“One week it is, then. I trust Lord Walsrock will make enough copies available for every member of this House. We shall gather a week from now and vote on whether this bill should be passed into law or not. Are we all in agreement, My Lords?” Lord Somerholm continued.
This time the answers were more noticeable as a majority were in agreement.
Kenneth couldn’t begin to fathom what had just happened. The experience this time had been miles apart from his first. He gathered his notes and headed for his seat beside Lord Calbrook, wondering all the while at the turn of events and what had happened to Lord Somerholm.
At the end of the session, he made a beeline straight for Lord Somerholm.
With all the ruckus of the Lords exiting the chambers at the same time, he finally caught up with the Earl at the door.
“Lord Somerholm! I do not know what to say but that you have my gratitude. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, My Lord, thank your father,” Lord Somerholm responded. “And do me a favor, as I have done your father. Stay away from my daughter.” He turned and walked away, leaving Kenneth in shock.
So Father directed Lord Somerholm to protect my bill in parliament. I would never have seen that coming. And Rose…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rose woke up instantly from a light sleep at the sound of her door opening.
From the sound of the footsteps, she knew exactly who had creeped into her room at this time of the night.
“What is the matter?” she asked Elsa in the dark before her lady’s maid had even gotten the opportunity to reach her bedside.
The sudden stop of Elsa’s footsteps told her that she had caught her lady’s maid totally by surprise.
“Lord Walsrock has come to see you, My Lady,” Elsa said simply.
Rose was out of bed and pulling on a gown with lightning speed, not even bothering to ask Elsa any questions.
The letter from Kenneth earlier had informed her that he was going to face parliament again today with his bill. She hadn’t expected him to also sneak in to her garden to see her late at night.
She already knew where he would be and so the only question left to ask was whether everyone else was asleep.
“Lord and Lady Somerholm have retired for the night. Lord Hartington, however, hasn’t returned home,” Elsa said.
She was going to take the risk and sneak out even though Adam could walk in on them at any time. One week without seeing Kenneth and she felt she was going to explode. They had to come up with a solution soon, as she didn’t know how much more of being apart from him she could take.
Having dressed, she began to make her way toward the garden, with Elsa in tow.
On spotting Kenneth, she walked straight into his embrace and stayed there.
“I missed you,” she said as she breathed in his body scent.
“I missed you, too, my love,” Kenneth responded.
They remained silent for a bit, Rose just content to be in his arms. As was their custom, their bodies started swaying involuntarily from side to side in a slow waltz as nature’s music from the garden serenaded them.
“How was parliament?” Rose eventually asked, after what seemed like an eternity.
“Wonderful. And the unexpected happened,” Kenneth responded. “Your father seemed to support my bill, even going as far as asking the Lords to adjourn so that they could all have time to study the bill.”
“I beg your pardon?” her head came up instantly alert.
“I couldn’t believe it myself. Although he did say my father put him up to it, which was even more unbelievable,” Kenneth responded.
“Splendid,” she remarked, as her head slowly came back to rest on his chest.
“And how was your day?” Kenneth asked.
“Like any other day, seeing as I spent it away from you,” Rose responded.
“This will be a worry of the past soon enough, my love. Patience and we will be free soon.”
“I sincerely do hope so,” she responded in exasperation.
“Losing hope?” he questioned with a nervous chuckle.
“On the contrary, Kenneth. I’m just increasingly arriving at the conclusion that you and I should just run away and leave this all behind,” she confessed. “My wedding date to Lord Rockgonie is fast approaching and it doesn’t seem like we have made any headway with cancelling the betrothal yet.”
“We will come up with something. Just be patient,” Kenneth said reassuringly.
The truth was, that short of anyone giving her a plan, she couldn’t feel reassured as it would be her trapped in a union she didn’t want and not him.
Unbeknownst to him, she had already begun to formulate a plan, though. If they continued without a plan until it was two weeks to the wedding, she was going to run away by herself and leave a letter for Kenneth to join her.
It’s better I’m running in the wind and hoping he joins me, than shutting the door forever by being trapped in an unwanted marriage with Lord Rockgonie.
She decided she was going to keep this plan close to her chest. There was no use telling Kenneth and having him discourage her. If nothing came up, then he would be made aware by the letter she’d leave behind for him.
She continued in his arms, enjoying the warmth emanating from his body. Her senses started getting jumbled up as she began to yearn for him.
