AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She stared at him, her expression remaining blank. If he was expecting her to cry and protest his decision, he was going to be sorely disappointed. As much as it hurt her that he refused to shift in his stance, she knew that she and her friends had to come up with something else to force his hand.
This is futile.
She stood to her feet.
“If you are done with me, Father, I would like to retire to my chambers. I have had a really long day,” she said, her facial expression blank.
Even though his mind was made up, the look of shock that appeared on his face told her all she needed to know.
He really is expecting me to cry, beg, and protest.
That was not going to happen.
She walked out of the study and straight to bed as soon as he dismissed her.
The next day, she had woken up and left for Lord Rockgonie’s manor before her father got up to any funny business about stopping her from going.
By the time she arrived, Kenneth and Lady Anna were already there, all talking and laughing under the gazebo. She’d found out yesterday that Lord Wisham was no longer in residence. As a result, Lady Anna’s presence in full view of everyone didn’t come as a surprise.
Immediately, they noticed her arrival, and they all stood up to greet her. Kenneth even went as far as kissing her as she walked into the gazebo.
“Someone seems happy to see you,” Lady Anna teased, causing them all to chuckle.
They settled down after that and she allowed them a few more moments of laughter and fun before she hit them with the heavy news.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But my father told me yesterday that he was going to go ahead and announce my engagement to you, Lord Rockgonie,” she said.
The two gentlemen leaned back in their seats almost at the same time. Lady Anna simply stared at her.
“Is that why I see sadness in your eyes? Don’t you worry, my dear. We will come up with something,” Lady Anna responded optimistically.
“When is he announcing it?” Kenneth asked.
“A week from now,” Rose replied.
“At Lady Martha’s ball? How convenient. Everyone is going to be there,” Lord Rockgonie responded.
“That’s is why he has chosen that date. It is the perfect platform to announce it. I would not be surprised if that turns out to be one amongst other announcements,” Kenneth said.
“So what are we going to do?” Lord Rockgonie asked. “Time is running out and we are still not nearer to a solution than we were in the beginning.”
“I disagree. I think we’ve had a solution staring us in the face all this while, one that we refused to consider. Unfortunately, it seems that would be the only way,” Kenneth responded.
“And what is this solution?” Lady Anna asked.
“To get what we want, we would need to lose what we have. There are no two ways about it,” Kenneth responded.
“I’m not sure I follow,” Lord Rockgonie interjected.
“Neither do I,” both Lady Anna and Rose said in unison.
“To get married to the ones we’ve chosen, we would have to lose our reputations. There is no other way,” Kenneth responded.
A solemn silence settled on them as each one considered the implications of what Kenneth had just said.
“Well, I’m ready to lose my reputation if it means I’ll finally be free to be with you, Kenneth,” Rose said as she leaned over and kissed him.
Lady Anna and Lord Rockgonie smiled at her admission. Frankly speaking, they had all already made that decision in their minds, without hesitation.
