In that moment, Sarah sounded much like Rose’s mother, and she could not help smiling. All at once, she knew what her mother would tell her she should do, whom she should choose.
Her stomach began to tingle as she anticipated dancing with Daniel that evening.
When, at last, Rose was ready for the ball, she made her way to her father’s study. She silently prayed that he would ask her to stay and help him with the reopening. She knocked lightly on the open door. When the Earl looked up and saw her, he smiled brightly and rose from his seat. He met her halfway as she made her way into the study, and he kissed both of her cheeks.
“My dear, you look beautiful,” he said, his eyes filling with pride.
Rose was glad to see that his previous distress had not yet settled back onto his face, but she still could not help worrying about him.
“Father,” she said. “Are you sure that you do not wish for me to stay and assist you?”
The Earl shook his head adamantly.
“You are not to spend this evening worrying about the theater,” he said with determination.
“I worry most about you,” Rose said.
“Well, you are not to worry yourself about me, either,” he said. “And may I remind you that you made me a promise?”
“You made one to me, as well,” she pointed out. “Or, have you already forgotten?”
Her father grimaced.
“I remember well,” he said. “And thus far, you have been more than capable of ensuring that I hold to that promise.” He looked at his daughter pointedly, and Rose laughed.
“Yes, and you have done the same, Father,” she said, her face a mask of mock disapproval.
The Earl laughed again.
“Then we are quite even,” he said.
“Oh, Father,” Rose said. “Will you not change your mind and come with me?”
The Earl shook his head.
“It is far too late for me to choose to attend,” he said. “And I can hardly miss tonight.”
Rose looked at her father with determination.
“You are absolutely right,” she agreed. “Which is why I believe that you should let me stay here tonight and help you.”
The Earl shook his head, gently but decidedly, at his daughter.
“It is as much too late for you to decide that you will not attend, when you have already made plans to do so,” he mildly scolded her.
Rose shook her head.
“I couldn’t care less about what polite society has to say if I should change my mind at the last minute,” she said, resisting the urge to stamp her foot. “It is not as if everyone does not know that tonight is the first production since the incident.”
“That is something with which I do not want you worrying yourself, at least for this evening,” her father said. “In fact, I forbid it.”
Rose stared at her father. She knew he was, in part, joking, but she could see his soft jaw beginning to tense and set.
After a moment, she sighed.
“Then, I would like to speak with you about something before I leave,” she relented at last.
The Earl looked at his daughter, his face a combination of relieved and suspicious.
“I hope that you do not expect to say anything that will change my mind,” he said, only somewhat joking.
“No,” Rose sighed. “I know that you will not be moved. But I have a question that I must ask you.”
Satisfied that his daughter would not keep pressing the issue, he relaxed.
“Alright,” he said. “What is it, my dear?”
“Who can you think of that would want to hurt or ruin you on purpose?” she asked.
The look of surprise on her father’s face mirrored the way she felt. She had not meant to speak with such bluntness, but she was, at least, glad that she had his attention.
“What on earth do you mean?” he asked, seeming to struggle to understand what Rose was thinking.
“Do you have any enemies?” she asked. “Is there anyone who would feel threatened by, or a strong dislike for, you?”
She expected her father to cease speaking and tell her to drop it, or even become angry. However, instead, he rubbed his chin with his fingers and thought for a moment, before shaking his head slowly.
“No, my dear,” he said. “I am certainly not perfect, but neither am I the sort of man who garners rivals throughout his life.”
Rose blushed. She knew her father was a good man. She might have felt silly, or even guilty, about asking her father such a thing, but with the evidence she and the Specter had, she could not deny that there was someone who felt that her father deserved for harm to come to him and his family.
“Are you certain?” she urged. “I know that you are a kind, good man, but there must be someone out there who disagrees.”
The Earl started to shake his head again, then stopped cold. His eyes widened, and a variety of emotions crossed his face.
“Now that you mention it,” he said. “Do you recall a man by the name of Lord Norton?”
Rose thought for a moment, then nodded.
“He is the patron for the Thurston theater across town, is he not?” she asked. “A rather unpleasant and gruff fellow, as I recall.”
The Earl nodded grimly.
“That, my dear, is being too kind,” he said. “The man is bitter and has believed himself to be in direct competition with me ever since I took over patronage of our theater.”
Rose’s eyes widened.
“Do you believe that he is the one responsible?” she asked.
Even as she awaited her father’s response, she was trying to imagine the strange man’s mask on Lord Norton’s visage, but her memory of his features was cloudy, and she could not make an accurate match in her mind.
Her father shrugged.
“I suppose that he is as likely a suspect as anyone is, my dear,” he said, his voice growing tired.
Rose’s heart began to beat quickly. For the first time since the incident, she felt hopeful that there was a viable lead. She made a mental note to investigate it, hopefully before she spoke with the Specter again.
“Now,” the Earl said, disrupting Rose’s thoughts. “That is quite enough of this for one evening. You must get going, lest you be late.”
With her desire to help and her need for information temporarily sated, Rose smiled at her father. She embraced him and kissed his cheek.