He pitied them for whatever case they’d made, though, as his attention had irrevocably been drawn to one lady and one lady only.
“Mother! Don’t you look radiant this evening?” he remarked as he finally reached her, watching the last of her company greet him politely and excuse themselves.
“Why, thank you, Son. And, yes, I know her. I don’t have to tell you how displeased your father and I would be if you continued to show interest in her,” his mother responded.
So I was right. She was watching after all.
“Well, tell me about her, Mother,” he said with a slight chuckle.
“All I can tell you is that you have no business with her. You are here to conduct yourself gracefully. Not to create another scandal by picking up interest in your main political rival’s daughter, of all the ladies at this party, Son.”
Her warning was clear and stern, which only encouraged his curiosity and heightened his interest further.
“Dear Mother,” he chuckled.
“The Duke of Witthinham’s daughter is here. We’ve exchanged pleasantries and she has asked of your wellbeing.”
“Oh, splendid,” he responded with sarcasm, a clear indication that he intended to dispel the topic of Lady Charlotte and get back to his new interest.
He had no intention of discussing the lady his mother wished he courted at the moment. She had never caught his fancy in any way, even though other gentlemen sought to woo her. The only time he’d tried to get close to her had proved to be a disaster. He didn’t fancy a lady who had nothing to offer in a conversation, aside from the fact that she was the daughter of a Duke.
In fact, he’d suspected that Lady Charlotte had only been drawn to him as a result of the fact that his father and hers held the same title of Duke. A union between them would ensure that she didn’t marry beneath her station and as a result, wasn’t going to move down several slots in precedence.
Lady Charlotte was bad news and he had no intention of indulging her.
“Why don’t you go and ask her to dance?” his mother continued.
“I’m afraid I can’t as I have already made a commitment to another in advance,” he replied, trying to mask his disgust.
How Mother thinks she is the sweetest lady ever is beyond me.
“Really? Who?” his mother asked, barely managing to keep her excitement under check.
“I think I hear father calling for me,” he lied, a smile spreading across his lips.
“You better not—”
“Enjoy the rest of the ball, Mother,” he remarked with a mischievous grin on his face as he cut her off midsentence.
The look of disapproval on his mother’s face was instant. But before she could utter any more words, he had picked up her hand, bent, and kissed it.
It was a clear gesture that indicated he was done with the conversation. He also knew for a fact that his mother wasn’t going to utter another word in public to stop his retreat. In private though, it was going to be another matter entirely.
She’s going to be terribly upset and I will most certainly be told off later.
As he stood erect, he noticed his mother had regained her composure. Her eyes, however, had a scowl in them that he found humorous.
He retreated and noticed how the expectant crowd of ladies descended on her almost instantly. He definitely didn’t have to worry about leaving her alone and without company. She would be more than occupied with the ladies seeking her favor with regards to him.
As he walked through the crowd in a bid to get to his father, the glances and curtsies from the ladies continued. He returned them with polite greetings and nods as he made his way to the Duke.
For the second time tonight, as he approached the Duke and the company around him, he spied the Earl’s daughter and his breath caught in his chest. Of course, he’d seen her walk back toward her father and knew she was going to be by his side, but setting his eyes on her again, he couldn’t help but feel the excitement he’d felt initially.
He masked his excitement as he remembered her father’s glare and approached the company with as much grace as he could muster.
“Lord Walsrock!” the Earl exclaimed as he joined them.
“That was some beautiful dancing, Lord Walsrock,” one of the gentlemen standing in their company remarked further. Kenneth knew him and was well aware that he was of a lesser rank than the rest of the company. His patronizing comment wasn’t lost on Kenneth, nor was it uncommon.
“His Grace was just telling me about a bill you intend to sponsor in parliament,” the Earl continued, dismissing the remark of the lesser-titled gentleman.
His father had kept to his word, he realized. The Duke had gone ahead to engender support for his bill that was soon to be introduced to parliament, amongst this particular company.
It was a good thing he’d accepted his father’s proposal and come to this ball after all. The truth was, for such a bill to be entertained in the House, it needed a large support from a majority of influential Lords, one of which was the Earl of Somerholm.
“Yes, My Lord. Perhaps I can count on your support when the bill is ready?” Kenneth queried lightly in a bid to ascertain how much groundwork his father had done. The foundation had certainly been laid but he just had to probe a little further.
