‘Yes, of course,’ Alexis replied.
‘I’m glad to hear that. I don’t like the idea of women living in a house in London without a man being around.’
‘I understand,’ she murmured. So he was concerned – and about her. That instantly told her what she had begun to think lately … that he was as much interested in her as she was in him.
They fell silent for a while, and again it was Falconer who broke the quiet inside the carriage. ‘I like Mayfair. It’s like a little village, in a way. And I’m on Half Moon Street. Your father’s home is on Chesterfield Hill and Lord Reggie is on Chesterfield Street. We’re all in very close proximity.’
‘That’s true,’ she said.
A few moments later, Josh was bringing the carriage to a halt. As they alighted, Alexis said, ‘Here we are. Josh, will you please come into the house and help Mr Falconer light the gas lamps.’
‘Of course, Miss Malvern,’ her driver answered, climbing down, then stroking the horses’ noses, calming them as they suddenly became restless, their hooves clattering on the cobbles.
The three of them walked to the front door, and Alexis took a bunch of keys out of her handbag. After opening the door, she stepped into the medium-sized entrance foyer. The two men followed her.
She handed a box of matches to Josh, and one to Falconer. ‘There are gas lamps in this hall, Mr Falconer, and perhaps you will attend to the lamps near the fireplace in here, Josh.’ As she spoke she walked into the drawing room, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the empty house.
Attending to the gas lamps in the foyer, Falconer said, ‘It’s larger than I expected.’
‘It’s a good size for me,’ Alexis answered. ‘I will have to have a staff, and there is a servants’ floor at the top, with plenty of bedrooms of medium size on the floor below. It’s the reception rooms down here that are generous in size.’
‘So I see,’ Falconer said as he went into the drawing room.
Josh said goodnight to him, and then handed the matches to Alexis. ‘Shall I wait for you, Miss Malvern, or come back later?’
‘Oh no, that’s not necessary.’ She smiled faintly. ‘I’m only a few minutes from home, and I know Mr Falconer will be kind enough to walk me back. You might as well go and have your supper, Josh.’
‘Yes, miss, thank you. Goodnight then.’
‘Goodnight, Josh,’ she said.
‘Yes, goodnight,’ Falconer called from the drawing room, and went back to studying the details of the interior.
Alexis locked the front door after Josh had left and returned to stand next to Falconer.
He turned to face her, and said, ‘I like this room. It can be really beautiful if it’s decorated well.’ Leaving her side, he went over to the two tall windows. ‘Lovely silk draperies, full-length, will set just the right look. And the fireplace is an Adam, I’m sure.’
‘Oh, do you think so? How lovely if it is. You seem to know a lot about architecture.’
‘A bit.’
‘Thank you for following my father’s suggestion and coming to help me. I appreciate it.’
His eyes did not leave her face when he said quietly, ‘It was the reverse, to be honest. I went to your father and asked him if you needed help. His answer was yes and I should go and see you. So I did. An hour ago. And here I am.’
She gazed at him, unable to speak, her chest tight. So he had initiated this meeting.
‘You see, I needed to speak to you privately, alone, and I didn’t know how to get you alone with me. Until I remembered this house you’d just bought, and I had the idea of offering my help.’
‘What do you wish to speak to me about?’
‘An important matter which I must discuss now. Is that all right?’
‘Yes.’
‘I am in love with you and I’ve realized I have been since the very first time I set eyes on you – three years ago now – when we went to Le Havre looking for Percy Malvern. I walked into your father’s house to pick up you and Tilda, to go with Josh to France. Do you remember?’
She nodded. ‘It was a Sunday afternoon,’ she managed to say.
‘You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And during the trip I knew that I loved you and always would. I thought you felt the same. But you disappeared to Kent. And eventually I buried my feelings, closed the door on them and you, in a sense. But when we had that funny accident, when you fell into my office and into my arms, I knew I was still in love with you. I am really at my wits’ end. It is very hard for me to be anywhere near you because of my overwhelming feelings.’
Alexis stood there, still unable to speak, stunned by his words.
