To Catch a Countess

by Patricia Grasso

  When they stood in front of her guardians, Victoria glanced at Alexander and then looked at her aunt and her uncle. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Victoria.” Alexander’s voice held a warning note.

  “I know you want what is best for me,” Victoria told her guardians. “I am sorry for my bad behavior.”

  Aunt Roxie hugged her. “Darling, I understand what a shock your betrothal must have been.”

  “We only want you settled and happy,” Duke Magnus said. “Alex is a fine man.”

  Victoria nodded. “It isn’t your fault that I’m flawed. Besides, you were too old to deal with someone like me.”

  “That was a wonderful apology,” Alexander said, covering her insulting faux pas, as smothered chuckles sounded from somewhere behind them.

  “Darling, ladies wear their hair up in the evening,” Aunt Roxie chided her, clearly unhappy about being described as old.

  “Alex prefers my hair down,” Victoria informed her.

  Ignoring her aunt’s narrowing gaze, Victoria turned next to Angelica and Samantha. “Sisters, I am sorry for what I said and want you to know that I do love you.”

  “Don’t concern yourself with us,” Angelica replied.

  “We know you love us as much as we love you,” Samantha added.

  “You should have heard them,” Victoria said, turning to Alex. “First, they told me not to kiss you too much, and later they told me that your touching my body would be perfectly acceptable.” Raising her voice, she added, “My sisters were the worst possible women to ask for advice since both were pregnant when they married. Imagine, I’ll be the only sister who doesn’t actually need a husband.”

  Alexander suppressed a smile. He understood she was getting even without getting herself into trouble.

  After casting her sisters a sweet smile, Victoria turned to her brothers-in-law. “I cannot believe how much you love to tease me,” she said, her blue eyes sparkling with merriment. “I apologize for my angry words.”

  “I admire your pluck, Tory,” Prince Rudolf said, lifting her hand to his lips.

  “We apologize for embarrassing you,” Robert added.

  “I forgive you,” Victoria said, starting to turn away. She paused, as if just remembering something. “The next time you practice your golf, though, please don’t swing those clubs so close to the children. You might injure one.”

  Victoria flicked a glance at her sisters. Both were glaring at their husbands.

  “Troublemaker,” Alexander whispered against her ear.

  “Thank you for the praise,” Victoria said, making him smile.

  “You are doing a remarkable job training her,” Prince Rudolf said, his gaze on Victoria.

  “The prince is teasing you,” Alexander said.

  “Simple things amuse simple people,” Victoria said.

  Prince Rudolf burst out laughing. “Very good, Tory, Do not let us upset you.”

  “Shall we go down to dinner?” Aunt Roxie asked.

  “Not yet,” Alexander said, drawing everyone’s attention. He held his hand out to Victoria. “Come, sit on the settee.”

  Victoria smiled in confusion but placed her hand in his, letting him escort her to the settee in front of the hearth. After settling herself, Victoria lifted her gaze to his. Warm hazel eyes held her gaze captive. Something was happening, but she couldn’t imagine what.

  With the hint of a smile flirting with his lips, Alexander stared down at her for a long moment. Then he schooled his features to proper solemnity.

  “Lady Victoria,” Alexander said, by kneeling on one bended knee in front of her. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and my countess?”

  Victoria couldn’t find her voice. She had never expected this from the earl. Could he possibly harbor tender feelings for her?

  “Yes, my lord, I will marry you,” Victoria answered, giving him a smile filled with sunshine.

  Ignoring the applause from their audience, Alexander raised her hands to his lips. He turned them over and pressed a kiss on each of her palms. Then he reached into his pocket, produced a ring, and slipped it on the third finger of her left hand.

  Victoria stared at her betrothal ring. More than nine carats, the ring had a diamond center and baguette diamond sides.

  “The image of fire and ice appealed to me,” Alexander told her. “You are the flame, and these diamonds are the ice. I promise to drape you in diamonds for the rest of your life.”

  Lifting her gaze from her betrothal ring, Victoria didn’t know what to say. She leaned forward into his embrace and kissed him as if no one was watching.

