“When was the last time you attended the theatre, Miss Bell?”
“I don’t—I can’t…” She drew in a deep breath. It was hard to recall anything with him so near. “A few weeks after Christmas, I believe.”
She’d been allowed to come to London early with Janine and her husband, Lord Fairlight. Mama had thought her chances of securing a husband might be improved with less competition, but it hadn’t been helpful in the least.
The muscles in Alex’s jaw shifted as he leaned closer to her. “Langley is going to lose an eye if he doesn’t stop gawking at you,” he said under his breath.
Valera’s lips parted on a soft gasp, her gaze flicking to Alex then across the theatre to discover the duke was indeed watching her. The corners of his mouth inched up. A light perspiration dampened her hairline, and she glanced down at the toes of her satin slippers peeking beneath her peach skirts. The duke’s attentions were uncomfortable, like an ill-fitted corset.
She folded her hands in her lap as she directed her attention to the front of the theatre where the players had appeared stage left. Soon act one was well underway, and while she would normally have become hopelessly engrossed in the make-believe world, an eerie crawling sensation along the back of her neck kept her from relaxing. When she could stand it no longer, she spoke in Alex’s ear. “Is he still watching?”
“He hasn’t stopped,” he ground out.
Elle, who was sitting directly behind her brother, lightly smacked him with her fan. “Shh.”
He glowered at her in return.
Valera laid a calming hand on his forearm. Alex and Elle had been known to get into a row now and again, but this wasn’t the place.
“Ignore her,” she whispered.
The muscles in Alex’s forearm shifted, reminding her that she was taking liberties, but before she could withdraw, he covered her hand with his and held it in place.
“If we are putting on a show for the duke, let’s make it believable,” he murmured. “You are with me tonight.”
She glanced up and her breath caught. His deep blue eyes glittered darkly—possessively—as if she belonged to him, and he wasn’t about to give her up to any man. How she wished they weren’t pretending.
Mentally, she shook free of this ridiculous thought. Alex didn’t think of her in that way. As he had said yesterday during the carriage ride, they were friends. Nothing more. He was playacting for Langley’s benefit, just as she had requested.
Still, she couldn’t help enjoying the warming brand of his hand upon hers or the heady scent of his amber cologne. For now, she would lose herself in the moment and forget his show of affection was all an act. Later, when they could steal a private moment together, she would tell him she had changed her mind about Langley. If Alex wanted her to meet other suitors, she would try to keep an open mind. Although it would be hard to turn her attentions toward another man when Alex loomed in her thoughts.
She sighed and fingered the pendant, considering which friend she should pass it to next since she had no need for it now. Alex met her gaze, his mouth turning down slightly. When he inched away from her and turned back toward the stage, her heart sank. Maybe he wouldn’t want to hear she no longer believed Langley was her destiny. If Alex meant to keep his word and help her make a match this Season, he could be stuck with her longer.
After all, she didn’t have a magic charm to catch a regular gentleman.
Chapter Five
The evening was going exactly as Miss Bell had hoped. Alex was not pleased. Langley had noticed her, and he was winding through the crowd gathered in the grand saloon during intermission, headed in their direction.
Alex caught his sister’s eye, and she nodded slightly.
“Will you accompany me to the retiring room, Val?” Elle didn’t wait for a response. She linked arms with her friend and whisked her away. Elle’s husband also spotted Langley and mumbled something about needing to speak with someone, leaving Alex to deal with the duke alone. Not that he blamed Mr. Farrish. If Alex had stolen his cousin’s fiancée, he couldn’t imagine he would have much to say to his relation either.
Langley sauntered up to Alex, his sharp gaze boring into him. The duke never wasted time with polite chitchat. “You arrived with Miss Bell on your arm. What are your intentions with the girl?”
His blunt manner grated on Alex, and he made fists at his side. “It is none of your concern, Your Grace.”
Apparently no one had ever told the duke to mind his own affairs, because the man wasn’t deterred. “Is there an understanding between you and Miss Bell, or will there soon be an understanding?”
