Light to Valhalla (15 page)

George glanced about the
now silent
room before bowing to Alex
.
“The floor is yours, my lord.
”
Without another word
or sound
t
he
lanky figure
stole from the room.

Thomas stuck a finger in his ear as though to clear it
.
“Forgot he whistled like that.”

“Well, Alex?
”
Charley
quirked a demanding brow
.
“What is going on?”

Alex
sighed
, willing the ringing in his ears to subside
.
“The f
acts as I know and
understand are this
.
Last night Charlotte was on her way to a dinner party in London with Lady Carmichael
, her coach was intercepted
by two miserable idiots, one of whom I have the misfortune of being acquainted with,
and the driver was killed while
she was abducted.
”
He paused allowing that information time to settle
.

“Lord in heaven.
”
Evelyn clasped a trembling hand to her mouth, and crossed the room to embrace her daughter.

“Really, Mama, I’m fine.
”
Charley
offered her mother a tremulous smile.

“Go on.
”
Thomas
pegged Alex with an accusatory glare.

Alex
ground his teeth
.
A
s expected he was relegated to role of villain
.
“
Around Midnight
,” he continued
determinably
,
“
I received a ransom note
demanding 5000 pounds for her safe return
.
Sidney and I rode out immediately and
recovered
her
completely unharmed
.
Charley
requested we come here rather than return to London, and
knowing my mother I can’t say as I blame her.
”
Alex adopted his most formal tone
.
“Lady Grayson, I cannot apologize enough for the inconvenience, but the circumstances were
unavoidable.
”

Evelyn’s face softened.

“What about General Witherspoon?
”
Thomas
pressed
.

Alex shook his head
.
“
That I can’t tell you
.
I’ll not slander the name of a good man without concrete evidence.”

Thomas
’s brow furrowed as he
considered
th
e answer,
finally the younger man
gave a curt nod
,
and crossed
the room to
embrace
his mother and sister
.

“What about the men who took
Charley
?
”
Evelyn asked
, breaking away from the family hug
.

“They escaped, but at first light I
’ll ride into town to speak with the local magistrate
.
One of them is wounded and
I’m confident we’ll
discover whoever hired them.
”
Alex quickly relayed what
Charley
overheard of the brigands’ altered plans
.
“
Justice w
ill be served, you have my word,
”
as he said the las
t his eyes locked with Sidney’s
.
Emotions
very much akin to malice
lurked in the other man’s eyes
.
Unease settled deep
in
Alex’s
gut
.
What had happened between he, and his lifelong friend?

*
             
*
             
*

Alone in the
shadowed
corner
,
Sidney cast a brooding gaze the length of
Charley
’s disheveled form
.
Perched on a plush chair
, a cup of steaming liquid wrapped in both palms she looked entirely too delectable
.
At least she would look delectable
if she wasn’t drowning in Alex’s uniform jacket
.
Sidney knew the
strongest impulse to strip the garment from her shoulders and hurl the cursed thing into the fire.

Unrest
boiled in his blood
.

What a stroke of bad luck
for Alex to have arrived home yesterday
.
After two years of quiet seduction
Charley
had been coming along very nicely, softening to
his
advances, and for once… just once… he would have had the supreme satisfaction of trumping Alex
.
Now it seemed all Sidney’s
hard
work
would prove for naught
.
From the moment Alex rushed into those woods,
he’d scarcely left her side
.
His intent to stake claim on his marchioness was clear
.
The son of a bitch had
even kissed her in the woods.

For
years Sidney ha
d lived in Alex’s shadow, second best
—or just plain second—at
everything
.
No more
.
When it came to
Charley
Sid
would win
.
She’d be a sweet little thing in bed, of that he was certain, a
nd when she succumbed to hi
s charms… he’d make certain Alex was embarrassed before the entire
ton
.

Sidney pushed off from the wall, ambling leisure
ly
toward the object of his desires
.
“
Charley
, do you have a moment?”

She turned her attention from the blissful cup of coffee cradled in her palms and smiled
.
“Certainly, Sidney.”

He glanced c
agily about the room
, his gaze resting on Alex and
Thomas murmuring quietly beside the hearth
.
“
In private,” he
whispered
to prevent the other
s
from hearing.

Those glittering
green eyes widened curiously
.
“I suppose.
”
Charley
settled her cup on the tabletop and took
his
proffered hand,
allowing
S
idney to lead her from the room
.
“What is this about, Sidney?”

