The Heart of a Duke (17 page)

Adjusting his hat, he strolled to her door
with feigned calmness while his heart battered his ribs like a
champion pugilist. He must keep his wits about him, and his hands
to himself. Otherwise, this could end with the parson’s noose tight
around his neck, and he’d be in for quite the row with his
parents.

Arranged marriages were the nature of things
in his family. It had been that way for seven generations. Alex had
never questioned his duty. He simply wasn’t in a rush to fulfill
it.

Someday he would make an offer to whichever
lady his parents chose for him, fill his nursery, and try not to
die of boredom. In essence, he’d have a marriage just like his
parents. A friendly, solid union—his father honored his vows and so
would Alex—but the prospect of a marriage bed without passion left
his blood cold.

Thoughts of Miss Bell, however, lit a
smoldering fire inside him. His dream had been anything but cold
and passionless. He shook off the fantasy of having Miss Bell
beneath him and rapped on the door harder than intended.

When the butler answered, he studied Alex with
a curious glint to his deep sunken eyes.

“
Lord Ravenswood to see Miss
Bell,” Alex announced and held out his card.

“
Yes, milord.” The servant’s mouth
kicked up at the corners. “Miss Bell is receiving this
afternoon.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed as he followed the butler
inside. Why the smile when the butler said Miss Bell was receiving?
Was that to mean she’d had callers already? Alex’s fingers
tightened around the bouquet of mixed flowers he’d asked a maid to
gather from his mother’s garden. Perhaps he should have purchased
something more elaborate so as not to be outdone by the
competition. He frowned.

You are
not
courting the chit.

The butler stopped at a set of double doors,
opened one, and waved his hand in invitation for Alex to enter.
“Please, have a seat in the drawing room while I announce you to
Miss Bell.”

Alex’s chest grew oddly tight as the butler
left him alone. He didn’t know what to do while he waited since
he’d never called on a young woman. He opted for wandering the
drawing room, taking stock of the older furnishings.

Good quality. Tasteful.
Demure.
Bland
.
The same could be said of Miss Bell’s family. She was the single
splash of color in an otherwise dreary landscape.

The mantle clock ticked loudly as time
dragged. When it seemed the noise might drive him mad, the drawing
room door drifted open and a wraith-like woman floated into the
room. Her pale skin matched her equally pale hair.

The Ice Queen
. Also known as Lady Fairlight, Miss Bell’s older sister. The
viscountess was touted as a great beauty among the
ton
, and while Alex
acknowledged she presented a striking picture, she had never
stirred his interest.

“
Lord Ravenswood, what a pleasant
surprise,” the lady said, her voice a practiced tinkling of
chimes.

Miss Bell slipped into the room,
closed the door, and leaned against it, observing her sister’s
interaction with him. As he allowed his gaze to slide over Miss
Bell’s curves, his pulse began to race. While Lady Fairlight lacked
the assets
he
appreciated in a woman’s body, Miss Bell had them in
abundance. She glanced up to discover him staring and a soft smile
lit her eyes. He grinned in return.

“
How long has it been, my lord?”
Lady Fairlight’s question pierced through the fog in his
head.

He blinked, bringing Miss Bell’s sister into
focus, and realized she was holding out her hand. He politely took
it and placed an obligatory kiss to her silk glove. “I cannot
recall, Lady Fairlight.”

The lady laughed, a breathless sound that
reminded him of a consumptive patient. “Then it has been too long.
We must make up for lost time, sir. Come. Sit.” She lowered to the
ivory velvet couch and arranged her skirts like a peacock fanning
feathers.

A small frown furrowed Miss Bell’s brow. She
remained by the door, nibbling her bottom lip. Her uncertainty
called to him, the protective side that had wanted to beat that
fool Tealby when he’d tried to usher her outside last
night.

Alex crossed the room to take her hand. “Miss
Bell, how fetching you look this afternoon.” Spots of pink appeared
on the apples of her cheeks as he bowed over her hand and placed
his lips to her knuckles, his gaze locked on her. The yellow of her
gown brought out the amber flecks in her eyes and gold in her
hair.

Dear God, she had grown into a beautiful
woman. He straightened and handed her the bouquet. “I didn’t know
which flower was your favorite.”

She hugged the bundle and lowered her face
toward them, her lashes lying against her skin as she drew in their
scent. “These are perfect. Thank you.”

A hollow laugh sounded behind him. “Val has
never been too particular,” her sister said. “She is pleased to
receive anything from a gentleman. A bunch of milkweed would be as
well received. Of course when one rarely receives the attentions of
gentlemen…”

The chiding, arrogant words were as shocking
as if Lady Fairlight had struck her sister. The corners of Miss
Bell’s lovely mouth drooped; her eyes lost their brilliant sparkle.
And anger stirred in his chest.

“
I appreciate a lady who is easy
to please,” he replied, not bothering to look at Lady Fairlight.
Miss Bell glanced up and held his gaze. The worry lines on her
forehead eased. “In my experience, such a lady possesses a lack of
vanity one finds refreshing.”

Miss Bell’s whiskey-brown eyes expanded and
filled with warmth.

“
Yes, well,” Lady Fairlight
snipped. “Val has never been accused of being vain.”

He doubted the same could be said for her
sister. Drawing Miss Bell into the room, he led her toward a chair.
He was here to see her, not the viscountess.

