Lady Alexandra's Excellent Adventure: A Summersby Tale (26 page)

“You are correct.” Alexandra admitted. “I’ve come because I’ve realized how wrong I was to run from him. I love him more than I would ever have imagined loving anyone.”

“Then by all means,” Isabella told her gently and with a warm smile. “Don’t let me keep you at my side. You must go and find his lordship immediately so that all may be resolved.”

Taking her leave of the duchess, Alexandra began winding her way through the crowd in search of Michael. Without any luck, she eventually decided to get a breath of fresh air before diving back in. Four sets of French doors stood open, and the cool breeze beckoned for her to abandon the heated ballroom.

She’d taken no more than a couple of steps before she saw him standing before her. He was just as handsome as she remembered him, if not more so, but then her eyes registered someone else—a beautiful dark haired woman whom he held firmly in his embrace. “You know, I love you right?” the woman said, just as Michael replied, “I love you too.”

Alexandra’s world came to a screeching halt. Her mouth fell open in order to scream or shout or say something . . . but no words would come. And her feet remained frozen to the ground. She wanted to run as fast as her feet would carry her, but she could not move. This had to be her worst nightmare come to life—worse even than Ryan catching her with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

M
ichael had seen Alexandra arrive about an hour earlier, but had chosen to stay back for a number of reasons. For the past week, he’d been hoping she’d take the bait and come to him. After all, she’d never attended a seasonal ball before, so what reason would she possibly have for attending this one that happened to be hosted by his parents, unless it was to see him? She knew he would be there, and she had come. Nothing made him happier, and nothing filled him with more hope than when she’d finally made her entrance. Of course, he’d been a nervous wreck by then, because of how late she’d been, but when he finally saw her . . . oh how he longed to wrap her in his arms, to whisper words of endearment in her ear and to kiss those kissable lips.

But then he’d seen the eager men rushing to her side, and he’d restrained himself. Alexandra had never had any gentlemen callers or admirers before, she’d never been appreciated by men for her beauty . . . surely it wouldn’t hurt to allow her to bask in all the attention a little. And if she did choose to push them all aside in favor of him then . . . well . . . it could only mean that she really loved him, couldn’t it?

So he’d found himself a glass of champagne and ventured out onto the terrace only to find his sister, Cassandra, crying quietly to herself in a corner. “Cass?” he’d asked as he’d carefully approached her. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Oh, Michael, it’s no use. I don’t believe I’ll ever marry. You’ll see. I shall wind up an old spinster—the kind aunt who likes to read or embroider and always takes her naps at ten.”

He offered her his handkerchief and put his arm around her shoulders for comfort. “Surely it won’t come to that, Cass.”

That had apparently been the key to opening the flood gates. Between sobs his sister had told him how she’d fallen hopelessly in love with Lord Barton and how sure she’d been that he would one day return her affection. She delivered a long list of examples to this effect until she eventually hit upon the very heart of the matter. It seemed that Lord Barton had just proposed to Lady Jayne Greaves. Well, if this wasn’t a pickle, then Michael wasn’t sure what was.

Pulling his sister into his arms, he did the only thing he thought might help. He offered comfort.

“Oh, Michael,” she told him after all the tears had dried away. “You truly are the best brother in the whole wide world. You know I love you right?”

“I love you too,” he’d said.

And that was when he’d spotted Alexandra.

If looks could kill, then Michael was just about to be obliterated. Alexandra was practically foaming at the mouth, eyes blazing with an overwhelming amount of fury.

He quickly distanced himself from his sister and took a tentative step toward Alexandra. “It’s not what you think, Alex,” he said as he held up his hands as if hoping to somehow placate her.

“Oh, is this her, Michael?” Cassandra’s voice rang out in the night and Michael instantly winced. Of all the times to ask the most damning of questions.

“Ah,” Alexandra sneered as she cast a vehement look in Cassandra’s direction. “So you’ve been discussing me. How very cozy.”

“Alex, I’d like to present my—”

“Stop Michael,” she snapped. “Please stop.” The last word came out shakily, and Michael saw that she was trembling. She was clearly close to hysterics.

“Damn,” she cried. “Now look what you’ve done. You and your . . . your little Cyprian.”

