Alice gratefully accepted her sister’s reassuring hug.
I have to do this, though I fear what sort of welcome I may receive. Take a chance. Apologize. What is the worst that could happen?
The worst could be that her stubborn nature had already destroyed any chance she might have with the man her heart had decided was her destiny.
Alice closed the clasp of her cloak and, after accepting another hug from Patience, headed out to the rear mews and the North family carriage.
She gave the footman a brief “Thank you,” and stepped aboard.
“Good morning. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to leave.”
Her mouth opened on a small ‘O’ as she took in the sight of Harry Steele lazing in the far corner. She dropped onto the opposite bench just as the door was closed.
Harry rapped on the roof and the carriage gave a lurch as the horses pulled up the slack.
Alice turned and caught a glimpse of Patience standing on the steps of the house, waving them goodbye. A huge, knowing grin sat on her lips.
“Your sister is far more cunning than I gave her credit for,” he said.
“I don’t understand,” replied Alice.
Harry shuffled over and came to sit by her side. Tears pricked in her eyes at the sight of him—at the hopeful smile he wore.
“Patience sent a note early this morning, said the two of you had reached some sort of détente when it came to hostilities over Cuthbert. That when your parents return to England you will support her and Cuthbert’s decision to marry. She also said you were possibly having second thoughts over never wanting to see me again,” he said.
Alice slowly shook her head. “I’m still at sixes and sevens over you. I just know that the only way I am going to find any sort of resolution is for us to sit and talk. And when I say talk, I mean an open discussion about everything, including your other life.”
“Good. Then that is what we shall do,” he replied.
The carriage travelled on out of Mortimer Street, and it was only when it turned into Oxford Street that she finally thought to ask him where they were going.
“This isn’t the way to your home,” she said.
“No. Stephen is hosting one of his own client’s this morning, so I thought it best if we went elsewhere. Neutral ground, for want of a better term,” he replied.
She scowled at him. He had better not be taking her to the bloody Temple of Diana.
Then again. Remember what happened last time you went there?
He raised an eyebrow and she silently cursed him.
You always know exactly what I am thinking. Such a rogue. And so damn alluring.
“We are going to the Grand Hotel. After last night, I owe the footman a coin or two. And since Cuthbert has checked out and gone to stay with a friend of mine, we know they have a vacancy.”
Alice gasped. He patted her on the arm. “Relax, we are not staying in his old room. That would be even too creepy for me.”
“I don’t recall agreeing to stay in a hotel room with you. What if we are seen arriving? How am I going to explain that to my parents?” she replied.
There was a raft of things that the North siblings, including the elusive Finn, were going to have to tell Mister and Mrs. North once they returned home. She could only pray that news of Patience and Cuthbert’s romance silenced much of the other items which were on the list for discussion.
Their gazes met. The grin had gone from Harry’s face. In its place was a look of heartbreaking sincerity. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
“We will arrive by the servants’ entrance. I want you to know that if you don’t like what you hear from me, you can leave the hotel with your reputation still intact,” he said.
“Thank you.”
If this all ended in tears, her good name might be the only thing which Alice could salvage from today.
Chapter 20
At the hotel, Harry took Alice by the hand and led her quickly up a set of stairs at the back. Coming through a doorway on the second floor, they stepped out into a plushy carpeted hallway. Harry unlocked a nearby door and ushered her through it.
Alice’s gaze swept the room and she turned to him. “Oh, this is rather lovely.”
The suite Harry had booked for them was the most expensive one the Grand Hotel could offer. The arrival of his smuggler companion, Gus Jones, late the previous night, pockets laden with coins, meant Harry was fortunately flush with funds.
Their room was sumptuously decorated. Dark blue curtains trimmed with gold tassels were drawn closed over the windows. The coverlet of the enormous bed was similarly decorated in blue and gold stripes. The Prince of Wales could easily stay here and feel right at home.
“Here. Let me help you with your cloak,” he offered.
She hesitated for a moment, only seeming to finally relax when he removed his own coat and lay it over a high-backed chair. He returned to her side, letting out a small sigh of relief when Alice set her fingers to the buttons and unclasped the cloak.
Harry took it and Alice’s reticule, and set them on the table which sat between the two windows.
“Would you like a glass of champagne?” he said.
“I would prefer it if we talked first. Clear head and all,” she replied.
It was understandable, and as much as he could kill a glass of something strong right now, Harry held back.
“Where would you like to sit?” he asked.
Alice’s gaze fell on the sensible table and chairs, but her feet moved her in the direction of a sofa, which sat across the end of the bed.
Thank god. The last thing I want to do is to be trying to talk to her across a table.
Harry joined Alice on the sofa, sitting at a polite distance. Much as he ached to hold her in his arms and kiss her, this was one conversation which he dared not muddy with physicality.
She turned to him and nodded. “There are a thousand questions rolling around in my mind. The most important being, do you want a future with me?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.