He said, ‘What I need to know is whether you have any interest in me or not. If you share my feelings.’
She walked, half stumbled towards him, tears trickling down her cheeks, and put her arms around him, clinging to him.
Falconer looked down into her face, wiped the tears away with his fingertips. ‘Tell me, Alexis. Tell me how you feel. If you don’t love me as I love you, I will understand, and I won’t trouble you again.’
She gazed up into those dazzling blue eyes and recognized the yearning in them, and she exclaimed, ‘I’m in love with you, James. And I have been for years – like you, from that Paris trip. But for some reason I blocked you out. Of course, I’m in love with you. I love you with all my heart.’
He bent his head and kissed her on the lips, and she kissed him back, pressing herself against his body. They stayed like that for a long time, kissing passionately, and holding onto each other as if afraid something might rip them apart.
Eventually, they separated, stood gazing at each other, unable to look away. He touched her cheek gently, and asked, ‘Why were you crying?’
‘Emotions, knowing you felt as I did. Relief.’ She stared at him, and said, ‘I want to make love with you …’
‘So do I, Alexis. I don’t suppose there’s a bed here …’
‘Yes, there is. But I don’t think there are any bedclothes.’
‘I don’t care! Do you?’
‘No.’ She glanced around, looking for the candlesticks she had seen a few days ago. Spotting them, she hurried across the room. ‘James, please come and get a candle, and I’ll take the other. I’m not sure about the gas lamps in the bedrooms.’
Falconer came over. He took the box of Swan Vestas out of his pocket and lit the two candles. He gave one to Alexis and together they mounted the stairs.
Alexis led the way into the master bedroom, exclaiming, ‘Oh, look, the street lamps outside are shining light into the room.’
She put the candlestick on the mantelpiece, and made her way to the bathroom. Here she found a pile of towels that Millicent Plymouth had put there yesterday.
She carried them out and placed them on the bed, then went to Falconer, who stood watching her. As she drew closer, he reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling her into his arms.
He said against her cheek, ‘I really am in love with you, Alexis, and I always will be. Don’t start this with me unless you feel the same. You see, I’m not playing a game, I’m playing for keeps.’
‘And so am I. I want you for ever, James.’
Alexis gave him a flirtatious glance and began to remove her jacket, and then her blouse. ‘Get undressed,’ she said to him, and he did so.
Within seconds they both stood naked in the middle of the room and moved at the same moment, rushing into each other’s arms.
He held her face in his hands for a moment, kissed her on her forehead, and slowly began to pull the pins out of her hair. The abundant auburn locks fell down around her shoulders which, in the candlelight, looked like alabaster against the auburn curls.
Alexis moved back into his arms, and pushed her body next to his. Her arms went around him, and she slid her hands down his back and onto his buttocks, pressed him closer. ‘I want to learn every part of you,’ she whispered.
He did not speak. Instead he kissed her pas
sionately, and they moved together, half stumbling to the bed. They fell onto it, still in a tight embrace. He continued to kiss her, his tongue touching hers, which to James was a true sign of absolute intimacy.
He pushed himself up on an elbow and looked down at her. How glorious she was, looking back at him, with her eyes full of desire and love. He suddenly knew she was as sensual as he was.
Reaching up she put her hand against his cheek, and said softly, ‘Touch me. Touch all of me. I want you to know all of me, James.’
‘And I want the same.’ He stroked her neck and her voluptuous breasts. He let his hand trail down her stomach and onto the mound of auburn hair between her legs.
Within seconds they were inflamed and fully aroused, and went into a frenzy of touching and kissing, until he slid onto her and took her to him almost roughly. Alexis cried out, filled with pleasure as he entered her and made her his. To her they had become one entity.
James was in total command, loving her completely, filled with passion, his sensuality taking him to new heights with her. She was as uninhibited as he was, and satisfied his every need. Ecstasy and rapture enveloped them.
They were unable to let go of each other. They lay in a tight embrace under the towels, talking quietly in the bedroom illuminated by the dying candles and the pale light from the street lamps outside.
