Just then, one of the constables Detective Cooper had sent out, met them at the carriage with news.
“We have found Leonard Arnold, sir.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kenneth’s attention turned to the door as it opened and Lord Rockgonie and Detective Cooper walked in.
He wasn’t shocked at his friend’s presence because after the revelation on the real reason behind his presence at the office, the Detective had said he was going off to find Lord Rockgonie.
That was quick.
He stood to his feet to welcome his friend.
“I sure am glad to see a familiar face,” he said as he stretched his hand toward Lord Rockgonie.
“A familiar face, you say? So how is it that I do not recognize you?” Lord Rockgonie teased, causing everyone in the room to chuckle. “It’s good to see you safe and unharmed, My Lord,” He said, starting with a handshake and ending up with a brief hug.
“I guess I have these fine officers to thank for that,” he responded as they took their seats. “They’ve been looking out for me from the beginning.”
“I figured that out already, on my way here,” Lord Rockgonie responded with a smile. “I hope you are all right, though?”
“Yes, I am. And the Lady?” He responded, knowing Lord Rockgonie understood his question and would respond with equal tact.
“The Lady is fine as well. She has been worried sick about you, though. But I guess that’s all about to end.”
“Not yet, I’m afraid. These fine officers need to first catch who is responsible for all of this.”
“And we have, My Lord.” This time it was Detective Cooper who had responded. “I am afraid your valet is responsible.”
There was a brief silence in which Kenneth exchanged looks with first Detective Cooper and then Lord Rockgonie.
“It is true,” Lord Rockgonie said and shrugged his shoulders in resignation. “I am afraid there’s more, though.”
“More than the fact that the person I trusted most in the world was playing me for a fool all this time?” he responded, his voice cracking.
After Detective Cooper revealed that Leonard was alive and was, in fact, the person who had first come to them with all the allegations and evidence, Kenneth felt betrayed. He still managed to try and think up an excuse as his mind refused to believe Leonard had betrayed him without a just cause.
What does he stand to gain, after all? No! There has to be a reason why he did this.
He continued trying to reason it out and was almost on the verge of absolving his valet of any guilt whatsoever in his mind.
“Yes, My Lord. There is more,” Detective Cooper responded.
There was a brief pause before the Detective continued.
“He is your half-brother, My Lord.” Detective Cooper made the big revelation.
“I beg your pardon?” Kenneth smirked and turned to look at Lord Rockgonie. The look he saw in his friend’s eyes wiped the smile off his face instantly.
“Is this true?” he asked nervously.
“I am afraid it’s true. It slipped out when I talked with him during the protests. He confirmed it when Detective Cooper interrogated him,” Lord Rockgonie said.
“Apparently, his mother had a brief affair with your father while she worked as a maid in your house. It had happened once and they had buried it away like it never happened. Unfortunately, she only found out that she was with child months later,” Detective Cooper said, before pausing briefly to catch his breath.
“She’d gone back to your father, who had promised that she would always have work at the manor so that she would have the means to take care of the child. His only condition was that their secret would remain between both of them and not even the child would know that he was his father,” Detective Cooper continued.
“So my father is actually aware of this,” Kenneth interjected.
“Apparently so. It seems Leonard’s mother kept her promise till the tail end, when she finally told Leonard the truth on her death bed five years ago,” Detective Cooper said.
“So, he is my elder brother? And he has been working as my valet?”
“Yes. And he has known this fact for five years. He also never approached the Duke with this information so the Duke has no idea that he knows the truth. He hated the Duke from the moment he found out, though. So this protest was more of a reaction from an aggrieved illegitimate child to his father. He just seemed angry while telling us this. And almost relieved that he finally could tell the truth.”
“He’s been caught?” Kenneth asked simply, his mind still reeling from the revelation.
“Yes, he has. And we’ve gone ahead to process him for jail pending when we can charge him to court,” Detective Cooper responded.
“And the protests?” Kenneth asked again.
“They are dying down. After we picked up Leonard in front of parliament, we also took the liberty of arresting most of the names on that list. I am sure it would also interest you to know that one of those names was responsible for the Cyprian’s murder we were investigating some time ago. We only found out after he confessed voluntarily to this crime and more.”
“So a commoner was responsible after all. Who was it?” Kenneth asked.
“Henry Percival, the wealthy merchant,” the detective responded simply causing Kenneth’s eyes to grow wide with shock.
After a brief moment, Kenneth finally spoke.
