*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much*
Seth arrived in London early the next morning to tend to Mrs. Helmsley as she lay sick in her bed. Her condition wasn't getting any better, her cough was getting worse and her fever was increasing. She was growing weaker and Hunter was losing all hope in his wife growing healthy once more. Seth was their final hope and he hoped his new practices of medicine would help his wife. Seth's carriage traveled through the woods to the small Helmsley cottage in the early hours of the morning before the sun had rose in the sky. He had made the voyage from Spain where he was starting his practice and was making his home for his future bride that he would be bringing home after he treated Mrs. Helmsley. Della's grandfather and father had promised Della to him for his services while he had not seen Della he had been told what an exceptional beauty she truly was. He knew Della had dreams of being more than a farmer's wife and the next best thing for her would be a well-respected physician in Spain. He looked forward to meeting his betrothed as wild as she had been described by her grandfather he knew he could tame her into the wife he needed her to be.
Seth's carriage pulled up in front of the Helmsley cottage as the morning sun began to peak through the clouds causing the sky to turn to shades of pink and orange. It was a beautiful morning Seth thought as he stepped down from his carriage with his doctor bag while his servant pulled his luggage from the carriage. He made his way to the tiny wooden steps of the cottage and creaked up to the door. It was smaller than he was used to but it was work for him so he took what he was able. He knocked on the door softly. He smiled as a young girl with dark brown hair and the bluest eyes he had ever seen open the door in a white night gown. The beautiful sky was nothing in comparison to her beauty. "Hello," he began. "I'm Seth Rollins. I am here to be the physician for Mrs. Helmsley," he said with a smile as he was entrapped with her beauty.
"Yes, Dr. Rollins," she said softly. "Please come in," she opened the door to the cottage and allowed him to come in. "My mother is still resting," she said pointing to her mother sleeping on a small cot in a heated room. "She's been gravely ill."
"I have heard," he said as she shut the door behind him. "Is your papa available?"
"My papa has gone off to work with my younger sister. He informed me you would be here. I am to entertain you until he returns."
"Very well, I will allow your mother to rest," said Seth as he watched the young girl before him.
"Can I offer you some tea?" she offered as her long waist length hair swayed with her tiny hips.
"Please," he said with a smile. "I'm sorry I was unable to catch your name," he said.
"Della," she answered as she made her way to the kitchen to make him his tea.
"Ah, my betrothed," he said to himself with a smile. She was more beautiful than he had imagined. Her facial features were soft and perfect. Her eyes were the most beautiful he had seen. They reminded him of crystals and the summer sky. Her skin appeared soft and smooth, she had a tiny frame as her night gown hugged her tiny body. She was breathtakingly beautiful and she had an innocence about her.
"I apologize, Sir," she said as she began to make his tea, "I'm indisposed and it is improper."
"You're all right," he responded, "but as my betrothed I would suggest when we have visitors to our home that you are dressed properly for your body will be only for me to see."
"Allow me to become more presentable," she said nervously.
"Please," he said giving her permission to change into her daily clothes. He took a seat at the table as the tea sat on the stove. Seth tapped his fingers lightly on the table as he waited for his betrothed. The home was quiet and the sun was beginning to shine in the sky signaling the start of day.
"I apologize, Dr. Rollins," said Della as she came back into the small kitchen. She was dressed in her patchwork skirts that fell to her feet with a white blouse on to match she had pulled her dark hair up into a tight braid. She tended to the tea on the stove.
"Della," he said softly as he looked at her with his dark brown eyes. "You're my betrothed we'll be sharing a life together please call me Seth," he said with a soft smile.
"Seth," she corrected herself as she flattened out her skirts. She had to admit that he was handsome but not as handsome as the Earl that had captured her heart but he was good looking and he was not a farmer's son but he was not the man for her to marry. Her heart would never be his, how could it when her heart would always belong to Roman. His shoulders weren't as broad but his features were similar, dark eyes, olive skin, dark hair that he wore pulled up into a low ponytail. He didn't dress like an Earl and not much like a physician. His clothes were plain and his breeches were a grey color but he dressed himself well. He had money and she knew he could give her a good life but what was a good life inside a loveless marriage.
The tea kettle whistled and she pulled the tea from the stove. Seth watched her tiny hands as she poured two cups of tea followed by adding fruity herbs to the tea. She added two sugar cubes to each before bringing it to the table. "Thank-you," he said as she handed him his cup. She took a seat across from him at the table. "How long has your mother been ill?"