Suddenly, Alexis said, ‘I was so afraid you wouldn’t forgive me for the horrific way I treated you. And especially that day Jane and Reggie were present. I must have been ill. That’s the only explanation I have.’
‘I’m certain you were,’ James replied, holding her tighter. ‘I believe you were in a deep depression without really understanding it. I remember thinking that when I came to Goldenhurst with your father’s letter.’
‘How could you know? Did I appear to be ill?’
‘In a certain way, yes. You were pale, looked worn out, and sad – perhaps lost is a better word,’ James explained, his voice soft, soothing. ‘You weren’t at all glamorous, although I realized you were in riding clothes. I suppose you seemed apathetic to me, like you couldn’t make an effort. But I must admit I was puzzled by your dislike of me. I thought perhaps you were jealous of my relationship with your father. Your hatred just didn’t make sense.’
‘That did occur to me, too,’ Alexis replied. ‘And also I probably was terribly unhappy, still grieving for Sebastian. But obviously I fell into bad ways. I let myself go, couldn’t be bothered. I just drifted along, had no purpose.’
‘What pulled you up, pulled you out of it? Or should I say who?’ he asked, loving her so much, wanting to truly understand her.
‘I believe it was Lord Reggie, in one way, and Claudia, Sebastian’s daughter, in another.’
‘Tell me more. I want to understand you and know everything.’
Alexis sighed. ‘Claudia was angry because I accepted an invitation to her sister’s birthday party and then didn’t go.’ She told him about Claudia’s visit and everything she had said, and how it had affected her.
‘Well, she was very tough with you,’ James said gently. ‘But obviously she did you a very good service by actually telling you the truth. Her words made the right impression. And Lord Carpenter? What did he say to help you?’
Alexis let out another long sigh and recounted what had happened the morning she had learned that Goldenhurst was entailed. When she began to explain what entailment actually meant, he stopped her.
‘I know what an entailed house means, so you can stop there. And this upset you, did it?’
‘I think, looking back, that it did. Maybe because I couldn’t understand why he did that,’ Alexis admitted. ‘Don’t you think it was strange, James?’
‘I’m not sure what I think. It was a lovely gesture of Sebastian’s to put you in his Will, before you were married – protecting you in the way he did. The entailment may seem odd, but I believe he was a businessman at heart. He was a banker, after all.’
She was silent for a moment, and then said, ‘I’m not angry, nor really that upset … just perplexed.’ She nestled close to him, and whispered, ‘We can always go there, to be alone, you know.’
Startled, James exclaimed in a low tone, ‘But wouldn’t it be hard for you to be there with me … would memories of him intrude …?’ He let his voice trail off.
‘No, I don’t think so … well, how do I know? I think I’ve grieved for him for a long time and now I’ve recovered. That’s why I was able to come back to London … and to you.’
‘To me?’ he said. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because I came to my senses and understood that I had fallen in love with you in Paris. I had then shut you out because I felt guilty about him. I was so wrong, James.’
‘Talking of being alone, how are we going to manage that? I mean, I share a flat with Uncle George. We can go there when he’s away—’
‘And come here when the house is finished,’ she interrupted.
‘But you’ll have staff,’ he pointed out. ‘We can’t create a scandal. People can’t know.’
‘So we can always go to Kent for a weekend.’
‘We’ll work it out,’ he promised. ‘Now, about the office, we are going to be totally discreet. Nothing will change. We have a routine, and we’ll stick with it. No gossip about us.’
‘I totally agree,’ Alexis said, her voice as firm and serious as his had been. ‘No gossip, no scandal. And I promise you, I won’t mention anything about our relationship to anyone.’
THIRTY-SIX
James Falconer stood outside on the steps of Malvern House, glancing around, looking for Josh and the carriage.
It was a cold day in January 1892, and he could smell snow in the icy air. He shrugged deeper into his overcoat. He was about to start walking when he heard Josh’s voice. ‘Over here, Mr Falconer, behind you, sir.’
