A Scarlet Bride (14 page)

"Thank you, but I don't think I'll be swinging anywhere."

Alexandra waited until Connor came around to help her dismount. She placed her hands on the tops of his shoulders, her face inches from his own. He lifted her as if she weighed next to nothing before setting her on the ground. She was trapped between the horse and Connor.

"Riding with you this morning has given me quite an appetite," he said, his voice low as his eyes sought hers. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, his lips warm against her skin.

Alexandra made to push him away with her hand. She'd experienced his kind of hunger before. The man could starve before she'd quench his passion. "Then
it's
good Nate has brought our food."

Connor stepped out of her way, bending slightly at the waist in a bow as she moved past him.
"Though my soul hungers for a different kind of nourishment."

With a quick glance back, Alexandra smiled at him. "I doubt you're famished."

"Absolutely starving for you," he said, his look filled with promise of sweet satisfaction.

She shook her head at him and took a calming breath, trying to slow her rapid heart. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder how many women must have fallen for your seductive lines."

"Not nearly as many as you think."

Alexandra spread out a blanket and laid a tablecloth on top, chattering away like a nervous little bird. "I know men consider women to be of lesser intelligence, but I believe we are just as capable. Then I see women acting like fools over men and I'm simply amazed at their lack of
selfrespect
."

Connor sank to the blanket beside her. She opened the basket of food and began dispensing the wooden plates and silver eating utensils.

Turning to glance at him, she noticed his lips turned up in a smile. "Have you nothing to say, Mr. Manning?"

"Connor," he reminded her, then shrugged. "You're right."

"I'm astonished." Holding a wrapped sandwich in midair, she stopped and glanced at him. "You agree with me?"

She set the sandwich down on his plate.

''Yes, I agree with you." He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly. "But—there are just as many men who act like fools over women. They fawn over them like lovesick puppies.
Chasing debutantes, promising them their hearts' every whim."

Alexandra raised her brows at him and laughed cynically. "I wouldn't know. I've never met that type of man."

He smiled. "You wouldn't. You're a strong woman. You need a mate who is your equal or stronger."

"And I guess you feel that you fit that description," she replied, her tone sarcastic.

"Very much."

She shook her head. "But I wasn't looking for a husband. I had no intention of ever marrying again."

He shrugged and smiled. "I had no intention of marrying either. Not since the woman I thought I was in love with decided I was not wealthy enough to marry." He paused. "Then I realized how much my sister needed a woman's influence."

"Why not hire a companion?" she replied, wondering who the woman was he had been in love with. "Why would you choose someone like me, a woman whose past is sullied with a scandalous divorce?
Why not some lilywhite debutante?"

"Debutantes are boring. And most fathers frown when I approach their virginal daughters. As for a companion, Suzanne has already run off countless governesses."

Alexandra shook her head at the irony of the situation. "So I was the only candidate to become Mrs. Manning?"

''No.
I wasn't actively searching, but when an excellent opportunity stares me in the face, I don't usually turn away."

"How can I be considered an excellent opportunity?"

He smiled, letting his eyes roam over her. "Dear, from a man's perspective, I made a very good match."

"Even without a dowry and the knowledge the union will never be consummated?"

She felt his heated gaze upon her. "You were a prize even without a dowry."

A frown furrowed her brow as she raised her gaze to his. He had ignored her comment about consummating their union, but he had promised he would not force her to be his wife in every sense of the word. "Either I've misjudged you and you're not the intelligent businessman I assumed you were, or you're lying."

He frowned, and she could tell she had finally succeeded in irritating him. "Only time will tell, won't it, my dear?''

The next morning Connor sat beside Alexandra in the surrey, driving through the streets of Charleston. He'd been surprised at her easy acquiescence at his suggestion that they drive into the city and spend the day. He only hoped she wouldn't balk when he revealed their destination.

Alexandra gazed out at the streets. "In the last five years, the city has changed so much."

Peddlers hawked their wares, their voices promising quality and guaranteeing the cheapest price.

"After the hurricane of '93, a lot of the city had to be rebuilt," Connor replied.

A breeze cooled Connor's skin and tickled his nose with the smell of salt water. Children's squeals of laughter came from the yards of nearby homes.

"You can't tell there was ever any damage," she said.

"Oh, but there was." He glanced at her, enjoying her company, wanting today to be perfect. "I thought maybe a good way for you to become reacquainted with the city would be for us to rent bicycles and ride through the streets."

She glanced over at him in surprise. "It's been so long since I've ridden. Oh, this will be fun!"

Connor smiled, relieved at her enthusiasm. Honestly, he hadn't known how she was going to respond to his suggestion. He pulled the buggy to a halt in front of the rental shop and hurried around to help Alexandra alight from the surrey. He wrapped his fingers around her waist and she placed her hands on his shoulders as he lifted her out and set her on the ground. For a moment, he stared into her green eyes and she smiled.

Just the slightest upturn of her lips sent his heart into a somersault before landing at his feet. He was always unprepared for the way his body reacted so strongly and so swiftly to Alexandra.
His wife.

She placed her hand on his arm and looked up at him expectantly. "Can we ride along the ocean?"

"If that's where you want to go. But I thought you were afraid of water."