Memories of the last time they were together in the bedroom began to wage an assault on her mind, considering the fact that they had started but not finished.
She used her eyes to search out Elsa’s position as subtly as possible. She needed to determine whether it was safe for her to proceed with seducing him and having him make love to her in the garden, here and now.
“Don’t even think about it.” He chuckled and she could feel the rumble of his laugh as it vibrated in his chest.
“What could you be referring to?” she asked, knowing for a fact that he hadn’t heard her thoughts.
“We are not going to make love in your mother’s garden, so don’t even think about it,” he responded, still chuckling and stunning her into silence.
“Oh my goodness. You vile human. I wasn’t thinking about that,” she lied, her laugh betraying her.
“You underestimate the bond between us, Rose. I know what you are thinking or feeling to a certain degree, at all times. And as much as I feel like making love to you in this moment, it would be gross carelessness on our part to proceed right here in this garden.”
“Not even for a brief moment?” she adjusted her head to look up at him, a pleading look causing her eyes to overflow with cuteness.
“Not even for a brief moment, my love. If we are caught, nothing we say will rectify the situation. We would have effectively used our own hands to ensure that we have destroyed whatever future together was in store for us. Patience, my love, and worries like this will no longer be concerns of ours,” Kenneth responded.
The wisdom in his response had her gushing with affection for him. She couldn’t believe her luck and how she had ended up with a wonderful gentleman like Kenneth.
“I understand,” she said simply as they fell back into silence and a slow waltz.
She had no idea how many hours passed before Elsa materialized to take her back into the house.
In spite of her protests, Kenneth had agreed with Elsa that it was time for them to retire. He kissed her, and told her he loved her, before turning and vanishing into the hedges.
She had responded early enough this time, so he heard her before he’d left.
As she made her way back to her room, she realized that the feeling that was currently coursing through her body was that of joy and hope.
Soon, nothing will be able to separate us.
Morning came faster than expected.
She could have sworn she had literally just closed her eyes before Elsa was back again and knocking on her door.
“What is the matter this time?” Rose didn’t bother to hide her irritation f
rom her voice. “I just fell asleep.”
“Lady Somerholm has asked that you join your family at breakfast. She has asked me to come get you ready and bring you downstairs,” Elsa responded, unfazed by Rose’s tantrum.
“Breakfast?” Rose exclaimed as she sat up in bed, a million thoughts running through her head.
Is Mother aware of Kenneth’s visit last night? Is that why I’m being summoned?
“Could it be that she knows about…” her voice trailed off even though she knew Elsa understood.
“Don’t worry, My Lady. Lady Somerholm has no idea about your night visitor. Whatever the reason for her summoning you, it has nothing to do with that,” Elsa assured her.
Buoyed with a new confidence, she got out of bed and made herself ready for breakfast.
As Elsa escorted her down, her lady’s maid chipped in a little advice for her.
“My Lady, might I suggest not talking at all this time around? If you go and get further restrictions imposed on you, I will be the one on the receiving end, struggling to keep your love life afloat.” Her lady’s maid teasing causing Rose to laugh.
“Don’t be silly. One more prohibition or two isn’t beyond anything you can handle,” she responded.
They both laughed as they cleared the stairs. Walking into the dining room, Rose realized that she wasn’t the last person to arrive. Even though both her parents sat comfortably at the table, Adam was conspicuously absent.
She knew for a fact that her brother had still not gotten back home by the time she went to bed. She surmised that he either wasn’t going to come down to breakfast, or he was going to come really late.
Whatever the case, she knew that he wouldn’t be in trouble compared to if the roles were switched and she was the one in his shoes.
She greeted her parents and sat down to breakfast.
“The last time we were here together, you were very unruly. Can I trust that you will be better behaved this time?” her mother said, feeling depressed.
Every fiber in her being wanted to give a response. She chose, instead, to glance at her mother and continue whatever she was doing, ignoring the question altogether. Hopefully, Lady Somerholm got the message and was wise enough not to continue down that path.
As a servant attended her, she noticed her father had barely touched his breakfast and was, in fact, reading some papers at the table. She wanted to ask but decided against it.
Elsa was right, even though her comment had been made in humor. If she stayed silent, she probably was going to survive this breakfast unscathed. If she made any comment whatsoever, she will have inadvertently opened the door of chaos and directed it her way.