He pulled her down the hall and around another corner, flattening her urgently against the wall
.
Eyes wide with alarm she
fought his hold, but he held firm
.
“Look, Charles
,” he adopted his most caring tone, “
after t
h
e stable
hands and I ride out this morning to take care of Saunders
I won’t be coming back here.”

S
he stopped fighting
, eyes wide with disappointment and discontent
.
“What?  Why?  I don’t understand.”

Tenderly h
e reached out to tug a
silken
st
r
ay curl, hanging over her shoulder
.
In
stantly
she s
hif
te
d back
.
No doubt thinking of Alex
.
Well, Sidney would put an end to that
.

“Alex prefers
I return to London,
”
he murmured, tracing the
delicate
line of her jaw with his forefinger
.
“Actually he demanded it
.
Charley, promise me you’ll be careful
,
” he continued urgently
.
“
I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

The plump curve of her heart shaped lips
bowed
in a
small, reassuring smile
.
“Not to worry, Sidney
.
Alex and Thomas are perfectly able to keep me safe
from whoever hired those men to kidnap me
.
”

Her eyes positively glowed
with the mention of Alex… How irksome.

“It’s not those brigands I’m worried about.
”
Sidney stepped closer, trapping her
between his body and
the wall
.
Every soft curve of her luscious body pressed provocatively against him, he leaned close, brushing his mouth past her ear
.
Charley
gasped, panic in her eyes, and restraining hands pressed against his chest, preventing him from trying anything bolder
.
Anger flared
.
Patience
.
With
practiced
effort he schooled his emotions, taking the fury firmly in hand
.
He must bide his time and win her right from beneath his cousin’s nose
.
“It’s Alex,
Charley
.
Beware of Alex
.
L
ast night he confided in me that
i
f he doesn’t produce an heir Regina’s petition to have him discharged
will be granted
.
Alex
will do anything to get you with child so he can return to duty
.
Anything.”

Five

Bile seared
Charley
’s throat
.
“No,”
she
gasped, searching Sidney’s face
, desperate to deny his words
.
“Let me go
.
That isn’t true
.
I-I heard you talking
by the stairs
and—”
Alex had sounded downright j
ealous
by the prospect of
Charley
and Sid together
.
Tru
e hope had blossomed within her, bringing back
the love and adoration she’d
locked away, denied,
for so many years
.
After all that had happened in the last hours she needed for her knight in shining armor to be just that… a real hero
.
Memories of
Alex’s
tender touch in the woods
twined with his cruel words from the past
and
carv
ed
a vicious path through her soul
.
“I said let go!
”
She struggled against Sidney’s
strangely possessive grasp
.

He
shook his head
.
“You know Alex as well as
me
.
He’s out for himself and
his career above all
else.”

She didn’t respond, only blinked
back
tears
.

“There’s more, Charles
, much more
.
”
S
inister warning darkened his eyes
.
She stilled, more than a little frightened
.
“
General Wither—”

“What’s all this about?
”
Alex’s deep tenor
boomed
through
the hall
.

Without missing a beat
Sidney slid
casually back
, releasing
Charley
,
and affording her a full view of her husband’s hulking form
.
Charley
’s throat ran dry
.
Alex stood in the hall with all the menace of an avenging angel
.
Dark wavy locks
tumble
d over his forehead in glorious
disarray
, framing the intense blue of his hooded gaze
.
The strong line of his jaw
clenched,
and
the
grim set of his mouth
spoke of his displeasure
.
The simple white shirt draped ov
er his tapered form,
accentuating
the honed muscles of his broad shoulders and chest
.
Raw sinew shifted
and leapt with even
the minutest movements, and a
distinc
t aura of danger exuded from his frame
.

“Oh, just making sure
Charley
is faring well enough after her ordeal,”
Sidney
replied breezily
.

Alex quirked a skeptical brow
.
“I see.
”
He crosse
d powerful arms,
and
the muscles of
his forearms rippled
in silent warning
.
“
How
is she?”

“Fine.
”
Charley
snatched away from the wall unsure whether to run
to
or
from
her husband
.
Had he overheard Sidney’s accusation?  Would Alex deny
the allegation if confronted?

“
Well,
I’m off.
”
Sid sidled
nonchalantly
past Alex
.
“
Charley
, wash this entire debacle from your mind
.
When we meet again may it be on happier terms
.
Alex, good luck with the magistrate
, and I’ll keep you well
apprised
of the situation in London
.
”
He winked as though nothing untoward had transpired and disappeared down the hall
, whistling
.

“What situation in London?
”
Charley asked,
hurt and
taking the offensive.

Wordlessly
Alex glared after Sidney before turning
a
murderous
gaze onto her
.