"I don't know weeks now," she answered. "It started with an ache in her head followed by the cough, the cough got worse and her breathing got worse. Her fever has been something awful. No doctor can diagnose her."
"I'm sure I will be able to. I have some herbs that I would like to try her on to see if that will help with her illness."
"I hope that something works," she said before sipping her tea. "I love my mama with all my heart. I want to see her well again."
"I will do my best," he promised. "So, I believe we are to be married," he announced, "by the end of my time here in London."
"That's what I was told," she said nervously as she stirred her tea trying not to make eye contact with the doctor.
"Are you not feeling confident in a marriage with me?" he asked before sipping his tea.
"I'm confident that I would never love you," she said honestly. "I could never love you and that is unfair to you."
"Why do you pain me like this?" he asked curiously. "Is there another man that holds your heart?"
Della let out a sigh and said, "yes, there is another man that holds my heart. A marriage between you and I would never be true if my heart belonged to another."
"I could make your heart mine," he said, "you have barely given me a chance to prove I could make you love me like you love the other man."
"Seth," she began, "that would be impossible. I am in love with another, my heart belongs to him."
"Ah but your hand in marriage belongs to me," he reminded her. "Whether your heart belongs to another man your hand in marriage belongs to me. You wouldn't want to reside in Spain with a well-respected physician?"
"No, Sir," she answered honestly. "What is a loveless marriage?" she questioned, "how can I be happy inside of a loveless marriage?"
"We can grow to love each other. I promise you I am a respectable man. I will treat you well," he promised. "Is it the Earl your heart belongs to?"
Della bit her lip and answered. "Lord Reigns," she said softly. "He holds my heart."
"Ah but do you hold his?" he asked. "You could hold my heart and I would hold yours. We would be happy. I can give you the promise of a happy marriage, I can promise you a marriage, a home, a good life, my attention can your Earl promise you all of that?"
"I'm not certain," she answered as he took her hand into his.
"I'm sure he cannot," he responded.
"He told me that he can't offer me a marriage but he can offer me happiness."
"As can I, Della," he insists. "I will admit when your grandfather betrothed us I was weary but as I met you I see how beautiful you are, how innocent you are and you appear to be an intelligent young woman. We will be happy together. We'll reside in Spain, I will be a physician and you'll remain at home with our children. I can make you happy, Della at least give me the chance to prove to you that I can make you happy that I am not going to give you a terrible life. I can love you and give you my heart, all of me. I can promise you a home, a marriage, my heart and all you must do is be an honorable wife," he said, "you remain honorable?"
"Yes, Seth," she answered.
"Will you give me the chance to prove to you that I can make you happy?" he asked.
"I will but I can't guarantee my heart," she said honestly.
"Heart or no heart, Della, you're my betrothed. We will be married by month's end. You belong to me whether you can give me your heart or not."
"I understand," she said pulling her hand from hers. "I should get the children ready for their school lesson. I hope you don't mind."
"No please," he said, "don't allow me to stand in your way of your usual routine."
"Thank-you," said Della before she went to wake the children to begin their day by giving them breakfast and then having a school lesson with them. It was her daily routine but she wished she could escape to see Lord Reigns. She was missing him and his heart was calling to her. She needed to see him but there was no way she could escape with her betrothed keeping a close eye on her while tending to her mother and she tended to the children.
Hunter and Adel returned back to the cottage as the evening sky gave way to the night time sky. The family was surrounded by the table enjoying the dinner that Della had prepared for them of ham, rice, vegetables she had picked from their garden and biscuits with milk from their cows. Seth was tending to Stephanie giving her his special herbs in the tea made by Della to help her feel better. Seth had a lot of hope in his herbs that they would heal Stephanie as did Hunter. "We're home," announced Hunter as he came into the house carrying a package in one hand and food from their job in another. The children jumped up from the table and greeted Hunter with hugs and kisses. "How is Stephanie?" he asked the physician immediately.
"Feeling a bit better," said Stephanie with a smile as she sipped her tea. "I feel my cough going away."
"That's good," he said with a smile. "Any idea what could have my wife so ill?"