She decided to stay silent.
“So? How are things with you and Lord Rockgonie? Is everything going great?” her mother questioned.
She doesn’t just know when to quit.
“I am eating, Mother,” she responded austerely.
“So you suddenly can’t talk because you are eating?” her mother responded, with her voice on edge.
“Leave her alone,” Lord Somerholm interjected from his reading. “She has said she is eating and does not wish to talk,” her father said, effectively saving her from her mother.
A look at Lady Somerholm and she knew how timely her father’s intervention had been. Her mother had fury stamped all over her face. But in keeping with tradition, she had decided to stay silent, seeing as her husband had told her to.
Rose, on the other hand, had to strain extra hard to keep from chuckling out loud.
I win this round, Mother. Cheers!
Breakfast continued uneventfully till Adam showed up almost at the tail end.
“Morning, Son. Did you rest well?” her mother asked, not bothering to hide her favoritism for the spoilt brat.
“Yes, Mother. You will not believe the night I had,” Adam said cheerily.
“Which is why you decided to insult me with your prolonged absence at the breakfast table?” her father interjected.
Rose almost choked on her food.
Her father had not only defended her, but had also scolded that rotten brother of hers?
What has come over you, Father?
If she found it difficult containing her laughter earlier, looking at Adam’s face now at their father’s rebuke made the job almost impossible this time.
She had to hold her breath to keep from laughing.
Her brother’s face was white with shock.
“I am sorry, Father,” Adam eventually managed to say, to her utmost satisfaction.
Her father announced that he was done and going to head to his study to continue reading. Even though she wasn’t done, she wasn’t going to let her father leave her alone at the table. She didn’t plan on staying with him for long, though. She just planned on using him to make her escape.
In a short while, she planned to be back within the safety of her room and most likely getting ready to go to Lord Rockgonie’s manor so she could ensure that her mother didn’t follow her all the way back to her room to continue making her life miserable.
“I am done, as well,” Rose lied. “May I come along with you, Father?”
As soon as Lord Somerholm nodded his agreement, she was up and following closely behind him, leaving the remaining half of the family behind.
“What are you reading?” she asked, as they made their way toward the study.
Her father paused and turned to look at her before answering.
“I am reading a copy of Lord Walsrock’s bill,” her father responded, observing her intently.
“I thought his bill was shut down when he tried to present it to the House. Why are you bothering yourself with reading it?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
It was the perfect response, as it told her father that she had no idea about any new development and had only been focusing on her betrothed, as he had hoped.
They resumed walking as her father began explaining the new developments to her, which she was already aware of.
By the time they got into the study, he’d finished his explanation so she said her goodbyes and made to excuse herself.
“Are you not going to ask to read it?” her father asked again, catching her off guard.
“Well, I didn’t think you’d want me to, so I didn’t bother asking,” she responded.
He dropped the bill on the table and gestured to her to come and read it.
She moved toward the table, putting up a show of reluctance even though every fiber of her being was excited.
She sat down and began reading, just as her father walked over to the window and lit his pipe.
“This seems quite fair and reasonable,” she remarked, completely impressed with what Kenneth had put together.
Her father’s reply was a grunt even as she continued to read.
Not able to contain her excitement any longer, she exclaimed, “Forget what I said earlier, Father, I haven’t seen a better bill than this.” She remarked, “This is amazing.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Lord Somerholm responded. “The bill isn’t half as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, the bill isn’t bad at all.”
The shock on her face at her father’s admission must have turned her whole skin white.
“Am I hearing you correctly, Father? You finally agree with Lord Walsrock’s political ideology and principles?” she asked.
“Yes,” her father replied simply as he puffed on his pipe.
There was a brief pause in which her head tried to make sense of what was going on in front of her.
“So if you agree, that means you are voting for this bill to be passed?” she asked again, excitement building in her. She definitely couldn’t wait to tell Kenneth in her letter that he had gained another supporter in the person of her father, his main political rival.
“No!” her father responded, puncturing a hole in the excitement she was feeling.
“Excuse me?” she asked, not sure she had heard his response properly
.
“No, I am not voting for the passage of this bill in parliament. As wonderful as it is, I’m going to vote against it,” her father replied, rendering her speechless.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kenneth stood in the House of Lords a week later as the votes were about to be cast.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 20