“And you know this from speaking to me for a mere five minutes?” Alexandra asked with a significant amount of shock.
“Of course, I know a great deal of you from Michael, but yes, I know my son and what his needs might be in a life companion. You fit the type so extraordinarily well.”
“Really?”
“Really. Listen to me. Michael needs someone with whom to spar, so to speak. He needs a wife who’ll not only speak her mind but also who’ll be brutally honest with him. He needs not only a challenge but an intelligent and adventurous woman or he’ll tire of the marriage in no time. Now, if you’ve wounded him as deeply as you say, then your reason for coming here this evening and having to face him can only mean you’re ready for the chase.”
“You are correct.” Alexandra admitted. “I’ve come because I’ve realized how wrong I was to run from him. I love him more than I would ever have imagined loving anyone.”
“Then by all means,” Isabella told her gently and with a warm smile. “Don’t let me keep you at my side. You must go and find his lordship immediately so that all may be resolved.”
Taking her leave of the duchess, Alexandra began winding her way through the crowd in search of Michael. Without any luck, she eventually decided to get a breath of fresh air before diving back in. Four sets of French doors stood open, and the cool breeze beckoned for her to abandon the heated ballroom.
She’d taken no more than a couple of steps before she saw him standing before her. He was just as handsome as she remembered him, if not more so, but then her eyes registered someone else—a beautiful dark haired woman whom he held firmly in his embrace. “You know, I love you right?” the woman said, just as Michael replied, “I love you too.”
Alexandra’s world came to a screeching halt. Her mouth fell open in order to scream or shout or say something . . . but no words would come. And her feet remained frozen to the ground. She wanted to run as fast as her feet would carry her, but she could not move. This had to be her worst nightmare come to life—worse even than Ryan catching her with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
Michael had seen Alexandra arrive about an hour earlier, but had chosen to stay back for a number of reasons. For the past week, he’d been hoping she’d take the bait and come to him. After all, she’d never attended a seasonal ball before, so what reason would she possibly have for attending this one that happened to be hosted by his parents, unless it was to see him? She knew he would be there, and she had come. Nothing made him happier, and nothing filled him with more hope than when she’d finally made her entrance. Of course, he’d been a nervous wreck by then, because of how late she’d been, but when he finally saw her . . . oh how he longed to wrap her in his arms, to whisper words of endearment in her ear and to kiss those kissable lips.
But then he’d seen the eager men rushing to her side, and he’d restrained himself. Alexandra had never had any gentlemen callers or admirers before, she’d never been appreciated by men for her beauty . . . surely it wouldn’t hurt to allow her to bask in all the attention a little. And if she did choose to push them all aside in favor of him then . . . well . . . it could only mean that she really loved him, couldn’t it?
So he’d found himself a glass of champagne and ventured out onto the terrace only to find his sister, Cassandra, crying quietly to herself in a corner. “Cass?” he’d asked as he’d carefully approached her. “Whatever is the matter?”
“Oh, Michael, it’s no use. I don’t believe I’ll ever marry. You’ll see. I shall wind up an old spinster—the kind aunt who likes to read or embroider and always takes her naps at ten.”
He offered her his handkerchief and put his arm around her shoulders for comfort. “Surely it won’t come to that, Cass.”
That had apparently been the key to opening the flood gates. Between sobs his sister had told him how she’d fallen hopelessly in love with Lord Barton and how sure she’d been that he would one day return her affection. She delivered a long list of examples to this effect until she eventually hit upon the very heart of the matter. It seemed that Lord Barton had just proposed to Lady Jayne Greaves. Well, if this wasn’t a pickle, then Michael wasn’t sure what was.
Pulling his sister into his arms, he did the only thing he thought might help. He offered comfort.
“Oh, Michael,” she told him after all the tears had dried away. “You truly are the best brother in the whole wide world. You know I love you right?”
“I love you too,” he’d said.
And that was when he’d spotted Alexandra.
If looks could kill, then Michael was just about to be obliterated. Alexandra was practically foaming at the mouth, eyes blazing with an overwhelming amount of fury.
He quickly distanced himself from his sister and took a tentative step toward Alexandra. “It’s not what you think, Alex,” he said as he held up his hands as if hoping to somehow placate her.
“Oh, is this her, Michael?” Cassandra’s voice rang out in the night and Michael instantly winced. Of all the times to ask the most damning of questions.
“Ah,” Alexandra sneered as she cast a vehement look in Cassandra’s direction. “So you’ve been discussing me. How very cozy.”
“Alex, I’d like to present my—”
“Stop Michael,” she snapped. “Please stop.” The last word came out shakily, and Michael saw that she was trembling. She was clearly close to hysterics.
