Chapter 4 In the park

______'s park was situated very near Vernon's house and it was no time walk to get there. Rosie wrapped in her black cloak quickly stole through the shadows trying to avoid lights of numerous street lamps. Finally she has reached their spot, which was chosen on purpose out of its convenient and secluded position. He stood there smiling to her and only having his eyes for her. She couldn't help it. She cried: "Edward!" and ran to him. Her white delicate arms winded around his mighty shoulders, his hands embraced her slender waist and their lips were united in a long sweet kiss. Colonel Dellis was a tall man about a bit and thirty. He had black hair, a bit sunburned skin that looked even browner in comparison to the girl's and moustache, with which then he was tickling his loveliest. He was far not ugly and yet not as handsome as William. But he had great charisma, power in him and something else that bound Rosie to him much stronger than any cables and fetters. They stopped and she could think at last. The girl pushed off her lover and said: "Please, leave." "Why? I've just come and I haven't seen you for two days." "I implore you. It is not right." "Then tell me what is right. Enlighten me." "It is senseless." "The whole love is a thing of no senses and much sense." "I am engaged." "Engaged is not married." "My family will never accept you." "I don't follow you. Who am I going to be with? You or your family?" "No, forgive me, Edward, but I am absolutely determined. We should split up. There will be no good of this affair. I told my word and you know that if I resolve something, nobody will change my mind." Her voice was firm and resolute. Her eyes were looking directly into his. They stood silent for some time. "Even so?" "I agreed. Our parents now are pondering about the date." "Let them ponder and their daughters wander." "Your jokes are really not appropriate." "As much as this fiancé. Besides, who is this unluckiest one?" "How can you be such a beast?" "But look, on the other hand you are so good against my background." "Oh!" Angry she turned her back and moved a few steps away from him wishing to leave. He overtook her and put his hands on her shoulders. She didn't move and was steady answering with cold to his touch. He then put his arms around her. Again there was no reaction. He kissed her cheek. First she closed her eyes, and then turned her face away from him. "Please, forgive me. Rosie, my heart..." She said no word. "But, please, don't be sulky. Look what I've got for you." He took her little fragile hand, removed Sir William's wedding ring and instead of it put on his own. "Happy Birthday, dear." He kissed that hand, her cheek, her neck. Then removed the cloak from her white sugar shoulder and pressed his lips to it. "What do you have on? Let me look at you." He turned her with the face to him and removed the rest of her cloak, letting it hang only by laces around her neck. "You look just gorgeous..." Her eyes were transparent and now were glistening lamentably. She lowered them. He embraced her, again kissed her mouth and neck. She turned her head upwards, her eyes were wetting. No, she loved him and couldn't resist. "I love you and my intentions are most serious." "Sir William is too good, I cannot deceive him." "Then don't deceive him and tell the entire thing." "Please understand me." "I cannot understand why we should be miserable apart when we can be happy together." "I do not want to erect my happiness on deception and others' misery." "Then nothing would have been erected in this world." "I don't mind the world." "I even less." "Sir William is a good, kind and worthy man." "Fitzroy?" "Yes, he is my fiancé." "A handsome lad. Only I don't think he is worthy enough of you. For you he is too much an infant. He is as if of wax. Were I your father, I would have never agreed to such match." "And you are worthy then?" "Such treasure as you needs to be protected. And this lapdog is not able to do it." "Whom should I be protected from? From such a hound as you?" "Rosie..." "What?" "I beg you. Please, marry me. Leave everything, this darned society, these people, all these prejudices... Let's run away." "Leave all my life...?" "The war is over. I'll leave the army. We shall travel around the world, see all its wonders. I'll make everything for you not to feel any need. Oh, please, agree... Yes? But yes?" He hugged her, kissed and looked imploringly at her. She didn't move but only shook like a leaf. Her eyes looked nowhere. To his passionate question she only answered inaudibly. "No..." "Yes?" "No. Forgive me, Edward." There was a little pause. "It is a great shame on all my family. I cannot do this." "Rosie..." "No, we should live with our duty. I shall marry Fitzroy." "What duty? For whose sake are doing it with yourself?" "Sir William loves me with all of his heart and he will be a good husband. I beseech you, leave me in peace. Don't stand on my way." "No, you are not for peace." "Leave me alone!" "All right, only let's think first. He loves you. You pity him but nothing more. Imagine you've got married. Now he is young, sees everything in pink light and would think himself happy. But your pity would do no good for him. Sooner or later he would learn to understand that you don't really love him. However, you would be condemned to live with each other for the rest of your lives and for him this marriage will turn into terrible endless torture. Then you. First you would console yourself with a thought that you've made the right thing. You will care about him, caress and make everything convenient for him. And yet the only man you will ever love is me. This little husband of yours would bore you after some time. You will suffer but bear like an honest good wife. Only after all you wouldn't be able to withstand my pressure, fall and play him false. If you think, that I would ever leave you alone after your marriage, forget. I am bound to you forever. You are my life, the only sense in it. Our meetings would become more often and someday our intimacy would become known to everyone, which would be a shame for both your families and me and plus the only thing you would get from it is just three unhappy people and even more... Do you really want it?" Such speech made Rosie's tears flow. "Why are you doing it with me?" "Why are you doing it with me?" "I cannot another way." "Me either." "Believe me; I cannot leave my life here. I have