Romancing His English Rose (Entangled Scandalous) (14 page)

Why not? Simon found himself wondering, but he would rather have that conversation with Rose in private, so he nodded grudgingly in agreement and stood. He then turned to help Rose up and she immediately went to the small round mirror, which was hanging on the ornately and intricately carved wood paneled walls, to see about her appearance. Luckily, all that Rose had to do was re-pin the cap in place and she appeared none the worse for wear.

Once she had completed that task, Rose turned to face Simon and Lady Lancaster. “I’m ready,” she announced.

Lady Lancaster nodded and then glided majestically from the room.

Rose looked ready to melt back into his arms, which Simon would have fully supported if they hadn’t reached the ballroom just then and discovered that their entrance had caused a hush to fall over the room and every set of eyes to be trained on them.

Lady Lancaster smiled grandly at the party guests and she leaned in to give Rose a kiss on the cheek. While she was there, she whispered to Rose, “You need to say good evening to Mr. Trumbull now, dear.” Then she straightened with the same regal expression on her face.

Rose turned to Simon and did as the duchess suggested. “Good evening, Simon,” she whispered, followed by a proper curtsy.

Simon remained politely impassive when he said, “Good evening to you, as well, Rose. Thank you for the…er…dance.”

He lifted her hand to his lips for a chaste kiss, but when he went to release it afterward, he found Rose would not let go. Looking deeply into Simon’s eyes, Rose said very deliberately, “The pleasure was all…mine.”

When she said mine, it was after a significant pause and in such a husky whisper that she could only have meant one thing. Simon felt a stab of pure lust in his loins, which was followed by an immense feeling of joy everywhere else. Never before had he been so happy to hear her say—out loud, with purpose—the nickname she used to have for him. And hearing her say it made bidding her good-bye so much easier.

“I shall call upon you tomorrow,” he promised.

Rose nodded and then allowed Lady Lancaster to draw her away from Simon and deliver her to her parents.

Simon watched them depart with poignancy. Nothing had gone right that evening—from his initial encounter with Rose, to their ill-advised dance, to the expressions of their feelings for each other—but for the life of him he couldn’t remember ever having such a wonderful night.

He was young and in love…and, as fate would have it, the girl he loved actually loved him in return. How marvelous, indeed.

Chapter Seventeen

Plan in the present to enjoy a good future.

—The Duke of Lancaster

It was well after noon when Rose woke up the next day to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Simon? she thought frantically. She hopped out of bed and then groaned as she eased herself back down to a sitting position. Lord, but she was still sore from her excursion with Simon the other night; though judging by where she was most tender, she suspected the real culprit was what happened after the outing.

Blushing at the thought, Rose had just decided movement was the best remedy when she heard another knock at the door. “Yes?” Rose called out, expecting Chauncy to alert her of Simon’s arrival.

Instead the door flew open and Lady Holderness swept in holding what appeared to be a ball gown. Rose quickly drew a blanket about herself. “Mother!”

“Rose, dear,” Lady Holderness trilled before coming to an abrupt halt. “Oh my, are you just getting up?”

“Ah…yes,” Rose said weakly. “I was especially tired after last night’s dance, I guess.”

Lady Holderness immediately laid the dress over the armchair by the door and hurried over to press the back of her hand against Rose’s forehead. “Are you still not feeling well? It would be a shame to miss the Alvanley ball!”

“The Alvanley ball …” Rose echoed in dismay.

“Surely you have not forgotten the ball, Rosebud! It is certain to be the party of the season,” Lady Holderness scolded, before leaning in to whisper, “I heard that Prinny, himself, may attend!”

The Prince Regent, “Prinny” as his intimates called him, was an impulsive, pleasure loving gentleman given to extravagance and excess. As the next King of England, he carried traits that Rose perhaps thought were not the most desirable, but who was she to say? In any case, the ball had slipped her mind, which was surprising, because as her mother had said, it was supposed to be the grandest event of the season. Everyone who was anyone was planning to attend.

“Everyone who is anyone,” Rose repeated softly to herself. Including Caleb and undoubtedly William and Hannah!

Suddenly Rose was hit with the certainty that the ball was where Caleb planned to strike next. It would be perfect. Not only was it an almost foregone conclusion that William would be in attendance, there would be hundreds of people around causing all sorts of distractions and diversions. It would be so easy to simply slip something in a person’s drink or food and be lost in the crowd before anyone even realized what had happened.

She needed to tell Simon. Now. There was no time to wait. For all she knew, he may have remembered the ball and decided to talk to her there, rather than coming here first. The timing was obviously tight, as her mother was already there telling Rose she needed to prepare for the party.

