At this, Alaina interjected, matching the outrage on Georgiana’s face. “My virtue?! How could you even think to bandy about such lies? No one would believe it!”
“Oh, dear girl, you know how society can be with these things. All it takes is a suggestion, there need be no truth in it,” Percy mocked, his smile filled with venom.
At that moment a looming presence appeared behind Percy, causing Alaina’s heart, if not her head, to silently rejoice.Christopher!Feeling the change, Percy turned to find the marquess glaring at him from an uncomfortably close distance.
“Two times I find you accosting friends of mine in one day, Percy. I think it is best you remove yourself from this hallway, posthaste, before I feel the need to remove you myself,” came Christopher’s barely controlled order, rage seething between his teeth.
“As you wish,” Percy bowed toward Christopher and then to the ladies, being sure to leave them with one last threat. “Remember, dear Alaina, what damage a rumor can do. Good evening.”
All three watched him walk down the hall and disappear around the corner and into the ballroom, half-expecting one more snide remark. When he was gone, Christopher turned to Georgiana and Alaina, “Are both of you alright? Graham had sensed something amiss with Percy’s presence here tonight. I am glad I was able to escape our host to see to your safety. I imagine Graham will be along shortly as well.”
Georgiana turned a concerned eye toward Alaina, in shock after that ordeal. Percy’s cruelty knew no bounds. “Christopher, I fear that I am quite put out by the experience. To encounter my scoundrel of a cousin twice in one day is too much. I wish to go warn my mother, who I imagine will want to leave immediately. Can you escort Alaina back to the ballroom and let Graham know we will want to retire from the party shortly, so he can call the carriage around? Alaina, should I give your mother the same message?”
Alaina quietly replied, “Yes, please do.”
Georgiana, having received the affirmative answer she expected, nodded to Christopher, and silently turned on her heel to retrieve the mothers.
Christopher offered his arm to Alaina, but when she did not immediately take it, he leaned closer to try to catch her downcast eyes. The guilt from his forceful questioning still weighed on his mind. While he may be the last person she wanted to offer comfort, Christopher still hoped to cheer her up, especially after this latest Percy encounter. When she did finally look at him, what he saw ripped at his heart. Her eyes were glittering with barely controlled tears.
“Do you think anyone would actually believe a rumor Percy or Lord Finch conjured about me?” Alaina asked, almost in a daze.
“A rumor? About what?”
Alaina swallowed with difficulty, a lump in her throat making it difficult to speak. Finally, she croaked, “Percy implied that… he said, well, he said, ‘maybe Lord Finch took liberties’… with me.”
Christopher made a low sound in his throat, and Alaina could not fathom what it meant. It was a few moments before Christopher formed words. “I fear that Percy will go to any lengths to hurt Graham, without a care for collateral damage. The only comfort I can offer is that up until now his threats have been empty; Percy is a coward.”
Alaina did not feel the least bit consoled by this statement, still paralyzed and in no hurry to return to the ballroom. Christopher could see that she was trying to collect herself before seeing the crowds and his friend. Without thinking, Christopher took her hand in his and squeezed, attempting to reassure her.
The physical connection had an unintended effect, shocking both Alaina and Christopher into awareness of the other, all prior insults and arguments forgotten in that moment. The brief glances and flutters now combined as the tinder for something that had been burning under the surface.
As if drawn by a larger force, Christopher took a single step and then another, closing the distance between them. Alaina walked into his embrace, their bodies melding together. Christopher’s hands rested on the small of her back, the warmth of his hands seeping through her gown. Alaina rested her head on his chest for just a moment, and was comforted to hear the beat of his heart, one that seemed to be racing just the same as her own. When she pulled back, Christopher saw anxiety reflected in her eyes.
“Try not to worry. Percy is one for empty threats,” Christopher said softly.
