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Chapter Twenty-Six
Rose could barely contain her excitement and anticipation as she prepared to go to Lord Rockgonie’s manor. Even though it was still quite early, she was ready and willing to wait for Kenneth at the manor, rather than continue to lie in bed.
When Kenneth’s letters had suddenly stopped coming, she had been beside herself with worry.
On the first day, according to her lady’s maid, Kenneth’s valet hadn’t shown up at the usual place and time where they exchanged letters from their masters. She’d tried to brush it off as nothing.
However, when that whole day went without the arrival of Kenneth’s letter, she had known something was wrong.
She’d been so unsure of what next step to take, wondering all the while if she had done something wrong that had probably made Kenneth revert to his initial decision, the one he’d made when he first found out about her betrothal to Lord Rockgonie.
Elsa had even tried going to the Duke’s manor to get information out of Leonard on why there was no letter from the Marquess. However, she had returned, very upset, saying she was unable to meet with Kenneth’s valet. Also, Elsa informed her about the very unsettling circumstances that were going on in the streets—people running around, Bow Street Runners in every corner, and men holding their fists up against them. Rose had grown sick with worry about Kenneth.
Eventually, she reached out to the only person she could think of that could find Kenneth and get word back to her without anyone raising an eyebrow.
Lord Rockgonie!
She’d set out for his manor and was elated when she’d found him at home. When she related her ordeal to him, she was surprised at his response.
“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.
