A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Violet Hamers

  It was also the reason why he had fallen for Anna.

  Not oblivious of the grudge between both families, he’d watched on for years. His discovery was as amazing as it was confusing;

  Like me, Anna never cared for the resentment between both of our families.

  He’d begun paying closer attention to her and was further relieved to find out that she, just like him, was pretty level-headed. Of course, she had her mother to thank for such an influence.

  Her mother is and has always been the most level-headed member of Britain’s high society, after all.

  Her priorities weren’t misplaced and she, like him, avoided the shackles of triviality and frivolity. And then the questions within him began.

  Why did he have to avoid her because his own mother couldn’t let things go when she didn’t have her way? Why did he have to inherit a grudge he didn’t support in the first place? Why couldn’t his mother see that she was the only one who wanted this war and it was ruining the lives of their family?

  In any case, he stayed away till that fateful incident at the time they’d become young adults.

  When he had arrived at the party, he remembered feeling so much relief at finding out that she was also in attendance. However, when tragedy struck, he had been overcome with worry at her absence. It was because he was, in fact, paying such close attention to her that he had noticed when she was no longer with them.

  Without a moment’s thought, he had set out on his own to go find her. His heart had raced when he saw her lying in the ditch almost lifeless. She must have screamed for help continuously till she was drained.

  He’d rushed to her side and rescued her, yet she couldn’t stand on her own. She’d hurt herself and needed to be carried away from there.

  I could easily have gone back to get reinforcements. Instead I chose to pick her up and take her back toward the house.

  That had been their first contact.

  He’d stayed by her side even when the group returned, refusing to leave under the pretext of being a gentleman. The truth was that he was worried to death.

  It had taken an unfortunate event for him to be able to get closer to her and as she clung to life, he only wished he could have more time with her.

  When she finally recovered, he ensured to stay in touch with her even though they had to hide their friendship from his mother.

  “You do know there is a grudge between our families, right?” She first asked when he had become a constant in her life, seeking to be her friend.

  “So?”

  “You are aware how it started as well, right?” She’d pressed on, refusing to drop the topic.

  “Yes, I am aware. And if I’m being honest, I do not care for such inherited resentment. So can we go past it?” he asked hopefully.

  And that’s exactly what they did, even though it took him almost ten years to go from friendship, to love interest, to finally professing his undying love for her. They had long since been in a romantic relationship, even though they had to keep it from his mother.

  And then he asked her to marry him sometime later. Even though she said yes without hesitation, he knew a battle was ahead, one they needed to fight and not lose.

  Unfortunately, it seemed like they had lost the battle, not because he didn’t try, but because Anna couldn’t bring herself to get past the dying wish of a lady. When his mother had died, it had almost certainly sealed their fate.

  Anna had drifted away from him, albeit briefly, even though that had been the perfect time to seal their love. By the time she had gotten her wits about herself and come back, his father had begun pressuring him over the marriage agenda.

  He’d presented Anna again, only for his father to remember the grudge that had existed between both families and the dying wish of his late wife.

  “I’m sorry, son, but you cannot marry that lady,” his father had said.

  Sensing that Noah might have been waiting for him to go the way of his deceased wife, his father had then gone ahead to insist on a marriage while he was alive.

  He suspected his father had done this to effectively destroy any chance he and Anna still had. It had looked hopeless then, and frankly, he’d been about to give in, only to discover that the chosen bride was also in love with someone else.

  His hope had been restored.

  I do have a lot to be grateful to the Marquess for.

  And then he suddenly remembered the plan between him and Lady Rose. He’d also added a little modification when he’d asked Anna to meet him as well. All four were supposed to meet in his house today.

  He jumped out of bed this time. Even though there was a brief moment where he wondered whether Lord Walsrock was going to make it, he couldn’t very well stay in bed till they arrived.

  After he was done getting ready, he ended up at the breakfast table with his father, who was currently engaged with the newspaper. He’d said his greetings and settled at the table while keeping his head down and focused on the food in front of him.

  Whatever had urged him to look up at his father had done so at the precise moment he caught the screaming headline on the back of the newspaper, just as his father was setting it down to have breakfast.

  Marquess of Walsrock arrested.

  He almost choked on his meal and he began coughing hysterically.

  “What!” he exclaimed to no one in particular. “Father, may I see that paper?” he asked.

  His father handed the paper over to him in silence. As he turned it over, the headline was there again, screaming at him.

  How could this be?