“And the ones you didn’t arrest?” he asked.
“The rest are at large but we are closing in on them as we speak.”
“And?”
“With the main instigators out of the way, the protests have lost their fuel. The fires are slowly going out, even though there are still a few incidents we are trying to curtail. I guess, it’s safe to say that we caught the perpetrators in the nick of time, before the protests took on a life of their own,” Detective Cooper responded.
“It isn’t over, unfortunately. Leonard and his band might have been stopped, but the underlying reasons why they were able to amass such support, remains. Sooner or later, the flickering embers of a revolt will be reignited.”
He turned to face Lord Rockgonie.
“Unless there is a major reform.”
“With the events of yesterday and today, there is bound to be one. The Lords have not only seen the power of the masses but have also been cowered into fear and silence. Your bill will see the light of day,” Lord Rockgonie responded.
Kenneth looked like he hadn’t heard a word that was said about his bill. His face revealed his daze and confusion.
“So Leonard is my half-bother.”
There was no response as silence fell on them.
“May I see him?” he requested solemnly.
* * *
The next morning, Elsa burst into the room excitedly, startling Rose.
“My Lady, a message has just arrived for you.” After a brief pause, she added, “It’s from Lord Walsrock.”
Rose was on her feet in an instant.
“He’s been freed? What did he say?” She asked excitedly.
“Well, the messenger said, Lord Rockgonie has asked that you meet him at the manor.”
“Lord Rockgonie? I thought you said it was news from Lord Walsrock?” Rose responded dejectedly.
“It is, My Lady. The messenger also said Lord Rockgonie asked that you come ready to get a surprise. And that he knew you’d love this one as you have been waiting for it,” Elsa said beaming.
It took her a moment to understand the code in the message that Elsa was alluding to.
“Oh, my goodness!” She jumped in excitement. “It is Lord Walsrock.” She ran to get ready to meet her lover.
A little over two hours later, she was stepping down from her carriage at Lord Rockgonie’s manor.
Lord Rockgonie himself met her out front and bowed, a large smile on his face.
“Welcome, My Lady. I knew you would get here as quick as I anticipated.”
&nbs
p; “Is he…” her voice trailed off.
Lord Rockgonie simply smiled and took her hand in his. “Come with me.” He led her into the house.
When they arrived at the door of the room he had assigned to her, her heart began fluttering.
“He is waiting for you,” Lord Rockgonie said simply as he smiled and walked away, leaving Rose standing in front of the door.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Oh my goodness!
There he was in the room, waiting. He was on his feet in an instant, as soon as he realized that she was the one coming in. She stepped in and locked the door behind her.
“Rose!” He exclaimed softly and that was all that he needed to say before she found herself rushing forward into his arms.
The tears came next as she sobbed into his chest.
“I missed you,” she cried.
“I missed you, too, my love,” he responded as he embraced her and stroked her head.
“I was so worried. I did not know what to do when I heard everything that had happened to you, coupled with your arrest,” she said into his chest.
“I’m here now. You don’t have to worry anymore,” he replied, as he nudged her chin up and kissed her.
She sensed it was supposed to be a brief kiss of comfort and solace but yet it lingered. The pause in the moment caused her heart to skip a beat. And then their lips began to move.
Slowly, the kiss deepened and with every caress of her lips, her knees weakened.
Soon, she was moaning back into his mouth as desire flooded her body and blew her mind away. Her hands came up and rested gently on his back even as his lips continued to ravenously draw from her depths, stoking the flame that was her desire and increasing the thirst that was her longing.
She moaned loudly, causing him to pause and stare deeply into her eyes. In his eyes, she saw an unbridled lust that threatened to swallow her whole, causing the space between her legs to grow wet with cravings.
“Make love to me,” she whispered and it took him over the edge.
He began getting rid of her clothes, one after the other. The sensation of her clothes gliding off her body, over her already sensitized skin, increased her arousal in no small measure.
She pursed her lips as he took the last set of clothing off. She stood in her undergarments and still he looked at her like a lion about to devour its prey.
He proceeded with undressing her completely, this time planting soft kisses on every exposed part of her skin as he went along.
With her undergarments and the rest of her clothing in a pool around her legs, he began taking his clothes off, slowly and deliberately, making sure to give her a good viewing with the slow reveal.
“Oh, my!” she gasped when all his clothes finally came off.
As they stood naked, her boldness began to falter as she squirmed for a covering.
