“Lady Rose, Lord Walsrock’s valet is missing. From what I hear, no one knows of his whereabouts, neither can they say where he went,” Lord Rockgonie had informed her.
It had taken a moment for the statement to sink in. Leonard’s whereabouts were unknown and that was why the letters from Kenneth had stopped. There was no other way for him to get them to her, after all.
“Oh my goodness!” Rose exclaimed. “What happened?”
“No one knows for sure. A lot of effort is being made to find him but there have been no leads yet,” Lord Rockgonie had responded. “Not…not even a body,” he stuttered.
She’d continued to look on in silence as the implication of what Lord Rockgonie was saying began to sink in. There was a high probability that Leonard was already dead.
“I need to get to Kenneth,” she finally said. “Please. I need your help.”
They’d gone on to formulate a plan together, which culminated with her going over to his manor today to meet with Kenneth.
We will need to come up with another means of communication when we meet.
She couldn’t handle the break in communication for yet another day.
There was a knock on the door, which was followed by Elsa’s entrance into the room. Her lady’s maid was shocked to see her in the middle of her preparations.
“My Lady! You are awake?”
“What a surprise,” Rose responded, trying to be sarcastic.
“My apologies, My Lady. If I had known that you would be up already, I would have come earlier,” Elsa apologized.
“There is no need for an apology, Elsa. Don’t be hard on yourself. I woke up early because of my excitement. You have done nothing wrong.”
“Are you still going to Lord Rockgonie’s manor?” Elsa asked.
She didn’t know whether it was fear or concern she’d heard in her lady’s maid’s voice. Before she could answer the question, or even probe further, another knock sounded on her door. As Elsa went to answer the door, she busied herself with running her hands over her gown in a bid to straighten it.
“My Lady,” she heard Elsa say in reverence to the person at the door.
“Where are you off to this early in the morning?”
She literally rolled her eyes at the sound of her mother’s voice.
“What do you want from me, Mother?” she responded, not bothering to hide the snarl in her voice.
“Is that the answer to my question?” her mother responded in like manner. “Where are you going?”
“To the only place I am still allowed to go to, Mother. Where else?” she finally responded in exasperation, turning to face her mother.
There was a brief silence between them in which she hoped her mother was going to turn around and walk away. Her hope was misplaced.
“You can’t leave this house today,” her mother finally said.
“And why is that, Mother? First, I can’t go anywhere besides my betrothed’s manor. Now I can’t leave the house, either?” she protested.
“Even though you choose to think the worst of me, I am only interested in your safety and wellbeing. I don’t like the news that is coming out of town. You can’t go anywhere today and that is all I am going to say on this matter,” Lady Somerholm stated with authority.
News coming out of town. Really?
Rose opened her mouth to continue protesting but decided to stay silent. Another thought had already sprung up in her mind. She was going to let her mother have her say. When her mother left, she was going to seek out an audience with her father. She would tell him simply that she was off to Lord Rockgonie’s manor without mentioning her conversation with her mother.
Nothing and no one can stop me from seeing Kenneth today.
When she got back, any inquiry from her mother would be answered with, Father said I could go. If that wasn’t enough, she would deal with the situation as it unfolded.
“Well, I came in here to talk with my daughter. But you have gone and spoiled the mood, as usual,” her mother said.
Her mother’s attempt at an emotional manipulation fell on deaf ears. Rose was already set on her path and her mother was just wasting her time as far as she was concerned. Still, she stayed silent.
Lady Somerholm must have eventually gotten the message.
“I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you at breakfast,” her mother said as she turned toward the door.
“If it’s all the same to you, Mother, I’d rather not come down to breakfast. I have suddenly lost my appetite,” she responded finally.
There was a pause in Lady Somerholm’s steps before she continued walking toward the door. At the door, she turned to look at Rose one last time before walking out of the room.
“Shall we get back to our preparations, then?” she said to Elsa.
A glance at her lady’s maid and she could tell Elsa was confused.
“My Lady?” Elsa asked.
“I am going ahead with my plan to head to Lord Rockgonie’s manor, Elsa,” she clarified.
“But Lady Somerholm—”
“Lady Somerholm will have to deal with it till I get back,” Rose said, cutting Elsa off mid-sentence.
She was disappointed when Elsa remained rooted to the spot instead of coming to stand by her side and help her.
“You disagree?” she asked, already feeling her anger rising.
Elsa, of all people, should have known what was at stake. If she missed this opportunity to meet Kenneth, she didn’t know how soon another arrangement could be made.
