The Marquess of Walsrock.
She’d never met or seen the gentleman and still she’d never felt a stronger connection with any other mind, male or female, in the whole of London.
She made a wish as she walked back to replace the paper.
Chapter Three
Kenneth arrived unfashionably late on the night of the ball at the mansion of the Earl of Somerholm. Even though it was considered rude to show up this late, it was a slight that could be forgiven him considering his status. This was a fact he was fully aware of.
His decision to come late had been down to two crucial reasons.
The first was that he hated the usual wait to arrive at the door of the hosts’ residence, the streets full of carriages, as was the norm with such events. In the past, he managed to come late to avoid the wait until he discovered that the whole of London had learned that secret and had also begun coming late. He’d immediately then switched to appearing early, or right on time for events, in most cases beating the majority of the guests to the venue. As a result, his wait time in the carriage had been reduced drastically.
The second reason, however, was slightly more personal. He sincerely hoped that by the time he was arriving, the ball would have been winding down to a close. That way, the act of being graceful in the presence of his political opponent wouldn’t have to be maintained for long before he said his goodbyes and headed back home. Also, he would have escaped the usual melee of ladies that were always seeking his attention in earnest at events like this.
Pulling up to the door, however, his hopes that the ball was winding down to a close were dashed. Granted, there were no carriages waiting in line to get to the door and drop off their patrons. He could, however, see a lot of footmen hanging around the grounds, an indication that the ball was still in full swing as their patrons were still inside.
He sighed in frustration as he stepped down from his carriage. The groom had taken over the reins as soon as he’d alighted and began his arduous walk toward the front door. His plan had definitely backfired and coming in this late, everyone in attendance was going to notice his name when it was announced.
Well, better get to it then.
By some stroke of luck, the porter who received guests at the front door and made the announcements was missing from his post. He knew this was because everyone who was expected to make an appearance had done so, along with majority if not the entirety of the guest list, him excluded.
He immediately slipped in through the doors and headed for the ballroom, with the music and activity streaming from that room making it easy to find.
As soon as he walked in, it felt like all eyes in the room had fallen on him. This obviously was a phenomenon he was very well used to from his numerous socializing exploits. He wasn’t ignorant of his handsome facial features and the effect they had on the ladies, single and married alike. It also didn’t help that he was still a bachelor, and even more the son of a prestigious Duke. To the ladies of the ton, that placed him amongst the most alluring prospects whose attention needed to be secured at all cost. After all, there were probably only a few bachelors who outranked him in the whole of London and England.
There were days were he would slow down and bask in the euphoria of the effect he exerted in a room whenever he walked in. Today, however, was not that day.
He immediately began scanning the crowd, looking for either of his parents. His preference was to sight his father first. The reason being that his mother was most definitely going to be frolicking with her peers, most of which would be more than eager to introduce him to their single daughters who were never far behind.
His father would most likely be in the company of other gentlemen, as well as the Earl of Somerholm, most of whom would be too proud or too preoccupied with political discussions for matchmaking him to their daughters.
Find Father, approach him, greet the host most graciously, spend a few minutes, and excuse yourself.
He made a mental list.
He spied his mother in the corner with other ladies suddenly beginning to congregate around her. He understood the migration patterns clearly as he’d seen it happen more than once on previous occasions. They were all trying to be in close proximity to his mother, awaiting his arrival.
Fortunately for him, he spied his father soon after in a gathering of gentlemen and began making his way toward the Duke. This didn’t stop people from trying to slow him down with greetings and salutations. He remained focused in his bid to reach his father, even as he felt most eyes in the room following his movement.
Moments later, he made out the features of the Earl of Somerholm as the person standing closest to his father, as he’d already figured the Earl would. Apparently, he was going to be able to kill two birds with one stone and be out of here sooner than he had anticipated. He continued his journey until the crowd parted and revealed a figure standing beside the Earl.
His breath caught in his chest as he sighted the most beautiful lady he’d ever seen. With mahogany curly hair and gorgeous facial features, she looked like a vision from heaven. She was decked out in a pale green ball gown and white gloves, while a gold bandeau confined her hair, thus enhancing her facial features.
Why she was amongst the gentlemen and not the ladies immediately crossed his mind. Yet the thought was fleeting as he noticed that this beautiful lady was also staring at him.
He doubled his pace with as much grace as he could muster in a bid to get to her quicker, before another gentleman asked her to dance. Suddenly, his thoughts to be in and out of the ball as soon as possible, faded into nothingness.
