Lady Alexandra's Lover

by HELEN HARDT

  “It doesn’t sound like any of it was your fault, Evan,” the earl said. “I’m just glad everyone is all right. I must see to my wife.” He strode up the stairs.

  Evan stood with his cane. He was exhausted and filled with disappointment in himself. He had strived to look after Iris’s daughters, and he had failed miserably. And he’d fallen in love with one of them. Once Alexandra was able, he would speak to her and beg her forgiveness. Even if she wouldn’t take him back, at least she would recover. That was the most important thing.

  He took to his own chamber and slept for the rest of the day and well into the night.

  * * *

  Ally woke the next day to find her mother at her side.

  “Mama?”

  “Yes, my darling. We returned yesterday. My God, what did that barbarian do to you?”

  “It’s all right,” she choked out. “I’ve endured…worse.”

  Iris nodded. “I know you have, Ally, and I’m so sorry.”

  “There was nothing you could do, Mama.”

  “I did what I could. Please believe that.”

  Ally’s heart filled with love. For once, she truly did understand what her mother had endured to keep her and Sophie as safe as possible. “I do believe you. Truly.”

  Iris’s eyes filled with tears. “I thought these days were over. I thought…”

  “I’m going to be fine.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I know.” She let out a yawn.

  “Mother, when is the last time you slept?”

  “For a few hours yesterday afternoon. I’ve been with you most of the night.”

  “Please, go. I’ll be fine. Get some rest. Spend some time with your new husband.”

  “I’ve spent the last month with him. Now is for you.”

  “Please. I just need to rest.”

  “If you insist.” Iris kissed Ally’s forehead. “I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”

  Ally yawned as her mother left. She hadn’t dared say anything. She wasn’t sure what Sophie had told their mother. Before she could ring for a maid to summon Sophie, a knock sounded on the door, and in walked Evan, limping with a cane and holding a leather-bound book in his other hand. He set the book on her bed table.

  Oh, no. Well, she’d have to deal with this sooner or later. Lord, surely she looked a fright.

  He strode quickly to her bedside. “My love, I’m so sorry.”

  My love? Had she heard correctly? She opened her mouth, but he stopped her.

  “Please, this is all my fault.”

  His fault? “What?”

  “You went there because…because I didn’t believe you, didn’t you?”

  She nodded shakily. “I’m sorry, Evan.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. I should have believed you when you professed your innocence. If I could, I’d kill the man who did this to you.”

  “He’s already dead.”

  “Lucky for him.”

  “Evan—”

  “No, please let me finish.”

  She wanted to hear what he had to say more than anything, but first she needed to know what he and Sophie had told their parents.

  “Please, Evan. Just tell me what our parents know. Do they know about my…writing?”

  Evan shook his head. “No. We told them everything except why you went to the print shop that day. We said you had gone on an errand for me, to pick up some documents.”

  She heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  “They’re terribly worried about you.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “As am I.”

  “I’ll be fine, Evan. I’ve been through worse.”

  Evan frowned, his eyes sunken and sad. “That doesn’t make me feel any better. This is truly my fault, Alexandra.”

  “How in the world could it be your fault?”

  “If I had believed you, trusted in you, I would have known you had nothing to do with publishing The Ruby. You swore you didn’t, yet I didn’t believe you.”

  “It’s still not your fault. My actions these past few weeks haven’t inspired a lot of trust.”

  “But if I had trusted you, you wouldn’t have gone there.”

  Ally’s heart warmed. “I might have anyway, to find out who was behind this. After all, Sophie was kidnapped and you were shot. You didn’t expect me to just sit idly by and let that happen.”

  Evan let out a chuckle. “No. I do know you better than that.”

  Ally smiled, and then grimaced. “Ouch.”

  “My love?”

  “Sorry, it just hurts to smile.”

  “You poor thing. And your smile is so beautiful too.”

  She tried again…and failed.

  “Alexandra…”

  “Yes?”

  “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I’m completely unworthy of you, but if you’ll forgive me…”

  “I forgive you, Evan, if you’ll forgive me.”

  “For what?”

  “For being such a pain. I was truly horrible. And then insisting upon marrying Mr. Landon when I was in love with you. I was a ninny. A true idiot. Can you forgive me that?”

  “I’ll forgive you anything, love. And if you’ll have me, I promise to spend the rest of my life making you and our children happy.”

  Warmth bubbled through Alexandra. “Then you mean…?”

  “Yes, my beautiful love. Will you marry me, Alexandra MacIntyre?”

