by Alice Kirks
“I see,” he nodded. He looked impressed, but she thought he had believed her. She let out a sigh of relief.
She had learned from a riding-master, who had taught her both the appropriate riding-style for ladies, being side-saddle, and also how to ride astride. It was, she admitted, rather tricky in a dress, but as it happened, her chaperone’s uniform had wider, more voluminous skirts than her day-dresses she would usually wear, and it did little more than expose her leg up to the boot-tops. He nodded.
“I’ll get up behind you, then,” he said.
Alexandra tensed. She hadn’t expected that, and her heart thudded. She slipped forward, sliding her foot from the stirrups, and he helped himself up into the saddle behind her. His leg moved against hers, warm and strong. His thigh was muscled and lean, pressing against her side. She could feel his warm chest press to her back, his arms holding her gently, making sure she would not fall off no matter how fast they rode.
He really is sitting so close.
Alexandra shut her eyes, allowing her body to melt against his for a moment. It felt so wonderful, so entirely new, that she couldn’t quite believe it. He was holding her more diffidently now, not drawing her so much against him, and she kept her eyes closed a moment, wanting their closeness to continue endlessly.
“I cannot believe how close I came to missing you,” he said. He sounded as if he reproached himself.
“I should not have been in danger, here so close to the manor,” Alexandra said. Her voice sounded far away. She was so tired. She felt herself droop forward.
“I’ll get you back safely,” the Duke said, and his arms tightened around her again, drawing her upright, stopping her from lolling forward. “You need rest. You need to go to bed.”
“I need to work…” Alexandra murmured. She felt suddenly guilty. She was meant to be teaching Arabella a dance! She had gone walking in the woods, just wanting to clear her thoughts, and that was when she’d walked into that awful man!
She shivered.
“You’re not working any more today,” the Duke said firmly, bringing her mind back to the moment at hand. “You’re going upstairs to bed and I am having the cook send up a posset to help you sleep. Are you sure you will be all right?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes. I’m quite sure.”
The Duke gave her a firm look. “You are not to get out of bed. Stay and rest. And don’t even think about leaving the house. I will go to the village on my own.”
“Please don’t report it,” Alexandra whispered.
He stared. “Miss, I have to. He is a dangerous man. You can’t let him get away with behavior like that!”
Alexandra shook her head. “Please. Just…don’t? I do not wish to have to accuse him.”
The Duke raised a brow, and she thought he might argue. Then he sighed. “As you wish. I would not wish to impose that on you. Though, if he is spotted again – if anybody else sees him and reports it – I will have to inform the court of this happening, as well.”
“I agree, your Grace,” Alexandra said. She didn’t meet his gaze. She was thinking about the fact that, if the man really did recognize her, he wouldn’t be bothering anyone else. He was no robber or mischief maker but was looking for her.
She drew her cloak about her, feeling ill.
“Please fetch a posset and take it upstairs for Miss Alexandra,” the Duke said to a passing servant. Alexandra stiffened. Half the household already barely looked at her when she passed. The last thing she needed was blatant favoritism.
“Please, your Grace…” she murmured, but then she felt her vision darken and she almost fell over.
“Alexandra, come here,” the Duke said. Before she knew what was happening, he’d taken her arm and he was leading her up the steps to her bedroom. She shut her eyes a moment, allowing him to lead her, enjoying the closeness and wishing she could make it last; wishing that her bedroom would not be quite so close and that they could go just a bit longer like this.
They walked up to her door, and the Duke turned there and stopped, looking into her eyes.
“Alexandra,” he said. “If anything happens at all, I am going to call the doctor. And please…don’t go walking on your own again. Take someone with you – someone from the staff that you trust. I do not want you to ever be in such danger.”
Alexandra looked into his eyes, surprised by the depth of feeling she saw there. She stood still, and he stood still, and she felt his breath on her cheek as, without warning, he leaned forward. It might have been a kiss, the way his lips touched her cheek. She held her breath, her mind not quite comprehending what had happened until he moved briefly back. His eyes met hers.
“Take care, Miss Alexandra,” he said.
Alexandra nodded. “I shall. You too.”
She turned and went into her room, heart soaring, mind numb with all the strange, wonderful, terrifying things that had just happened.
Chapter 23
Matthew sat in the drawing-room, staring into the flames. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had seen; about Alexandra in the woods and how that man had pursued her.
“Brother?” Arabella called from the chair by the window. “Can we play a game?”