“But I most certainly can’t pledge my support when I haven’t been informed of the details of this bill,” the Earl remarked, raising Kenneth’s suspicion.
He couldn’t place it, but something in the way the Earl had made his remark on not knowing what the bill was about, had struck Kenneth as out of place. A sense of foreboding had definitely swept over him.
What is he up to?
His father might have communicated the bill to the Earl as promised.
However, this was a Lord who’d been his main political rival since he took his father’s place in parliament after his father’s resignation. Intuition made him wary of the Earl’s true intentions.
Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe there’s nothing to worry about.
Even as he told himself that, his worry persisted.
As he opened his mouth to respond, the cue to the music sounded all around the ballroom. Another round of dancing was in the offing. His gaze and that of the Earl’s daughter were united in the same moment. They’d both turned to face each other as soon as they’d heard the note cuing in the music.
“My Lord, perhaps we can continue this conversation at a later time,” he said in response to the Earl’s last comment.
Turning to face Lady Rose, he bowed for the second time that night. “My Lady, may I have this dance?”
As her smile spread, so did the confusion on the faces of everyone else. There were certainly other ladies he could have asked to dance. But asking Lady Rose to dance for a second time indicated to all observing that he had developed a strong interest in her.
He could literally hear the whispers on their lips as she stepped forward and joined him to walk toward the dance floor.
“I see that we are making an impression. We are suddenly the center of attention,” Kenneth whispered, loud enough for her to hear his comment.
“Well, the ball is in my honor, after all. I’ll have it no other way,” she responded, as they turned to face each other on the dance floor.
She was beaming and making no attempt to hide her smile. He smiled in response as he bowed and stepped up to her.
“So, you were telling me you read my paper. What did you think of it?” he asked.
“I’m a lady, My Lord. Surely you do not think I have an opinion on such matters,” she responded.
“A lady who has read my paper? One who prefers to stand in the company of her father and his peers instead of with her mother? Surely you have an opinion on such matters. And might I add that I’ve never met anyone like you.”
His comment made her blush.
“Well, when you put it that way, I can’t deny the fact that I have an opinion.”
Af
ter waiting for a bit and seeing she wasn’t commenting further, he remarked, “Well, are you going to tell me? Your secret is safe with me. It’s just me and you after all.”
“On the contrary, My Lord, we are not as alone as you would like to think,” she responded with a smirk, her eyes making slight darting movements suggesting he should look around them.
As his eyes followed hers, he saw what she was referring to. Besides the rest of the room whose focus remained on them, the other couples that had been dancing alongside them were clearly trying to eavesdrop in on their conversation.
“Well, I’m interested in knowing more about your opinions and about you. May I call on you tomorrow?”
The smile on her face vanished, causing him a brief moment of alarm.
“My Lord, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Kenneth watched as her mouth opened and closed as it seemed she struggled with what she was about to tell him. He decided to pause and give her time to gather the strength to say what she needed to say. Whatever it was, he knew he wanted to see her again and was waiting earnestly for a response.
“My father would not allow me to see you,” she responded.
After a brief pause, she continued.
“But if I could, I would like to see you again, My Lord,” she offered, restoring his hope almost immediately after it had been destroyed.
They continued to dance in silence as each basked in the euphoria that the interest between them was mutual.
“Well, if you are certain that the Earl would not approve of us meeting, how about we keep it a secret from him?”
“Keep our meetings a secret from my father? How do you suggest we go about that, My Lord?”
“What if we start by exchanging correspondence?” he suggested suddenly, stunning her into silence.
Chapter Five
Rose watched as Elsa, her lady’s maid, opened the door and walked briskly into her chambers, pausing to shut the door behind her and secure the locks.
When she turned from the door, Rose saw the folded letter glistening in her hand as it caught some of the afternoon’s light that was currently streaming through the window.
“My Lady. I’ve got it,” the lady’s maid said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She walked to the bedside and handed Rose the letter that was in her hand.
It was the same type of paper that was used in the others she’d received in the past week—letters that had been exchanged in secrecy between her and the Marquess of Walsrock.
Ordinarily, the letters would have been signed formally, but since these letters were secret, Lord Walsrock had simply signed them with a W. She, on her own part, had signed hers with a simple R.
They’d agreed on the dance floor at the ball to correspond in secret, without the knowledge of her father or anyone else. However, their decision made, they’d been presented with the challenge of how to keep their pact a secret.
Just before the dance had ended, the solution had come to him. He said he’d figured out a way to get messages to her.