  “Oh, Evan”—she blinked back tears—“I would be proud and honored to be your wife.”

  Evan leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. A tiny firecracker exploded inside her.

  “Mmm,” she said. “I wish…”

  “What, sweet?”

  She smiled again…and winced. “I wish we could do more.”

  Evan laughed. “In a few weeks, we’ll be able to do everything we want to do.”

  Ally spied the book Evan had set on the bed table. “You came in carrying a book. What is it?”

  “Oh, I almost forgot. I just had this published. The printers had to rush to keep deadlines on other projects, but I’m the boss.” He smiled and handed her the book.

  It was covered in embossed leather. She opened it.

  Leaves in the Wind, A Collection of Poetry by Evan Xavier

  Tears welled in her eyes. “You’re a writer.”

  “You don’t sound surprised.”

  “Well”—her cheeks warmed—“I found a poem in the bureau downstairs when I was looking for— Oh, never mind. Anyway, it was about me. It was lovely, and quite…erotic.”

  Evan’s handsome face reddened. “You saw that?”

  “I did.”

  “I’m sorry to tell you, but that particular poem won’t be in the book.”

  “Why not? It was beautiful.”

  “Because of its nature. And the Vagrancy Act…”

  Ally looked away. “Oh.”

  He cupped her cheek and turned her back to face him. “Listen to me. I love your writing. You’re a natural, but let’s both cease trying to publish our more…arousing works until the law is changed.”

  Ally nodded sadly. He was right, of course.

  “That doesn’t mean we have to stop writing. We can write erotica solely for our own pleasure, and we can write mainstream work for publication. Write a novel, my love, and it will be my privilege and utter joy to publish it for you.”

  Ally nodded. “Of course. Whatever you want.”

  “It’s whatever we want from now on. I do love you so, Alexandra.”

  The warmth of love consumed her heart. “And I love you, my Evan.”

  Epilogue

  A month later, Evan and Ally retired to their suite after being married via special license. It had been a small ceremony at the Brighton estate, attended only by family and a few close friends. Although they had both been cleared for pleasure a week earlier by the doctor, they had chosen to wait until their wedding night.

  Ally bathed with Mil
licent’s help and dressed in a sheer pink night rail. She sat down at her dressing table, dabbed a bit of lavender on her pulse points, and pinched her cheeks and bit her lips to pink them. Her face was back to normal, the only remnant of her beating a small scar next to her right eye. It wasn’t her first scar, but it would be her last. She smiled in gratitude for her new husband and life she had been given.

  Perhaps she was not as broken as she’d thought. Perhaps she was worthy after all.

  She lay down on the bed and waited for her new husband to come to her. A few moments later, he walked through the door, breathtaking in a burgundy silk robe.

  “Alexandra, my love. You are stunning.”

  “As are you, my Evan.”

  He slid the robe off his shoulders and hung it over the back of the chair, striding forward, his nakedness mesmerizing her. She would never tire of looking at his magnificence.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he said, pressing his lips to hers. “The last month has been torture, not being able to touch you, to love you.”

  “I assure you it has been no less torturous for me.”

  They crushed their lips together in a primal and drugging kiss. Oh, how she had missed his kisses, those kisses that were not kisses at all, really. They were another form of lovemaking. When Evan broke the kiss, they both took a deep breath. He rained tiny pecks over her cheeks, her neck, her earlobe.

  “My God, I love you.”

  “And I love you, Evan. Only you. Forever.”

  He sank his teeth into her shoulder. She shivered. She was so ready for this man, this night. Her wedding night.

  Evan pulled back slightly, lifted her night rail over her head, and let it fall to the floor.

  “Tonight, my Alexandra, I shall claim all of you.”

  Confessions of Lady Prudence

  by Monsieur et Madame O

  Dearest Amelia,

  You won’t believe the adventures I’ve had this week. Let me begin…

  Author’s Note

  The Vagrancy Act of 1824 was an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The wide definition of vagrancy included prostitution. In 1838, the act was amended to include the exposure for sale of obscene books and prints. The publication of obscene material was a common law misdemeanor at that time. Crusading groups against such material did exist, and although Mr. Ryland is a fictional character, perhaps some were as zealous as he.

  Lady Alexandra’s Lover takes place in 1853. Four years later, The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 was enacted, making the sale of obscene material a statutory offense and giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material.

  Despite the new law, erotica continued to thrive during Victorian times. Underground magazines surfaced, most notably The Pearl, after which I modeled the fictional Ruby.