As he swung around, he spotted the carriage and hurried up the street. To his surprise, he saw Alexis peering out of the open window of the carriage.
Before he could say a word, she exclaimed, ‘Get in the carriage!’
He did so, frowning. ‘What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in bed, nursing that cold,’ he said. ‘It’s an icy day, and we don’t want you to catch pneumonia, now do we?’
Alexis looked at him steadily, her green eyes sparkling, and then she took hold of his hand. ‘Good afternoon, James darling. And you don’t have to worry about pneumonia. I’m better, much better. In fact, I’m good, really good.’
As the carriage set off up Piccadilly towards Hyde Park Corner, Alexis placed James’s hand on her stomach. She leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, ‘I’m pregnant. You’ve given me a baby, James!’
‘Oh my God,’ Falconer exclaimed, and gazed at her lovingly, his blue eyes shining with delight.
‘And the reason I’m out on an icy day is because I’ve been to the doctor. I’ve been feeling under the weather for some weeks, so I decided I’d better make sure before I made any announcements. Aren’t you thrilled, Mr Falconer?’
‘I am indeed, and now perhaps you’ll agree to become Mrs Falconer. I’ve asked you so many times I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind. I could have just walked off, you know.’
‘No, you wouldn’t have done that. You’re a Falconer, and Falconer men are honourable.’ She leaned into him, and added, ‘And so many other delicious things … like being so sensual and very sexy.’
He shook his head, laughing, full of happiness. After a moment, he asked, ‘How pregnant are you? I mean, when will the baby come?’
‘I believe we made the baby that first night we spent together in my empty house. In October last year. We’re having a summer baby, James.’
James put his arms around her and held her close, his eyes suddenly moist. Finally, a family of his own. Leonie he had sworn to keep a secret. Not even Alexis knew of her existence. But this child, he could acknowledge. This child would be celebrated.
He turned to kiss t
he woman he loved.
‘Will you marry me, Alexis darling?’
‘It will be my great pleasure, James. I would love to be your forever wife.’
‘I think we had better make it sooner rather than later, don’t you?’ he said, a hint of anxiety in his voice.
‘Yes, I agree, James, and I really don’t think it should be a big wedding. Just our two families and a few special friends.’
‘That makes a lot of sense,’ James said. ‘And we can talk about it over supper. If I’m going to be invited into your house.’
Alexis laughed, and removed his hand from her stomach. ‘You can touch the baby whenever you want, and now let’s get out of the carriage. We’re already in South Audley Street. And of course you’re invited to supper – and breakfast, as well.’
James loved the way Alexis had decorated the house. It was totally different to Goldenhurst, which had always seemed rather cold to him. They had gone there a lot, because of the need they had to be alone together, and to love each other.
During the week they avoided being in the same room as much as possible. They were clever about hiding their feelings and were the epitome of discretion. Not one member of the staff had guessed they were involved in any way at all. They went to the office, did their work, and sometimes she gave him a lift in her carriage, especially in bad weather. Mostly they played it safe, arrived alone and left alone. Sometimes they met at her house, her father’s house, or at his flat in Half Moon Street. Not so much to make love, but simply to be together. They found it excruciating to be apart, had a great need for each other’s company. They had a lot in common. Falconer discovered they were totally in tune and compatible in every way.
Now, as they entered the house, it started to snow, and Alexis was laughing as they stood in the entrance foyer. It was elegant, and welcoming. But at this precise moment, she was thinking of the night they had come here and made love for the first time in a cold bedroom. And made the baby, she thought, convinced this was so. However, she kept quiet as she took off her coat.
‘Let’s go into the parlour,’ James said, after giving his overcoat to Hunter, the butler, who had been highly recommended by Lady Jane. In turn, Hunter had brought in Maud Feltham, a lovely young Cockney, who had a great gift. She was a fabulous chef and created wonderful meals. James knew Alexis treasured Maud, enjoyed her food, plus her sharp Cockney wit, and her rhyming slang. She made them laugh a lot when they saw her in the house.
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