  It was Lord Walsrock who had been assaulted and the one in need of justice.

  Now the news is saying he’s been arrested?

  He quickly skimmed through the news trying to get as much information as possible.

  “Now wait just a moment. There are protests in town?” he uttered in shock. “And Lord Walsrock is being accused of instigating these protests? What in God’s name is going on?”

  “Apparently, the Marquess of Walsrock rallied the masses together and started a protest when his bill was defeated in parliament. He is such a spoilt brat,” his father responded finally.

  “No, Father. You have it all wrong. Lord Walsrock isn’t instigating any crowd.”

  “So the newspapers are lying? It’s on every newspaper in town. Surely they can’t all be lying,” his father insisted.

  “But they are. This isn’t news. This is just an agenda that they are trying to push. I was there when this is all started yesterday, remember? The Marquess is the one who needs to be seeking redress and not the other way around.”

  “So what happened yesterday?” his father asked. “I wanted to talk to you about it when you got back.”

  “What happened was that a man was mobbed by the elite few for having different political ideals and principles. He barely escaped unharmed with his cronies, myself included. And now he is being branded a criminal,” Noah said with disgust.

  “Well, if he was attacked, wouldn’t that justify his grievance in getting the masses to protest against those who attacked him, since they have same enemies? Isn’t that what the newspapers are saying?”

  “Dear Lord!” he said in frustration, losing the patience to continue explaining to his father. “You don’t know the Marquess, Father. I’m going to leave it at that. Whatever they are saying he did, he didn’t do it,” Noah said, slamming the newspaper on the table.

  His mind began tuning in on some other important information he had just come across.

  “There are protests in town?” he asked no one particular.

  “Yes, there are. The masses feel cheated by the failure of Lord Walsrock’s bill in parliament. They have taken to the streets and in some cases, it has turned violent. Officials are having a hard time containing the situation,” his father responded.

  “Oh my goodness!” Noah exclaimed softly as he brought his hand to his face.

  If only his colleagues had seen the be
nefit of the bill as he had. Now they’d gone and stoked the fire in the hearts of the common folk, all because they were too greedy and entitled to consider other’s pain.

  “Well, they are all mad for thinking they could get such privileges. Is it our fault we were born into the aristocracy and not they? Now they expect us to give up our rights from birth, all because they feel they are being oppressed? As far as I am concerned, they have too much time on their hands,” his father said dismissively.

  His intense gaze came to rest on his father. It was thinking like this across Britain’s high society that had gotten them into this mess. And if they weren’t careful, they were going to end up like France.

  Then we will see what the greed and entitlement gets us.

  He simply shook his head at his father’s ignorance and kept quiet. He needed to start thinking of a way to help his friend the Marquess instead of getting into another needless argument with his father. The man was stuck in his way of thinking and that was fine. He didn’t need to be dragged alone for the ride.

  If the Marquess had already been arrested with the news making the rounds, then the arrest must have happened at night or sometime this morning. There was still time to go down to the Bow Street Runners and sort this all out. After all, he was a witness to the initial assault in parliament and knew that Lord Walsrock couldn’t have done what he had been accused of doing.

  I could also find Lord Calbrook.

  If the Marquess had gone home with Lord Calbrook, that meant Lord Calbrook was also a viable witness to the fact that he’d taken the Marquess home. There was no way the Marquess could have then sneaked out and started a protest of such scale.

  Lady Rose!

  The thought of her flashed through his mind as soon as he’d made the decision to go and get the Marquess out of gaol. Obviously, Lord Walsrock was not going to be able to make it to the manor for their planned meeting.

  Lady Rose, however, might not have been aware that things had changed. She could very well be on her way to manor at the moment. If the protests had truly started, she was definitely going to be in harm’s way throughout her journey.

  He needed to get a message across to her to stay put.

  As he stood to excuse himself from the table, a servant approached him with news that a message had come for him.

  “Where from?” he said exasperatedly.

  “From the manor of the Earl of Somerholm,” the servant responded.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  After finding out about the protests and sending her message through to the Marquess via Lord Rockgonie, Rose returned to her room with her lady’s maid in tow.

  She couldn’t have sent a direct message to Kenneth as the messenger in question wasn’t Leonard. Plus, he was loyal to her father and was only doing her a favor as a result of that loyalty.

  Even the message she’d sent had been cryptic enough not to reveal its true recipient, before news got back to her father about her correspondence. She knew Lord Rockgonie would have understood in an instant that the message was for Kenneth and not him when he heard it.