"I have not discovered a cause but I am still researching. I believe it is possible your wife has Scarlet Fever which would explain the rash. If that's the case the entire house would need to be evacuated," he said, "but I will look more into her illness to find a cause."
"Thank-you, Dr. Rollins," he said with a grateful smile. "I am sure you have had the pleasure of meeting your wife to be."
"Yes," he said with a smile as he looked over to his betrothed as she was taking care of the children. She would make a wonderful wife and a wonderful mother. She was caring, compassionate and beautiful. He loved that about her. It wasn't taking long for him to fall in love with his betrothed but how long would it take for her to fall in love with him. "She's a pleasant young woman."
"She's passionate," said Hunter, "very wild and free not like any other girl you will meet. You're lucky to have her, Son," he said patting the physician on the shoulder. "I believe that you could marry by the end of the month and take her back to Spain with you. I need to get her out of London as soon as possible."
"The Earl?" he asked.
"Yes," Hunter answered with irritation in his voice. "He is filling her head with lies making her believe that they can be happy together and he can give her the life she wishes but I'm afraid he is betrothed to Lady Amelia. She would be nothing more than a mistress my daughter deserves to be a wife to a respectable man."
"I will do all in my power to be the husband she deserves and make her my wife but she's rebellious. I can see the rebellion in her eyes."
"Strong-willed like her mother," he said. "She's foolish but I am sure you can make her happier and give her everything she desires."
"I intend to," he said as there was a scratch at the door.
Della hurried to the door to answer the call. A messenger stood on their front porch. "Della Helmsley?" questioned the messenger.
"I'm Della," she said with a smile as he handed her a missive. "Thank-you," she said as she looked at the missive in her hand. She knew it was from Roman. It had to be from Roman. She shut the door and held the missive to her chest.
"What is that?" asked Hunter.
"Just a missive for me," she said with a smile.
"Let me see it," he said trying to take the letter from his daughter.
"No, Papa," she said, "it was delivered to me and me only. I am going to go read the missive."
"Della," he warned but she danced away with the missive in her hands to read it quietly and in the privacy of her bedroom in the candlelight. She tore the envelope open impatiently and smiled when she opened the letter. She saw Roman's beautiful signature at the end of the beautiful script. She began to read the letter.
Dearest Della,
I miss you tremendously. My heart aches without you. I wish to see you soon. Please accompany on my evening walk. Please meet me at our rose garden. I desperately need to see you and hold you in my arms. When the clock strikes midnight I will be standing in the garden awaiting my love.
Love,
Reigns.
Della smiled as she folded up the letter and held it to her chest. He was requesting to see her, he needed to see her. She believed that he did truly love her, that his heart was hers. She tucked the letter away so no one would be able to find it and she made her way out to the kitchen to have dinner with her siblings but she was stopped by Seth on her way to the dinner table. "Della," he said grabbing her gently by the arm.
"Yes, Seth?"
"I want to do this the right way," he said. "I do not have a ring to give you but once we return to Spain I will give you my grandmother's ring," he began. "I want you to have the marriage you dream of beginning with the proposal of marriage. I can give you a life of happiness and make you the happiest woman in the world. I would love nothing more than to be the man you deserve. I believe we can be happy together and that we will have it all together. I will give you my heart and I will wait for you to give me yours but we will remain happy and joyful together. Will you be my wife?" he asked with a soft nervous smile. "Will you marry me?"
"I don't believe I have much choice do I?" she snapped pulling her arm from his grip. "I think the deal has been arranged whether I say no or yes I am to be your wife," she said. "It doesn't matter if I want to or don't want to. My father and grandfather have made their choice for me," she snapped.
"But I want you to," he said.
"Don't wish for my want to marry you. My heart belongs to another it will never be yours," she promised. "Yet I am your wife with no choice of my own. You'll have your marriage by month's end. I guarantee you that but I can't promise my happiness."
"Della," he begged.
"No," she said before she stormed out of the small cottage. She ran barefoot to the rose garden she would meet Roman in later that evening. She had very little time left with Roman before he married Amelia and before she was taken to Spain against her will. She wanted to treasure whatever time she could with Roman.
Della sat crying in the rose garden until Roman arrived around midnight. He handed her another rose as he found her sitting on a bench. "Della," he said softly. "What pains you, My Love?"
"I am to be married at the end of the month. My father and grandfather arranged for me to marry some physician from Spain to get me out of London to get me away from you," she said through her tears. "I don't want to leave you," she said as he sat down next to her on the bench. He wrapped his arm around the young woman.
