Page 36 of The Rogue
Henri blushed scarlet and looked anywhere but at Alex. She had hardly admitted the idea to herself, and even though she suspected it was likely true ... well really. She felt his amused grey gaze hover over her but refused to look up, so he continued.
“In the end, however, you will accept his argument and agree, and it might be an idea at this moment to make a point in my favour in front of him.” Henri looked up at that and was met with the faintest lift of one eyebrow. “Well, surely you can think of one?” he said, with a dry tone.
Henri gritted her teeth. She knew as well as he did that he was an extremely handsome man, and such a remark should not be hard to find. The idea of deliberately trying to make Lawrence jealous however made her slightly nauseated.
“It’s for his own good,” he snapped with impatience.
She let out a huff of anger at the ill-mannered, odious man! “Very well,” she said with an equally sharp reply.
“Good. Once that is settled we will give him ample opportunity to observe us together. At first it will seem all is quite well between us, with luck just a little jealousy might be enough to shake him from his moral high ground, but if, as I suspect, Lawrence is made of sterner stuff, we may be forced to move onto rather darker tactics.”
Henri looked up, alarmed. “Whatever do you mean?”
Alex shrugged. “Simply that we illustrate that I will be an appalling, tyrannical and cold husband who will never love you as you deserve and eventually make your life such a misery you will be condemned to die of a broken heart or shame or ...” He waved his hand, looking faintly disgusted. “Some other mystery illness as tends to happen to ladies of that romantic ilk. Though I hope we will not need to take things quite so far as to endanger your health,” he added with a smirk.
Scowling at him, Henri wondered how the devil he knew anything about romance, the man clearly didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.
“You’re all kindness,” she remarked with asperity.
He chuckled at her obvious annoyance. “Well then, you know what to do.” She tutted at him as he made a shooing motion and got to her feet, only pausing as his voice followed her to the door. “I take it you do have at least a vague idea of how to make love to a man?” he asked her with all the mocking arrogance of a confirmed rake.
She refused to dignify his shocking question with any other answer than a forceful slam of the door, but she heard his laughter follow her quite clearly, nonetheless.
