A Rose Before Dying (32 page)

“I don’t need your help, woman!” Sir Edward
exclaimed.

“You do, or you’d never have made such a
silly remark!”

“And what of it?” He grabbed her wrist and
drew her down to sit on the edge of his bed.

Although she tried to maintain her angry
expression, her wide mouth slipped into a pleased smile. It grew
even broader when Sir Edward clamped an arm around her waist to
keep her next to him.

“What of what?”

“Marriage, you ninnyhammer! What do you think
I’m asking?” With that he forced her head around and kissed her
soundly.

Grinning, Charles shut the door. At least two
of the inhabitants of Marsh Rose Cottage would be in more pleasant
moods this evening.

The thought brought Ariadne to mind. He
hurried through the hallway and discovered her sitting on the edge
of the sofa in the living room, clearly expecting to leave at any
moment.

“It appears you may be staying,” he said.

“Staying? Why?”

He laughed and gestured in the direction of
Sir Edward’s room “Miss Baxter and Sir Edward are reconsidering
their hasty decision to part ways. In fact, I expect we shall be
celebrating at least one wedding fairly soon.”

She stared at him and half-stood, her face
growing so white he was afraid she’d faint. Her hands twisted in
her lap as she collapsed back onto the sofa as if her limbs had
given out.

He gripped her shoulder. “What is it?”

She covered her face with her hands, clearly
struggling for control. “I never asked him to go through with it!
Why would he do such a thing?”

“Go through with what?” He gripped her wrists
and pulled her hands away from her face. “What do you mean?”

“He’s only marrying her because of me!”

“What?”

“Rosewell!” She wrenched her hands out of his
grasp and turned aside, her body tense. “The portion owned by Mr.
Phillips was forfeit to the Crown. I—I can’t afford to buy it. Miss
Baxter and I have no place to go! That’s why we lingered here, not
because of the trial. After I gave my statement, I needn’t have
stayed.”

He grinned and tried to get possession of one
of her hands, but she refused to allow it. “If you’d seen the two
of them, you’d have realized that Rosewell had nothing to do with
his offer for Miss Baxter. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say they
both regretted their decision to cast each other aside so many
years ago. They simply didn’t know how to resume when they realized
their mistake.”

“How fortunate, then, that the murder of Sir
Edward’s mistress provided them an opportunity to reunite,” she
replied drily.

He pressed her hand. “So Rosewell was
unimportant, at least to them.” His eyes searched her face. “But it
means something to you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m happy for Miss Baxter and Sir
Edwards, but…Rosewell was my home.”

“Then I have an offer for you. I’ve taken the
liberty of dispatching a letter to my lawyer and man of business
concerning Rosewell, though we will only proceed if you agree.”

“Agree to what?” she asked in a breathless
voice.

“Surely, you must know—well, I hold you in
deep affection.”

“
Affection
? Affection is a very
brotherly emotion.”

“Brotherly? I kissed you—was that
brotherly?”

“Who can say? Many men kiss their dogs and
hold them in
affection
.”

“Dogs are extremely loyal and worthy of
affection.” His grin widened. “I daresay they deserve love as much
as, or more than, many ladies.”

A smile trembled on her lips. “I see. So you
love your dog, but only feel affection for me?”

“I don’t have a dog, so I comment on the
comparison, however I do love you.”

She let out a deep breath. “And I love you.
But I’m not precisely sure what you’re proposing.”

“Proposing? Why marriage, and hopefully an
end to my endeavor to find a suitable house in London. What
else?”

“What else, indeed.”

“Then you accept?”

“I suppose I must, my lord.” A smile flashed
in her eyes. “Who could refuse an earl?”

“Who, indeed?” He kissed her and held her in
his arms until they heard the clatter of Mr. Carroll in the
hallway. The coachman called out that he’d brought the carriage
around and was ready for his passengers.

Charles released Ariadne. “You’re not still
leaving, are you? I must stay for a few more days, and you’d have
to travel alone.”

“I shan’t mind it a bit. I’ll have Rose with
me, and I’ll be fast asleep before we’re a mile away from Rye.”

“I wish you’d stay.”

She touched his cheek, her face glowing.
“I’ve neglected my duties long enough. But I’ll see you soon, won’t
I?”

“No doubt.” He hesitated. One last question
demanded an answer. “Would you have agreed to marry me simply to
keep Rosewell?”

“No. Never.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss the
tip of his nose. “I’d marry you even if it meant losing
Rosewell.”

“A relief, indeed.” His arms tightened around
her. He buried his face in her fragrant hair, inhaling the fresh
scent of lavender from the garden before she turned her face up to
his.

From the doorway, Mr. Carroll asked in an
exasperated voice, “Are we going to London, then, or no?”

Ariadne broke into helpless giggles and
pushed Charles away.