  Chapter 5

  “Well done, my lord,” Victoria heard her aunt say. “Shall we go down to dinner now?”

  With her arms entwined around the earl’s neck, Victoria didn’t move. She had no wish to end their embrace, wanting to remain within the circle of his arms. Forever. She certainly wasn’t hungry. Except for him.

  And then the moment passed.

  Alexander stood and offered his hand as if he was asking her to dance. Giving him a shy smile, Victoria placed her hand in his and rose from the settee.

  Ignoring the others, Alexander escorted her out of the drawing room. “I can tell from your expression that you like your betrothal ring.”

  “Your sentiment touches me,” Victoria said.

  “You don’t care for jewels?”

  “Jewels can be lost or stolen,” Victoria answered. “Warm sentiments last forever.”

  At that, Alexander put his arm around her and pulled her against the side of his body. Then he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

  The Duke and Duchess of Inverary presided at either end of the dining table. Alexander and Victoria sat on the duke’s right, followed by Prince Stepan, Angelica, and Prince Mikhail. On the opposite side of the table sat Prince Rudolf, Samantha, Prince Viktor, and Robert.

  Tinker stood near the sideboard and supervised the footmen serving dinner. First came tomato soup, enriched with green herbs and a swirl of cream. Dressed with crisp morsels of fried bacon and a sharp vinaigrette, dandelion salad followed the soup. The entrees consisted of buttered chunks of finnan haddie and roast beef accompanied by gravy made with horseradish. Various vegetables included potatoes à la crème, stuffed meadow mushrooms, and asparagus with melted butter.

  Pretending interest in the conversations swirling around her, Victoria dropped her gaze to the betrothal ring, its diamonds sparkling at her from the third finger of her left hand. She could hardly believe that the handsome, sophisticated man beside her had slipped it on her finger and requested her hand in marriage. Tantalizing thoughts of lying naked with him in bed made her breathing shallow and her heartbeat quicken.

  “Tory?”

  Victoria lifted her gaze to focus on her brother-in-law. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You are unusually quiet tonight,” Prince Rudolf said, with a smile.

  Feeling as though she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t, Victoria felt the heat of a blush staining her cheeks. She glanced at Alexander who was watching her.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” Alexander said, his voice husky, as if he knew what she had been thinking.

  How could she possibly answer that? She couldn’t announce that she’d been thinking about making love with him.

  “Tory?” Alexander said.

  Her gaze fell on the roast beef with its horseradish gravy. “I was thinking about the mystery of horseradish gravy.”

  “Horseradish gravy?” he echoed.

  “I was wondering what the horses had to do with the radish,” Victoria said, ignoring her brother-in-law’s smothered chuckle. “I understand that radish is a vegetable, but the horses have got the better of me. Is it called horseradish because horses like to eat it?”

  Flicking a quick glance at the others, Victoria realized everyone was staring at her with what appeared to be amazement in their expressions. She looked at the earl and knew she had blundered. Perh
aps she should have admitted to impure thoughts.

  “What an interesting idea,” Alexander said. “I have an extensive library. After we’re married, you can investigate the word’s origin or the plant itself.”

  She couldn’t even read the word, Victoria thought, much less discover its origin.

  “Alex, you have spoken like a man avoiding an argument with his intended,” Prince Rudolf said.

  “Why would Alex and I argue about horseradish?” Victoria asked.

  “Horses eating radish, Napoleon at Elbow, and peeling apprentices,” Prince Rudolf teased her. “Your dinner conversation is amusing but lacking in logical thought.” He looked with feigned sympathy on the earl. “Do not plan on much entertaining.”

  Again, Victoria felt the heat of a blush rising on her cheeks. Anger put it there instead of embarrassment.

  Before she could think of a nasty reply, Alexander put his arm on the back of her chair. “I find your dinner conversation rather charming.”

  “Tory, Alex needs to say that, or you will not marry him.”

  “Rudolf, stop teasing her,” Samantha spoke up.