“The lady is a dear family friend,” Alex said through clenched teeth as he searched the area for eavesdroppers. He didn’t want rumors about him and Valera keeping other suitors at bay. She would never choose Langley if she had a more suitable gentleman vying for her attention, and Alex intended to find other suitors for her.
“That is as I had hoped, Ravenswood. I thought it prudent, however, to speak to you man-to-man first.”
First? Before what, exactly?
A small curve of the duke’s lips created a soft whooshing noise in Alex’s ears. The duke inched closer and lowered his voice. “My great aunt, Lady Severus, overheard Miss Bell talking with another young lady at the Glenhaven’s ball. Apparently Miss Bell has set her sights on me. My aunt and mother assure me she comes from a decent family. Wife hunting is not something I ever thought to engage in. I must admit I will be pleased to have this matter behind me.”
This matter? Valera wasn’t a matter. She was a lovely, kind, clever young woman who deserved better than a man who thought her a matter to put behind him.
“Your aunt has wool in her ears,” Alex said, fighting to keep the growl from his voice.
The duke eased back with a frown and rubbed his jaw. “That is what I said, but Mother insists my aunt’s hearing is excellent. Has Miss Bell hinted to you or your sister that she would welcome a courtship from me?”
“No.” It wasn’t a lie. There had been no hinting involved. Openly declaring her wish to snare the duke? Well, that was another story.
“I see.” Langley released a weary sigh. “Perhaps she plays her cards close to her chest. Since you are old family friends, could you arrange a proper introduction?”
Alex mentally shook his head in disbelief. Langley truly seemed to think Alex had agreed to play matchmaker for him. He mumbled something vague that may have passed as consent and excused himself to wait in the corridor for his sister and Valera to return to the saloon. When he spotted the ladies, he hurried to Elle and pulled her aside.
“You have a headache,” he whispered.
“I do?”
He widened his eyes at her.
“Oh! Yes, I do.” She held her temples and winced.
Valera came to her side, just as he knew she would. “Is everything all right?”
“It is so strange. I’ve developed a sudden throbbing in my head. I hate to ruin our evening, but would you mind too much if we cut the night short, Val?”
“Of course not.” Valera put her arm around Alex’s sister and led her toward the staircase that would take them to the theatre entrance.
A pang of guilt turned his stomach. Perhaps he was no better than Lady Fairlight for sabotaging Valera’s chances for a match with the duke. Yet, Langley was wrong for her. She deserved a man who would listen with rapt attention when she expounded on the latest book she’d read. She needed someone to tell her she was beautiful every day to erase any doubts her sister had planted in her mind. She should marry a man who would laugh with her and appreciate her sunny disposition. Someone who would embrace her whimsical side and strive to make her dreams come true. She deserved someone who would love her, cherish her for the rest of her life.
She could never have that with the duke.
Alex rubbed the center of his chest, mildly confused by the hollow sensation there. Betraying her bothered his conscience more than he would h
ave expected, even if it were for her own good. But he would make it up to her. He would find a suitable replacement for the duke.
After he saw the ladies and Mr. Farrish home, Alex headed to his club. He didn’t expect to find many gents about White’s, but that suited him. He wasn’t in the mood for companionship.
“Hellfire,” he muttered as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the steps of the gentleman’s club.
That was a bloody lie. He was in the mood for companionship, but he didn’t want just anyone’s company. He wanted to be with Valera. He wanted her carefree and laughing as she had been during their carriage ride. He wanted her alone, her hair colored like a sunrise falling around her ivory shoulders, her keen eyes sparkling as she shared her critique of the evening’s performance.
Ever since she had collided with Langley in the corridor and Alex had helped her up, he’d been unable to stop thinking about her. At the oddest times, he would find her on his mind. Just that morning, he’d been trying to recall if she preferred chocolate or tea with her breakfast as if he had some need to know.