“Good heavens,” Cassandra exclaimed. “She certainly has quite a mouth on her.”

“Shut up before I challenge you,” Alexandra screeched.

“Challenge me?” Cassandra’s eyes opened wide. “To a duel? Dear me, she can’t be serious, Michael.”

“Alex, that’s enough,” Michael all but shouted. “You’re jumping to conclusions and making a fool out of yourself in the process.”

“Really?” Alex’s voice was filled with sarcasm as she raised a mocking eyebrow. “So this woman is not your lover?”

“Good God no,” Michael exclaimed in a horrified tone of voice. He cleared his throat before turning and gesturing for Cassandra to come forward. “This, Alex, is Cassandra my sister.”

Alexandra paled. Her eyes seemed to flicker back and forth between the two siblings, as if she was trying to compare them. Michael knew they looked similar, and as he watched Alexandra’s eyes widen, he realized that she finally saw it too. With a mortified groan, she buried her face in her hands and muttered a muted “I’m so sorry.” She remained thus, apparently not daring to look at either one of them.

“Cass, would you please give us a minute?” Michael implored.

Giving her brother a reassuring smile, Cassandra hurried back inside. Michael moved closer to Alexandra. “Look at me,” he said as he reached for her hands and removed them from her face. He nudged her head upward with his fingers until she was looking him straight in the eye. That old familiar sense of desire, that only she was capable of evoking, stirred to life in his belly. She looked dazzling even now, with her eyes all puffy from crying and her lips quivering with remorse. “Come. Let’s take a walk in the garden. I think it’s time that you and I talked.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
S
IX

A
s if in a daze, Alexandra nodded, linked her arm with Michael’s and allowed him to guide her away from the terrace and toward the darkness. “Won’t this be frowned upon?” she asked as the music faded behind them. “Our being alone like this . . . unchaperoned . . . in the dark?”

“If someone sees us, then yes, it will.” He tightened his grip on her. “But you’ve never been one to pay much heed to what other people might consider inappropriate have you?”

“No,” she agreed. “I haven’t. But I wouldn’t want my aunt or my father to be affected by any sort of scandal I might cause.”

“Alex, I’m quite confident that by the time we return to the ballroom, any chance of a possible scandal occurring as a result of our being alone together, will be made null by what we’re about to discuss.” He sensed her hesitation and paused for a moment before pushing for what he wanted to hear. When she gave a slight nod, he continued. “Now then, would you please tell me why you, who never attend any balls whatsoever, have decided to come this evening?”

The darkness was almost complete as they continued to walk to the sound of gravel crunching beneath their feet. The air was pleasantly warm and filled with the sweet scent of honeysuckle. From somewhere nearby, Michael could hear a few lonesome frogs croaking while a group of cicadas were happily strumming a tune.

“Well,” she said, averting her gaze as if to admire something or other that they happened to be passing, though, he couldn’t imagine what that something might be—it was too dark to see anything. “Your parents invited us and as it happens, my papa and yours are quite good friends.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question though, does it?” he teased. “You see, I have it on good authority that you’re not interested in marriage, but then . . . based on that daring gown of yours, I can’t help but wonder if there might not be a gentleman whose interest you’re vying for? Or perhaps, I am mistaken, and you seek to take a lover?”

She didn’t answer, but he could practically see the steam coming out of her ears, no matter how dark it was. He held back a chuckle and wondered how long it would take for her to tell him why she’d really come.

“No,” he continued in a lighthearted manner. “You don’t strike me as the sort of lady who would entertain a lover.”

“Really? Because that’s exactly the sort of woman Lord Hamilton took me to be.”

“And I suppose he was sufficiently punished for his inaccuracy?”

“He took a spill upon the dance floor.”

“Did he indeed?” Michael grinned. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it. He’s not usually the sort of man who takes to offending young ladies. I’m surprised he made the attempt with you.”

“Well, I can only hope it will be his last attempt. He did appear to be a touch humiliated when I left him there.”

“Hm . . . So if you didn’t come in search of a potential lover, then I’m left with only one assumption. I do believe you must be in love. Am I correct?”

He felt her stiffen beside him just as a small gasp escaped her lips. Ah yes, he’d finally struck a chord. “Is it possible? Are you in love, Lady Alexandra?”