"Della," he said, "you don't have to leave me. We could find that cottage and make a home of it," he said, "you and I." He promised her.
"You and I?" she asked, "but you're betrothed to Amelia."
"To keep her family happy," he responded, "and create heirs but not to love. I will never love her," he said.
"I will never love, Seth but you are an Earl. You have no room in your life for a farmer's daughter. I am beneath you. I don't attend balls and masquerades and I wear patchwork skirts. I am not worthy of you, My Lord."
"You are every bit worthy of me," he said before he kissed her cheek. "I have obligation to marry Amelia but I have obligation to make you happy."
"You can't make me happy when you belong to another, Roman. I will be nothing but your whore," she said. "I don't want to be the whore of another woman's husband."
"But I can't promise you a marriage," he said, "but I can promise you my heart, Della. You have my heart," he said.
"But Amelia gets to live a life of happiness with you, have your children, wake up next to you every day while I get put in a cottage in the woods to be your whore and mistress."
"Della," he said placing his hand on her knee, rubbing her thigh softly. "Touch my heart." She did as he said nervously placing her tiny hand on his chest. His heart beat quickly. "My heart beats for you, Della. My heart will always beat for you. I can make you happy. I can take care of you. I will give you a happy life. I will make an arrangement with Amelia. She can live at our residence. I will create heirs with her but my time will be spent with you. I am going insane without seeing you every day. If you go off to Spain my heart will break. Please don't leave me, Della. I can make you happy. I can give you a life of happiness too. I love you, Della," he said. "Please come away with me. I will find you a cottage, find us a cottage. Please," he begged.
"I can't, Roman. I am promised to another man. I can't run away with you. I belong to another," she said as she stood up.
"Della," he pleaded. "I need you in my life."
"I need you in mine as well but I am promised to another as are you," she said. "My Papa is paying the physician with my hand in marriage. I want my mother to be well again if I run away," she said with tears in her eyes, "he will never make her well again."
Roman jumped up from the bench and rounded Della, standing in front of her. He placed his hand on her shoulder pushing his hard body against hers. "I will pay for your mother to be well again. Do you want to marry the physician?" he asked. She could feel every muscle of his body against her. Her breathing increased, she could barely catch her breath. His dark eyes meeting her crystal blue eyes. "Do you want to marry the physician?"
"No," she answered honestly. "I don't."
"Then we'll run away together," he said, "I will find us a cottage, you will make it into our home and shortly after I marry Amelia I will reside with you at the cottage. I want to make you happy, Della, allow me to make you happy," he said stroking her cheek with his fingertips. She leaned into his touch as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I love you, Della," he said. "Please be mine."
"Roman," she breathed as her hands found his neck. "I want so much to be happy and you're the only man that can make me happy. I love you," she said. "Too much."
He smiled at his mistress to be. "Will you be mine?" he asked.
"I already am," she said with a smile. "My heart has been yours. I am yours," she promised. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her lips softly, her soft lips parted and his tongue slid into her mouth, stroking her tongue softly, he pulled her closer to him, kissing her deeply. The hardness of his cock pressed against her thigh. She slid her hand down between them stroking his cock softly, he moaned into her mouth.
"Not yet," he said as he broke the kiss. "I promise the night I take you will be a night you never forget. Here's what you'll do," he said. "You'll return back to your cottage, I will send for you when I have the cottage then you will leave. I will be married at week's end. I will spend my married evening with my new wife but every night after will be dedicated to you. Della, I'm going to make you happy," he said. "You'll never want or need for anything. You'll be mine for life." He kissed her once more before setting her free to her cottage to wait for him to send for her.
*A/N: What did you think of Seth? What did you think of Della's reception to Seth? Do you think she will ever truly care for Seth? What did you think of Roman sending Della a letter for her to meet him in the rose garden? What did you think of Seth proposing properly to Della? What did you think of her answer? How do you feel about Vince and Hunter promising Della to Seth for his services to make her mother well again? What did you think of Roman and Della's meeting in the rose garden? Do you trust Roman? Do you think she will end up getting hurt if she does run away with him? What do you think of his arrangement? Does he truly love Della? Do you think Della will truly runaway with Roman or honor her marriage to Seth? Please review and thank-you for reading.