Rose would send him a note immediately. That would ensure he stopped by her house first. In fact, she would ask him to be her escort, Rose thought sensibly. Then they could leave directly from her house. And early…they should arrive at the Alvanleys’ as early as was socially acceptable. They needed to be able to track Caleb’s every move once he made his appearance and to do that they needed to get there first. Rose wrapped the blanket around herself sarong-style and made her way over to her writing desk, where she hastily penned her missive.

“Primrose, darling,” Lady Holderness enquired, “does this mean you are feeling better?”

“Yes, Mother, I am quite well, but I thought I might ask Mr. Trumbull to accompany me to the ball tonight.”

“What a splendid idea, Rosie! Give me your note, dear, and I will send a footman over forthwith. In the meantime, I found this positively stunning material when I was out shopping the other day and I had Madame fashion you a gown out of it.”

Rose’s mother once again held up the diaphanous sea foam green dress that she had carried into the room earlier. It was truly magnificent.

“Oh, Mother,” Rose gushed, for once giving in to her girlish tendencies, as she handed her mother the letter and reached out for the gown. “It is gorgeous! Thank you ever so much!” Rose held it up against herself and twirled around in front of the mirror. The gauzy green dress did wonderful things for her skin and it was the perfect foil for her hair. If she hadn’t already caught her man’s attention, this dress certainly would do the job. It wouldn’t hurt to keep his attention, however, Rose thought with a grin.

“I will send Janice up to help you dress, dear,” Lady Holderness said, leaving the room and closing the door softly behind her, but Rose was still too absorbed in her new dress to pay her much mind.

Janice was just finishing Rose’s hair when Chauncy announced the arrival of Mr. Trumbull.

“Oh, thank you, Chauncy!” Rose exclaimed. “Will you please tell him I will be right down?”

“Certainly, miss.”

Once Chauncy had left her room, Rose impatiently waited for Janice to pin the last few locks of her hair in place. She had purposely requested a long flowing style, since Simon seemed to really like her hair and, surprisingly enough, its color.

Once Janice declared her hair a masterpiece, Rose jumped up and did a final review of her appearance in the mirror. As she suspected, the dress her mother had commissioned for her suited her coloring perfectly.

It was a gloriously deep shade of mint green silk with an airy, whisper light layer of pale mint muslin over the top. The waist began just below the breasts in the empire style that was so popular this season and was lined with a two-inch-wide silk ribbon in the same dark sea foam green color. The sleeves were short and puffed and edged in three rows of delicate lace. The same lace edged the bottom of the gown and a single row was stitched around the low scooped neckline.

Rose wondered at the lowness of the neckline, but Janice assured her it was not in the least bit vulgar and Rose allowed herself to be convinced, if for no other reason than the thought of witnessing Simon’s face when he saw her dressed thusly.

She was extremely excited about seeing Simon again, but nervous as well. What did one say to a man who had seduced her completely with unbridled passion and pleasure and then told her he loved her in the middle of the dance floor? Just the thought of their behavior caused Rose to blush hotly.

Shaking off her embarrassment, Rose realized now was not the time to retreat into her formerly shy and timid self. There was a murderer to catch and she would need all her wits about her to stop him…or at least to help stop him, Rose admitted wryly.

Squaring her shoulders, she took one last look at herself in the mirror. She certainly didn’t look like the typical Bow Street Runner, but then she wasn’t trying to have Caleb arrested just yet, she only wanted to prevent another poisoning. And to do that she would need to blend in…and how better to blend in at the fanciest ball of the season than in a truly splendid dress?

With a curt nod to herself, Rose hurried downstairs to meet Simon. She had been a bit longer than the fifteen minutes a gentleman expected to wait for a woman and she didn’t want him to think there was anything wrong.

…

Simon was beginning to think something may be wrong. While it was typical for a woman to make a gentleman wait a quarter of an hour—God forbid she appears anxious to see me, he thought drily—before making an appearance, Rose did not usually stand on such principles and as it was now somewhat longer than fifteen minutes, Simon wondered if everything was quite as it should be. Surely Rose was not having regrets about last night? Frankly, last night had been the best of his life and Simon truly hoped that Rose felt the same. Otherwise, the trip he had made to the jewelers that afternoon would have been for naught.

Simon was saved from having to dwell on that unpleasant thought for long, for just seconds later he heard the soft patter of footsteps coming down the stairs. When he turned to look, he felt as if he had completely lost the ability to breathe.

There she was, tripping lightly along the curved staircase, her hair bouncing, eyes shining, and the shimmering fabric of her dress floating about her. Rose stopped just at the bottom of the stairs, facing him in all her glory. Her cheeks were slightly pink, as if she were blushing or flushed from the swiftness of her arrival.