  When Alexander reached for his wine goblet, Victoria shifted her gaze to his hands. She admired his elegantly long fingers and recalled how they had caressed her, tormented the tips of her nipples, pleasured her as she had never imagined being pleasured. The memory quickened her heartbeat, and she yearned to feel those hands sliding across her naked skin.

  Shifting her gaze, Victoria stared at his lips as he spoke with her brother-in-law and the duke. Again, she felt those lips kissing, searing her breasts, sucking her nipples. A fire ignited in the pit of her stomach, and the spot between her thighs throbbed.

  “Victoria?”

  A woman’s voice penetrated her brain.

  “Victoria, did you hear me?” her aunt asked.

  She looked at her aunt. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You are behaving strangely tonight,” Aunt Roxie remarked. “Are you ill?”

  ‘“Tory is dreaming about her wedding,” Robert said.

  “Is that wedding or wedding night?” Rudolf teased. “She does have that smitten expression, though.” Then, “Samantha, why are you kicking my leg?”

  “I never thought I’d see Tory hit by Cupid’s arrow,” Robert added.

  Victoria glared at each brother-in-law in turn, but that only made them laugh. “With Englishmen like you on the watch, no wonder Napoleon has been so successful.”

  “I am Russian,” Rudolf reminded her.

  “And Napoleon very nearly swallowed your country.”

  “Was that before or after he moved to Elbow and peeled apprentices?” Rudolf asked with an infuriating smile.

  Victoria tossed her napkin on the table and rose to leave. She could never win against her brothers-in-law.

  “Sit down, Victoria,” Alexander said in a quiet voice.

  Victoria turned toward the earl, her gaze crashing into his. She could almost hear everyone suck in their breaths, waiting to see what she would do. Without a word, Victoria sat down and placed the napkin on her lap. Catching her brother-in-law’s eye, she speared the haddock as if she was using a dagger.

  Rudolf burst out laughing. “Tory, this family would be excruciatingly boring without you.”

  “Thank you very much,” Victoria snapped.

  Hearing the absurd discrepancy between her words and her tone, Victoria laughed, too. “Do you see how much I’ve suffered since my sisters married?” she asked the earl.

  Alexander leaned close and pressed his lips to her ear. “I’m proud of your control in the face of extreme provocation.”

  His whispered praise made her smile. She looked at her brothers-in-law. “Do your worst. You don’t bother me at all.”

  “That is no fun,” Rudolf said, and the conversation turned to other matters.

  Alexander stood when the ladies rose from the table. “If you will excuse me,” he said to the men, “I would like to walk outside with Victoria.”

  Leaving the mansion, Alexander and Victoria stepped into a warm June night. Created for lovers, a full moon shone down on them, and thousands of stars glittered in the black velvet sky.

  Inhaling deeply of the garden’s mingling scents, Victoria sighed as they crossed the lawns to the gazebo. Alexander stopped walking and pulled her into his arms. He dipped his head, his mouth capturing hers in a long, slow kiss.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that all evening,” Alexander said in a husky whisper.

  “I wanted to kiss you, too,” Victoria admitted, her tender feelings echoed in her slightly breathless voice.

  “I love your smell,” he said, crushing her against him.

  “I smell?”

  “You smell like vanilla and jasmine and pure woman.”

  Victoria gave him a blank look, innocent to his meaning. She smiled, taking his words as a compliment.

  “We will be man and wife in less than four weeks,” Alexander said. “Now I wish your family and I hadn’t kept the betrothal a secret for so long. We could have been married months ago.”

  “Will we live at the Grosvenor Square mansion?” she asked.

  “Among other places.”

  “What did you think when my aunt suggested a match between us?” Victoria asked, almost afraid of what he would say, but wanting to hear it.

  A typical woman’s question, Alexander thought with an inward smile. His little betrothed needed to dissect every nuance of emotion and motive.

  “Well, I thought you were too young and—”

  Victoria laughed. “I thought you were elderly.”

  “Elderly?” Alexander echoed, surprised. “Twenty-nine hardly makes me ancient.”