“Damn,” she cried. “Now look what you’ve done. You and your . . . your little Cyprian.”
“Good heavens,” Cassandra exclaimed. “She certainly has quite a mouth on her.”
“Shut up before I challenge you,” Alexandra screeched.
“Challenge me?” Cassandra’s eyes opened wide. “To a duel? Dear me, she can’t be serious, Michael.”
“Alex, that’s enough,” Michael all but shouted. “You’re jumping to conclusions and making a fool out of yourself in the process.”
“Really?” Alex’s voice was filled with sarcasm as she raised a mocking eyebrow. “So this woman is not your lover?”
“Good God no,” Michael exclaimed in a horrified tone of voice. He cleared his throat before turning and gesturing for Cassandra to come forward. “This, Alex, is Cassandra my sister.”
Alexandra paled. Her eyes seemed to flicker back and forth between the two siblings, as if she was trying to compare them. Michael knew they looked similar, and as he watched Alexandra’s eyes widen, he realized that she finally saw it too. With a mortified groan, she buried her face in her hands and muttered a muted “I’m so sorry.” She remained thus, apparently not daring to look at either one of them.
“Cass, would you please give us a minute?” Michael implored.
Giving her brother a reassuring smile, Cassandra hurried back inside. Michael moved closer to Alexandra. “Look at me,” he said as he reached for her hands and removed them from her face. He nudged her head upward with his fingers until she was looking him straight in the eye. That old familiar sense of desire, that only she was capable of evoking, stirred to life in his belly. She looked dazzling even now, with her eyes all puffy from crying and her lips quivering with remorse. “Come. Let’s take a walk in the garden. I think it’s time that you and I talked.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
As if in a daze, Alexandra nodded, linked her arm with Michael’s and allowed him to guide her away from the terrace and toward the darkness. “Won’t this be frowned upon?” she asked as the music faded behind them. “Our being alone like this . . . unchaperoned . . . in the dark?”
“If someone sees us, then yes, it will.” He tightened his grip on her. “But you’ve never been one to pay much heed to what other people might consider inappropriate have you?”
“No,” she agreed. “I haven’t. But I wouldn’t want my aunt or my father to be affected by any sort of scandal I might cause.”
“Alex, I’m quite confident that by the time we return to the ballroom, any chance of a possible scandal occurring as a result of our being alone together, will be made null by what we’re about to discuss.” He sensed her hesitation and paused for a moment before pushing for what he wanted to hear. When she gave a slight nod, he continued. “Now then, would you please tell me why you, who never attend any balls whatsoever, have decided to come this evening?”
The darkness was almost complete as they continued to walk to the sound of gravel crunching beneath their feet. The air was pleasantly warm and filled with the sweet scent of honeysuckle. From somewhere nearby, Michael could hear a few lonesome frogs croaking while a group of cicadas were happily strumming a tune.
“Well,” she said, averting her gaze as if to admire something or other that they happened to be passing, though, he couldn’t imagine what that something might be—it was too dark to see anything. “Your parents invited us and as it happens, my papa and yours are quite good friends.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question though, does it?” he teased. “You see, I have it on good authority that you’re not interested in marriage, but then . . . based on that daring gown of yours, I can’t help but wonder if there might not be a gentleman whose interest you’re vying for? Or perhaps, I am mistaken, and you seek to take a lover?”
She didn’t answer, but he could practically see the steam coming out of her ears, no matter how dark it was. He held back a chuckle and wondered how long it would take for her to tell him why she’d really come.
“No,” he continued in a lighthearted manner. “You don’t strike me as the sort of lady who would entertain a lover.”
“Really? Because that’s exactly the sort of woman Lord Hamilton took me to be.”
“And I suppose he was sufficiently punished for his inaccuracy?”
“He took a spill upon the dance floor.”
“Did he indeed?” Michael grinned. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it. He’s not usually the sort of man who takes to offending young ladies. I’m surprised he made the attempt with you.”
“Well, I can only hope it will be his last attempt. He did appear to be a touch humiliated when I left him there.”
“Hm . . . So if you didn’t come in search of a potential lover, then I’m left with only one assumption. I do believe you must be in love. Am I correct?”
He felt her stiffen beside him just as a small gasp escaped her lips. Ah yes, he’d finally struck a chord. “Is it possible? Are you in love, Lady Alexandra?”
“I . . . I . . .” Alexandra stammered, trying desperately to free her arm. So she could run back to the safety of the ballroom perhaps? Michael held her firmly in place.
“Would it help if the gentleman you’re in love with were to confess that he’s undeniably and madly in love with you too?”