He was so charming that Alexandra racedthrough possibilities that she had been wrong about her opinion ofhim. Perhaps she had been unfair in judging him from the start. Hehad only showed kindness to Nicholas and his family and to her. Butthe familiarity of his voice nagged her.
“Of course, when Nicholas is free, we wouldlove to visit.”
He bestowed her with a tight smile,obviously not liking her response. No, that was ridiculous. She wasimagining the worst.
“Of course, with Nicholas. I presumed”
“Presume nothing, Lord Westbrook. I beg yourpardon, but my nerves are raw tonight.” She relaxed a notch.
“I understand. A young lady making asensation on her first introduction can be allowed to haveemotion.”
Why did his teasing possess the same discordas a bow that slipped off the strings of a viola? And where hadNicholas disappeared to? Alexandra’s shoulders dipped indisappointment. He had not claimed a single dance.
“We can discuss the Indians in the Colonies.I have a fascination for some of their customs.” Duke Corneliusstared at her lips, his head hovering near her face, and for onemoment she thought he meant to kiss her. “You are an intoxicatingcombination of beauty and grace.”
She blinked not only from the rapid andbizarre change in subject manner but by the fact he had finessedher to an outer courtyard. No one was about. Inside the shell ofcalm, she’d closed around her was a chaos so loud, she couldn’tthink. “Duke Cornelius, I tire from so much dancing and wishrefreshment,” she whispered in warning and stepped back fromhim.
The duke held her fast. “I am utterlycaptivated with you, Lucretia.”
“I am not Lucretia.” She flung his arms fromher. Took two steps back. He had called her Lucretia at the opera,and it was the second time he had mistaken her for Nicholas’smother.
He stood there for a moment, hisimperturbable black eye studying her. The glass eye, unmovable andjust as black, haunting her, and in sharp contrast to his snowywhite wig. Perhaps he was one of those unfortunate souls whose mindweaved in and out of two worlds. For a long time, he was so silent,she thought he’d turned to wood.
“My apologies, Lady Alexandra. I will fetchyour champagne.” He turned and strode off toward the house.
The moment he walked through the archway,Alexandra’s breath came out in a long rush of relief. Whirlingaround, she hurried to the far end of the courtyard, entering theballroom on the opposite side.
From that point on, she was tense and jumpy,half expecting the Duke of Westbrook to accost her in the ballroom.While dancing with another swain, she spied him twice more,standing alone next to a pillar. When he vanished, she wasthoroughly relieved.
She danced several more sets and allowed herlast partner to escort her to Aunt Margaret and Rachel. Surroundedby a bevy of admirers plying for her attention, Alexandra laughedand allowed them to flirt outrageously, anything to divert thetension coiling in her stomach. Even Aunt Margaret and Rachellaughed from their antics.
There was no mistaking the rigid line ofNicholas’s shoulders or the taut line of his jaw as he headedstraight to her.Jealous?This was a side of Nicholas shehad not seen before and a new experience for her.
“Knowing my nephew, suppressing hisNeanderthal roots, watching you dance with other men is an exercisefor him,” said Aunt Margaret. “I’m surprised he doesn’t wield aclub.”
When he was near, he flicked a level,impassive glance over the men standing around Alexandra, and theyparted to make a place for him as if he had ordered them aside. Heglanced over his shoulder at the manservant hovering near the wall,and drinks were produced without a word being spoken.
He offered his arm and maneuvered her awayto the privacy of the next two columns, yet within decorum. She washappy to be alone with him.
Grinning wolfishly, he surveyed hergown.
Alexandra lifted her chin and offered, “Theunderskirts are soft and full as angels’ wings so that when I glidepast, you can hear the material sighing across the floor, or soclaims the dressmaker.”
His mouth quirked in a smile and his gazedipped to touch the rounded fullness of her breasts where theypushed up against her décolletage.
Self-consciously, she ran her fingers overthe clinging silk folds of her dress, her muscles, belly-low,tightened. “Your manners are outrageous, Lord Rutland. You make mefeel undressed and how you manage not to choke on fumes of sulfuris a marvel.”
“I hate this charade. I’m beginning to thinkAunt Margaret has a twisted sense of humor and enjoys seeing mechomp at the bit with her proprietary rules. You belong to me. Notthose infantile swains mooning about you.”
Alexandra laughed. “I cannot be seen overlylong with you. My reputation will be ruined.”
“Reputation be damned. With that gown youare wearing, I’m ready for a fight…allowing these juveniles to ogleyou. I have half a mind to carry you off”
She sipped her champagne, her gaze rovingover his body inch by inch, from head to foot, deliberatelyrepaying him for the lingering glance he’d subjected her to. Hisnostrils flared. Her feminine side basked in the power she had overhim.
His voice dipped deep and husky. “Ratherbold, my lady. When we were on the island, I would have thrown youon the sand and made wicked love to you for such activity, ourbodies sticking and sucking in the tropical heat.”
Her nipples hardened as if he had lightlyscraped his thumbs over them.
