The difference between when he said it and when Adam said it, was in the genuineness of the statement and the way it made her feel.
“My Lord,” Elsa said from behind Rose, as the lady’s maid curtsied and left them. This had been Elsa’s routine from the beginning of the week.
“There seems to be a spring in your step, Kenneth,” Rose teased when they were finally alone.
“Why wouldn’t there be? The opportunity to spend time with you is enough motivation to get out of bed every morning,” he replied as he came to sit beside her.
He pulled her close and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Her eyes closed shut from the action as she took in a whiff of him in her breath.
“You smell nice, as always,” she said as her eyes blinked open.
She found Kenneth staring at her with a coy smile on his lips. Without responding, he lowered his lips to hers and claimed them in a kiss.
“I see you love birds have begun again,” Lord Rockgonie said from behind them, causing them to pause.
It was a rare occurrence for Lord Rockgonie to interfere in their courting moments. He simply received Rose, who always arrived first, and left both of them to their devices.
Rose turned first to face the direction Lord Rockgonie’s voice had come from. The smile on her face evaporated instantly as soon as she noticed he wasn’t alone.
She was instantly alert and getting up to her feet, causing Kenneth’s eyes to follow in the same direction, as he wondered what she had seen. Unlike her, the look on Kenneth’s face had been more of surprise than nervousness or confusion.
“Take it easy, Lady Rose. I would like to introduce you to someone special.” Lord Rockgonie’s voice was soothing and reassuring.
Her nervousness at being discovered by a new party gave way to confusion.
She knew of the Lady in Lord Rockgonie’s company even though they had never been introduced. Tales of Lady Anna Corington were well documented in London’s gossip circles as the old lady who had stayed unmarried in spite of all the advances from suitors in her glory days.
Of course, Lady Anna wasn’t as old as the tales portrayed, but that didn’t stop Rose from wondering why Lord Rockgonie had brought someone new into their secret. It was London, after all, and the ton were familiar with themselves to a certain extent.
The lady in question had most certainly seen her kissing Kenneth and short of a miracle, there was no way news wouldn’t begin circulating.
“Lady Rose Vaughan, Lord Walsrock, I would like you both to meet the love of my life, Lady Anna Corington,” Lord Rockgonie said simply, as he tugged his companion closer to his side.
Even though Rose had heard him clearly, her brain was still muddled in trying to interpret his words. It wasn’t until the smiling intruder walked from his side and approached her, that her mind made sense of what had been said.
Oh! Lord Rockgonie’s lover.
“Lady Rose? It is a pleasure to meet you,” Lady Anna said as she arrived in front of her.
“Would you gentlemen please give us a moment? I’ll like to take a stroll with Lady Rose,” Lady Anna said, turning to face the Lords.
“All right,” they answered in unison, even though they, like Rose, were unsure of the reason for Lady Anna’s request.
“Care to join me, away from the prying ears of these gentlemen?” Lady Anna said.
“Just don’t wander too far off or I will start missing her,” Kenneth had added.
With an outstretched hand, Lady Anna invited Rose on the stroll.
Rose, still stunned by Lady Anna’s appearance, accepted the invitation and moved forward to begin strolling with the new guest.
After they had walked a bit and were out of earshot of the gentlemen, Lady Anna spoke.
“I’ve always been an admirer of yours, Lady Rose,” Lady Anna said as they continued walking. “And I consider it quite unfortunate that we had to formally meet under these circumstances.”
“You know of me?” Rose asked, surprised at the admission.
“But of course I do,” Lady Anna chuckled.
“How is that possible?”
“Everyone knows of the beautiful but rebellious daughter of the Earl of Somerholm,” Lady Anna complimented and chided in the same statement.
“And you’ve always admired me?” Rose asked again in confusion, trying to decipher whether she was being mocked or praised.
“Yes, Lady Rose. I have always admired you from a long way off. In some cases, I’ve even gone as far as wishing to be like you. The Good Lord knows if I had just half of your courage, we all wouldn’t be in this dilemma right now,” Lady Anna responded seriously, causing Rose to pause.
There was a brief silence in which they turned a path and continued walking. The gazebo was out of sight at this point.
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
Lady Anna sighed before answering.
“A lot has happened between Lord Rockgonie and I that you do not know about. A little courage on my part and we would most likely have been married by now, making him unavailable and leaving you free from these shackles,” Lady Anna responded, her voice laden with regret.
“I do not understand,” Rose replied simply.
“Let’s just say that if I had the strength to fight for our love like you do with Lord Walsrock, we would have been married by now.”
Not knowing how to respond, Rose stayed silent.