That afternoon, he’d heard about an upcoming lecture on the treatment of wounds sustained on the battlefield during the Greco-Persian wars and immediately thought of her, which he’d never before been able to say about another woman.
And tonight, just like the night before, he would be dreaming of kissing her sweet lips.
He groaned under his breath as he alighted from the carriage. This obsession with her must stop. Nothing good could come of it. Valera Bell was the type of lady one married, not a woman to warm his bed. Perhaps if Alex were free to choose his wife, he would court her, but he wasn’t.
Besides, he saw no evidence she felt anything other than friendship for him. Tonight at the theatre when she’d laid her hand on his arm, he had hoped for one moment there might be more. But her touch had been too brief for a lady who held a tendre for him. Ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he had captured her hand and held it through the first act, using Langley as an excuse. He’d behaved like a smitten fool.
Shaking off his embarrassment, he climbed the front stairs to the gentlemen’s club. She may not belong to Alex, but she sure as hell didn’t belong with the duke. And she never would. Which begged the question, what gentleman could he recommend to her instead?
He entered the dim club and handed his hat to the porter. Only a handful of members were present, some nursing snifters as they lounged in leather wingbacks and others gathered around tables playing cards. Most were married men, or old enough to be Alex’s father. The young rakehells were at the gambling dens by now or seeking entertainment at the brothels.
As he wound through the club, the clacking of billiard balls caught his attention, and he headed for the billiards room. Viscount Lyndhurst, a man of Alex’s acquaintance, was leaning over the table, his waistcoat stretching across his broad back. His companion tapped the end of his cue against the floor in a quick staccato.
Lyndhurst lifted his head slightly to glare at his competitor. “If you’re trying to distract me, Hart, you are wasting your time. Once I make this shot, I win.”
The tapping stopped and his opponent shrugged. “A gentleman never surrenders without a fight.”
With a noncommittal grunt, Lyndhurst returned to lining up his shot. Alex waited patiently, sizing up the two bachelors while they paid him no notice. If memory served, Hart was the second son to the Duke of Sedgemoor, a decent chap, but without much to offer a wife. Rumors had it his allowance would be cut off if he continued to rebel against entering the clergy. Just another buck drawing off the family teat? Alex normally believed in giving one the benefit of the doubt, but since he was seeking a husband for Valera, he’d rather not risk her livelihood on a principle.
Lyndhurst drew the stick back sharply.
“Blah!” Hart shouted just as his opponent was about to hit the ball. The viscount’s stick ground into the felt and the ball jumped the table.
“Dammit, Lavender!” Lyndhurst threw the stick and advanced on him.
Hart rounded the table to meet him, squaring his shoulders. “It’s La-vin-der! Not the bloody flower, you arse.”
Alex cleared his throat loudly. “Come now, gents. You are too sober to enjoy a good brawl. Allow me to buy you both a brandy.”
As expected, Lord Lavender Hart gave up the fight readily. A man with a dwindling allowance couldn’t afford to refuse a drink that cost him nothing. Hart grinned at his friend. “No hard feelings?”
Lyndhurst nodded sharply then stepped aside to allow his opponent to pass. “Nothing for me,” he said with a negligent wave of his hand as he turned toward the table.
Alex’s smile grew. A member of the nobility with a respectable yearly income that didn’t drink? The viscount was a rare gent indeed. And maybe one he wouldn’t mind recommending to Valera. He just needed to get rid of Hart so he could speak in confidence with Lyndhurst.
“La-vin-der, you say?”
Hart notched his chin. “It’s a family name.”
“His grandmother’s name,” the viscount said with a smirk thrown over his shoulder.
“Her name is Rose!”
Alex stepped between them and planted a hand on the younger man’s chest. “Go find a footman and tell him to bring the bottle.”
Hart, his face red, narrowed his eyes at Lyndhurst before turning on his heel and storming from the room.
“Shall we play a new game?” Alex asked.
The viscount snatched the stick from the table, his mood improving at once. “For what stakes?”
