swollen with bruises and one of his eyes was half shut.
Boy, Leon did a good job.
“Oh, Marcus!” Rose feigned the cry, running off to wrap her arms around him. “Who in the world did this to you?”
He looked bewildered at first and then moaned in pain as he move his arms around her.
“Lansing. Oh, Lord Lansing. Who the devil did this to you?” she asked, faking tears as she pulls him up in a loose embrace. “Tell me. Tell me and I shall see him sent to the devil.”
“Seriously?” he wheezed out that made Rose had to stifle back an urge to laugh. This was all too amusing.
“Yes,” she said, dropping kisses on his face full of bumps. Sorry, Leon. “I would sure emasculate him for doing such a ruthless thing to you. Tell me. Whoever, wherever he is, I shall go and blind him with his own manhood.”
“You…are talking rather…improper, m’lady,” Lansing said, his voice merely a whisper.
“Shut up!” Rose said, literally throwing his head back down on the couch.
“Ouch!”
“I’m serious about it,” she said. “Take me to that bastard and I will teach him a lesson.”
“You do…know that it’s that b-bastard Leon of yours…right?”
Bastard Leon of mine?
How did he know? Rose wondered, but soon wiped it off to play along.
“Is it?” Anger was feigned on her brows. “That bastard. Leaving me and now destroying you, the love of my life. We should have gotten married. Where is he? I want to go and give him a piece of my mind.”
There was a gleam in the marquess’s eyes as she said that. “Do you really?”
She sighed and kneeled down in front of him. “Yes,” she said, reluctantly pressing her lips to his. “I will. Anything for you, my love.”
He smiled and clutched her head down to his. “I would like to see that.”
Rose quickly pulled away before he can kiss her again and stood up. “Oh, you will. Whenever you’re well, we should go. He must pay for this. His action is intolerable.”
“How about now?” he inquired, wincing as he got up to sit. “He is in one of our torturing chamber in Islington. Short ride. I can get one of the footmen to–”
“Oh, but you are not well!” Rose interjected, pushing the marquess back down. “You must rest.”
“Must rest? Don’t kid me now. I want to see you torture that bastard, too,” he said, getting up again. “Pull that rope for me, will you? I think I’m excited enough to gain the strength.”
Rose wasn’t having much of a good feeling at Lord Lansing’s remark, for she felt her act would be going over what she had wanted. But she nodded, and went to pull the rope anyway for Lord Lansing’s valet and left him to do his business. Whatever happens, she only hoped that she would make it back to tell the Earl of Longsword and save Leon’s life.
Hargate Inn
“So Heartily almost thrash the life out of Lansing? Damn, I would have enjoyed the sight,” exclaimed Laguna as Longsword summarized up all that had happened while he was gone.
“Yes, so now we have to go save his ass. Lansing would be revenging, no doubt.”
“You said Lady Rose would find out where he is held, right? We shouldn’t worry. Let her play her role, and then we will jump in to the rescue.”
“Yes, I’m counting on her.”
“So,” Hargate said, swirling the wine in his cup around as they sat. “How long do you think this is going to take? The notes said a limit of three days. A full day has passed, you know. Do you think Lady Rose have succeeded yet?”
“Too quick to say, but she should be out to convince the marquess already. She has to save her bridegroom. After all, she and Leon are getting married.”
“What? No way!” Hargate could hardly believe what Longsword just said. “Leon and Rose are getting married now? Lord, and he said they can never be. That fool. Lady Rose better succeed in this because I have to be his best man at the altar.”
“Indeed,” Longsword threw in with a nod. “We have to make sure they both make it to the altar at the end with us cheering with the crowd.”
“All right then. We have to start preparing for whatever is to come when Lady Rose calls in,” Hargate said with a snap of his fingers. “We cannot fail Leon now. He had come a long way.”
“Crazy long way, that is,” Longsword said with a smile. “Really crazy long way.”
“I