All the Things You Never Knew - By Angealica Hewley Page 0,119
use that kind of language with the children around here. Would you care for a light dessert or are you going to take leave?”
“I’m not going anywhere until I see the lady he’s marrying. Viscount Herring’s daughter, is it? The old man doesn’t know what he’s doing if he lets Leon marries his daughter. We all know you all are bastards!”
“Excuse me!” Rose bellowed from the door as she heard the insult. “This is my family you’re talking about.”
“Oh, so you’re the chit!” Delilah went over and stood before Rose, scanning her with disgust. “Ugh! Look at you. So thin and plump in all the wrong places. I can’t believe Leon wanted you.”
“Don’t insult my friend, Delilah,” Lady Susannah said, glaring at the woman. “Or you won’t be making it home.”
“Oh, yeah. Try me!” Delilah challenged.
“Why you–”
Lady Susannah leapt forward and so did Miss Stanford. However, before either of them could touch one another, one of the little children threw a ball and hit Delilah right on the bridge of her nose, sending her twirling face down into the bowl of punch on the table.
“Theodore!” Avangelene scolded, throwing the ball back at the young boy. “Be more careful!”
Phoenix and Susannah tried not to laugh but failed miserably as Namine and Lavender send away the little children.
Rose gasped and ran with a handkerchief to help wipe off the dripping sticky juice from Delilah’s face only to get push away.
“Don’t touch me!” snapped Delilah angrily. “You may have Leon now, but don’t be so happy. I’ll make sure your life becomes nothing more than a miserable hell!”
She turned and headed toward the carriage that brought her, but tripped over the little stool that one of the little girls had used to stand up on, and fell flat on her face.
“Miss Stanford, are you all right?” came the footman at the carriage as he scurries to help her up.
“Ugh! I don’t ever want to come to this dreadful place again!” she brawled, stomping into the carriage and banging her head on the side before slamming the door shut.
The footman hurried up to his seat and whipped the horses away before his mistress gets any madder.
“You should have slapped her silly,” Susannah said to Rose when the carriage was out of sight. “And you Miss Heartilys shouldn’t even have let her step on the pavement.”
“We do have to be considerate of the children,” Avangelene grinned, setting out the food.
“And Leon told us to not bother with empty-headed females,” Phoenix answered. “Miss Stanford sure is an empty-headed one.”
“Let us not mind that little intrusion,” Namine said, sorting out the saucers and tea cups. “We have our new sister to welcome officially. Welcome, Rose. You are no worse or better than any of us. We are all the same.”
Rose nearly burst into tears at the sound of her name without the ‘Lady’ title coming from Namine. She had never felt so at home, so part of the family, so very blissful.
“Hey, look, it’s a grandpa!” cried the little children as they all rush over to an arriving coach.
Rose and the ladies look up to find that it was Viscount Herring, her father.
Three days after they had returned from Leicester, her father had gotten better and apologized to Leon about everything.
The Duke of Hargate–having to be the duke–was able to simulate a threat and scared the viscount into granting Leon the right to marry Rose. He knew there’s going to be a scandal about it, but with a man that loves his daughter this much, how could he resist not risking it?
“Papa!” Rose picked up her skirt and ran to greet her father.
“Rose.” He got out and kissed her on the cheek. “How are you, my girl?”
“Very well, Papa,” she answered, giving him a hug.
“And where is that future son-in-law of mine?” he asked, looking about the place. “He didn’t leave you already, did he?”
Rose hesitated, not quite sure what to say until Avangelene interjected by asking if he would like to come and have some refreshments.
“I’ll like that,” he answered, forgetting the question as Avangelene led him along.
“Grandpa, grandpa, tell us a story,” said two of the boys from the group, one having to be Faelan.
“Miss Vange said old grandpas tells the best story,” said Faelan. “Didn’t you, Miss Vange?”
Avangelene patted Faelan on the head and said, “Yes, but his lordship is not an old grandpa.”
“He’s the lord of a ship?” Faelan asked at the sound of the word ‘lordship’.