Alex paused. Perhaps he was being too hasty in choosing Lord Lyndhurst for Valera. A gambling man was just as dangerous as one who drowned his troubles in spirits. “I only gamble when I’m certain I will win,” Alex replied.
“As do I.” A smile broke across Lyndhurst’s face as he moved to rack the balls. “Since you found a way to get rid of Lord Frilly Flower, I’ll show mercy. No stakes attached.”
The tension drained from Alex’s shoulders, and he chuckled. He was taking this husband-hunting venture too seriously. Gentlemen drank and gambled, even Alex. “What brings you to Town, Lyndhurst? I’d heard you planned to summer in the country.”
Lyndhurst raised a dark brow. “My sister has been talking, has she?”
One could say that. The widowed Lady Pitsford had a propensity for discourse after intercourse. Too much talk, truthfully. He knew tidbits about members of the ton he never wished to know.
Alex rubbed the back of his neck as he retrieved a cue stick. “Your sister may have mentioned something in passing.”
“Then I imagine my sister also mentioned I have been ordered to find a wife or else. My father is not to be trifled with.” Lyndhurst lined up his shot. “I hate London this time of year.”
Alex’s eyes flared with interest. Lady Pitsford hadn’t said anything about her father’s demands placed on her brother, but it boded well for his mission. “It sounds as if you would like to make a match quickly. Perhaps I can assist.”
The viscount sank his first shot and glanced up. “I will accept whatever help is available.”
Alex grinned. “Miss Valera Bell is just the sort of lady to please any man. My sister can arrange an introduction. I’m sure you will find her to your liking.”
“I will need more details than that, Ravenswood.” Straightening, the viscount crossed his arms. “What is wrong with her? Is she ugly?”
“No!” Alex sounded affronted.
“She is, isn’t she? Why else would she need your help making a match?”
“She is nothing of the sort. I’ve never seen a lady who lights up the room with just a smile. She is radiant.” He jabbed a finger toward Lyndhurst when he opened his mouth, probably to ask another ridiculous question. “She’s not dull-witted either.”
Lyndhurst just smiled.
“I’m not jesting. She is smart. Miss Bell can hold her own in any conversation with a man. Why, she is probably better
read than either of us. And she is delightfully amusing.”
“Sounds like you hang on her every word.”
“As would any man. To say Miss Bell is charming is a great disservice. She is enchanting.”
The viscount shook his head, his grin growing wider. “You have it bad for the chit.”
Alex balked. “I do not!”
“Why don’t you marry her since you obviously hold an affection for her?”
His stomach plunged. “An affection?”
He most certainly didn’t hold an affection for Valera. It was true he wanted her, desired her every moment of every hour, but that wasn’t the same as love. He tried to swallow against the dryness of his throat. He didn’t want to love someone he couldn’t marry. It was the defining element of a tragedy. And while he had come to accept a mediocre existence with whomever his parents chose for him, he couldn’t fathom winding up like that poor sap Romeo.
“She is an old family friend. Nothing more. Do you want an introduction or not?”
Hart returned with a bottle of brandy in hand and a big smile on his face.
“I will meet her,” Lyndhurst said with a shrug. “But if you change your mind, you had best inform me before I make an offer. The sooner I can dispatch my duty and return home, the better.”
Hart’s head swung back and forth as he looked to Lyndhurst and Alex. “Is someone getting married? Are congratulations in order?”
A vision of Valera and Alex standing in front of the parson, defying his parents just as his younger sister had, made his heart slam against his ribs. His father would cut off his only means to provide for her. What could he offer her except a life of poverty? She deserved so much more, the kind of life only another gentleman could give her.
He scowled and stalked toward the exit. “You talk too much, Lavender.”
“La-vin-der. It’s not the bloody flower.”
“I don’t bloody care.”
Chapter Six
Valera had barely arrived at Lady Milburn’s ballroom with her sister before two men approached to request a dance. Janine’s pale brows shot up to her hairline as Valera granted them each a spot on her dance card.
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