“Alright, then I am ready to hear what you have to say about your life, and what I could be letting myself in for if we did agree to bind our lives together,” she replied.
Harry raked his fingers through his hair. Last night, he had rehearsed this speech, but now in the cold light of day and in front of Alice, it wasn’t so easy to deliver.
“Long story short. As you can probably guess, I am not the sort of man designed to take to the career path that most other younger sons do. The military, the priesthood, and going off to a far-flung colony were never on my list. A year ago, my father and I argued over this, and he cut me off without a penny.”
It wasn’t anything Alice hadn’t heard before, but nerves had Harry wanting to firstly cover familiar ground.
“Go on.”
“Some friends of mine have also faced similar life choices and decided that they had skill sets more suited to . . . hmm.” Thinking and practicing the words were not the same as actually saying them.
This is the woman I love, and I could be about to lose her.
Harry swallowed a large lump of fear.
A warm hand settled on his thigh. Alice nodded, silently encouraging him to continue.
“We set up an enterprise called the RR Coaching Company. It’s a bit of a spin on an old jest about us being rogues of the road. Officially, it is supposed to be a coaching business out of premises in Gracechurch Street. But in reality, it is a front for the rest of our not-so-scrupulous dealings.”
“But you met with me at your home,” she replied.
“I can meet with clients in my private residence because this rogue-for-hire endeavor is legitimate work. The rest of what we get up to has to remain hidden.”
Beside him, Alice sighed, and Harry’s heart sank. He had come this far. There was no point in keeping the rest of the details of his secret life from her. Alice deserved to know everything.
/> “What you are saying then is that you operate in what my father would call grey areas?” she asked.
If only it were that simple. While it was tempting to say yes and let Alice think that what he and the rest of the members of the RR Coaching Company did was a small step the other side of the law, Harry was determined not to begin or see the end of their relationship on a lie. “There are some things we are involved in which couldn’t remotely be classed as grey. There is nothing legal whatsoever in smuggled and stolen goods. Sir Stephen Moore and I have dabbled in blackmail, threats, and the odd kidnapping.”
Alice got to her feet. She stood for a time with her back to him, head bowed.
Harry then continued. “Alice I . . .”
She held up a hand, and Harry stopped talking. He nodded. She had obviously heard enough.
Well, at least it is out in the open. She knows the sort of man I am. I am a rogue.
With uncertain steps, Alice made her way toward the table where Harry had put her cloak and reticule. She was leaving. Of course, she was. If Alice couldn’t find it in her heart to accept Cuthbert Saint and his failings, how had he ever thought she could see her way to loving him?
“You do realize that you will never be able to tell my parents any of this if we marry. Cuthbert’s secret is bad enough, but this is far worse,” she said.
You could have knocked Harry over with a feather. Alice was still talking as if they had a future. He shrugged off his shock and got to his feet, racing to her side.
He held a tentative hand out to her. “No one in any of our families are aware of what we do. The eventual hope is that the RR Coaching Company will become a proper coaching business and we can move away from some of the less salubrious sides of the business. The last thing I want is for any of us to face the law and hang for our crimes.”
Alice stared at the floor for the longest time—so long that Harry began to worry that he had just shot himself in the foot by mentioning the death sentence. When she met his gaze, tears shone in her eyes.
He couldn’t hold himself back—he reached for Alice and drew her gently into his arms. A kiss on her forehead was the most he dared risk.
“Thank you for finally telling me the truth of things. I had hoped that drawing pistols on people might be the extent of it, but even I didn’t believe that to be more than a fanciful wish,” she replied.
“If it is of any comfort, I can assure you that we are good at what we do and also covering our tracks. George’s father is a judge, and none of us want to ever be brought before him,” he said.
Alice pulled out of his embrace, sniffing back her tears. “I’ll have that champagne now please, Harry.”
But champagne is for happiness, for rejoicing.
He wanted nothing more than to marry this girl. To claim her and be the best husband she could ever wish to have. That would be the greatest cause for celebration.
Seize the moment and never let go.
He began to dip down on his knee in readiness to propose to her, but Alice shook her head. “Not until after you have heard the terms of my marriage settlement. You may not wish to make me your wife after I tell you what they are.”
“If you will take me as I am, I don’t care what draconian clauses your father has welded into your dowries. My desire to be with you has never been about money.”
Chapter 21
Harry wasn’t the only one in possession of a surprise. Alice had kept the details of her dowry a closely guarded secret.
While Harry opened the bottle of champagne and poured them both a glass, Alice got the words of the settlement clear in her mind. “Papa has written ironclad marriage contracts for both Patience and me. If we tell him that we don’t want our husbands to receive funds, you get nothing. No money is settled immediately upon marriage.”
Harry chuckled. “I bet that came as a nasty shock to Cuthbert.”
“Actually, it was the final thing that convinced me he really does love my sister. He can neither kiss nor kick her dowry out of her. The lifestyle he will be granted in the years to come is very much dependent on her goodwill.” She accepted the glass of champagne he offered her and took a sip.