"I am. But I love the ocean." She tugged on his arm.

Connor had never seen his wife show this much excitement, and it pleased him that all it took was the promise of the two of them spending the afternoon bicycle riding.

They rented a tricycle for her and a bicycle for him as the tricycle was easier for her to ride with her long skirts.

At first they rode down Church Street, passing St. Philip's Episcopal Church. Connor rode behind Alexandra, making sure she had no trouble navigating the streets. At the corner of Meeting and Broad Streets, Connor pointed out the Charleston City Hall and, across the street, the county government courthouse.

For well over an hour, they rode through Charleston, enjoying the sights. Finally, they stopped on Meeting Street and bought lemonade at the Old City Market.

While they sipped the tart liquid, Alexandra asked, "When are we going to the beach?"

"As soon as you finish your drink.
I thought we needed some refreshment before we went on, and the cycles have to be back before dark." He noted how the sun glistened on her hair, bringing out the red and gold tints.

She took a sip of her drink. "Why did you choose to do this today?"

Connor halted the glass of lemonade that was halfway to his lips and lowered it back to the table. "I don't know. I guess I wanted to do something special these first few days of our marriage, since I really couldn't offer you a honeymoon."

She raised her brows. "I don't understand you."

"What's there to understand?" he questioned.

"You're going out of your way to be nice to me. I would never have guessed you like to ride bicycles."

"Why shouldn't I be nice to you? As you said the morning after we married, there's a lot we don't know about each other," Connor said, gazing at her, wanting to taste her
cherryred
lips. Would they taste of tart lemonade? Or would they be sweet? "I just want to get to know you."

She frowned, a furrow in her brow. "I did say that, didn't
I.
But I guess I hadn't expected you to be so charming. I didn't expect you would want to spend time together. So what else are you keeping secret from me?"

Connor grinned and drained the rest of his lemonade.
"That you will just have to discover.
I'm not telling."

Alexandra walked over to her tricycle and sat. She looked back over her shoulder, tossing a wayward curl from her face, and challenged him. "The last one to the beach has to reveal something the other person doesn't know."

"You're on," Connor called as he jumped on his bike and sped past her.

"Drat!" Alexandra said as she watched him race like a madman down the street. "He's going to get himself killed, riding at that speed."

She peddled as fast as her long skirts would allow and still she only managed to barely keep up with Connor. And even then she knew he had slowed to keep within a safe distance of her.

What a poorly planned
dare,
and now she was going to have to reveal something that he didn't already know about her. Should she tell him she was a writer? Should she tell him about her
exhusband
?

No, the afternoon sun was warm, the sky was a breathtaking blue, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. Whatever she told him must be lighthearted and impersonal.

Hester's Revenge
would definitely not be something she'd want to share with him on this particular day, or any other if she could help it.

The sound of the surf pounding softly on the shore reached her ears. Connor took a side street that suddenly opened up to a fiat expanse of sand and water. A seagull screeched overhead and some young boys chased each other in the surf.

Connor stood smiling confidently beside his cycle, waiting for her, his arms crossed over his chest. The breeze blew his dark hair across his forehead in a wayward manner.

She pulled to a halt beside him. Sometimes she got herself into more trouble with her silly suggestions. He helped her off the tricycle and she felt her boots sink into the soft sand.

"Well, I'm waiting," he said.

"Isn't it beautiful," she said. "The ocean terrifies me and intrigues me at the same time."

"You're stalling."

"What is there to tell? I thought you knew everything about me," she said, her voice lilting.

"If you won't tell me, I'll just start asking questions." He paused. "Who was your first beau?"

She laughed.

"What's so funny about that question?" Connor asked, insulted.

"From the time I was twelve, I was in a boarding school. As soon as I graduated, Father married me to Gordon." She sighed. "Beaux are an area of life that I've missed."

"Surely someone tried to steal a kiss?'' Connor insisted.

"You were allowed one question and you've used yours up,'' she said, smiling at him flirtatiously, feeling coquettish.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the surf. "I like this game. Why can't we continue playing? We'd find out all of each other's secrets very quickly."

She let him lead her closer to the water. "Then we'd either be bored or mad at each other. This way there's still that element of danger or surprise. Besides, you're asking all the questions and that's not fair."

He took them to where the surf was reaching out to the shore. They walked along the edge of the water, watching as the current retracted the water, taking sand, pebbles, and anything else it could suck back into the sea. "Okay, you ask me a question," he said.

She smiled. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. So many things she longed for answers to. But she only chose one.
The most curious one.
"You told me there was another woman. You even hinted at why you didn't marry her. Explain."

He frowned, staring at the hypnotic motion of the sea.
"Next question?"

Alexandra shook her head.
"
Uhuh
.
You must answer the question or forfeit the game."

"Let's just say she married my best friend," he said, looking out at the ocean.

Suddenly the water came rushing in, covering the tops of their shoes. At first Alexandra felt terror as the water swirled about her ankles, but Connor grabbed her hand and, laughing, pulled her out of the surf and back up on the beach.

Alexandra looked down at the hem of her wet dress and her soaked shoes. "You did that on purpose, you rat!"

"How can you say
that!
Look at my own clothes."