* * *
Rose spent the days leading up to the ball in a blur.
She’d gone through the preparations with an indifference that had earned her a scolding from her mother on numerous occasions. She felt she’d already been auctioned off by her parents. The ball was just a mere formality as far as she was concerned. The deal had been done and she would soon be shipped off.
When the ball occurred, the rest of the peerage would see that the Earl of Rockgonie had begun courting her and by the end of the season, she would most likely be married to him and bearing his title.
Her fate had been decided. All she could do now was watch the tides of destiny as they carried her along.
The day had arrived and her lady’s maid had prepared her for the ball, taking care to make sure that she was the star attraction as per her mother’s wishes. She’d just sat there like a log as a flurry of activities went on around her.
When she’d finally sashayed into the ball at the height of its activities, she’d taken one long look around and headed straight to her father’s side.
Her reason was simple. This was a mere formality and as such, she wasn’t bothered to keep up appearances with the assembly of ladies.
If anything, she was going to excuse herself and disappear back into the depths of the house as soon as her mission here was completed. There would be no need to stay on further, after all.
On her approach, her father had readily accepted her by his side without question. From beside him, she’d continued to survey the party, waiting earnestly for the Earl of Rockgonie’s arrival. His name hadn’t been announced yet and she was growing restless.
If she was being honest with herself, she was also listening for another announcement, the Marquess of Walsrock. She’d seen the guest list and realized that he had been invited. She didn’t know what he looked like or whether he was even going to honor the invitation, seeing as he was her father’s political rival.
However, when an announcement rang through the ballroom that began with or included the phrase The Marquess of—, she noticed that her heart fluttered. Her brother must have noticed her unease because she turned at a point and caught him observing her keenly. There was no way he could tell what was causing her restlessness, so she ignored him and continued to listen to the announcements.
And yet, hours later, long after the announcements had ceased, neither the Earl
of Rockgonie nor the Marquess of Walsrock had shown up.
Her father, sensing her disappointment, had tried to cheer her spirit with the occasional attempt at a joke. He must have been feeling antsy as well, with the absence of Lord Rockgonie, even though he was able to mask his emotions better than she did. The Earl of Rockgonie was going to need to offer a solid explanation for his absence when he eventually materialized. In the meantime, she just had to stand there and try her best to look cheerful while the ball progressed.
The conversation of the gentlemen around her father intrigued her in no small measure. As expected, they had been talking politics since she arrived and hadn’t deviated from the subject for a moment. However, she was unable to contribute as politics wasn’t meant to be a lady’s concern.
Even though her father indulged her political conversations in private, she knew well enough not to partake in such conversations in public. She had no other recourse but to remain silent.
My exit is going to be sooner than later, after all.
And just when she’d decided to make her exit by beginning her plethora of goodbyes, the air around the room changed suddenly.
As the crowd merged and parted, she noticed that the attention of virtually everyone in the room had fallen on a new entrant, one who she didn’t remember the details of his introduction and announcement. He’d stood stationary for a moment, as if trying to assess the room and to find the place where he ought to be, and then his gaze had settled on her group.
He began to make his way toward them, just as she realized that this gentleman was by far the most handsome man she’d ever seen. The closer he came, the more enhanced his features appeared to be. He was tall and statuesque, with brown hair and a strong physique. Even the steps he took were confident and elegant and suddenly he had arrived in front of her.
She was unable to tear her gaze away from him for even a moment, even as he greeted the gentlemen in her father’s company.
Who is this?
She wondered, as thoughts of both the Earl of Rockgonie and the Marquess of Walsrock had been relegated to the back of her mind.
Her attention returned as she heard her father announce her to this handsome guest and realize that they had just been introduced. Yet she wasn’t closer to knowing who the gorgeous stranger was as she hadn’t heard a word of the introduction.
Suddenly the stranger had her hand in his and she was curtseying as he asked her if she would like to dance. A slight nod of approval from her and she found herself floating beside the handsome stranger on their way to the dance floor.
As they took their leave, she heard her father addressing the prestigious Duke.
“The Marquess is a fine young gentleman, Your Grace. His weird political views seem to be the only imperfect attribute he possesses,” her father remarked.
Her gaze returned to the stranger beside her. Surely he had heard her father’s remarks. If the stranger had felt offended by the remark, he didn’t show it as his mood and expression remained the same.