“But if that is the case, then why were you so set against the marriage? Cuthbert cannot get his hands on a vast fortune. I don’t understand,” he replied.
“Because as you yourself said, it was never about the money. I only ever wanted to save Patience from marrying a man who didn’t love her. It’s not as if either of us wander around society informing potential husbands that they are not about to land a large sack of money on their wedding day. Last night, Patience told me that Cuthbert Saint wasn’t aware of the terms of the marriage settlements until yesterday morning.”
“And yet he still wanted to marry her.”
“Yes. Love will do that to a man, or so I’ve been told.”
Harry held his glass up. “A toast to you, Alice North. I have never met anyone like you before. You challenge everything I thought I had clear in my mind. Not that that is always a good thing, but I still love you for it.”
You love me. Oh, Harry.
The tears came back full force this time. “You love me?” she whispered.
“Yes. I would never have taken you to the Temple of Diana if I didn’t think you and I belonged together. Though I must confess that at the time, I wasn’t sure if you felt something strongly for me, so I held back. Alice, you have made me share things about myself with you that I haven’t done with anyone else.”
Harry slipped a hand around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips. “It took every ounce of my self-control not to make you mine that night. You set things off in me that no other woman ever has; a deep burning desire for you flamed the moment we met. But I was determined that you would know the best and the worst about me before I put you in a position where marriage was the inevitable outcome of our relationship.”
Alice wiped at her tears. She had thought his refusal to make love to her that night was his way of rejecting her. That he hadn’t seen her as a potential wife.
“I would have given myself to you that night, and I wouldn’t have regretted it. I love you, Harry Steele. I love your madness, your outrageous dress sense, even your cute little piglet.”
He raised both eyebrows at those words. “And my wicked ways?”
She pursed her lips. There could never be a point where she could see herself being comfortable with the dangerous and illegal things that he and his friends did. “Only if you promise that in the years to come, you will do everything to move the RR Coaching Company to a respectable footing. I know you have powerful family and friends, but there may come a time when they cannot protect you.”
“I promise. In return, I want your answer to my question.” Harry went down on bended knee.
This time, Alice didn’t stop him. The choice now lay with her. Was she prepared to set aside her concerns, and consider a future with this rogue, relying on his promise that one day they would be free of danger?
Her heart whispered its answer. The one she would never be able to deny.
Yes.
“Alice North, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want to spend as much of that time as possible in respectable, wedded bliss. Will you marry me?”
There were times they had both pushed things to their limit. But if this was the life they could have as husband and wife, one where they were equals and striving forward together, Alice wanted it.
It was such a relief that all the doubts and questions which had been preying on her mind were now out in the open. The road ahead would not be easy. Until the day Harry told her he was no longer involved in shady dealings, Alice would always worry. But she had made up her mind and would now stand beside him, helping him to create a better life.
“Yes.”
Harry got to his feet, and Alice stepped into his embrace, accepting his tender kisses with a grateful smile. A smile which turned into a longing sigh as his lips found the
ir way to the side of her neck. He gently nipped, and heat pooled in her loins.
Memories of that night at the club came flooding back into her mind. No matter how long she lived, Alice would never forget that moment when Harry had brought her to climax as she lay on the floor.
Soon enough, she would ask Harry to take her back to the Temple of Diana, for him to show her more of that side of herself. But here and now, she was going to seize the moment.
They were alone in a luxury hotel suite. They were engaged. There was nothing and no one to stop them indulging in whatever they wished.
“Harry?” she whispered.
“Hmm.” His lips were in the crook of her neck, his hot breath sending shock waves of desire through her body.
She lifted a hand and ran her fingers through his hair, ruffling it gently when she reached the long wayward mop on top. Was there ever a sexier hairstyle for a man? She was certain there was not. “You could have had this discussion with me at my home, so I am assuming you brought me here because you had a plan which involved more than talking.”
You had better have plans or I am going to have to take a stand for both of us.
His body shook as a chuckle rumbled through him. Her whole core clenched at the sound. What his laugh did to her was beyond anything she had ever imagined humor could do.
Harry lifted his head and met her gaze. “Actually, I hadn’t got much further than rehearsing what I was going to say. Trust me though, I am a man used to making things up on the fly. Improvisation is one of my strong suits, so the day will not be wasted.”
Alice grinned at him. Harry, the gorgeously, sexy man was back, and she wanted him. Wanted to share her all with him today.
His fingers toyed with the opening of her gown. Alice lay her hand over his and whispered, “I want to keep these undergarments; they are some of my favorites. So, please don’t go getting any ideas about tearing them to pieces.”
Harry flashed his stunning green eyes at her. Alice shook her head. If she succumbed every time, he chose to use his sexual weapons on her, she would never win a battle.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Scandal: a Christmas collection of Historical Romance (Have Yourself a Merry Little... Book 1) Page 12