rooted myself in it so much that I cannot exist without it. I like a bird got everything to live with nothing to care about in my gold cage and I am already not able to be free. I like a domestic cat got myself warm near the fireplace and I am not able to come out in frost. People cannot live just on love. No, I am not suitable for you. You need a brave, strong woman and I am just a faint-hearted, poor-spirited coward." "You are a coward? You are poor-spirited? But I've never seen such a girl that can oppose someone so intrepidly as you. Maybe that's why I love you so much." "And nevertheless I have no forces to fight for my happiness. And therefore I am not worthy of it." "Don't tell follies. I understand it is very difficult to change the life completely for the sake of something absolutely unknown. Think. I give you time. Weigh everything so that you wouldn't pity for your choice. Consider what is more important for you: me or this feigned society with its imaginative honour. Honour of course exists. It and call of duty should exist in each man and woman. But what a duty is it that takes from people their happiness? What laws are these that make them miserable? These are only laws of this society, which, to say the truth, it itself hardly ever follows. Do you really like it? Would you sacrifice yourself for it? Is it really worthy of it? Think who are these people who would judge you? Think." "How funny... You give me possibility to think and with it help me thinking in the proper way for you." She went heading away from him. "Rosie?! Stop! Wait!" She stopped and turned to him. "Look, Edward. You definitely have a lot of virtues but you hear only yourself, just like a spoilt boy. If you are letting me think let me think for myself. Let me come to you myself. Don't try to influence me. I love you but my mind is a thing that belongs only to me. Don't enslave me with your love. After all I am free and adult enough to decide for myself." She continued her way. He ran after her. "Don't follow me!" She cried. He stopped and cried once more. "Rosie, please wait! Let me say a few words. I beg you." Again she stopped and looked at him in a way demanding explanations. "Few words." "Rosie, listen, yes I tried to influence you but only because I love you with all of my heart. You see, before I lived with a war. It was my only bread and my only sense of living. I am not as good as you and perhaps hopeless at all. The only things that I've ever seen are death, loud cries, explosions, people's sufferings. All these triumphant marches and military glory don't really exist. These were just some senseless glistening of light among this thorough darkness. But the war was the only thing I had. Now it is over. Awards, fame, receptions, balls, women's attention... I indeed tried to find something in them and yet never found... Then in my life appeared you like a wonder. You are the only woman that made me lose my head and with it you are the only one that makes me think with it. Now I have only you. You are my only happiness, my life and dearer to me than all riches of this world. You may blame me for everything I've done. But just tell me, may a man fight a little bit for the only thing that is important for him in his wretched life? But if it comes to that, I'll act in the way you order me. You are free to go..." He looked so sincere, so vulnerable, so miserable... She couldn't stand it. She cried: "No!", ran to him, threw herself on his neck and once more they kissed. Now their figures were seen by Lord Vernon and his people. "Here they are!" He cried to them. They ran up to them: "Put your hands away from her!" The pair started. They were surrounded. It was really suddenly and ill-timed. Frightened Rosie cried: "Father!" and tried to let herself out of Dellis's embrace but he pressed her strongly to his breast and looked steadily at the man whom he should have called father. "Don't you hear?!" continued angry father his aria. "I do hear but don't really understand why I should take my arms and hands away from her if she likes being in them so much." "How dare you!" "Ah, yes, I forgot about all this politeness. How do you do, your lordship, and your hounds? It is fine weather, isn't it?" "You..." Sir Arthur lost his power of speech with fury. "And by the way, perhaps your bitches didn't bring forth well this time." "Shut up, you abject scoundrel! Seducer! Rascal! Villain! ..." Lord Vernon made a couple more of ringing names but after it stopped for a moment to make up some more. "How many titles! Even His Majesty the King of Great Britain would never award me with so many. Besides, how long was your genius figuring out this affair?" "Your landscapes let you down." "The landscapes..." Dellis hardly sighed. "Yes, you are puzzled out, you mean rat. How did you get it? Do you want to disgrace all my family? You are not for the gentle society! Remember you will get nothing from Vernon's power and money!" "Sir, who do you take me for? Your society I'd sell for a barrel of apples. The only reason of what I do is just that your daughter really turns me on. And I would gladly take her completely naked." And he demonstratively kissed her. Sir Arthur couldn't speak. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Oh, yes, it was a blow for him. "What are you saying?" Rosie squeaked to Dellis. "Quiet, my love." "Hold him!" Vernon ordered to his people. "Hmm, a little bit of exercise, yeah." Dellis in one hand hold his sword, in another Rosie's one. He stood, covering her with his back. "So who is the first? I am waiting." The first came out and at once bounced back. Another one - left, then - right, one rolled away, one fainted at all, another - ran away. "Fools! Together onto him!" "Oh, that's how you play! All right, you yourself have chosen the rules." He dragged Rosie to him and held a sword near her throat. Nobody dared to move. "There is nothing sacred for you!" exclaimed the farther. "Yes, and you are a coward. Why are you standing there like a stuffed dummy? Come and take what belongs to you." "What are you doing?! Please! This is my father!" screamed Rosie. "I know," he whispered to her in answer. "Believe me, there is nothing bad in my intentions. My queen desires peace and I'm all for it but my only demand is she." "What?! It is impossible!" "Then, I swear, I'll kill her right here even would I be hanged for it." "You'd better change your mind, Dellis." Suddenly someone said.