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“All right,” they answered in unison, even though they, like Rose, were unsure of the reason for Lady Anna’s request.
“Care to join me, away from the prying ears of these gentlemen?” Lady Anna said.
“Just don’t wander too far off or I will start missing her,” Kenneth had added.
With an outstretched hand, Lady Anna invited Rose on the stroll.
Rose, still stunned by Lady Anna’s appearance, accepted the invitation and moved forward to begin strolling with the new guest.
After they had walked a bit and were out of earshot of the gentlemen, Lady Anna spoke.
“I’ve always been an admirer of yours, Lady Rose,” Lady Anna said as they continued walking. “And I consider it quite unfortunate that we had to formally meet under these circumstances.”
“You know of me?” Rose asked, surprised at the admission.
“But of course I do,” Lady Anna chuckled.
“How is that possible?”
“Everyone knows of the beautiful but rebellious daughter of the Earl of Somerholm,” Lady Anna complimented and chided in the same statement.
“And you’ve always admired me?” Rose asked again in confusion, trying to decipher whether she was being mocked or praised.
“Yes, Lady Rose. I have always admired you from a long way off. In some cases, I’ve even gone as far as wishing to be like you. The Good Lord knows if I had just half of your courage, we all wouldn’t be in this dilemma right now,” Lady Anna responded seriously, causing Rose to pause.
There was a brief silence in which they turned a path and continued walking. The gazebo was out of sight at this point.
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
Lady Anna sighed before answering.
“A lot has happened between Lord Rockgonie and I that you do not know about. A little courage on my part and we would most likely have been married by now, making him unavailable and leaving you free from these shackles,” Lady Anna responded, her voice laden with regret.
“I do not understand,” Rose replied simply.
“Let’s just say that if I had the strength to fight for our love like you do with Lord Walsrock, we would have been married by now.”
Not knowing how to respond, Rose stayed silent.
“I would have stood up to his late mother like he had done. She was the main opposition in our love story, all because she didn’t like my mother. Unfortunately, his father went on to share that dislike for me and continued resisting us even after his wife died.”
“Dear Lord!” Rose finally exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I never heard of this before.”
“There is no need to be sorry. You had no fault in this. If anything, I am the one apologizing for not doing what I should have done all this while, thus putting you in such a predicament,” Lady Anna apologized.
“I don’t think you should be hard on yourself, though. It’s not like you could do much in that situation,” Rose offered.
“Oh, but I could have done a lot more than I did in the face of such hopelessness. And that is why I admire your courage,” she responded, causing Rose to smile slightly in response.
“When I’d been made aware of the betrothal, I was distraught. But when Lord Rockgonie told me about you and your love for someone else, my hope was restored. Now I believe the four of us can most definitely find a way to win and it is all thanks to you.”
Rose simply smiled. Knowing that there was someone this sweet and kind, and who was obviously in love with Lord Rockgonie, gave her hope as well. Not only was there a fight for her love with Kenneth, there was also a fight for Lady Anna’s love with Lord Rockgonie.
Just maybe we have what it takes to pull this off amongst the four of us.
“We better start heading back before Lord Walsrock sends out a search party for you,” Lady Anna winked causing Rose to laugh.
“Oh, there will be a search party all right, but definitely not for me. Not with the way Lord Rockgonie was tugging you to his side,” Rose countered humorously as they began making their way back.
