“No, it’s just down here a bit. Trust me.” He tugged on her hand without effect.
“Ha. If you will look at the map—”
She turned to gesture at said map, which Bixby was carrying to assist them, and went abruptly still. Alex turned to see what had troubled her.
Bixby was gone.
“That’s odd,” Alex murmured.
“He obviously disdained your shortcut and has taken the correct route,” Charlotte said smugly.
Alex rolled his eyes. “He obviously got sick of your harping on.” He began walking back along the narrow street in search of the missing butler. Charlotte, by dint of her hand still being held in his, necessarily followed him.
“I have not been harping on,” she harped. “I have been attempting to educate you.”
“The last woman who tried educating me used to apply a birch rod when I gave the wrong answer,” Alex replied cheerfully. “Or when she simply didn’t like my looks. Are you going to beat me, Lottie?”
He flashed a seductive smile at her, but she stared back open-mouthed. “My God. I am so sorry.”
Surprise flittered across his expression for the briefest moment before he laughed. “Don’t be. Sister Andrew—and the other nuns—and Deirdre—and Dadai—were all good training for the life of a pirate. Hell, my father still tries to give me a refresher course every time I go back to Ireland. He may be retired now and living the life of Riley, ha, but let’s just say he hasn’t forgotten how to be piratic.”
“Well, I am not a pirate, and I don’t want to hurt you,” Charlotte averred—although in fact a moment ago it had been her plan to score a verbal hit. But as she hastily assessed her motivation, she found only a desire for game playing. In fact, what made exchanging barbs with Alex so enjoyable was the thought no one got truly harmed by it. Never mind Darcy; he had somehow managed to become her Mr. Knightley, a witty sparring partner, and while she did not expect a happy ever after like Emma Woodhouse, at least she was having a good time staying up late, turning pages, even dog-earing a few like a real scoundrel.
Now the vision of Alex as a whipped little boy shook her so deeply,she stumbled as he pulled her along. They turned a corner they had not taken earlier, but Charlotte was too distracted to notice.
“Don’t reassure me in that way,” Alex said, his voice lilting more than usual. “What would I do without the thrill of your deadly footwear, or the ravishing bite of your teeth? Now just down here and around this corner—damn.” He stopped suddenly, causing Charlotte to collide with him. He steadied her automatically, but his focus was on the high stone wall that stood ahead of them.
Charlotte could not help herself. “It seems like your shortcut has been cut short.”
“Very funny.” Pushing a hand through his hair, he looked around, scowling. “I would have sworn this led to Rosemary Road. And where the hell is Bixby?”
“Having a rather pointed conversation with my maid.”
They turned to see Mrs. Chuke in front of them, smiling like a thundercloud looking down on a parade.
16
pride and prejudice—the butler has it done to him—out of the fire—sudden acrobats—into the frying pan—charlotte goes with alex because she wants to live—mad hatting—getting in the swing—charlotte is a villain
Mrs. Chuke’s character was despised in general society for its sincerity and frankness, and in such a moment as this, she certainly would not depart from it. “Charlotte, darling! How dreadful you look! Your face is all rosy, and what is that sparkle in your eye? Thank goodness I found you before you go completely to rack and ruin! I shall save you, dear girl, from this wicked pirate who kidnapped you!” She eyed Alex darkly.
“I didn’t—” Alex began, but Charlotte spoke over him with a confidence plagiarized from Elizabeth Bennet.
“You have been widely mistaken in my character, madam, if you think I can be kidnapped by a pirate.”
Mrs. Chuke gasped. “Surely you are not admitting to being in his company on avoluntarybasis?”
“Why not? He is a scoundrel; I am a scoundrel; so far we are equal.”
“But pirates and witches, who-do-not-exist-but-if-they-did, are mortal enemies! Think of the League, Charlotte darling! Think ofyour mother, who even now is ordering caterers for the wedding!” (“Um,” Alex said, blanching, but the ladies ignored him.) “Your reputation will be a disgrace; your name will be constantly mentioned by all of us. Good heavens, Charlotte,you have allied with a pirate!”
Charlotte frowned, although in fact she felt thrilled at this opportunity to face a nemesis in the same way Lizzie did with Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Admittedly, Mrs. Chuke was inferior in style and temper to Lady Catherine, and a dusty urban street was nowhere near as romantic as a copse, but it seemed bookworms could not be choosers when it came to real life. “If I had allied with him,” she said, “I should be the first person to confess it. And I do not. Captain O’Riley continues to be my worst enemy.”
“It’s true,” Alex interjected with a pleasant smile.
“And whatever my connections may be, if the Captain objects to them, that must be everything to you.”
“I do object to them,” Alex said, nodding cheerfully.