Never in his life had Simon seen anything so beautiful as his Rose in her minty green dress, her flaming red hair tumbling about her shoulders. Her skin was perfectly pale and creamy and Simon wanted nothing more than to rediscover every velvety inch of it.

He was quite sure he looked the complete fool standing there dumbstruck, undoubtedly with his jaw hanging open, but there was nothing else for him to do. It was as if God himself was shining a light upon the jewel before him and she simply sparkled. No man would be able to remain unaffected in the face of such radiance and certainly not a man already head over heels in love with the lady.

“Rose,” Simon whispered.

…

The way Simon was looking at her completely removed any last vestiges of doubt Rose may have been harboring. No man could look at her with such a mixture of adoration, awe, and pure sexual hunger and not be in love with her, not want to be with her.

Rose let go a long breath and smiled, a smile of pure unadulterated joy. And she let her eyes drink in the man standing there waiting for her. Simon was looking positively splendid himself, in his finest evening kit. Unlike some of his other evening wear—which was often in the popular bright candy colors—this kit was strictly black and white and was impeccably tailored. His dark blond curls shone like burnished gold in the bright hallway and his eyes positively glowed with life, love, and desire.

Rose felt herself being drawn to Simon as a moth to a flame and within moments the two were standing mere inches from each other. Looking up at him with the same joyous smile, Rose sighed. “Good evening.”

Simon replied in kind followed by a lingering kiss on the cheek. “You look stunning this evening, Rose,” he said softly.

“So do you,” Rose replied with a blush.

Grinning, Simon took Rose by the hand and held her away from him so that he could get a better look. He even insisted that she twirl for him, which she did with a giggle.

Rose noticed the way he was eyeing the top of her dress. Her hand flew to her chest and she said, “It’s too much, isn’t it? Or not enough, I suppose I should say.”

Simon reached up and removed her hand. “It is just perfect…you are just perfect.”

Feeling the way Simon’s eyes burned into her, Rose believed it. Just this once she believed that she may be beautiful…in Simon’s eyes at least, and that was all that really mattered.

“I’m so glad you got my note,” Rose breathed.

“What note?” Simon asked.

Rose looked at him, startled. “The note asking you to come by here before going to the ball. That is why you are here, is it not?”

“No,” Simon said with a slow shake of his head. “I am here because I told you I would be here. I had forgotten about the Alvanley fête until my valet reminded me of it earlier today. I had planned to ask you to accompany me once I arrived.”

“Oh,” Rose said in surprise. “I suppose great minds think alike, then. I had forgotten as well. When my mother reminded me, I sent you a note asking you to escort me. I wasn’t sure after our, er, eventful few nights, if you would have time to stop by here before going on to the ball.”

Simon pulled Rose into his arms and said, “I told you I would be by to see you today. And regardless of the party tonight, I would have kept my word.”

Rose laid her cheek against Simon’s chest briefly as she replied, “I should never have doubted you. I’m sorry.”

And, truthfully, she would never doubt him again. The last few weeks had proven him a changed man. He was responsible, caring, and attentive. So far removed from his rakish reputation that it made Rose’s head spin and her heart leap. Her future was certainly brighter than ever.

Chuckling, Simon pulled Rose away from him reluctantly. “There is no need to apologize. You were thinking logically. Your logic is one of the things I love most about you.”

Pleased by the compliment, Rose said, “Thank you, Simon. That means a lot to me.”

“You are very welcome, my love.”

“Speaking of logic,” Rose continued, “it occurred to me that the Alvanley ball would be the perfect place for Caleb to try and poison William.”

“I had the same thought,” Simon concurred.

With a nod of accord, Rose added, “Then you agree we need to keep a close eye on Caleb tonight at the ball?”

“Yes. In fact, I had hoped we could leave for the party soon. I believe the earlier we get there the better. We want to be sure we are in place before Caleb arrives.”

“Exactly so!” Rose exclaimed. “I was going to suggest the same.” Rose grinned. She and Simon made an excellent team. However, now was not the time to dwell on such things. They had a job to do that night and they had better get on with it immediately.

“Do you think your parents would mind if we went ahead in my carriage?” Simon asked. It was a bit unorthodox for an unmarried woman to be escorted by a gentleman alone, but an engaged couple could be given a bit more latitude, especially a couple that had been affianced as long as they had.

“I am sure that won’t be a problem,” Rose replied. “Let me just go find my mother and tell her that we are leaving now.” Rose hurried off. Now that the plan had been determined, she was eager to get underway. She truly hoped that she and Simon would be successful tonight. Failing was unthinkable. She couldn’t, in good consciousness, let anyone else die by Caleb’s hand. Not if she could stop it.