“Later, Mr. Carroll,” Charles said, pulling
her back into his arms. “Much later.”

THE END

The early years of the 19
^th
century saw huge changes in all aspects of life, including the
hybridization of roses. The introduction of roses from China led to
an explosion in hybridization efforts in France, Great Britain, and
the United States. These efforts produced the lovely Hybrid Teas
many of us grow today.

While it would be impossible to cover the
complex, convoluted paths taken in developing one of our favorite
garden flowers, here are a few highlights. I should note that
advances in genetics promise to assist us in answering some of the
questions about the parentage of our favorite roses. We live in
exciting times, to be sure.

1802
– At the beginning of the
19
^th
century, John Champneys of Charleston, South
Carolina, made the first breakthrough in the introduction of the
Chinese gene for perennial flowering into western roses. Mr.
Champneys, a wealthy rice planter, crossed the White Musk Rose with
the pollen of Parson’s Pink China. The resulting hybrid was called
Rosa moschata hybrid
and came to be known as Champneys’s
Pink Cluster. A Frenchman also living in Charleston, Philippe
Noisette, sowed seeds from Champneys’s rose and raised a second
generation, classed as the French Noisette Rose. Philippe sent this
rose to his brother, Louis, in Paris in 1814, where it was
propagated and quickly became a garden favorite still propagated
and grown in gardens, today.

1816
– Rose du Roi was the first
Hybrid Perpetual. It was raised by Souchet in the king’s garden at
Sèvres, St. Cloud, Paris. It was created from a Portland Rose,
which unfortunately has mysterious origins. Dupont had a Portland
Rose in his nursery in 1809, and he apparently obtained it from the
Duchess of Portland in England. She may have gotten the original
plant from Italy, although this is largely speculation. In England,
the Portland Rose was known as
Rosa Paestana
or Scarlet Four
Seasons. If treated well, it could be coaxed to bloom twice a year
(summer and autumn). It has been suggested that this rose was a
cross between a French Rose and the Autumn Damask with perhaps the
China rose, Slater’s Crimson China, thrown in for good measure.

1867
– The first Hybrid Tea was
La
France
, a rose raised by Guillot from a cross between the
Hybrid Perpetual Mme Victor Verdier and the Tea Mme Bravy. It’s
free-flowing habit and lovely lilac-pink flowers soon established
this as a favorite class of roses, although the group was not
recognized until 1884 (as a distinct class from Hybrid Perpetual).
Hybrid Teas remain the Queen of Roses to this day.

The Vital Principle
is the first in the
Second Sons Inquiry Agency
historical mystery series and features coolly intellectual
Mr. Knighton Gaunt, the agency’s founder. Knighton Gaunt and
Prudence Barnard, the spiritualist accused of murder, will meet
again very soon in an upcoming mystery.

As
Second Sons Inquiry Agency
grows,
you’ll encounter other agents who run into odd mysteries and
formidable murderers during the vibrant first half of the
19
^th
century. In the
second mystery,
A Rose Before
Dying
, Charles Vance, the Earl of
Castlemoor, hijacks the role of investigator when his uncle, Sir
Edward, is involved in the death of Sir Edward’s
ex-mistress.

The Second Sons Inquiry
Agency is also featured in
The Archer
Family
series of historical romantic
mysteries. In
The Bricklayer’s
Helper,
William Trenchard, one of Gaunt’s
newer agents, works to solve a decade-old murder, and in
I Bid One American,
Knighton Gaunt helps a duke avoid a murder charge when a lady
he unwisely flirted with is found dead.

These witty historical
whodunits in the tradition of Bruce Alexander’s
Blind Justice
and Victoria
Holt’s
The Mistress of Mellyn
will keep you guessing until the unexpected
end.

Second Sons Inquiry Agency
Series

The Vital Principle

A Rose Before Dying

The Archer Family
Series

The Necklace

I Bid One American

The Bricklayer’s Helper

About the Author

Amy Corwin is a charter member of the
Romance Writers of America and recently joined Mystery Writers of
America. She writes historical and cozy mysteries with a touch of
romance. To be truthful, most of her books include a bit of murder
and mayhem since she discovered that killing off at least one
character is a highly effective way to make the remaining ones toe
the plot line.

Her books include historical mysteries, THE
VITAL PRINCIPLE and CHRISTMAS SPIRIT; three Regency romantic
mysteries, I BID ONE AMERICAN, THE BRICKLAYER’S HELPER, and THE
NECKLACE; and her first contemporary cozy mystery, WHACKED!, will
come out in 2012 from Five Star.

Join her and discover that every good
mystery has a touch of romance.

Connect with Me Online

Website:
http://www.amycorwin.com

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/amycorwin

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AmyCorwinAuthor

Blog:
http://amycorwin.blogspot.com