Page 83 of You Belong to Me
She could dance. She could apparently converse with her peers for a while without swearing or shocking them. And obviously she was careful not to attend gatherings where dinner was included, or she wouldvery quickly become excluded from guest lists. But apparently she’d been able to fool these English into believing she was a lady, or that she knew how to act like one.
He was also furious that he hadn’t been able to catch up with her before she sailed for England, that it had taken him more than a month to finally find her. They’d lost her trail twice, first when she had begun heading for the mountains, as if she were going home, then had changed directions to travel north. He’d sent home most of the men he had with him at that point, since it appeared they wouldn’t be needed.
Then they had lost Alexandra again, when she switched her mode of traveling to a carriage. But between him and the eight men left in his party, it had taken only a few hours after their arrival in London to locate her hotel. And her maid, Nina, had obligingly told him where she could be found tonight.
And now he wasn’t sure how to handle her. His first urge, as always, was to make love to her, and that urge was stronger than ever. Just being near her again had him hard and ready. His second urge was to throttle her for all the trouble she had put him through. But he had a third urge, just to hold her and tell her—what? That he’d been worried sick that she would marry Leighton before he found her? That he was in the lamentable position of finding himself in love for the first time in his life? She’d never believe it after the attitude he had demonstrated just for her.
And what about her Englishman? If he had found Leighton there with her, he probably would have challenged him on the spot. If she loved the man, if shereallyloved him, he wondered if he had the decency to bow out and let her have him. His jealousy said no, that he and the Englishman couldn’t live on the same planet. But this damn love he was feeling wanted her to be happy.
The two feelings wouldn’t reconcile. He supposed he ought to find out first if he had arrived too late.
“Is there a wedding planned, Alex?”
Alexandra drew in a sharp breath of surprise. How could he possibly have found out about her portly viscount? He couldn’t know.
“What wedding?” she asked carefully.
“Between you and Leighton.”
This was even worse. “How did you learn about Christopher?”
“From Lazar.Youshould have told me.”
“It was none of your business—”
“We are to be married!” he cut in, his anger finally there between them. “It damn well is my business if you are in love with another man!”
“We are to bewhat?”
“Fickle after all, aren’t you?” he sneered. “Or have you forgotten that you assured me you wouldn’t break your word? A matter of honor, or so you claimed.”
His attack had her hackles rising. “Didn’t you get my note? Your mother said youcouldn’t possibly marry me, that I was a disgrace, hopeless—”
“My mother didn’t arrange our marriage. She has no say in the matter.”
“That wasn’t the impression you gave the first time we discussed ending the betrothal,” she said stiffly. “When she told me what she did, I assumed—”
“You assumed wrong, Alex, and you left without even confirming that assumption with me. And I repeat, it wasn’t up to my mother. Whether we get married or not is up to us, and depends on whether or not we are going to honor what our respective fathers committed us to.”
“You’re saying we’re still betrothed?”
“You’re damned right we are.” And before she knew what he was doing, he had her hand in his and was slipping the warm metal of her betrothal ring on her finger. “Don’t remove it again, Alex. You belong to me. I want you wearing the proof of that.”
The last was said as if it were a warning, and she heard some distinct possessiveness in his tone that confused and thrilled her at the same time. She sat back, assailed by relief and dread, and fought to ignore them both. She’d never get through this discussion if she didn’t keep her emotions out of it. But, oh, how wonderful it felt to have that ring back! Tears had accompanied her removal of it. When she had left it behind with her note to him, it had felt as if she were leaving her heart behind,too. She wouldn’t remove it again—but not because he’d told her not to.
“Would you mind explaining to me why?” she said, referring to his assertion that the betrothal was still on. “I gave you an out. And as I recall, you didn’t want to marry me, so why didn’t you take it?”
Because I love you!
Now was an excellent time to tell her. But she would laugh and scoff and probably say something sarcastic like “Sure you do, Petroff. You prove it to me every time you open your mouth.” And since he was still having difficulty believing it himself, how was he going to convince her?
“You didn’t give me an out, Alex. You ran off under a misconception. That didn’t release me from the betrothal, it merely put me to the bother of bringing you back. However, if itwasyour intention to break your word, say so now and that will be the end of it.”
“That was never my intention and you know it,” she hissed at him.
“I didn’t think so, so there you have your answer. We are still bound by that contract, still very much betrothed, and still going to be married. Or do you disagree with that?”
“No,” she said in a low mumble.