“I . . . I . . .” Alexandra stammered, trying desperately to free her arm. So she could run back to the safety of the ballroom perhaps? Michael held her firmly in place.

“Would it help if the gentleman you’re in love with were to confess that he’s undeniably and madly in love with you too?”

“I . . . maybe,” she finally managed to say. He couldn’t be. Could he?

Before there was time for any further consideration, Michael’s lips came crashing down on hers, the warm heat of him wrapping itself around her. Her lips parted of their own accord and the moist warmth of his tongue, as it filled her, sent her heart racing in seconds. “I love you, Alex,” he murmured against her neck as he trailed scorching kisses over her. “I love you with a desperation I can’t quite begin to fathom, and I assure you I’ll never stop doing so.”

Clinging to him, her nails dug roughly against his back as he nibbled lightly on her earlobe. How could she ever have thought to deny herself this? “Michael,” she murmured while a tingling heat flowed down her spine. “I want you . . . I need you . . . I . . .” She needed to say what was in her heart. As much as it frightened her, she owed it to him to be honest. “I love you, Michael. I love you so terribly much.”

A small murmur of pleasure erupted in the back of his throat at the sound of those words. “I love you too,” he whispered against her ear. She pulled him closer, reveling in the knowledge that he felt as strongly for her as she did for him. Her heart swelled with instant happiness until she thought it might burst with joy.

Taking her hand, Michael pulled her along with him, stepping between rows of bushes until they reached a large oak tree. He leaned her carefully against the trunk of the tree, his hands placed on either side of her as he bent his head toward her.

Her breath was ragged with passion as she waited expectantly for him to make his move.

“Say it again,” he told her as he ran a finger along the edge of her neckline and felt her flutter.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“And?” He dipped his finger between her breasts. She drew a tight breath. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her she realized, but she could hardly fault him for that. After all, she was the one who’d backed out of their proposal, not him.

“I know I’ve treated you unfairly, Michael, but I was so scared . . . I still am, but perhaps . . . I was hoping you might help me overcome it. Please, Michael, I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything or anyone else before in my life, and as terrified as that makes me, I can’t turn my back on it. I want you by my side for the rest of my life, Michael.

“Will you marry me? Please?” She could feel her heart hammering against her chest as they stood there, but all she could do was wait.

“Why, Lady Alexandra,” he placed a kiss against her cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Is that a yes?” she asked with a note of desperation in her voice.

“Indeed, it is,” he replied as he lowered his lips to kiss the swell of her breasts. She responded with a soft sigh as she arched against him, encouraging him to take more. The movement forced her breasts to rise, producing a hard outline of her perky nipples as they pressed against her gown. His desire for her was evident in every part of his being—his eyes, his touch . . . his arousal, which seemed to be growing increasingly hard with need.

Pushing her neckline down, he bent his head to her nipples. Nothing in the world could have stopped the gasp that escaped her lips at the feel of his tongue teasing its way around each bud, or his teeth tugging them gently a moment later. She moaned her response.

Desperate hands pulled and tugged until her skirts were up around her waist and the front of his breeches had come undone, freeing the whole length of him. He ground himself against her, and she reveled in the erotic feel. “More,” she whispered.

Responding to her wishes, he stroked a finger between her thighs. Heaven help her—she might just burst into flames. “You’re so very, very”—he dipped a finger inside her, and she almost buckled—“wet, Alex.”

“For you, Michael,” she breathed. “Only for you.”

Without another moment’s pause, he removed his finger and pushed himself inside her, gripping her buttocks and thrusting against her as if his life depended on it. There was nothing gentle about their coupling this time—they both had too much built up passion for the patience and restraint that such a mating would require.

Instead, they felt the wave of pleasure crash over them with a mightier force than ever before. For moments on end, they soared together among the stars, completely sated and joined, in the sparkling sensations their love had wrought.

T
hey stood for a long moment afterward, just wrapped in a tight embrace, enjoying the closeness. “I’d better help you adjust your gown,” Michael grinned after a while as he eased himself away from her.

“Do you think I might be pregnant yet?” Alexandra suddenly asked as she pushed her breasts back inside her dress and tugged her bodice back in place.