Any rational thoughts of anger, hurt, or denial scattered on breeze
.
Oh, dear
Lord
, he’s
furious
.
Charley
swallowed the butterflies battling up her windpipe
.
Not that she could blame him
.
What had possessed Sidney to put her in such a compromising position? 
Heart hammering an erratic cadence,
Charley
fidgeted
from foot to foot, waiting
for Alex to speak,
answer her question
,
or even
ask after
her bizarre interlude
with his cousin;
but
instead
he
remained absolutely silent
;
staring
at her with a cold
unwavering gaze.

Finally, at a total loss for words or action,
Charley
tore her gaze
from
Alex’
s hard face, and made a beeline for the hall Sidney had just ambled down
.

“Just where are you going?
”
Alex
slung
a brawny arm about her waist, spinning her into the rock hard flat of his chest
.

Charley’s breath hiccupped in her throat and her knees quite literally turned to mush
.
Her husband
’s
smoldering g
aze roamed over her in a slow
, physical
c
aress of the eyes
.
Sparks and prickles danced o
ver her skin wherever his eyes touched and despite the
thick
layers covering her figure she may well have been naked
.
The
thought
flooded her
senses
with a
mix
of
sensua
l delight and embarrassment
.

“B
-b
ack to the parlor.”

Without a word
Alex shifted
, securing
an
arm
around
the small of
her
back, binding her to him
.
The
muscles in
his
chest leapt
beneath her palms, and
for the life of her
Charley
could not tear her gaze from the opening of his shirt, where
the top two buttons lay undone
.
The
swarthy
bronze
of his
skin
notably rippled with even the minutest movement
and h
er fingers itched
to trace
the heated flesh
.
What was stopping her? 
He was her husband after all…

Strong
palms
trailed up her arm
s
,
and
along her shoulder
,
leaving a trail of
tingles
in their wake
.
T
he ca
lloused pads
of his fingers graced her
throat
and tipped her chin, forcing
her to meet his gaze.

A
pprehensions ceased the moment
she looked
into his eyes
.
B
eautiful eyes
… eyes
that lay
at total odds with the masculine features of his
face
.
A
wealth of flickering emotion burned in those
midnigh
t
spheres
, filling the air between them with something she could not quite describe, but it was dangerous… exhilarating
.

Alex leaned just a bit closer, dragging a
roughened
thumb along her bottom lip
.
With the barest touch he held the power to erase all bitter memories
.
Why was
I so frightened of his return?
she
wondered, lost in a dreamy haze
.
This is Alex
.
Alex
.
“Alex,” she whispered
.

Beware of Alex,
rumbled through her mind
, reminding her to take caution
, but…
 
Searching the eyes of the very man she’d held so dear s
he sensed an acute change in him
.
Something she could not quite put her finger on, but it was humble and mayhap just a bit broken
.

Silence
stretched
on,
surrounding
them
.
Alex’s gaze roved over her face
.
Curious
.
Searching
.
Perhaps judging?

“
Alex,” she repeated
.
“
Say something
, p
lease?”

His
attention
fell to her mouth
.
“I need my jacket back.
”
The deep ru
mble of his voice sent shock
wave
s through her
.
She could actually
feel
him in all the forbidden crevices of her soul
.

“Y-you’ll have to let me go first.”

A
rare
smile
rolled across his lips
.
“
I suppose y
ou’re right,” he replied without releasing her
.
If anything he pulled her closer
.
“
But…
s
uppose I don’
t want to l
et you go.”

Charley
’s heart skipped a beat
.
Oh, but why did he have to look at her that way? 
Head bent
and
cocked to the side, lips so close
she could lean in and kiss him herself if she wanted to
.

“Look,
Charley
, I realize w
e haven’t had a moment’s peace since I arrived home, and this probably isn’t the best time to broach
the
subject, but
,” he hesitated,
arms linking
naturally
around her
.
“
I wa
nt to make a go of us
.
Give you and me, this marriage
,
a real chance.
”

A thrill of excitement
shot
through her
.
She’d wasted countless hours envision
ing
just such a scene as this
.
Perhaps he
really was jealou
s
.
The thought buffered the plaguing doubts forever in her mind and the fresh convictions Sidney had seeded
.
She wanted—needed—for Alex
to be jealous
instead of calculating
.
Jealousy proved he cared for her and caring was further proof of a f
undamental change within Alex…
or was it?

“No need to say anything now,” he said softly, giving her an affectionate squeeze
as he leaned in to drop a
t
ender kiss on her forehead
.
“Get some sleep
, t
hink about
what I’ve said
, and we’ll talk more
about this
later.”