  The Pearl was issued from July 1879 to December 1880, when it was shut down by the authorities. Its publisher, William Lazenby, followed with several other erotic papers.

  The Pearl pushed boundaries far beyond where I was willing to go with The Ruby. Still, it’s a worthy relic of an era thought to be ruled by uptight morals and tight corsets. That these papers continued to flourish despite being repeatedly shut down speaks to the demand for them.

  Message From Helen

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Lady Alexandra’s Lover. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/helenhardtauthor. I often do giveaways, as well.

  If you enjoyed the story, please take the time to leave a review on a site like Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback.

  I wish you all the best!

  Helen

  Also by Helen Hardt

  Sex and the Season:

  Lily and the Duke

  Rose in Bloom

  Lady Alexandra’s Lover

  Sophie’s Voice (coming soon)

  Bakersville Saga:

  Cowboy Heat

  Cowboy Lust

  Cowboy Passion

  Daughters of the Prairie:

  The Outlaw’s Angel

  Lessons of the Heart

  Song of the Raven

  Snow Creek Series (coming soon):

  Craving

  Obsession

  Possession

  Discussion Questions

  1. The theme of a story is its central idea or ideas. To put it simply, it’s what the story means. How would you characterize the theme of Lady Alexandra’s Lover?

  2. It’s clear from the first two books that Alexandra is more like Lily than like Rose. Compare and contrast Ally and Lily. How are they alike, and how are they different?

  3. Alexandra and Evan are both children of an earl, yet they had vastly different childhoods. Do you think any of their characteristics stem from their respective childhoods? How so?

  4. How might Alexandra’s life have been different if her father hadn’t died? Do you think she and Evan would have still found each other? Why or why not?

  5. Discuss Alexandra’s strength. Why do you think she preferred to take her father’s beatings rather than witness him beat Sophie? Does this make Sophie a weak person? Why or why not?

  6. Evan takes his responsibility toward the girls very seriously, yet they both end up in precarious situations. Did Evan fail to protect them? Why or why not?

  7. Nigel Ryland is an interesting character. He feels he has the right to dole out punishment to those who publish what he considers to be obscene, yet he is against men abusing women. Are these two views contradictory? Why or why not? How did you feel about his demise?

  8. Did you enjoy Ally’s stories that she wrote for The Ruby? Why do you think Victorian women enjoyed erotica?

  9. What do you think will become of Mr. Landon? Will he eventually marry? What type of woman do you suppose he’ll end up with?

  10. What do you think of groups that take the law into their own hands? Today, this can lead to terrorism, and it can be deadly. What motivates people to do these things?

  11. Did Ally use poor judgment in selling her stories to The Ruby? Why or why not?

  12. What might the future hold for Ally and Evan? Will their marriage be successful? Why or why not?

  13. Why do you suppose Ally’s father was so abusive? How might the abuse have affected Ally, Sophie, and Iris in the longterm? Are they capable of having happy relationships? Why or why not?

  14. This book is full of colorful supporting characters: Mr. Nathan Landon, the Earl of St. Clair, Viscount John Brooks, and Nigel Ryland, to name a few. Discuss the roles of these characters. What is their purpose in the story?

  15. Who do you think Sophie’s hero will be? Or have we yet to meet him?

  Acknowledgments

  While Lily and Rose were both written in 2007, Alexandra is brand new. I had a lot of fun going back into their world, and I’m already hard at work on ideas for Sophie’s story. My wonderful publisher, Waterhouse Press, wants a fifth story too. I have an idea of whose story it should be, but I’d love to entertain ideas from my readers, as well. Keep your eyes posted on Facebook to cast your vote for your favorite characters!

  As always, thank you to my brilliant editor, Michele Hamner Moore, my proofreader, Lauren Dawes, and to all the great people at Waterhouse—David, Kurt, Shayla, and Jon. You guys work marketing magic. And thank you to Meredith Wild for your continued support and encouragement.

  Thank you to the members of Hardt and Soul, my new street team! HS members got the first look at Alexandra, and I appreciate all your support, reviews, and general good vibes. You ladies rock!

  And thanks to all of you who read Lily and Rose and looked forward to Ally’s story. I hope you enjoyed it. Sophie is up next. Look for our timid little heroine to heat up the pages!

  About the Author

  Helen Hardt’s passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to
being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.

  www.helenhardt.com

  www.helenhardt.blogspot.com

  facebook.com/helenhardt

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