Past Loves

Part 19

Chapter 19

Sighing, she kept her eyes on her brother, who still sat there without a word leaving his mouth.  “You are an adult now, Ramsey.  If you wish to do anything, you are welcome too.”

He shook his head at her, and she wanted to smack him in the back of the head in frustration.  Her little brother could be a pain, but she knew he was still broken up about what he had done to Cassie.  The thing was, there cousin did not blame Ramsey; she blamed her father, she blamed James, but she did not even think of blaming Ramsey.

Reaching out to grab his hand, she wasn’t surprised when he pulled away.  “Ramsey, Cassie is not mad at you.”

His eyes looked into her as he shrugged.  Rose was ready to shake her brother when he suddenly glanced behind her.  Turning, she saw Peirce standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face.  She immediately rose to her feet and met him at the door.  “What is it?”

“I had a talk with Emily.”

Rose instantly went on alert, ready to defend whatever lies the woman had come up with.  Sure, Emily had been nice to her earlier, but that could have been an act.  Rose was not going to be fooled into trusting the woman.  “What did she say?”

“Everything you told me was the truth,” Peirce acknowledged, “and I apologize for being so blind.  I shall admit I enjoyed the attention she gave me.  It was nice knowing that no matter what I did, someone would always love me, but I promise you that I had not the slightest idea the woman had more fancy for me than she should for a brother.”

“Of course you did not,” Rose mumbled while rolling her eyes.  “I also need to speak to you about a few things Emily spoke of.”

“If it is concerning my wife,” Peirce started before shaking his head, “pardon me, my former wife, then I am already looking into matters.”

She froze, understanding the unspoken words in his statement.  He was looking into matters, but he would also be leaving soon.  Only trusting a few people, Peirce would not be able to allow someone else to do the work for him.  Whatever it was that Peirce was planning, Rose knew that one thing was positive.  “You are leaving once more?”

“Aye,” he mumbled, before taking a step towards her.  Reaching out for her hand, she almost pulled it back as Ramsey had done to hers earlier.  “I wish for you to come along.”

A smile broke over her face.  Never had she thought the man would ask her along.  “I would like nothing better than to uncover the truth with you.”

“It will not be pretty,” he told her.  “There will be times where you must pretend to be another, times where I will be harsh to you for the sake of an image.  You must know that it will not be as easy as you may believe.”

She rolled her eyes at him.  “Do you not remember who my relatives are?  We know how to deal with situations that are tougher than others.”

“See to it that you do,” he said with narrowed eyes, but with the smile on his face, his reprimand was not taken seriously.

“I cannot wait!” she said in excitement.  “Oh, what must I bring along?  Cassie has some britches I can borrow, if that would be suitable.”

“Rose.”

“I am also handy with a bow, even if there is not a lot of use for them.”

“Rose.”

“Oh!  I can also pick a lock; I would love to pick another lock.”

“Rose!” he shouted, making her jump.  He smiled while shaking his head.  “Finally, I gain your attention.  There is another matter we must attend to before we take our leave.”

“That is?” she asked, in curiousness.  She could not wait to go on her little journey with Peirce.

“We need a chaperone of sort,” he told her, crushing all thoughts of them being able to spend time alone with one another.

She took a step closer to him.  “Peirce, I do not think that we-”

His hand snapped over her mouth, effectively quieting her.  “Let me finish speaking.  No matter how you view yourself, I do not want you to be tarnished any more than you believe you already are.  Many people do not know of your relationship with a different servant, but if they were to find out that you had relations with me, it would spread.”

“Why is that?” she asked, but with his hand covering her mouth, it came out as a muffled question.

Letting out a sigh, he pulled his hand back.  “I am quite infamous around certain parts of London.  If they catch my name in gossip, they will delight in spreading it.  While we are on this trip, we will have a chaperone.”

“Cassie is pregnant, Colin would not agree to come along, I do not want Emily to chaperone us, and I believe Will is being commanded to stay in the manor until his father returns.”

“That leaves one person,” Peirce mumbled, looking over Rose’s shoulder.

She turned also, her eyes gazing at her brother as his hands flew across the easel that set in the sunroom.  Shapes were beginning to form on the paper, and Rose was beginning to see what looked like a sun set, but as she looked closer, she realized it was fire on the horizon.  “Do you think that is best?” she asked in concern.

Peirce’s hand landed on her shoulder.  “It may be what the boy needs.”

“He is no longer a boy,” Rose reminded Peirce.  “He is an adult capable of making his own decisions.”

“Which is why I am hoping he decides to come along.  Would you prefer to ask, or shall I?”

“I will,” she replied with a sigh while stepping away from Peirce’s touch.

As she walked towards her brother, the man froze and threw a page over his painting, effectively blocking the smaller images in his painting.  Turning his eyes towards her, Rose let out a sigh as she saw the blank expression.  “I wish for you to come along with me.”

Ramsey glanced at Peirce before settling his eyes on Rose once more.  “What of Cooper?”

“Cassie, Ava, Colin, and Will can take after the lad,” Peirce said from the doorway.

Her brother stood to his feet and bowed his head slightly.  “I wish to speak to Cassandra before we take our leave, but I will agree to come along.” 

He began walking towards the doorway, leaving his painting there.  Pausing beside Peirce, he stared at the man for a moment.  “I am beginning to recognize the madness in others,” Ramsey said, “and I fear that soon, you will have to acknowledge it within Emily.”

With those words, her brother left the room, most likely in search for Cassie.  Peirce glanced at her and mock shivered.  “Your brother is beginning to frighten me with the way he speaks.”

“He is concerned,” Rose defended, “and he sees things others do not.  It seems after the incident, he has begun to watch people before opening up to them.”

“He has been hurt,” Peirce said with a nod.  “He put his trust in a person who did not deserve it.  Recovering from such a thing can take time, can allow a person to gain skills they once did not have, and it can make them stronger.”

“Is that what changed you?” she asked in a whisper.

He nodded.  “Yes.  Now, pack, we will be leaving on the morrow. I wish to leave as soon as the sun rises, and be settled into an inn right before it falls.  The roads are dangerous at nights.”

He turned, and much as her brother did, left without another word.  She stood there for a minute, listening to Peirce’s words replay in her mind.  Once she knew they were both gone, she turned back towards Ramsey’s painting.  Stepping towards it, she pulled the paper back and gasped.

The fire fell over the horizon, but that was not what shocked her.  Being as close as she was to the painting, she could clearly see the blue eyes in the water, watching her every move.