Diana blinked, pulled from her thoughts. “I beg your pardon?”
“At Pall Mall,” he clarified, as though the matter required no further explanation.
A soft groan escaped her before she could stop it, and she tipped her head back against the chair in theatrical despair.
“If you have come here merely to continue that argument,” she said, pressing her fingers briefly to her temple, “I should like to warn you that I am far less patient at this hour of the evening.”
Alexander’s mouth curved faintly. “I merely wished to congratulate you.”
Her eyes opened again at once. “On what?”
“Winning.”
Diana’s expression shifted instantly into suspicion. “You still believe I missed.”
“I do.” His answer came without hesitation.
Diana leaned forward slightly in her chair, her fingers tightening around the stem of her glass as she regarded him with narrowed eyes. “My ball traveled the farthest.”
Alexander lifted one brow.
“Yes,” he agreed mildly. “Into a hedge.”
The simple accuracy of the remark made her bite the inside of her cheek in an effort to maintain her composure. Fora moment, she considered several responses, none of which seemed sufficiently dignified.
“You are too stubborn,” she said at last.
“Perhaps.”
The quiet acceptance of the accusation did nothing to reduce the amusement in his voice.
Alexander set his glass down on the small table between them, the faint clink of crystal against wood punctuating the moment as he leaned forward slightly.
“Though I must admit,” he continued, “I was impressed.”
Diana wasn’t certain she had heard him correctly. “Impressed?”
“With your determination.”
The admiration in his tone softened the teasing edge of the earlier exchange, and Diana felt something unexpectedly steady in the way he studied her now. His gaze lingered on her face a moment longer than politeness strictly allowed, with attentiveness that suggested he was noticing far more than she wished him to. The intensity of it made warmth spread slowly across her skin, a faint flush rising along her cheeks.
“And,” he added after a brief pause, “with your ability to distract me.”
Diana felt her breath catch almost immediately.
“I distracted you?” she repeated, trying very hard to keep the sudden flutter in her chest from appearing in her voice.
Alexander did not answer at once.
Instead, he reached calmly for the small box resting on the table and drew it toward him. The ribbon around it had been tied neatly, though the knot loosened easily beneath his fingers as he began untying it with slow, deliberate movements.
“You did accuse me earlier,” he said thoughtfully, “of attempting seduction.”
The mere fact that he repeated the words aloud was enough to make her feel far more unsteady than the glass of wine ever could, leaving her momentarily breathless.
“That was a joke,” she said, though the quiet steadiness she attempted in her voice did not quite hide the faint dizziness settling behind her ribs.
“Was it?” His tone remained mild, though the quiet glint in his eyes suggested that he remembered the moment beside the hedges rather clearly.