“No, Arabella,” he said, keeping his voice gentle. “Please. I am out of sorts and I would not be much fun I assure you.”
“Very well,” Arabella said, and he heard her stand up, the chair moving softly over the parquet flooring. “Would it disturb your thoughts if I played the pianoforte? I am learning a Mozart sonata!”
“Of course, Arabella,” Matthew murmured. “Play, if you wish.”
“Thank you, brother!”
He heard her walk lightly to the pianoforte, and the soft sound of her running her hand over the keys. Then she began playing. The music was sweet and gentle, and it made him relax as he watched the flames, trying to make sense of what had happened.
That man had to be dealt with.
He felt his hand clench in a fist. He knew Alexandra did not want any sort of scene, and he understood that. But when he had seen the terror in her face, he’d almost raced off on horseback and gone after the man. He was glad he hadn’t.
It would be him in court, he was sure, if he had. And not just for chasing someone on horseback.
He watched the flames, trying to forget about the need to kill that had, momentarily, possessed him. He hadn’t known he could feel so strongly.
“Brother?” Arabella said, interrupting his thoughts. “Is Alexandra going to be able to go with me to the village tomorrow?”
“I hope so,” he said. He had explained to Arabella that her chaperone was feeling unwell. Arabella had been full of concern, but Matthew had decided to ask her not to go upstairs. It would only demand too much of Alexandra’s strength, should she have to explain herself now.
“Good! I had been looking forward to that. But it’s better now, because now I know without doubt which fabric I want to purchase for the last gown. It’s going to be the finest one. Just for Almack’s.”
“Of course,” Matthew murmured. He was focused on Alexandra, and he was wondering if he would do best to take the entire household to a safe place. They’d be going to London soon, for the balls. Alexandra would be coming with them, and she’d be safe there.
He stayed where he was, and instead of focusing on the anger he felt, he found his mind instead returning to the happenings in the wood, and on bringing Alexandra upstairs. He recalled the feeling of intense longing that had possessed him, and the way he had allowed his lips to, so lightly, brush her cheek.
He shut his eyes, feeling the intensity of that touch. It had been so brief. Her skin felt like the softest cloth he could imagine, and it was scented with a fresh, floral smell. He let his breath out in a sigh.
Imaginings of kissing her again, this time on the lips, were cut off by the sound of someone’s footsteps in the hallway, and the butler walked past. Matthew looked back into the flames, but he was startled out of his dreams an
d his thoughts didn’t go back to Alexandra without him blushing.
“I need to find out more.”
Arabella stopped playing, and Matthew noted he’d spoken aloud.
“What happened, brother?” Arabella called. “Did you ask me something I didn’t hear over the notes?”
“No, sister,” Matthew said, blushing. “I am just tired. I’ll go upstairs. I’ll take you to the village after breakfast tomorrow morning, and that’s a promise.”
“Oh!” Arabella brightened instantly. “Will you? I hope Alexandra can come. It’s awful, her being so sick.”
“I trust she will feel much better tomorrow,” Matthew said firmly. “I’ll see you at breakfast. Goodnight, Arabella.”
“Goodnight, brother! See you tomorrow,” she called.
Matthew went upstairs and shut the door behind him.
He took off his cravat, moodily. He felt restless and annoyed with all the restrictions his rank placed on him. If things were as they should be, he should be able to march up the stairs and speak to Alexandra honestly. And he should be able to thrash the fellow in the woods, simply because he’d scared the woman he loved.
“I hate the Ton, sometimes.”
He shut his eyes. He had been expected to behave in accordance with their strict rules since he was just fifteen. He thought, vividly, of how he was expected not to cry, when all he had wanted – the day he was declared Duke – was to weep and mourn his parents’ passing. Instead, he’d been expected not to cry.
He had hated that, and he still hated it. He felt a deep anger at the rules of society; something he’d only recently started to acknowledge or realize he felt. Alexandra had helped him to see that, he realized. She was someone who didn’t seem to care about society. She did what she wished and spoke her mind.
And, he thought with a grin, she would be accompanying his sister to London.
He wondered what the Ton would think of that.
Yes, he thought, it was time to plan for the London trip. He would have to take Arabella there soon, in any case, since the Season would be getting underway. They needed to be there within the next few days.
“Brother,” Arabella said over breakfast the next morning. “When we go into the village, can Alexandra also choose fabric for a gown? I want her to have something pretty for the ball.”