“I do not disagree, My Lady. You know I will gladly follow you in whatever decision you make,” Elsa said. “However, I think you should consider what Lady Somerholm has said and stay home, My Lady. There is a reason why.”
“Stay home?” Rose could hear the heat in her own voice.
“Yes, My Lady.”
“And what happens to my appointment with the Marquess? What happens when he gets to Lord Rockgonie’s manor and I am not there? What happens when I try to initiate another meeting with him after disappointing him this time around by not showing up? I do not care what my mother said, Elsa. I am going to see Lord Walsrock,” Rose protested.
“My Lady, this isn’t about your mother stopping you from meeting Lord Walsrock. It is so much more than that. This is about your safety,” Elsa pleaded, causing Rose to take some of the edge out of her face and voice.
“My safety?” she asked, confused.
“Yes, My Lady. Trouble has been brewing in the streets of London since yesterday, like I told you.”
“Trouble? I don’t know where you think you are, Elsa. This is London. There is always trouble brewing or lurking in the streets,” Rose responded dismissively.
“No, My Lady. You do not understand. This isn’t the normal level of tension. Something must have happened yesterday. The details aren’t clear but all I know is that it originated in the House of Lords. Now there is talk about protests and an uprising and it is spreading amongst the common folk like wildfire.”
The fear she could see in Elsa’s eyes definitely gave credence to the story she was hearing. If something was scaring her lady’s maid, maybe it was worth paying attention to.
“Protests over what? What uprising?” Rose asked in confusion.
“My Lady, the masses are rising in protest,” Elsa said. There was a brief pause before she continued. “That might be what your mother heard of, which is why she is insisting you do not go anywhere today.”
Rose couldn’t process what she was hearing fast enough. Her mother had told her not to leave the manor without explaining why. Now she was hearing from her lady’s maid, of dissent brewing in the streets, which could not only harm her chances of meeting with Kenneth but also threaten her safety.
“So you are saying I should heed my mother’s stern directive because there are rumors of protests in the street? Plus, you haven’t told me what happens to my appointment with Lord Walsrock if I take your advice.”
“My Lad
y, I will personally go in your place to deliver a message to the Marquess. We can quickly work out a plan for later, when all the noise in the streets has calmed down. Knowing you are not in harm’s way, though, is enough for me,” Elsa said truthfully.
If what she is saying is true, will I be able to make it to Lord Rockgonie’s manor safely?
Elsa had no reason to lie. Rose already knew she was ready to brave whatever odds she might face on her way. However, what had gotten Elsa worried might not be something little after all.
She paused and continued to look at Elsa as she processed the new piece of information she had gotten.
“If I can’t go because you are worried for my safety, then you can’t go because I will be worried about your safety,” she offered.
“I am a commoner, My Lady. I’m sure I will not be in harm’s way if I step out to meet a protest by the common folk,” Elsa responded, her voice tainted with a little sarcasm.
“Well, if you can step out in safety because you are a commoner, I’m just going to have to go disguised as one,” she concluded.
She could tell she had gotten to Elsa, from her facial expression.
“But…My Lady…” Elsa was trying to protest.
“There are no buts, Elsa. I’ve told you already that nothing is stopping me from meeting the Marquess. So it is better you get over here and help me with the best disguise ever so we can go and come back safely.”
Rose could see Elsa give up in frustration as her lady’s maid walked to her side. There was nothing left for her to say.
With her disguise finally ready after a considerable amount of time, she set out to look for her father as planned. She was wearing a maid’s uniform of Elsa’s. A fichu was also draped over her shoulders while a chip straw covered her head.
Finding the Earl reading a newspaper in the study, she informed him she was leaving for her betrothed’s manor.
Her father’s attention was immersed in the paper and he might not have heard what she said. His only reply was a grunt and that was given without him looking up.
All well and good. He doesn’t have to see me looking like this.
She linked up with Elsa again, who was waiting for her outside the study. Together, they began to make their way toward Lord Rockgonie’s manor.
They had barely left the grounds of her house when a messenger had arrived with news for her father.
Not recognizing her as a result of her disguise, the messenger addressed Elsa, greeting her lady’s maid and inquiring of their business and destination.
“With what is currently going on in town, I don’t think heading out for any reason would be a good idea,” the messenger said.
“We aren’t as vulnerable as you would like to think,” Elsa teased. “We can take care of ourselves. We will be fine.”
“That’s the problem. I don’t think any lady should be found in the streets at this time. It is a mess out there. Riots and protests have broken out all across town. When I’m done with my business here with the Earl, I will most certainly be running back home. Better safe than sorry,” the messenger responded.