They arrived at the dance floor and began waltzing slowly to the music. For several minutes, she continued to stare into his eyes as they danced in silence.
He has got pretty brown eyes.
“You have got pretty green eyes,” he said, finally breaking the silence between them.
“Thank you,” she said simply as she fell back into silence.
She continued to stare at this stranger in whose arms she waltzed and suddenly remembered the harsh remark her father had made.
“If you are still feeling awkward about the remark your father made—” he chuckled and his laughter was a harmonious melody to the strings of her heart.
She all but melted in his arms again as they continued their dance. She knew the whole room was looking at both of them but it didn’t matter.
“What are these views, though?” she asked politely, in a bid to understand why her father had said what he said.
“Well, I have a unique view on certain things the ton find sensitive,” he responded truthfully.
“Things like?”
“Poverty alleviation, taxation, commoners’ health and welfare, and a host of other topics,” he continued.
“What are the odds? I just recently read a paper from the Marquess of Walsrock and he addressed most of the topics you mentioned. Have you come across such a publication?” she asked earnestly.
The stranger suddenly paused with the dance and stared deeper into her eyes.
“I am the Marquess of Walsrock,” he responded, completely startling her.
“What!” she shrieked.
Chapter Four
Kenneth smiled at the expression of shock that was plastered on Lady Rose’s face.
Besides the fact that he knew his presence mesmerized her, she’d also been completely oblivious to the fact that he was the Marquess of Walsrock she’d so innocently referred to.
Apparently, she wasn’t listening when we were introduced, which explains a lot.
And the fact that she’d admitted to reading his paper as well was quite a revelation. He’d never met a lady who had a remote interest in political ramblings and publications. Then again, he’d never met a lady who preferred to stand with her father rather than her mother during a ball.
His attention returned as her shock faded slowly, their bodies resuming the waltz they were currently in the middle of. In the place of shock, however, a nervous look materialized and began to spread, turning her cheeks pink and causing her to drop her eyes from their gaze.
“What seems to be the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing, My Lord,” she responded, her voice sounding shaky.
He knew what the matter was. He also knew that she, being a lady, was never going to admit her embarrassment to him.
“I’m just embarrassed at missing your name when we were introduced. It most certainly would have spared me this awkwardness,” she said, her response completely startling him.
Gosh! I didn’t see that coming.
“Well, would the lady like a minute to catch her breath?” he responded, knowing fully well that the music was approaching its ending, thus heralding the culmination of their dance.
The look of disappointment that sprung up on her face was as unexpected and startling as her last response. He’d thought she was embarrassed and couldn’t wait to be relieved from dancing. Now, however, he saw she wasn’t interested in ending their brief rendezvous and if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to, either.
This lady is certainly something.
Their waltz slowed as the music approached its end. Her face was back to normal but that didn’t stop him from feeling intrigued and somewhat curious.
How have I never met her before? I need more time with her.
“Thank you for the dance, My Lord,” she blurted out with as much grace as she could muster.
“It was my pleasure, My Lady. Perhaps you would care to join me for another dance?” he requested politely.
He understood the gravity of the question he had asked and still, he wanted to have another chance to dance with her. Simply because one time wasn’t enough and he needed more time to have a conversation with her.
As he waited expectantly for her response, her face began to light up with excitement. The dance floor was currently clearing out and he needed an answer soon.
“It would be my pleasure, My Lord,” she responded, as she curtsied and excused herself.
What a lady.
He watched her leave and walk back toward where her father was standing and caught the gaze of the Earl. The Earl had most certainly glared his disapproval back at him, possibly noticing his interest in his daughter.
He chuckled. His interest had already been piqued and there was no going back.
He turned then and began looking for his mother. As he couldn’t ask the lady he’d just danced with any direct and personal questions since it was considered rude, he needed to glean some information from his mother abou
t her.
If Mother has nothing nice to say about her, then this would be the best time to nip my interest in the bud and excuse myself.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, he didn’t know where he was going to find the energy to abandon the party and the Lady if his mother had anything ill to say about her.
Dear Lord, let Mother be nice with her review.
He found his mother where he’d seen her last and noticed, to his utter amazement, that she’d been looking at him.
As he approached her, the crowd around her began to ease off in readiness of his approach. The ladies and chaperones had obviously made their cases for their daughters and were currently retreating to give him a little privacy with his mother.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 3