The Seduction of Lady X (23 page)

“What in blazes is it now?” he said. “I’ll be back when I have assured myself that it was only a tea service and that the house is still standing.” He walked determinedly out the door.

Alexa stayed in her seat a moment. Things seemed so strained between them. How on earth would she ever find her way with him? She sighed and leaned back. Her gaze fell to the open letter on his desk. Outside, in the hall, she could hear him admonishing Rue to be careful, that she might cut herself.

Alexa rose and strolled toward the desk. She glanced surreptitiously at the open letter. The handwriting looked to be that of a woman’s. She cocked her head and glanced at the signature.
Lady Eberlin.

It was her! This was his Lady X.

Someone else had joined the chorus of voices outside; she could hear Harry’s calm, deep voice as two women argued over each other. With a furtive glance over her shoulder, Alexa leaned over the desk and scanned the letter.

And then she read it a second time.

When she walked to the window and blinked out at the gray day, she scarcely saw a thing. Her mind was whirling.

Good heavens.
She was on the verge of marrying a man who was the legitimate heir to the Ashwood estate in Sussex, and, if Lady Eberlin could be believed, entitled to the title of earl.

Which meant she would be a countess. At the very least, an heiress.

Suddenly, she saw how she might endure her marriage to Harry. Suddenly, everything seemed possible.

I
t seemed to Harrison that everything that could go wrong in the next few days did. Wool that had been sheared and cleaned for market had been lost in transit. A bridge over a small river was lost in flooding. Harrison received notice that Lord Westhorpe owed arrears of more than two thousand pounds. And on top of it all, he was the only one who could make all the discreet arrangements that were necessary for the trip to Gretna Green.

As a result, Harrison did not see Olivia. She kept to the main house, and he kept to his post. While he believed that was the only way he could carry on, it was agonizing.

Visions of her danced around in his thoughts, making concentration impossible. Every woman’s voice, every feminine laugh, caused his heart to leap with the hope that it was her. He was disappointed over and over again. When he received the letter from Lady Eberlin—formerly Lady Ashwood—urging him to take his rightful place as heir to Ashwood, Harrison had toyed with the fantasy of stealing Olivia away and retreating there.

It was a ridiculous thought, he knew—they could not hide away at Ashwood. He was in love with a married woman, and she was married to a very powerful man. And then there was Alexa. He could not leave the foolish girl to her own devices. And he could not leave her child to suffer the same sort of upbringing he’d suffered.

But as curious as he was about Ashwood, Harrison had no intention of taking Alexa there. He had no intention of leaving Everdon Court. He’d never sleep again if he abandoned Olivia here with the marquis.

He’d never sleep again if he could not see her, every day. He tried to imagine himself at Ashwood, existing without her. It was impossible to do, and after two days of these thoughts he felt quite unlike himself. He longed to see Olivia, but the only woman he saw was Alexa.

It appeared as if Alexa had rounded an emotional corner. As if she’d made her decision and was now settling into her future role as Harrison’s wife. She spent several hours at the dowager house, was polite and solicitous to him, and more than once, she offered to help him in any way that she could.

There was another, more subtle change in her that Harrison couldn’t help but notice, and it was one he did not care to face. Alexa’s smile was different than it had been; it was softer, more alluring. One might even say seductive.

And there were the casual, discreet little touches.

The first time Alexa had touched him, Harrison had instantly stiffened. She had smiled, had let her hand slide off his arm, and when she’d taken her leave, unwelcome images of what was to come began to swirl in Harrison’s mind. Alexa Hastings was a comely young woman, yet Harrison could feel nothing amorous for her.

Of course he’d considered that if he wed Alexa, he would need to treat her as a husband ought to treat a wife. In all respects. Including the marital bed. Harrison intended to honor the marital vows he would take . . . but he hoped for a bit of time. A few months. Perhaps a few years.

He had to somehow carve Olivia out of his heart first. Was that asking so much? Did he not deserve at least a few weeks for making this sacrifice? Given Alexa’s attention to him, he guessed that she would think it was too much to ask, and it was making him unusually cross.

The reality of his colossal mistake would come crashing down on him on the morrow, when he planned to leave for Scotland if the weather held. It had rained all week, but the sun had made a weak appearance yesterday. Alexa was right in that the rain had made the roads difficult and slow to travel, but Harrison was feeling anxious. He had only three days to address the problem of Alexa; any more than that would leave the estate management lacking in the marquis’s absence.

And for Olivia’s sake, he had to have this settled and be back at his post before the marquis returned, for his lordship would be furious if he found Harrison gone and Olivia’s sister the cause of it.

Unfortunately, today had dawned with gray and heavy skies. But if the rain held off, Harrison planned that he and Alexa would leave at dawn.

That afternoon, when Harrison went up to the main house to record the rents, he noticed a carriage from Harkingspur Grange in the drive.

In the foyer, he stripped off his wet hat and cloak and handed them to the butler. “Thank you, Brock,” he said. “I am expecting Mr. Fortaine. Best not to allow him in the front door, as he has been shearing sheep in the rain and has a peculiar smell about him. Nor can I vouch for the sanctity of his boots.”

“Yes, Mr. Tolly.”

“Who has come to call?” he asked curiously.

“Miss Shields and Lady Martha,” Brock said.

