Father died. You need to come home.
A few simple words—words that had turned her world upside
down three days ago.
Rosalind Summerhill stood in front of her family’s
ancestral house in London, a hard grip on her carry-on.
Although “house” didn’t do it justice. The Mayfair mansion
was straight out of a Jane Austen novel, with its red brick
exterior and marble interior.
She didn’t want to be here.
A pep talk—maybe that’d help. If anything, at least it’d
put off going inside for a few more minutes. Pulling out
her phone, she called her best friend.
Bijou answered the phone on the first ring, as if she’d
been waiting for her phone call. Knowing Bijou, she
probably had been. “Have you arrived?”
“I’m standing outside the South Street house now.”
“I know you don’t want to be there,” Bijou said, “but you
had to go or you’d feel all sorts of guilt and remorse. He
was an ass, but he was still your father.”
“He really was an ass.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Remember
how my father called me when I got the scholarship to FIDM
and said I was wasting my life? And then the next week he
sent me that fancy leather portfolio because he wanted me
to look proper?”
“Of course I remember. I wanted to pummel him.”
“He thought playing with dresses was frivolous.”
“Like being an earl for a living isn’t?” Bijou’s talons
always came out when her loved ones were threatened. “You
help women become goddesses for a day. There’s nothing
frivolous in making another person feel wonderful,
especially on a special day like her wedding.”
Rosalind remembered the expression on her mother’s face
whenever she put on a new ball gown: blissful. It wasn’t an
emotion Jacqueline Summerhill normally exhibited. Watching
her mother transform that way was the reason she became a
designer.
“Go inside, Rosalind,” her best friend urged. “You’re doing
this for your mom anyway. I doubt your dad’s going to give
a damn at this point, wherever he is.”
At one time, she’d have done anything to connect to her
mother, but she’d given up on that dream years ago. You
could only beat your head against a stone wall for so long.
“You need to see your mom and sisters,” Bijou continued.
“Maybe this can be a new beginning for you all. Maybe now
that he’s gone you can have an easier relationship with
your family.”
Did she want that?
She realized she did—especially with her mother. Part of
her still longed to be the reason Jacqueline Summerhill
smiled in happiness. So she nodded, even though she knew it
was a lost cause. “Okay. I’m going in.”
“Good,” Bijou said with conviction that made Rosalind feel
better about her decision. “If I were there, I’d give you a
shot of whiskey with a pickleback and a hug, but since I’m
not I’ll just tell you I love you. Do this and come home.”
“Okay,” she said to herself, because Bijou was already
gone. Feeling marginally bolstered, she tucked her phone
away and looked up at the imposing entrance.
Okay. She nodded.
Stillness greeted her as Rosalind opened the door and set
her carry-on down. The house felt creepy. Dead. As though
it were in mourning for its master.
Not that its master had been kind to it, she noted as she
touched a curled piece of peeling wallpaper. It was sad but
not surprising. The family had long run out of money.
The mere fact that she’d let herself in was telling—in
their more affluent days, her mother would have hired
someone to man the door for special events. From what
Beatrice had told her, only their former governess, Fran,
was still employed. It wouldn’t have surprised her if she
stayed without being paid.
Exhaling, she reluctantly shrugged out of her coat, left it
with her bags, and headed down the corridor to the old
ballroom, where Bea said the memorial was being held.
The doors were closed. She opened one, wincing as it
screeched. She peeked inside, ignoring the people in the
back row who turned to look at her.
Taking a deep breath, Rosalind stepped inside. The room was
set up much like a wedding would have been: two sides, a
wide aisle in the middle, and a podium at the front where a
man droned on about the raptures of heaven. She surveyed
the room, surprised by the number of people present.
Knowing her father, they were there to celebrate his death.
She made a face. No unkind thoughts—not today.
There were two empty seats: one next to her oldest sister
Beatrice to the left in the second row and the other in the
last row, next to a man she didn’t recognize. He was dark
haired, tanned, and chiseled in the best way. He watched
her over his shoulder, but then he turned around and leaned
toward the blonde sitting with him.