  She also hoped to be receiving a message from Kenneth as soon as he arrived at the manor and got her message.

  She sat in her room wondering what else to do. Elsa had gone downstairs moments earlier to get her breakfast. She decided to get out of the remainder of her disguise while she waited for her lady’s maid to return.

  Her mind began drifting to Kenneth and how he was taking this second rejection in parliament. If Leonard hadn’t vanished, she would have been kept abreast of the situation through his letters and known how to comfort him.

  How unfortunate that he’s had to deal with this alone since yesterday.

  The thought alone made her sick to her stomach. She was ready to elope with him this minute if he walked into her room now, as she didn’t know how much more of this separation she could take.

  She missed him dearly. She missed his touch, the way her skin instantly came alive once his hands brushed against her. She missed his kiss, the way her insides turned to mush every time his lips tantalized hers. She missed his scent, the way desire welled up in her whenever she smelled him. And she missed him, the way excitement welled up in her whenever she saw him.

  Every fiber in her being wished he was beside her so she could reach out and soothe him. It was weird that she thought she could feel his pain all the way from here.

  My Love! Come speedily to me so I can cradle your grieving head in my bosom.

  If communicating through thoughts was possible, she would have sent him a thousand thoughts by now. And in missing Kenneth’s letters, she’d also begun to miss Leonard.

  Dear Lord, wherever he is, please keep him safe.

  She pined at the distance, yearned for Kenneth’s presence and touch, and bemoaned her inability to be there for the one she loved when he needed her the most.

  Soon! And nothing will be able to separate us.

  She couldn’t wait for such a time where she was no longer going to be starved of his presence and touch. She couldn’t wait for a time where the only distance between them she’d have to worry about was walking from her bedroom to his.

  She yearned for a time when the only sneaking they would have to do, was around their children so they could get to spend some time by themselves. She yearned for a time when she would both wake up and go to bed, beside him.

  Elsa returned with her breakfast and she settled down to eat. Her mind was in turmoil, even as she absent-mindedly wolfed down her meal.

  What really happened to the bill? Why did it fail? Or did the other Lords take the same stance with my father of liking the bill but choosing to vote against it?

  Speaking of her father’s stance, she was definitely going to challenge it again.

  Why did he admire the merits of the bill and choose to vote against it?

  She’d asked him the same question when he’d first told her of his intention not to support the bill.

  He hadn’t given her a satisfactory answer then.

  But he will now.

  She finished her meal and was on her feet as soon as Elsa began clearing up after her.

  “Do you know where the Earl is?” she asked Elsa.

  “He is in his study, My Lady,” Elsa responded as she continued with her task.

  They both exited the room together, she on her way to find her father and Elsa on her way to drop the dirty dishes off. They both passed through the dining section on their way to their different destinations.

  She saw her mother too late. Else she would have turned and gone back to her room to wait for Lady Somerholm to leave the dining area. To worsen matters, Adam was also at the table with her mother.

  She’d hoped that they were both too engrossed in the conversation they were having, to notice her passing.

  “Oh, there you are sister. Have you heard?” Adam sneered. She’d been tempted to continue walking but somehow, she managed to stop and turn.

  “What do you want, Adam?” she asked.

  “What do I want from you? Nothing at all.” He laughed.

  “Then I will be on my way,” she announced as she made to exit the dining area.

  “Oh, but before you do, why don’t you pull out a chair and read this?” He snickered, tossing a copy of a newspaper on the table.

  She was not in the mood for games and would have walked away if she had not caught the look on her mother’s face in the nick of time. Something about the look aroused her curiosity.

  She stepped cautiously toward the table and picked up the paper. The headline had her brain muddled in an instant.

  Marquess of Walsrock arrested.

  It took her a moment for her to make sense of just the headline.

  “Oh my goodness!” she gasped.

  Her gasp must have been the reaction her brother was waiting for as he immediately began laughing. Her mother, on the other hand, stayed silent.

  “Isn’t that who you dared father for, saying y
ou were going to marry him instead?” Adam continued laughing. “Now look at that.”

  The mocking sound of her brother’s voice faded into the background as she struggled to read the words that were printed under the headline. The problem was that she was reading but not understanding.

  The report in the newspaper suggested that Kenneth had been arrested and was being quizzed for his involvement with the protests on the streets. According to the report, Kenneth had instigated the masses to protest, following the defeat of his bill in parliament.