Alaina nodded her head slowly, but Christopher was sure Percy’s threats were at the front of her mind. Yet, he was unsure of what to do to reassure her. As time crept along, Christopher became more aware of where their bodies connected, and his body betrayed his intention to merely comfort. Unable to stop himself, Christopher’s hands first rested on her shoulders and then he gently cupped Alaina’s face, his fingers gently stroking her cheek. His steel-blue eyes bore into her umber orbs and their breaths mingled until he finally lowered his lips to hers. Each of them surrendered to the moment, and Alaina found her hands in Christopher’s hair almost unbidden, her body pressing more fully against his. Alaina was surprised to find iron-hewed thighs resting against her own through her skirts, and an unfamiliar tingling suffusing her core. The kiss was tender and electric, starting a flame inside both of them that threatened to consume.
Christopher pulled back abruptly, the chagrin over his actions acute. Alaina was a lady, first and foremost, and without any intention of offering marriage, he had no right to be stealing kisses and wanting more in dark hallways. If they were discovered, he would find it hard to maintain his bachelorhood. And that did not say anything as to his relationship, his duty to Graham.Tasked with providing a voice of reason and then ending up in a tryst!
“Alaina, I am so sorry for my actions. I never meant to… I did not think…” He started and stopped a few times, trying to find the right words, and then decided, “It is time to get you back to the party, back to Graham.”
Shocked and embarrassed, all Alaina could do was quietly place her hand on his arm as he led her back to the ballroom. She felt a void where she and Christopher had touched just moments ago, and an even bigger hole in her heart. From lecturer to savior, callous to comforting, Alaina did not know which way was up with Christopher. And what of her plan to find a man who was suitable, someone like the duke, someone who was actually looking for marriage? Her head and her heart disagreed on much, but they could agree on one thing: the Stamford Ball could not end soon enough.
Chapter 7
Alaina stared out the front window of the parlor, focusing on nothing in particular. There were few passersby on the street so early in the morning. Alaina took a breath and closed her eyes, letting the light of the day warm her, her arms wrapping herself tight in an effort to banish the chill completely. The book she had chosen as her escape, the latest volume ofMountville Castle, was momentarily forgotten on her lap. Alaina picked at her modest mauve day dress, its pleated chiffon accents of pale pink gracing her throat and cuffs, providing the gown’s only adornment. Alaina’s choice of a simple bun met perfectly with the simplicity of the dress, and her mood.
Alaina had been thankful that they had decided to leave after the run-in with Percy, andthat kiss. She had felt like a coward as they had made for the front door, but it was all she could do to steady her voice when she came face-to-face with Graham. Her initial shock and, dare she think,pleasureafter the kiss with Christopher had morphed into thankfulness at not being discovered by anyone in the ton. Surely the scandal would have sent her parents running for the country and would have left her reputation in tatters. That was provided a rumor started by Percy did not do its own damage. To think that someone would be so cruel as to falsely indicate she had intimate relations with anyone, let alone someone she could not stand in the least!
Totally in a daze, Alaina missed the quiet knock at the door, but a gentle clearing of the throat that followed cut through her reverie and she looked back toward the open parlor door.
“Father,” Alaina murmured, breaking into a smile, as she got up from her seat at the window to meet him. “What brings you to the parlor this morning? From what mother tells me, you have been quite engrossed in managing the estates, I hardly thought you had time.”
“Now, now, I hardly think I have been so absent from this household as to not hear that my eldest daughter has caught the eye of this season’s most eligible bachelor.” After a quick pointed look from Alaina, Edward continued, “Your mother has been keeping me posted, although I think it fair to say that if it should not work out between the duke and yourself, your mother will have at least made a lasting friend of the dowager duchess.”
Alaina giggled. “She and Eleanor have certainly become very close in the last few days. I half expected the wedding to be planned already with how much they talk, but truly they seem to have become the best of friends.”
Alaina, having closed most of the distance between herself and her father, stood awkwardly, unsure of whether Edward planned to stay or go. The earl seemed a man on a mission, but what exactly it was eluded Alaina.
