by Aubrey Brown
“She is safe here, is she not?” Rose asked.
“She is as safe as we can keep her, Rose. However, we have no legal right to keep Beth. So the need to travel to London and seek a solicitor has become paramount. We will seek to legally adopt Beth.”
Just as Rose was about to respond, William was shown into the room by a teary-eyed George.
Rose saw William hesitate for a second before he focused on Gabriel. It was as if someone had stuck a needle into her heart. She loved him so much that the possibility of him not loving her back was…disturbing.
“Thank you for coming so quickly, William,” Gabriel said.
“How could I not, when you are shouting at my mind to come?” William mused.
“We have a problem. Misses Greenleaf is dying and our blood is no longer curing her. She wants to move on, and her Beth was not exactly brought her legally.”
“Bloody Hell! That is a mess. Where is your wife?”
“She is enclosed in our chamber, giving into a fit of hysterics. Beth is like a daughter to us now, and she is afraid she will be taken. I have told her we would seek out the help from a solicitor, and that is why I have called you here. Do you know any solicitor that has worked with our kind before, one that will see us at night?”
Hope dimmed in William’s eyes, as it did Gabriel’s. It was clear. He did not.
“The only solicitor I knew that could have helped us is now deceased. I have yet to find another that will strictly correspond by mail or meet in the dark of night.”
For the time being, the subject of a lawyer was put aside for the matter of Beth and keeping her safe. Rose lost focus when she felt the cold distance William was putting up against her. He would not even look in her direction.
Rose needed to move away for time to think. She loved William.
“I am going to go and do some thinking of my own, if you gentlemen would excuse me?”
At her father’s nod, she quit the room and walked through to the gardens. She sat upon the bench and waited for her mind to fill with an answer for Beth. When none came, images of robust William filled her mind. He looked like a knight of old would, strong, dependable, and with the abilities of a warrior. His dark-brown hair was worn out of fashion, long, almost hitting his shoulders. His eyes were fiercely blue, while her own wheat-colored hair and hazel eyes seemed not to compare.
Her hands began to shake as she saw William materialize in front of her hungry eyes.
He stood among the shadows and said, “I have a memory of telling you that a child has no place at night in the woods.”
Rose smiled, “I remember that evening, William. I also recall telling you that my parents would not like you stalking their grounds.”
He looked at her in shock. “You remember that incident, do you? I thought I cleared your memory of that night, my lady.”
“You tried. However, I am a determined woman who forgets nothing. And I must add that I was focused on you and not your words.”
“I must have been lax in my mind manipulation. I was surprised at your candor and your reaction to my presence.”
Rose’s hands began to ring her skirts in worry. “William. I need to speak with you.”
She did not misjudge the look in his eyes at her words. He flinched as if waiting for the gallows. That did not deter her, for as the old saying went, “nothing ventured is nothing gained.”
“William, I am sure that you know I have…feelings for you. I know this is not the proper time or place—” She stopped at his hand in the air.
“You are indeed right, Rose. This is the worst of circumstances, and I do not want to worry your heart any more than it already is. I do love you, Rose, but not as you want. I have known for a while of your feelings. Your mind was not exactly silent to me when you were much smaller. I feel a familial love for you, as an uncle perhaps. I cannot give you what you want, sunshine,” he ended in a whisper.
Rose’s heart cracked at his words. She felt all the color drain from her face. She was a silly child who believed her love meant he loved her in return. What a fool! She was indeed the adolescent he called sunshine. Oh, how she hated the nickname, as much as she hated him now.
She stood and moved quickly away from him. She heard him call her name, but she was undeterred. She could not face him again!
She felt William stand among the shadows as her figure retreated.
Rose walked quietly to her room and shut the door. She began to cry silent tears. She knew her parents would be able to hear her, and she wanted to try to stop them from coming into her room.
What a crazed madwoman she was. She practically had their marital life planned out. They would marry, and then they would adopt some beautiful children and raise them as her parents did for her and James.
She never believed he did not love her as a man loves a woman. And then a thought came to her. He was a duke, and she was an adoptive daughter of an earl. Her biological parents were just a baron and a baroness. Perhaps she was not socially good enough for him? Conceivably, he had another woman in mind for the position of a duchess all along.
The notion sent her to her chamber pot. She thought she knew William, but it would seem she did not know him at all. Mayhap he was right about monsters waiting in the darkness to gobble her whole.
Her young heart beat heavily in her chest as her situation set inside of her breast. What was she to do now?
Chapter Two
Rose awoke the next morning at midday, which was not a good thing. She was supposed to be up, helping Beth with her work. Her brain was wholly a mess. She’d cried her way through some tough decisions the previous night. The life she had planned out for her and William would never come to fruition.
She also needed to use the tricks of the trade her father and mother taught her to completely shield her mind from the undead, especially William. She did not want him in her thoughts again.