Harrison walked down the corridor that led to the offices at the corner of the southern wing. The door to the salon was open; he could hear the ladies laughing as he neared. He saw them as he walked past, gathered around a card table. Alexa’s back was to the door, seated across from Lady Martha. Olivia and Miss Shields sat on either side of her. Olivia was sitting on the edge of her chair, her gaze fixed on Miss Shields, who apparently was in the middle of a tale.

“On my word,” Harrison heard the jovial young woman say as he walked past, “the very moment Lady Rollingoke spotted Mr. Carver entering the room, she went after him like a fat little goose after bread crumbs.”

Alexa laughed gaily.

“Mr. Tolly?”

Olivia’s voice caught him off guard; Harrison jerked around. She was leaning out the door of the salon.

“Olivia!” he heard Miss Shields call. “I’ve not yet told you what Mr. Carver said to her inquiries.”

“One moment, if you please, Bernie,” Olivia said, and stepped out of the salon, walking quickly to where Harrison stood. Her eyes were full of longing; he could feel the draw in his own heart. “Alexa informs me you intend to leave on the morrow?” she whispered.

Was it his imagination, or did he hear a world of suffering in her voice?

“If the rain holds off,” he admitted.

“Oh. When will you return?”

He clenched his jaw and took her in, head to toe. “In three days.”

Olivia’s lashes fluttered as if she’d been struck. But she lifted her head and smiled. “That shall give me just enough time to find a proper wedding gift for you.”

“Olivia—”

“Mr. Tolly, I am quite at ease,” she said. “Long ago, I learned the art of accepting things as they are.”

“Then perhaps you might teach the skill to me, for I have not mastered it, try as I might.”

“It’s really quite simple. You mourn. And then you remind yourself to be grateful for what you have, and that it could be worse. Far worse.”

“
Could
it be worse?” he asked low.

Pain glimmered in her eyes, but she kept smiling. “Yes, it could be worse. Come now, Mr. Tolly, you’ve always been so ready with a smile.”

Mr. Tolly
. She had retreated from him. “One cannot look at you and not smile, Lady Carey,” he said, and he smiled, for her.

But there is so much left unsaid. I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you.

“I should like to see you off, but . . .” She shrugged lightly. “So I shall wish you Godspeed.” She turned away.

Harrison couldn’t let her go like that. He impulsively caught her fingers with his. It was an infinitesimal amount of what he needed from her, but it was all he would risk.

Olivia didn’t turn her head. But she wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed them tightly, then let go and walked on, her hips softly swaying, her head high.

Harrison stood alone in the corridor, the touch burning his fingers, spreading the ungodly heat of anger, frustration, and sheer longing through him.

“Am I right, Olivia?” he heard Alexa ask as she entered the room.

“About what, darling?” Olivia said, her voice clear and bright.

Harrison turned the other way and walked on to the office, his heart constricting tighter and tighter, until he wished it would disappear altogether.

Olivia had no idea what she’d intended when she’d dashed out in the hallway to Harrison—to simply look at him, she supposed. To see his eyes, to see his smile, which had been woefully lacking this afternoon. She had not intended to say what she had. Not until she’d seen the hunger in his eyes, the same hunger that was eating her from the inside out, and she had realized with excruciating clarity that she had to stop wanting him. For both their sakes.

It was impossible to stop wanting him, perhaps even more so now that Alexa had had such a miraculous change of heart. Her sister was suddenly chatting about the wedding and her marriage as if Harrison had courted her as any suitor would, then had offered for her hand. And the more Alexa came to accept her fate, the more Olivia felt stifled by hers. The bird in the little cage continued to grow, and she strained against the bars.

“Aren’t you going to play your card, Olivia?” Bernie asked.

Startled out of her thoughts, Olivia glanced at the table. She played her card.

“Oh dear,” Bernie said. “That won’t do us a bit of good, will it?”

Olivia looked at the card and instantly realized her mistake.

“How extraordinary,” Lady Martha said as she picked up the discarded cards. “Miss Hastings and I win again.”

“Olivia, I have never known you to play so poorly,” Bernie said, eyeing her shrewdly. “Have you something on your mind? You must tell us what it is, for the rain has washed away all our diversions.”

Warmth filled Olivia’s face. Was she so obvious?

“Don’t be shy, Livi,” Alexa said with a sweet smile. “I hardly care if the whole world knows it.”

Olivia blinked.

Alexa’s smile brightened. “Shall I tell them, then?”

Now Olivia’s heart seized. She had said they would plant a seed. Surely Alexa did not intend to tell them—

“I am to be wed,” she said happily, and turned her smile to Bernie and Lady Martha.

“Alexa!” Olivia cried.

Lady Martha looked stunned, but Bernie cried out with delight. “Miss Hastings!” She grabbed Alexa’s hand, squeezing it. “How could you two possibly keep this from me? Who? Who has been so fortunate as to win your hand in marriage?”

“It is really the most amazing thing,” Alexa said happily. “When I returned from Spain I had only one thing in mind, and that was to see my sister.”

Oh dear God.

“But I met someone else here, and I must tell you that it was love at first sight. Well, second or third sight, really, as I had met him briefly before. But I had not had occasion to speak to him, and when I did, I was smitten.”

“Do not say it is Mr. Broadbent,” Lady Martha said, looking very ill at ease.