“I would have stood up to his late mother like he had done. She was the main opposition in our love story, all because she didn’t like my mother. Unfortunately, his father went on to share that dislike for me and continued resisting us even after his wife died.”
“Dear Lord!” Rose finally exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I never heard of this before.”
“There is no need to be sorry. You had no fault in this. If anything, I am the one apologizing for not doing what I should have done all this while, thus putting you in such a predicament,” Lady Anna apologized.
“I don’t think you should be hard on yourself, though. It’s not like you could do much in that situation,” Rose offered.
“Oh, but I could have done a lot more than I did in the face of such hopelessness. And that is why I admire your courage,” she responded, causing Rose to smile slightly in response.
“When I’d been made aware of the betrothal, I was distraught. But when Lord Rockgonie told me about you and your love for someone else, my hope was restored. Now I believe the four of us can most definitely find a way to win and it is all thanks to you.”
Rose simply smiled. Knowing that there was someone this sweet and kind, and who was obviously in love with Lord Rockgonie, gave her hope as well. Not only was there a fight for her love with Kenneth, there was also a fight for Lady Anna’s love with Lord Rockgonie.
Just maybe we have what it takes to pull this off amongst the four of us.
“We better start heading back before Lord Walsrock sends out a search party for you,” Lady Anna winked causing Rose to laugh.
“Oh, there will be a search party all right, but definitely not for me. Not with the way Lord Rockgonie was tugging you to his side,” Rose countered humorously as they began making their way back.
“I do admit that Lord Rockgonie loves me a whole lot.” Lady Anna admitted. “But he has nothing on Lord Walsrock. And that kiss? Dear Lord!” she continued.
“Excuse me?” Rose blushed, knowing exactly what Lady Anna had been referring to. Even the memory of being caught kissing Kenneth was getting her hot with embarrassment all over again.
“You are excused,” Lady Anna laughed. “I understand, though. Lord Rockgonie couldn’t keep his hands and lips to himself in the beginning. He still can’t, if I’m being honest.”
The last part of Lady Anna’s statement had Rose turning to look at her. She found Lady Anna winking mischievously, adding meaning to an already heavy statement.
Rose suddenly stopped walking.
“Is anything the matter, My L
ady?” Lady Anna asked in concern. “Have I said something to offend you?”
“Not at all, My Lady. It’s just that…Lord Walsrock…do you think he and I would ever stop feeling the way we feel for each other? Do you think he will wake up one morning and be disappointed that he ever loved me?” Rose asked, a look of vulnerability spreading across her face.
Lady Anna walked back toward her and reached for her hands.
“I know for a fact that he will not find anything disappointing about you,” Lady Anna responded softly. “If he does, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Any man would be lucky to have someone like you. I believe that you have nothing to worry about because when the time comes, you will realize how rare it is to find what the two of you have.” Lady Anna squeezed her hands before letting them go. “Don’t fret about it. Just let it continue to happen naturally. It will be an experience to die for. I promise.”
With her confidence buoyed up, they resumed their walk toward the gazebo.
From this far, they could already make out the faces of their lovers, standing and waiting for them.
“Aren’t we just lucky?” Lady Anna exclaimed. “Just look at how handsome those gentlemen are.” She chuckled.
She is right. Kenneth is looking so fine that I could actually let myself go with him, if we were ever alone.
“I was about to send out a search party for you ladies,” Kenneth announced as they arrived at the gazebo, causing Lady Anna to turn and wink at Rose.
“Don’t you worry, Lord Walsrock. I have returned her safe and sound to you,” Lady Anna chided, causing the entire party to burst out in laughter.
“It has been a while, Lady Anna,” Kenneth responded.
“You two know each other?” Rose asked, finally realizing the look she’d seen on Kenneth’s face when Lord Rockgonie had walked in with Lady Anna by his side.
“We’ve had several run-ins in the past. But we haven’t crossed paths in a long time,” Kenneth responded.
“Way more than several,” Lady Anna laughed.
“Well, how do you two know each other, then?” Rose continued with her line of questioning as they both began laughing.
The two of them continued to laugh causing Rose and Lord Rockgonie to exchange curious glances.
“Our families were a lot closer back in the day, thanks to the friendship between Lord Walsrock and my younger brother. They were both enrolled in the same school, which was where their friendship began. As a result, they both grew up as childhood friends and remained close well into their teenage years.” This time, it was Lady Anna who had responded.
“Well into their teenage years? So they are no longer friends?” Rose asked before noticing that both Kenneth and Lord Rockgonie had grown melancholic. Lady Anna, on the other hand, remained cheery and continued on with answering Rose.
“Well, I don’t see how they can still be friends,” Lady Anna chuckled drily. “My brother died when he was sixteen, ten years ago.”