When she’d asked, he’d mentioned the existence of someone he trusted above all else who could deliver his messages to her. He only hoped she had someone like that as well, who could deliver her responses in turn to him.
When he’d told her he was referring to his valet, she realized that she had the same relationship with her lady’s maid, and could use her as a liaison between both of them.
The plan was hurriedly put together and the next day, her first letter from the Marquess had arrived. She’d sent her lady’s maid under the guise of running an errand for her. Elsa was meant to meet his valet at noon and return with a letter from the Marquess.
At dusk, Elsa was to meet the valet again, only this time, what was exchanged was Rose’s response. The lady’s maid and valet had been instructed sternly to avoid discovery of any sort. As a result, the option of where they were to meet was left to them.
If discovered, they were to pretend to be in love themselves in order to save their masters’ reputations and in no case were the letters meant to be discovered.
Rose turned the letter in her hand and felt her heart leap in anticipation as it always did when she received one from the Marquess. If she was being honest, her heart had been leaping from the first moment she’d seen him walk into the ballroom.
Their first dance had been mesmerizing. By the second dance, she’d been beside herself with joy, making her forget that she’d actually been waiting for her betrothed.
Till the end of the ball, the Earl of Rockgonie had failed to make an appearance as planned, and to the best of her knowledge, no letter had arrived at the manor informing her of the reason for his absence.
It didn’t matter in the end, though, as her mind had long sailed from that port.
Thanks to the mesmerizing Marquess of Walsrock, who makes me go weak at the knees at the mere thought of him.
Her mother had tried to broach the subject with her on many occasions during the week, but she’d simply dismissed it with a polite and off-hand comment. After all, Rose wasn’t consulted when they had made the deal with Lord Rockgonie. Why was she being consulted now that the deal hadn’t gone as planned?
When her mother had probed further, proceeding to ask her about the Marquess and their dance, she’d found it hard to keep from smiling while responding that the only thing they’d shared was a dance.
“But he seemed so interested in you,” her mother had said the last time the topic had come up. If she didn’t know better, Rose could swear that she had detected some hope in her mother’s voice, certainly after the deal with Lord Rockgonie had obviously fallen through.
“As I’ve told you before, Mother, he asked if he could call on me and I told him I was already betrothed to someone else and that it wouldn’t be proper,” she’d responded simply, leaving her mother in the dark.
If the betrothal was meant to be a secret, there was no use telling her mother the actual state of things between Rose and the Marquess. In addition, some part of her derived pleasure from seeing her mother tense about her daughter’s betrothal conundrum.
Let her stew over the fact that the plan she’d so desperately made has fallen through. Maybe then she will learn not to interfere with my life.
Yes, she had lied to her mother. But more importantly, Rose had lied to the Marquess. Even though it was a lie of omission, it had been a lie nonetheless.
Rose remembered the exact moment she had the opportunity to tell him during the ball. She’d chosen instead to keep that information to herself, fearing that revealing the truth to the Marquess would tamper with his interest in her.
For some reason, she’d feared the possibility of that happening and decided to stay mute. Now, however, when she received and read his letters, she was glad she’d stopped herself from telling him.
She twirled the new letter in her hand as anticipation built within her. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
What if he finds out about Lord Rockgonie before I ever have a chance to tell him?
The fear of loss that sprung in her chest coincided with the knock on her door.
I need to find a way to tell him.
Her lady’s maid sprang into action, first rushing to collect the letter from her and hide it under her bedding, before proceeding to unbolt and open the door to her chambers.
She made a nervous attempt to smooth her gown as the butler announced at the door that her father requested her presence in the study.
The lady’s maid received the message and announced that Rose would join her father soon, before walking back into the room and bolting the door.
“I do not know what this is about. I swear to you, My Lady. I have been very careful in my going and in my coming. No one has seen me meeting up with the Marquess’ valet,” Elsa wailed.
When the butler had announced her father’s request to see her, she’d immediately thought that her secret correspondence with the Marquess had b
een discovered. However, hearing Elsa wail in fright, she knew there was no way her father was summoning her because of the Marquess business. He simply had no way of knowing.
So why has Father called for me?
She was already dressed appropriately, so she calmed Elsa who was hysterical, and proceeded to head for her father’s study.
When she arrived at the study, she found her father standing at the window with his back to her.
“Father? You sent for me?” she announced as she walked into the study and stood behind him.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 4