Unable to take it again, Rose pulled the chip straw and fichu from her head and shoulders respectively, exposing her identity to the messenger, who immediately recognized her. Her revealing action was met with a gasp from both Elsa and the messenger alike.
“My Lady,” the messenger bowed.
“What is going on out there?” Rose asked the messenger, straight to the point.
“A protest has broken out across town, My Lady. As we speak, it is getting increasingly violent with no end in sight,” the messenger responded.
After exchanging a brief glance with Elsa, she continued.
“And what is the reason for these protests?”
“The commoners are protesting against the oppression of the rich, My Lady. It began with the failure of a bill in parliament that a Lord was trying to pass. It has been spiraling downwards ever since.”
“Failure of a bill? Lord Walsrock’s bill failed?” Rose asked in shock.
Even more so was the shock on the messenger’s face who was amazed that she knew about the bill and the sponsor of said bill.
“Yes, My Lady,” the messenger stuttered in response.
It took her only a brief moment to finally understand the gravity of the situation that Elsa had tried to explain to her.
If the bill had failed, it meant that the commoner’s protests weren’t child’s play. To them, any member of Britain’s high society was definitely an enemy. If she was recognized on the streets, she would most likely be in harm’s way. Worse, she would have placed her lady’s maid in harm’s way as well. She had to abort their mission for their safety.
“Let’s go back into the house,” she said to Elsa.
She still needed to find a way to send a message to Lord Rockgonie and by extension, Kenneth. They needed to know the reason for her absence from their planned meeting.
Speaking of Kenneth, is he already on his way to Lord Rockgonie’s manor? Will he be safe? And his bill?
“Can you deliver a message for me as well?” she turned to face the messenger.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Noah woke up with a start. As his consciousness returned, he slowly lowered himself back into bed.
When he had gotten home last night, he’d simply escaped to bed in spite of his father’s yearnings to talk with him. He’d still been shaken and sought to be by himself with his thoughts. It was the only way he could make sense of what happened, while ensuring the next steps he took were the right ones.
Navigating the waters was going to be his greatest challenge yet, especially after the happenings of yesterday. As it stood, he didn’t even know if he was in danger or if the aggression directed at him yesterday was only as a result of his siding with the Marquess of Walsrock.
He was going to need to wait and see what levels of hostility he’d managed to attract. Only then could he ascertain his safety.
News must have eventually filtered into the manor about the happenings at parliament as his father had made one last attempt in the night to try and talk with him.
He’d pretended to be asleep when the message had arrived that his father wanted to have an audience with him. However, when the messenger had left, he’d stayed awake long into the night, reliving the events over and over again in his mind.
When sleep had finally come, it had been sudden and unexpected. One minute he was deep in thought and the next, he was jumping awake out of bed from a sleep that was filled with nightmares.
He looked at his window and found that daylight was streaming in. Even though he had no idea whether it was morning or afternoon, he had no intention of getting up out of bed to do any business.
As he rolled in his sheets, his mind returned to the events from yesterday. None of them in Lord Walsrock’s caucus had seen that defeat coming. If it had stayed at the defeat, it would have been fine. However, what followed next had been complete madness.
Is Lord Walsrock all right?
His mind suddenly centered on the Marquess’ safety and well-being. The truth was that he had no answer to that question. In their haste to leave after witnessing the aggression of the angry Lords, they had separated to their various carriages, as everyone fled for their lives. The Marquess had gone off with Lord Calbrook and that was the last time he had seen both of them.
So a bill that sought to better the lot of others, caused this nonsense?
If he had ever been disgusted with or felt uneasy with the way British high society conducted themselves, yesterday had proved it once more. It had been a nightmare which was years in the making.
Ordinarily, he stayed away from the ton unless he absolutely had to, especially in matters of parliament and very important occasions. His mother had always found his preferences odd and tried till her last breath to get him to imbibe the excessive and superficial culture of their social class. He loved his mother dearly, but even he knew that
her priorities were off.
His father’s wealth didn’t help matters, either. It meant that even amongst high society, they were still exalted. In fact, there were very few gentlemen in Britain who were wealthier than his father. This wealth and its availability had not only spurred his mother’s excesses on, but had also encouraged her superficiality.
How he had managed to remain level-headed and not get swept up in the glamour of it all had remained a mystery. And the truth was, he had always been this way, preferring the realities of a normal and prudent existence, to that of an entitled and pretentious one.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 22