Matthew raised a brow. He absolutely loved the thought of giving Alexandra a ball-dress, but at the same time, he felt that she would feel uncomfortable if her status wasn’t clearly that of Arabella’s chaperone. He frowned, thoughtfully. He had no idea what to suggest, and, after a moment, he shrugged.
“Ask Alexandra,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll be well enough to come today.”
“Hurray!”
Matthew looked around the breakfast-room, trying to feel calm. He had a knot in his stomach, and he knew exactly what it was. He was excited about the thought of seeing Alexandra again.
He leaned back, focused on the white wallpaper with its delicate design of buttery-colored flowers, and tried to make himself think of something else. It was a warm daywhere the curtains showed a pale sky of almost-turquoise blue over the hills.
“Brother?” Arabella said softly. “I’m finished my breakfast. Can I go and practice the pianoforte now? I want to have this piece ready for when we go.”
“Of course,” Matthew nodded. He stood, too. He followed Arabella to the drawing room. While they sat there – her playing the piano, he trying to read a copy of essays by a French philosopher and barely focusing at all – he heard footsteps.
“Alexandra!” Arabella shot across the room and embraced Alexandra, almost toppling her. Matthew looked across at her, concerned, and saw her smiling. He looked into her eyes and her smile widened.
He cleared his throat, which was suddenly flooded with emotion. “Alexandra. You feel better.”
She smiled, and gently unwound her arms from around the shorter form of his sister. “Indeed, yes.”
He looked away, feeling a big grin spread across his face.
“I am glad to hear it,” he said. He stood and gave a slight bow – it might not have been as it should be, according to etiquette, but he didn’t feel he could just talk to her without any formality.
“I rested very well last night,” she said softly.
“Good,” he said. She bobbed a slight curtsey and looked up into his eyes and for a moment, it could have just been the two of them, alone in the room. Matthew felt his heart start to thump steadily.
He felt his attention drift back to the moment when Arabella giggled.
“Alexandra,” she asked. “Can we go now? I want to go to the village. And would you like a gown for the Almack’s ball? I know we only have a week to prepare, but I am sure the seamstress could make something up for you by then…”
“A week to prepare?” Alexandra sounded distraught.
“We are going to London in just over a week’s time,” Matthew said swiftly. He glanced at Arabella, who seemed to notice also that Alexandra was distressed, and stepped back, allowing Matthew to explain.
Alexandra looked up, distressed.
“We have to go as soon as possible,” Matthew explained. “The start of the Season is the most important time to be there, and we will want to make Arabella’s debut at Almack’s as soon as we arrive. Of course, it will be your task to attend all the balls with her, as well as it is mine.”
Alexandra was looking at him, eyes pained.
“Your Grace, I…” she murmured. “I need time to think about this.”
“Of course, chaperoning Arabella at her first Season is the most important task I can think of,” Matthew said swiftly. “I would do the duty myself, but people tend to try and get my attention at social gatherings – mostly people who want me to invest in their industrial ambitions – and I know I wouldn’t be able to give Arabella due attention.”
“Yes! Brother’s always being dragged off by Albert or someone to talk about making money,” Arabella said, clearly unable to contain her delight. “It’ll be so much fun, to have you there! I can’t wait! We can practice all the dances, and go to the refreshments table, and talk to everyone! It’ll be really special.”
“Yes, sister,” Matthew said, trying not to smile. He looked at Alexandra but was upset to find her still looking worried. He felt his own smile settle into a worried frown, since she looked truly disconcerted.
She didn’t say anything, but Matthew could see there was something bothering her. The moment they had mentioned their plans for the next weeks, Alexandra had gone instantly silent. He frowned.
“I’m sorry,” Alexandra said. “Please, Lady Arabella; your Grace…I need a moment to consider all of these things.”
“Of course, Alexandra,” Matthew said instantly. He was sure she was still feeling overwhelmed from the previous day. Of course – it was unreasonable of him to assume anything else. He glanced across at Arabella, who looked back, wide-eyed, but nodded and stepped back, going to the window where she remained, occasionally glancing at Alexandra with worried eyes.
“I must go upstairs,” Alexandra said. Her voice sounded weary, as if she had been awake all night.
“Of course, Alexandra,” Matthew said again. “We’ll postpone the trip to the village for an hour. I trust you will feel better by then?” He regretted his earlier thoughtlessness and hishastein promising the visit, when it was clear Alexandra would be too tired to accompany his sister.