a half-smile as he took her hand in his. Her fingers were stiff. “I have been the cause of your most recent misfortune, but I make you a promise today. If you marry me, I will do all I can to ensure no more misfortune falls upon you at my hand. I will do all I can to make you happy, comfortable, and safe. I will spend my days in the hopes that I can mend what I have ruined. I am far from perfect, but I hope you will accept me as your husband. You had your stipulations. If you wish to tell me, I will listen.” Jack swallowed.
She looked at him with those round eyes, the shock still evident in them. She was silent for several seconds. “I did not plan to marry a stranger.”
“I did not plan to marry at all.”
She studied his face for a long moment, slipping her hand away from his. She brushed the hair away from her forehead, looking down at the floor. He had made her flustered, that much was certain. He grinned to himself until she looked up again.
“I do like your altered proposal better.”
“Does that mean you will accept it?”
Miss Rosemeyer hesitated for a few seconds, circling away and putting more distance between them. “Not until you agree to my stipulations.”
“I thought you had altered your decision?”
“I had, but then you offered to listen to my requests.”
Jack exhaled slowly, turning to face her. He should have left that part out. “That I did.”
She spoke in the same professional manner as before, the one he found far too endearing. “My first request is that you give me my own room, removed from yours.” She looked down at the floor.
Jack nodded, grinning at the discomfort in her expression. He had expected nothing less from her. There would be no affection of any sort between them while she was so frightened of him. He hoped that one day that could change, but for now, he understood her reservations.
“The second is that you stop drinking to excess. I find you quite frightening when you are drunk.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. That one would be a little more difficult.
“The third is that you take me to visit your family often. I wish to come to know your sister, mother, and father.”
He laughed under his breath. “That third one I cannot promise.”
“Why not?”
He shook his head, keeping silent. How could he explain the situation? His stomach twisted with guilt as he thought of all that Miss Rosemeyer didn’t know about him. What would she think if he knew why his father resented him? What would she think if she knew the stories society believed about him? “I cannot agree to it. Not entirely. My mother and sister will wish to know you, and I will invite them here, but I am not welcome there so long as my father is in that house.”
Miss Rosemeyer stared up at him for a long moment, her gaze boring into his. Could she see all his flaws? His secrets? “If you wish, you may replace your third stipulation with something else.” He spoke in a direct voice.
“Very well.” She paused for only a short moment. “If my friend Margaret Lovell does not find employment, you must hire her to work in this household and give her the most comfortable quarters possible.”
Jack nodded in agreement. If it was a comfort to Miss Rosemeyer to have a friend there, then he would hire anyone she asked for. “I accept your stipulations.”
She drew a deep breath. “Then I accept your proposal.”
When she said the words, Jack’s stomach gave a nervous flop. He was an engaged man. Miss Rosemeyer stared up at him, her own features appearing just as nervous as he felt. He wanted to put her at ease somehow, but he also wanted to see her blush.
He tipped his head closer to her, giving a flirtatious smile. “You look lovely in blue.”
As expected, her brow immediately furrowed.
He held up both hands in surrender, backing toward the door. “There is no need to be alarmed. It was an observation, not a compliment.” He winked, tugging the door open.
As he stepped into the hallway, he saw Cassandra still standing nearby. By the grin on her face, he could only assume she had overheard the entire conversation. “I quite liked her stipulations,” Cassandra said.
Jack grunted. “I did not.”
Her smile widened, and she rose on her toes. “May I plan your wedding?”
His wedding.Jack gulped. He could use a drink at that moment, but he had just agreed to refrain from such actions. Devil take it, what had he just agreed to?
Cassandra slipped past him, hurrying to Miss Rosemeyer’s side with a cheerful squeal. “I have always wanted a sister.”
Jack watched as a full smile spread over Miss Rosemeyer’s face, the sight causing a surge of envy to bloom in his chest. Why couldn’t he earn a smile like that? Determination took hold of him. One day he would, not matter how hard he had to work for it.
She met his eyes from over Cassandra’s shoulder, her gaze lingering on him for a moment. He turned toward the door, rubbing a circle on his chest as he walked away. That woman did strange things to his heart, and he couldn’t decide if he liked it or not.