Taken. Unfortunate. He’d have made for a great fling.
She studied the blonde’s profile, a classic beauty despite
her tear-blotchy skin. Rosalind frowned. The woman looked
familiar, though she couldn’t place her. Maybe she was one
of her sisters’ friends.
Edging along the side of the room, she eased herself next
to Beatrice.
“You’re late,” Bea pointed out under her breath.
She was lucky she’d made it at all. Fog in San Francisco
had delayed her flight. “It’s nice to see you, too, Bea.”
The corner of her sister’s mouth quirked, and, without a
word, she reached over and held Rosalind’s hand.
The tension in her shoulders eased, and she leaned into
Bea’s shoulder.
In the front row, her next oldest sisters, Viola and
Portia, flanked their mother Jacqueline, who listened with
razor-sharp focus, her face frozen in a mask of politeness.
What could you expect given that she was embroiled in the
scandal of the decade?
Viola was hard to read, but Portia looked like she was
grieving hard. Portia had always chased their father’s
love. None of them had ever had the heart to tell her it’d
been pointless.
On Viola’s left, an adolescent sat looking sullen and
resentful. Given the resemblance to Viola, Rosalind figured
that was her niece Chloe. The girl looked different than
the sunny four-year-old she’d been when Rosalind had left
for the States ten years ago.
Fran, who sat next to Chloe, turned to give her a warm
wink.
Rosalind smiled for the first time in the past forty-eight
hours. Fran had raised them all. She’d been more of a
mother to them than Jacqueline had been.
Exhaling those regrets, Rosalind craned her neck. “Where
are Imogen and Titania?”
“Gigi is on a movie set somewhere in the Pacific,” Bea
explained softly. “She couldn’t leave. No one knows where
Titania is, like usual.”
She frowned. Imogen and Titania had been teenagers when
she’d left. She didn’t know the women they’d grown into,
other than the basics: Gigi was an actress and Titania a
photographer.
The droning words of the man giving the eulogy filtered
into her consciousness, and she transferred her attention
to him. After listening for a minute, she whispered to Bea,
“Pillar of the community? Giver to those less fortunate? A
family man? Is he talking about Father?”
“Utter bollocks, isn’t it? Especially given that he died in
a fiery car crash in France while on holiday with his
mistress.” Bea shook her head. “It’s a shock, isn’t it? I
thought he’d live to plague us forever.”
“Plague was a good way of putting it.” In public, Reginald
Summerhill, Earl of Amberlin, was circumspect, but in
private he never hesitated to make his displeasure known.
And displeasure was all he felt for his daughters.
As if reading her mind, Bea said, “Remember the time I
dressed as a boy and entered the Suncrest pheasant hunt
without his knowledge? He was livid when he found out.”
“Because you outshot him.”
“And I was a girl.”
Rosalind nodded. The only thing their father had wanted in
life was a boy to carry on the family title. He had six
girls instead and held it against them no matter how
successful they were. He’d hated that a distant American
cousin would inherit the title upon his death.
Rosalind glanced at their mother. “Is she holding up?”
Her sister only arched her brow.
Right. She couldn’t imagine how embarrassing it was to have
your husband die alongside another woman, even in a distant
marriage like her parents’.
Beatrice leaned toward her. “We need to discuss Mother and
her financial situation.”
“There’s a situation?”
“Yes, and it’s dire unless we sell some of the relics in
this mausoleum.” Her sister nodded up at the chandelier
above them. “That monstrosity is worth a fortune in itself,
and there are three just in this ballroom.”
Viola glanced over her shoulder and gave them the same sort
of look she’d been giving her teenage daughter.
Beatrice obviously didn’t care, because she didn’t stop
whispering. “I’ve been paying Fran’s salary and the
household expenses discreetly.”
“What?” Rosalind exclaimed, gaping at her sister. “I always
knew we didn’t have much cash, but is it that bad?”
