Lady Evan Wins the Day, The Cousins Book Two (Rough Draft)

Chapter One

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"Lady Evan Westwood! I am delighted you could make it tonight. I hear you are an excellent musician yourself. No doubt you will be able to give us an expert opinion on the musical selection tonight."

The woman's smile was polite, but there was something about her tone that made Rosalind uneasy. "How kind of you to say so, Mrs. Willis, but I hardly think my opinion will have any weight."

Mrs. Willis continued to smile, though there was now a hint of victory in her eyes. "My dear, you are too modest. Now, where is that charming husband of yours? I must say hello to him."

Rosalind smiled and nodded her understanding. The hostess swept off, presumably to find Rosalind's husband. Breathing out, the young woman walked to the wall and made a pretense of admiring the painting that hung there.

Some days it was difficult to keep a smile on one's face, especially now that she'd come to London. Everyone wanted to see the wife of Lord Evan Westwood. There were even those who remembered her mother and father. Those people made days even harder.

"Is that her?" Rosalind heard a young voice; no doubt meant to have been whispering, say only a few feet away. "Lord Evan Westwood's new wife? Well, she is prettier than I expected for a country nobody, I will give her that."

"You're too kind, Evelyn," a second voice said with a slight laugh. "For my part, I cannot see why the fourth son of a marquess would have married such a creature. Anybody can be pretty, but what could she have possibly brought to a marriage? I was told she had no dowry."

"I suppose one might think it was a love match in that case."

"An ill-advised match, you mean. A love match is all well and good, but everyone knows a woman's background will always pull her down. I hear there are even wagers on how long before Lord Evan takes a new mistress."

Rosalind's breath caught in her throat. New mistress. Not a mistress. A new mistress. She shook her head. Of course, she'd known West had lived a typical bachelor's life, but she'd never expected someone to talk about it when she was in the same room, let alone when she was so close?

Was this accepted behavior of fashionable society? To whisper and gossip and look for ways to be hurtful? Is this what her mother would have done?

Hoping her smile didn't show a hint of her true feelings, Rosalind walked away from the painting without really knowing what the subject had been. It had only been a few weeks since she'd attended her first event of the Season, and already she was longing for the safety of her rose garden at Darkhall.

She allowed her gaze to wander the room. A piano and harp were on display at the far end, ready for the young ladies to perform. The rest of the room was filled with chairs and the audience who would sit in them. Another event where she felt utterly alone.

"If only Emily were here," Rosalind said under her breath as she failed to recognize any of her fellow guests. She wasn't even sure where her husband had taken himself.

Her cousin had yet to return from her honeymoon journey. Last Rosalind had heard, the newlyweds were in Paris. She thought they intended to return to London for part of the Season, but she couldn't be sure if they would make it. From everything she had seen, there was nothing that would appeal to Emily.

"Now why is the most beautiful woman in the room standing alone?" Her husband's familiar voice came from behind her, making her heart skip a beat. He stepped beside her, bumping her shoulder with his.

"I was just wondering where you were," Rosalind said, smiling up at him. The sight of Evan's own smile was a relief. "Did our hostess find you?"

"Were you really, or were your thoughts wishes for your charming cousin's presence?" Lord Evan Westwood, the youngest brother of the current Marquess of Emberdown, asked as he raised his eyebrow. "Because I could swear you were looking rather wistful and lonely just now."