“I suppose you might be,” he answered hesitantly. “Would that worry you?”

“No, not at all. I long to have your children. I was merely wondering what a child of ours might look like, that’s all.”

“I suppose that he, or she, shall be very handsome indeed.”

She smiled at that. “That will be very true as long as the boys take after their father and the girls after their mother.”

“If the girls take after their mother,” Michael mused. “Then I fear the lads of tomorrow will have their work cut out for them.”

“And is that such a bad thing?” Alexandra asked as she smoothed away the wrinkles in her skirts.

“Not at all, my dear,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “They’ll soon discover that it’s well worth it.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, both incredulous that it was possible to feel as much happiness as they suddenly felt just then. It was overwhelming. “Shall we go back to the house and announce our engagement?” he asked as he took her hand in his and placed an endearing kiss upon her knuckles. “Or would you rather keep it as our own little secret for the present?”

“I’m not much prone to the idea of torturing people, you know,” Alexandra told him seriously. “And I do believe your mother and my father might soon expire from the anticipation of it all.”

“Then we ought not keep them in suspense,” Michael remarked. He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

“Indeed we shall,” she replied.

They were just climbing the steps to the terrace when they heard a couple of familiar voices talking to each other. It was Ryan and William who were practically hanging over the railing to get a better look at Alexandra and Michael as they made their approach. “Good heavens, where have you two been off to?” Ryan asked.

“You’d better not let Papa catch you looking like that, Alex,” William laughed. “Do you know you have leaves sticking out of your hair? And your gown . . . well, all I can say is that you two had better be getting married since you’ve clearly been up to no good. Oh look, here comes Papa right now.”

Alexandra froze as she stepped onto the terrace. Not only was her father making his approach but he was also bringing the Duke and Duchess of Willowbrook as well as Aunt V and Uncle Henry along with him. She grasped hold of Michael’s arm as if he was a lifeboat about to rescue her from drowning. “Do I really look as bad as William says I do?” she asked Michael quietly.

“Not at all,” he said, plucking a bit of grass from her dress. God only knew how that had gotten there.

“Ah, my dear, there you are,” Bryce remarked as he walked up to her, his brow furrowing disapprovingly as he took in her overall appearance. “I dare not even begin to guess why you suddenly look so . . . tousled.” His gaze went to Michael. “I hope this isn’t your doing, Ashford.”

“If I were you, Papa, I would certainly hope it
is
his doing,” Ryan said. “For if it’s not, I’m quite confident you’d like that even less.”

“When the devil did you become so mouthy, Ryan?” Bryce growled while Virginia appeared to try desperately and quite unsuccessfully to hide a smile. Alexandra hoped she’d just tripped on the stairs, hit her head and was presently having what could only be considered a nightmare—from which she would soon awaken to find herself still engaged to Michael, but without the judgmental stares of her entire family hanging over her.

“Well? What have you to say for yourself, Alex? Really, you’ve gone too far this time. Every single person of the slightest importance is here tonight and yet you insist on causing a stir, not only with what you’re wearing, but—”

“Sir—”

Michael started to say.

“And I’m sure it was a shock for you when Alexandra said no to your proposal, though I have since learned of her reasons for doing so. But really, to . . . to run off between the bushes when someone might happen upon you at any given moment . . . scandal would be too mild a word to describe such a catastrophe and—”

“I’m sorry, but I really must interrupt,” Michael quickly cut in. “I don’t intend to be rude, Lord Moorland, but before you go any further, I was hoping you might all be able to congratulate us. We’re finally engaged and wish to be married as soon as it can be arranged.”

A deafening silence followed.

“Well why the devil didn’t you say so sooner?” Bryce suddenly exclaimed.

“I don’t believe he was able to get a single word in edgewise, Papa,” Alexandra muttered.

“Oh come here, sweetheart,” Bryce said as he stepped toward his daughter with open arms, his eyes misting over with tears. He hugged her tightly against him. “I wish you a lifetime of happiness together, Alex. I know you’ve made the right choice for yourself, and I truly couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Thank you, Papa,” Alexandra sniffed as she wiped at her own eyes.

“Take good care of her, Michael,” Bryce added as he shook Michael’s hand. “We’ll be keeping an eye on you.”