“Don’t. You are absolutely beautiful. Don’t try and hide,” Kenneth whispered.
Her mouth grew dry instantly from the heat she felt was emanating from her body. He stepped closer to her and bent his lips slowly back down.
Rose drank from his depths as her hands came up around his neck. Her moan returned as her eyes closed in desire. Suddenly and without warning, he picked her up in his arms and took her to the bed.
Slowly, he placed her down on the bed and began planting soft kisses all over her body. From her forehead, to the base of her neck, to her navel, no part of her body was spared this pleasurable assault as she writhed and squirmed in pleasure beneath him.
When he took her nipple in his mouth, a loud moan escaped her lips. Her back arched up from the bed as she pushed her chest upward, driven by desire. As his tongue twirled around her nipple, her legs parted involuntarily.
As soon as he noticed the gesture, he paused and positioned himself between her legs. He brought his head up to look at her and that moment seemed to stretch on into eternity.
She literally stopped breathing and pursed her lips, anticipating when he was going to delve into her depths. Her wondering was short-lived as he slowly slid into her, causing her world to explode with a mixture of pain and pleasure.
She knew the exact moment her virginity was erased, as a pinch of pain originating from between her legs ricocheted through her body. She bit down on her lips as he slid all the way in and paused, giving her a moment for the pain to pass.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She let her breath out slowly and answered.
“Yes.” The seductive nature of her voice surprised even her.
And then he began to move.
No prior description of pleasure could have prepared her for this moment as he began thrusting slowly, in and out of her.
Her eyes rolled back in her head as she gasped and clasped him tighter. Every fiber in her being was responding to his thrusts as pleasure filled her from within. Soon, her hips began to move involuntarily beneath him, moving in opposite directions of his thrust so as to receive the full girth and length of his erection.
He responded by increasing the intensity and speed of his thrusts, causing her to moan incoherently.
“Please! No! Yes! Oh my goodness!” She gasped.
He silently continued and soon she began to feel a sensation originating in the depths of her stomach and rising in intensity till it threatened to swallow her whole.
“I am all yours,” she whispered, with the last modicum of control she possessed.
“And I am yours,” he responded, with a deep thrust that finally sent her over the edge.
Her insides exploded in ecstasy as a silent scream escaped her lips. At the same time, her back arched off the bed, her eyes rolled back and her body began to convulse from the sheer force of her orgasm.
The sensation that had been growing in intensity, finally consumed her as she lost all control. Somewhere at the peak of ecstasy, she heard him grunt loudly as he wrapped his arms around her. She felt his muscles grow taut even as the walls of her womanhood gripped him hard.
Together they crested the wave and stayed suspended at the peak for a moment that seemed to stretch on for eternity. Eventually, they crashed back down to the bed, spent and writhing from the last fading moments of sexual bliss.
How long they stayed that way was a riddle she was never going to solve.
My beating heart!
She slowly came back from the brink of unconsciousness. She felt all of his weight on her as her eyes blinked open.
A cursory glance and she saw that her hands and legs were still wrapped around him even as he lay on her, completely spent. She felt a peace and closeness to him that she’d never felt before. They had just unlocked a new level of intimacy, otherwise inaccessible prior to this moment. She shifted slightly under him to center his weight, only to discover that he was still buried deep inside her.
He stirred awake as he slowly regained consciousness and she couldn’t have imagined him looking anymore perfect than he did in that moment.
“There you are,” she whispered, causing him to smile.
“There you are.” He responded simply as his head came up to look at her. “Your beauty renders me speechless every time. I don’t think I will ever get used to it,” he said, causing her to blush and tilt her head sideways.
He lifted one hand and nudged her face back toward him.
“You are so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she responded, completely overcome by emotion as a tear slipped from her eye.
He nudged her jaw to lift her lips upward then he lowered his head and kissed her in a moment that continued to stretch on in bliss. The kiss began to take a life of its own as she noticed energy returning into her body.
He continued to kiss her and she began to notice his growing erection, that was already buried deep within her. She clasped tighter around him and continued to respond to his kisses, her desire and craving slowly returning.
Dear Lord!
When he suddenly adjusted
himself and shifted slightly out of her, she gasped. He raised his head and looked at her, a smile plastered on his lips. At this point, she could feel that he was at full erection as the muscles between her legs had to part to accommodate his increase in size.
He bent his mouth toward her lips at the same time he slammed deep into her and she was back in the throes of passion, blinded by desire and driven by yearning.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 27