All of her dreams were gone, and she had to make a fresh life and make new plans for herself. The thought came to her in her night terrors last evening. Beth was in danger, and her parents needed someone to travel to London to seek out a solicitor who used discretion. She, at that moment, made the decision to be the one to go to London and help her family. Perhaps she would make friends, and even find a nice gentleman that would heal her broken heart.
She doubted the last, but she had to move on. Decision made, she sought out her governess.
When Rose came upon her, she stopped shortly and tried not to gasp. The once vibrant woman was thin and pale, looking dangerously close to death.
“Misses Greenleaf, may I come in and speak with you?” The older woman nodded her head very carefully, as if it may snap.
Rose walked across the room and could not help the smell of impending death from entering her nostrils. It was nauseating, and it brought tears to her eyes.
“Now see here, girl. I taught you to be a strong woman, not a simpering lady of the ton. Ye finds some strength within yourself to choke back those sobs and behave as if this is a normal day. Understood?”
Rose felt the retort straighten her spine. “I was not crying, old woman. Your room is dusty. We need to send a maid in here to clean.”
Misses Greenleaf smiled in returned. “That’s me girl.” Rose smiled and sat in the chair that was pulled up close to the bed.
“Why are ye here, girl? Are you nearby to apologize for sleeping over Beth’s learning hour?” Rose blushed and opened her mouth into a fair imitation of a fish.
“I was teasing you, child, ‘tis not your job to teach Beth. Your parents are now trying to find my replacement. “
“Nay, no one can replace you…”
Misses Greenleaf waved her hand through the air as she shifted her weight upon the bed.
“Of course not, but you are a young lady of marriageable age. I would assume you would want to find a certain husband?” A sparkle entered her eyes that pinched Rose’s heart.
“I had a thought to marry someone, but now
I am determined to make my own way. That was the reason I came to call on you. I know about Beth and the current problem.”
The woman began to gasp, and Rose had to message her back.
“So, you have told your William you love him, and he disagreed with your feelings,” she stated. The old woman was curt and direct and not nearly as shocking as she used to be.
“As you say. I want to leave the castle and make a new life in London, and not so close to the sea. I want to marry a proper gentleman and have a family. It is not to be with William. He believes himself to love me as an uncle. I was upset, but now I realize it was the love of a silly misguided child.”
Misses Greenleaf’s eyes were assessing and disturbing. She could always tell when they were into shenanigans and mischief. Rose was a very good concealer of truth when she worked at it, and she had used her talent in the past. However, her governess was not so easily fooled.
“Your parents will not like the arrangement,” she warned.
“I am sure I can bring them to my side of thinking. You let me worry about the arrangements and just get well. We need you around this castle awhile longer.”
Misses Greenleaf dismissed her with a wave of her arm, as if she were the Queen herself. Rose quit the room and walked the long hallways to the kitchens. She was very hungry suddenly. Her heart was still pierced with wicked pain, but her mind was indeed focused and clear. She would embark upon a trip to London that may yield her heart’s desires. She worked a plan out during the daylight hours, and then set to wait for her parents to awaken at dark.
* * * *
The Duke of Edington’s estate
William worried his thumb over his encounter with Rose the previous night. He knew the young girl fancied herself in love with him. He also knew he should have set her to rights when she was eleven years old. William felt sick to his soul, and he had none. He did not know how to love a woman as he should. Josephine killed any feeling inside of him to love again. He knew he must have loved her, for if he didn’t, he would be responsible for the wicked things she bad him to do, and that was impossible. He was blinded by her dark beauty and her mischievous charm. He had grown much since destroying her, and letting Rose think he loved her in a sexual, marital manner was beyond comprehension.
So he sat before the hearth and made sense out of his situation. He would no longer be allowed to come to Gabriel and Emma’s home. He was certain Rose had divulged all to them. And the thought of no longer having a friendship with the couple was…disturbing.
Just when he was ready to leave his home to feed, he heard Gabriel summon him to his side. Sighing internally he left his home in a wake of air and mist.
* * * *
Lord Halverson’s castle
Rose had been talking with her parents since they’d risen that night. Beth was placed into her room, none the wiser that her life might be in danger. With kisses and hugs given to the child, Rose asked George to have her parents brought into the parlor for a chat.
“What do you mean? You wish to be the one to go to London?” her father bellowed.
“Now, Gabriel…” her mother started.
He held his hand in the air. “If you are about to tell me not to yell at the girl, Emma, you are mad. She cannot possibly go to London on her own.”
“She will not be traveling alone, Gabriel. She will take a maid and a footman. She will not race through the night on a lone horse as I did.”
At the reminder, Gabriel stood still.
Rose remained quiet in her chair, hands clenched, and knuckles white. She did not explain to her parents her want to flee to London, but she felt her mother knew.