“Worse.” Beatrice pretended like she was paying attention
to the eulogy, but out of the corner of her mouth she
murmured, “Father made a bad investment a few months ago
and lost the remaining savings. I tried to stop him, but he
never listened to my advice.”
She groaned softly. “Shit.”
“Exactly,” her sister said, her voice grim.
Their mother turned and gave them a cross look that said
Behave and Don’t embarrass me any more than I am.
“We’ll discuss it after this ludicrous service is over,”
Beatrice promised.
Nodding, Rosalind became aware that people were watching
them, so she lifted her head and channeled the infamous
Summerhill pride. As she glanced over the crowd, that dark-
haired man caught her attention again. He gazed at her with
focused concentration.
Bijou would have said he was hot, and her friend would have
been right. Rosalind was always looking for inspiration for
her designs. This man inspired—to take her clothes off.
She’d have been tempted to walk over to him and see if he
was interested. Bijou would have told her funerals and sex
went hand in hand.
If only it weren’t for the woman next to him, who watched
Rosalind as if she wanted to inspect all her seams and test
her fabric.
The service ended abruptly. Their mother strode out, regal
and poised in her dark suit, followed by Portia, Viola,
Chloe, and Fran. Beatrice and Rosalind filtered out after.
“The reception is in the drawing room,” Bea said. “Do you
remember where that is?”
The sarcastic question should have annoyed her, but she
couldn’t help smiling. “You mean you aren’t going to hold
my hand and take me there?”
“Brat.” Lips curving, she made a point of slipping her arm
through Rosalind’s and leading the way.
Jacqueline Summerhill stood in the middle of the room,
talking to Fran. Fran whispered back intently and then
turned her around by her shoulders.
Strange. Her mother and governess had never had a close
relationship, definitely not one that included hushed
discussions or physical contact.
But she forgot about that when her mother’s gaze locked on
her.
Fran gave her a little push, setting Jacqueline in motion
toward her.
Rosalind’s breath caught in her chest, the way it used to
when she was a little girl, waiting for her mum to notice
her—to give her approval.
As her mother approached, her expression was implacable.
Rosalind braced herself for disappointment, knowing the
Countess of Amberlin wasn’t demonstrative, in public or
private.
“Rosalind.” Her mother paused uncertainly, but then took
both her hands in hers, studying her as though she wanted
to peel away all the years. Then she kissed both her cheeks
before clasping her tightly in a hug.
Rosalind blinked, her emotions threatening to leak, and
hugged her mother back.
Jacqueline was the one to step back first. She tucked a
strand of Rosalind’s hair behind her ear and simply said,
“I’m happy you’re here.”
Suddenly she was, too.
“Ros,” Viola said, taking her hands and holding her at
arm’s length. “You look great. I love the scarf.”
“You look great, too,” she lied, noticing the shadows
beneath her sister’s eyes. Because of their father’s death?
It seemed unlikely. Of all of them, Viola had been the only
one who’d never seemed to give a damn about what he’d
thought.
Portia, on the other hand, had trailed after their father
like a puppy, and his death showed in her red-rimmed eyes.
Her expression as severe as the high-necked black dress she
wore, she stepped forward and gave Rosalind a perfunctory
kiss on the cheek. “You look American.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Rosalind said lightly.
She and Portia were closest in age—a little over a year
apart—but they’d never gotten along well. Apparently that
hadn’t changed.
“Portia, will you and Viola check on the tea?” their mother
asked as the guests began filtering into the room.
Jacqueline waited until they were gone before she turned to
her and Bea. “I need to talk to you two. Alone.”
She glanced at her oldest sister, who, ever cool, said, “Of
course.”
“In the orangery.”
They watched her walk out. “Do you know what this is
about?” Rosalind asked as they followed.
“No idea.” Bea frowned. “But she wants to chat with us now,
when she has guests? That’s not like her.”
It certainly wouldn’t have been like her ten years ago.
People changed though.
Jacqueline Summerhill, Countess of Amberlin—change? She
heard Bijou’s voice in the back of her head saying, “Yeah,
right.”