Roseanne snuggled into Lisa amid the rumpled sheets. She never wished to leave this bed. Here in Lisa's arms, Roseanne felt content and safe, satisfied that her life was finally going exactly as it ought to.
Lisa laid her cheek against Roseanne's forehead. "What if we closed the canopy and stayed in bed for the next fortnight?"
Roseanne cuddled closer. "Your wish is my command."
"All I wish to do," Lisa murmured, "is love you forevermore."
Roseanne lifted her head and widened her eyes. "What a happy coincidence! All I wish to do is to love you forevermore."
"Then so we shall." Lisa grinned at her. "An entire wing of this house is unused. Which means there are plenty of extra rooms if you'd rather not be in the same corridor as the rest of my noisy, meddlesome siblings."
"First," Roseanne said, "I adore the idea of being heckled by your noisy, meddlesome siblings. Second, I want to be as close to you as possible."
"My bedchamber and your guest chamber are adjoining rooms. We could make it permanent," Lisa offered.
"May I still sleep with you from time to time?" Roseanne teased.
"Actually using your bedchamber is completely optional. I hope you do spend every night right here with me." Lisa stroked Roseanne's hair. "You're not worried what people say?"
"Your siblings and staff already know the truth, and no one else has any reason to know where I sleep. I shan't hide myself or my love for you in my own home." Joy bubbled inside Roseanne. "Oh!—must my bedchamber be a bedchamber?"
"It can be a gambling den or a circus for otters if that's your preference. We've more than enough money to outfit your rooms however you like. What is your heart's one true desire?"
"A study," Roseanne said dreamily. "A big, beautiful study, with sunny windows and a large desk and a comfortable armchair and a special bookcase for my collection of illuminated manuscripts."
"You have scandalized me," Lisa said. "But I acquiesce. You are to have the bluestocking study of your dreams. And if you like, the largest salon on the ground floor of the other wing can be converted into a library."
"I don't have that many books." Roseanne thought it over. "Yet. You're right. That's an excellent choice."
"I was thinking you'd have room for your reading circle," Lisa said with a laugh. "You needn't give up your friends just because you've become a Manoban."
"No." Roseanne's voice scratched. "But they may be obliged to give me up. A few of them already have. When they find out I'm no longer in Mayfair..."
"They'll no longer wish to be friends with you?"
"No," Roseanne admitted. "They still love me. But they must obey their parents, and after the scandal with Graham, I'm no longer fashionable."
"Scandal doesn't last forever," Lisa promised her.
Roseanne let out a slow breath. "It'll last long enough to ruin my chance of building a network of neighborhood reading libraries."
Lisa frowned. "Are they literal neighborhoods? Do you have directions?"
"We didn't even get that far," she said glumly. "I was still working on finding sponsors. Once we had enough pledges and patronesses, we could work on determining specific addresses for the little libraries."