Rose had employed the technique taught to her by her father to keep her mind clear and her thoughts private. It seemed to her that the trick was working.
“Gabriel, dear, Rose is a grown woman, and she has come up with a solution that will solve our complications. We need a family member to travel, and to seek counsel with a solicitor. George cannot go. He is taking care of Misses Greenleaf and hiring a new governess. You and I are not able to meet with anyone during the day. Rose can take care of our wants. I think we should discuss this.”
Gabriel took a seat upon the settee next to his wife, and seemed to be deep in thought. Rose could hardly stand the tension.
She then took a chance and spoke from her chair. “Father, I understand your worry, but as mother said, I am of age and James has been away from home for much of our childhood, learning to become an Earl. Please, let me help our family and have a chance of a life aside from Halverson Castle.”
She hoped he took her words at face value, for she did not want to give herself away. Her mother’s eyes became dim, and she knew then that her mother was very perceptive. “Gabriel?” Emma asked.
“I suppose she could travel to London to find some help. You have some connections to a family there, do you not? She could most certainly stay with them.”
“I do! I know Lady Windborne. She is the mother of old friends from my educational years, the Trentons. I will write a letter immediately and perhaps you and William could travel to London this very evening and send a runner with the missive?”
“That sounds like a fine idea. Rose, you will promise to be careful, and you will take heed to be discreet. Your mother and I will only visit if you foresee any difficulties. If you do, you must call for us immediately,” her father added.
Rose was about to disagree with her mother, about father traveling to London with William, but decided against it. It would raise suspicion and cause a rift. It was not her parents’ fault that William broke her heart. She also did not want her father to think her still a child. He may change his mind, and keep her here. So she smiled and nodded her head.
“I shall call for William immediately, and we will move quickly. Rose, you should go and retire to bed. You have a journey ahead of you within a few days. We can explain to the Trentons you are coming for a season. It has just started, so it would not bring a question as to why you are there. We will, of course, give you all the funds you would need for a season and the solicitor.” Her father quickly walked to the bell pull and called a maid to bring her parents their nightly wine.
Rose stood up and quickly quit the room. She did not want to be about for William’s return.
She did not get far when she heard William’s deep voice follow her down the hallway. He clearly heard of her departure to London. She quickly went inside her room. The coward who she was would not permit her to stay and listen.
“What do you mean you intend to send Rose to London,” William practically yelled.
“As I said, we will be sending Rose to London to clear up the matter of Beth,” Emma repeated. William was in complete shock. This was the maddest idea he had ever heard, little Rose in London? She was but a child.
“She is yet a child, Gabriel. She will be taken advantage of there,” William reasoned.
“We will be sending a maid, a footman, and she will be staying with the Trentons. They are a highly respectable family. They will guide her and make sure she is safe. If Rose is discreet, she will flourish, William. It is the start of the season after all,”
William was out of arguments. He was not Rose’s guardian. Her parents seemed set on sending her away. And he had a sneaking suspicion that Rose volunteered for the assignment because of him.
“…and then we will travel to a runner and deliver the missive. Are you ready?” Gabriel asked.
William missed a bit of his sentence, but nodded his head in agreement. Rose was going to be on her own in London. The thought sent a shaft of cold dread through his undead body. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
“We will be back directly, my darling,” Gabriel stated to his wife.
“I have no doubt of that, and William thank you for helping.” Emma then quit the room with the intent of feeding.
Gabriel and William disappeared into the night, and landed straight in the middle of deserted Bond Street.
&nbs
p; “Are you sure of this, Gabriel?” William asked.
“I am as sure as one can be, William. We have no other choice. And Rose is now a woman. She is but a month away from her eighteenth year. She is capable like her mother. She will succeed. If she has any difficulty, she has promised to call for us. We need to remain discreet.” Gabriel sighed.
They walked through the streets, searching for a deliverer.
“I understand the problems, Gabriel. It is just that Rose is still a young lady…”
“I thought so as well, William, but my dear wife did point out to me the solid fact that she is of a marriageable age now. And she should have a season.”
The thought almost stopped William in his steps. Was that true?
Suddenly, Gabriel stopped and whistled to a little urchin. The small creature ran over and took the missive and the coin.
“We will follow you at a distance and when you have delivered the note, you shall receive another shilling,” Gabriel instructed.
At the moment, the child was quick on his feet and made a fast pace to the home. He respectfully knocked upon the door. William hoped the time was not so late that the house would be put off. However, the door was opened by a butler.
With the important missive in the Trentons’ hands, the child ran back down the stairs and collected his coin. With that accomplished, William and Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief and left the spot they were standing in.
As they walked back through to Bond Street, Gabriel said, “William, I am worried about my daughter, and I know that my wife will be upset if I try to interfere. We have decided that we need to stay close to Beth, and the enclosure of the castle is best. I want to ask a boon of you.”