  “Why did you say yes to the match?” she asked.

  “I wanted to make amends for Charles Emerson’s crimes against your family,” he answered honestly.

  Alexander knew his answer disappointed her, but professing his love would be lying. Real love—if there was such a thing—took time. After the twenty-fourth of June, they would enjoy all the time in the world.

  “Is there something wrong, Tory?”

  “During the year we’ve been betrothed, have you kept company with any women?” Victoria asked, fearing his answer.

  Alexander cursed himself for not seeing this question coming. “You sound like a wife.”

  “Kiss me again, please.”

  The impertinent minx closed her eyes, waiting for him to do her bidding. In her innocence, she had no idea how difficult being close to her was proving to him. And that was something he had not expected.

  “I want you in my bed,” Alexander told her, “but I want you a virgin on the day we marry. I want no scandal attached to my son. People will gossip if he arrives too early.”

  Learning that he was some unidentified nobleman’s bastard had felled him for months. He wanted no child of his to doubt his parentage or the legitimacy of his birth.

  “What makes you think I’ll—” Victoria broke off, too shy to continue.

  “Getting with child takes only one coupling.”

  Victoria sighed.

  Alexander didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved. In spite of her passionate nature, Victoria Douglas was untouched, subject to a virgin’s fear of the unknown.

  Tinker opened the door when they returned to the mansion. “My lord, the other gentlemen have gone to the game room.”

  “Thank you, Tinker.” Alexander turned to Victoria, asking, “Will you ride with me to church tomorrow?”

  “Well, I have the beginnings of a headache,” she told him. “I may not attend church services.”

  “I want you to go directly to bed,” Alexander said, thinking how predictable she was. “I’m certain you will feel better in the morning.”

  Victoria stood on tiptoe and, wrapping her arms around his neck, drew him toward her. After planting a kiss on his lips, she turned and walked up the stairs.

  Alexander watched her climb the stairs. He
turned away when she disappeared, but the majordomo’s voice stopped him.

  “My lord, when may I expect to receive my winnings?” Tinker asked.

  Alexander stared at him for a long moment. “I won.”

  Tinker raised his brows at him. “Without your permission, Lady Victoria escaped her chamber,” the majordomo said, “and you rewarded her with a diamond ring. I believe the lady won.”

  “I believe you are correct,” he said, smiling. “I will instruct Prince Rudolf to release the funds to you.”

  “True nobility is gracious in defeat,” Tinker said

  “Would you care to speculate on whether I’ll get her to church?” Alexander challenged the man.

  “I have a one-pound note that says you may get her to church but never to stay and pray,” Tinker said.

  “I accept your challenge,” Alexander said, and then walked away.

  * * *

  The next morning, Alexander stood outside Victoria’s bedchamber door. Determined to outsmart her, he carried a tray containing a pot of tea and a hot, buttered scone. He stepped inside the chamber, closed the door, and smiled at the lump in the bed hidden by the coverlet.

  Alexander set the tray on the bedside table. “Awaken, sweetheart.”

  “Go away,” grumbled a muffled voice from beneath the coverlet.

  This wasn’t going to be as easy as he had thought. Alexander sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the coverlet down. His breath caught in his throat at her near naked body. Sheerer than gossamer, her nightgown hid none of her charms—softly rounded breasts with pink-tipped peaks, tiny waist, curvaceous hips.

  Without opening her eyes, Victoria reached to pull the coverlet up. When he stayed her hand, she opened her fabulously blue eyes.

  “Alex,” Victoria breathed, his name on her lips like a sigh, “I was dreaming about you.”

  “How is your headache?”

  Victoria stared at him blankly for a long moment. He could see her mind clear of sleep and appreciated her quick recovery from her near blunder. “I have a stomach ache and won’t be able to—”

  “Drinking tea will settle your stomach.” Alexander poured tea into the cup. “The fresh air on the ride to church will revive you.”

  Victoria sat up, leaned against the headboard, and realized her state of undress. She blushed but made no move to cover herself.