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry,” Rose apologized. She felt miserable for continuing to prod Lady Anna for answers to her question. Lord Rockgonie had obviously known about Lady Anna’s brother’s death, which was why he had also become quiet.
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. We are all over it. Anyway, that is how I know Lord Walsrock,” Lady Anna explained.
There was a brief pause in which no one said a word. Desperate to change the mood back to what it was, Kenneth spoke.
“Well, it’s been ages since we last saw each other. Wasn’t that at Lady Margaret’s wedding? What a ceremony that was,” Kenneth laughed.
“Most certainly,” Lady Anna agreed amidst laughter.
Chapter Nineteen
Kenneth returned from Lord Rockgonie’s manor to meet Leonard waiting for him with a message. It was late in the evening and all he wanted to do was head to bed. He needed to stay awake for a bit so he could get a little work done.
“Welcome, My Lord,” Leonard said in the presence of other servants that traversed the house. “The last set of names on the list, have agreed to meet with you,” the valet said simply as he walked through the doors of the manor.
“That is wonderful news,” Kenneth responded, as he continued his walk into the house, on his way to the study.
Over the course of two weeks, since he received the list of names that were responsible for inciting an uprising, Kenneth tried scheduling meetings with all of them.
He met with some of the wealthy names on the list with ease. Most of them, however, had denied any knowledge of an uprising. The ones who hadn’t denied it outright, claimed to be really busy while proceeding to cut their meetings short.
Even though his efforts hadn’t met with success thus far, he pressed on, knowing that he was on the right path.
Leonard had eventually suggested that he meet with the brawn and muscles on the list instead of going after the ones with repute. He’d acceded and discharged his valet to go about trying to set up a meeting with the others, preferably together.
The news that Leonard had succeeded couldn’t have made his week any more perfect than it already was.
“What would I do without you, Leonard?” Kenneth exclaimed in glee.
“Apparently nothing,” Leonard replied in a sarcastic whisper as he walked behind Kenneth into the house.
“Oh, please!” Kenneth howled in laughter. “So when is the meeting?”
“Tomorrow, at noon.” Leonard replied.
“I beg your pardon?” Kenneth said as he came to a complete stop. The laughter had vanished from his lips.
“At noon tomorrow.” Leonard repeated, not sure Kenneth had heard him the first time.
“I heard you. Why noon? You know I won’t be available at that time.” Kenneth responded, obviously insinuating that he was going to be at Lord Rockgonie’s manor, just as he had been all week.
“It was the only time slot I could secure, Kenneth,” his valet whispered back. “Isn’t this important to you anymore?”
“Of course it is,” he fired back.
“Then one day away from your regular appointment is more than reasonable, don’t you think? Plus, you could still go down there after you are done.”
It was only a brief pause before Kenneth agreed.
“All right. I’m going to write a letter to her, though, just in case I don’t end up making it back in time.”
“As you wish.”
By the time they had made it through the house and into the study, the conversation had switched into strategies to employ for the meeting tomorrow.
This was going to be his last chance at nipping the whispers of uprising in the bud before it spun out of control. If he didn’t appeal to the sensibilities of the men he was meeting tomorrow, their planned uprising would become a reality.
“I still insist that I read the bill to them in its entirety. If they can understand that I am already fighting for them, they will most likely relent,” he retorted to an earlier comment from Leonard as he walked into the study.
“Read that bill, Kenneth, and I assure you that you will lose their attention same way you lost that of the Lords at the House. You need to lead with something else,” Leonard insisted.
He wasn’t offended by that statement as he knew Leonard wasn’t taking a cheap jab at him. The man was simply trying to offer an alternative solution that he thought would be more successful.
He dropped into his chair as the storm in his mind continued to rage.
“If I find something else to lead with and use the bill as an attachment to my speech, do you think that will be more successful?” he asked after a long moment of contemplation.
“I honestly believe so,” Leonard responded.
They spent the next hour brainstorming together before finally arriving at a consensus.
“There is only one thing I can do. They see me as an outsider and part of the problem. I need to show them the genuineness of my
cause and hope they believe me,” he said.
“I’m not sure I follow your logic, Kenneth,” Leonard responded.
“I need to show them why I got involved in this fight for the common folk in the first place. Would it be possible to get Marie to come with us tomorrow?”
Leonard already knew about the former maid-turned-doxy whose story had started him down this path. He didn’t have to explain further.
“I doubt that possibility. Even if I’m able to find her tonight, convincing her to side with you in the presence of some of these unsavory characters will be almost impossible. She’d stand to lose a lot,” Leonard lamented.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 15