Lady Fairlight regarded them hand-in-hand and
flashed a teasing smile. “Perhaps it is because she receives so few
compliments that she hasn’t grown vain.”

Miss Bell flinched and Alex halted before they
reached the seat, pretending the vile woman hadn’t spoken. “Is your
lady’s maid available to join us for a ride in the park, Miss
Bell?” His suggestion was pointed and blunt. He had no desire for
prolonged contact with Lady Fairlight.

Miss Bell grinned, her good humor returning.
“Of course, Lord Ravenswood. Allow me to collect her.”

She whirled with a swish of skirts and hurried
to retrieve her maid. He offered a curt nod to Miss Bell’s sister,
then went to wait in the foyer, but Lady Fairlight’s arrogance knew
no bounds.

She followed him. “Who has put you up to this
prank?”

“
I beg your pardon?”

Her head tipped at a flirtatious
angle when she leaned against a marble-topped table. “Come now,
Ravenswood. You may have fooled my sister, but I’m familiar with
your reputation. You have no interest in courting, and Val pales in
comparison to the experienced ladies who entertain you. Surely you
don’t expect me to believe our little
mopsey
has captured your
interest.”

Alex stiffened. The lady could disparage his
character all she liked, but insulting her sister was beyond the
pale. He would never even think anything unflattering about Elle,
much less speak with a stranger about her. He slowly swept a
dispassionate gaze from the lady’s head to her toes and back again.
She began to fidget under his prolonged scrutiny. Honestly, he
didn’t see what his fellow gents found appealing about the
woman.

“
Jealousy is unbecoming, Lady
Fairlight, but I can understand why you would feel threatened by
your sister. She is a rare beauty.”

Her nostrils flared before her eyes narrowed
to slits. She may have even delivered a scathing set down if Miss
Bell hadn’t appeared at the second floor landing with her maid. Her
bright smile chased away his irritation, but when she crossed the
black and white checkerboard floor to hug her sister and thank her
for playing chaperone, his irritation with Lady Fairlight morphed
into anger. Miss Bell had no idea how her sister had tried to
sabotage her, thinking he was her suitor. What if she’d done this
with other gentlemen who had come to call on Miss Bell?

Not interested,
eh
? Well, Alex would show the shrew just
how fascinating her little sister could be. “Miss Bell, would you
do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the theatre this
week?”

She blinked, her long lashes like gossamer
wings. “Oh! Well, I…” A small frown turned down her plump lips. “I
think perhaps we should discuss it in the park, my
lord.”

Alex’s jaw twitched. He escorted her toward
the front door without glancing at her sister. No doubt Lady
Fairlight found Miss Bell’s probable rejection humorous.

He couldn’t blame Miss Bell for her startled
reaction. She likely saw him as nothing more than Elle’s older
brother, not a gentleman of interest. He ignored the sinking
feeling in the pit of his stomach. A platonic association was for
the best, really.

Just outside the town house doors she drew up
short. Her nose crinkled when she smiled. “White horses! My
favorite.”

He had already known that about her, or at
least he’d hoped that was still her preference. When she and Elle
were girls, Miss Bell always spoke of valiant knights on white
chargers. Alex may not have donned chainmail, but he thought of
himself as her champion this afternoon. With a sister like Lady
Fairlight, she needed one.

He assisted her into the phaeton before
offering her maid a hand. The young woman dropped her gaze and
giggled as she accepted his help and scrambled into the
back.

He joined the women, waited for his servant
boy to clamber into the groom’s seat, and directed the horses onto
the lane.

Miss Bell smiled, creating unfamiliar
sensations in his chest, as if his heart was expanding and might
burst. “You are very generous to sacrifice your afternoon to take
me for a spin around Rotten Row, my lord. I didn’t intend to impose
when I requested a word with you.”

“
I hardly consider it a sacrifice
to accompany a beautiful young lady to the park.”

She glanced back at her maid. “You don’t have
to pretend for Becky’s sake. We are both aware I am no
diamond.”

Her maid made a disapproving tsking
sound.

“
It’s true,” Miss Bell argued.
“Janine was deemed an Incomparable when she debuted. Most families
cannot boast even one beauty, so we are fortunate. I’ve come to
accept that I’m not my sister.”

“
Diamonds are overvalued,” Alex
said. He allowed his eyes to leisurely travel her pretty face and
curvy bust. “I would compare you to a ruby, Miss Bell. A more
interesting jewel and precious in its own right.”

She snorted. “No wonder the ladies fall all
over themselves when you enter a room. You have the charm of the
devil himself.”

He laughed in spite of himself. “I beg your
pardon? What do you know about my interactions with
ladies?”

She shrugged. Pink tinged her
cheeks, but she met his gaze boldly. “Being a wallflower allows me
more time to observe others. And to be honest, I’m applying the
term
ladies
liberally. You really should reconsider any association with
the Widow Jordan. She is not as discerning as she likely should
be.”

Alex ducked his head, feeling like a schoolboy
properly chastised. Miss Bell was too straightforward and free with
her observations, but he appreciated her candor. At least he would
if he weren’t embarrassed she knew of his private
activities.

She patted his shoulder. “I’m simply trying to
return the favor, which I have yet to request.”

“
Yes, well…” An intelligent
response evaded him as he pulled the carriage onto the
woodchip-covered lane. This precarious swinging between arousal and
a familial sense of wanting to protect her knocked him off-kilter.
He welcomed the distraction of maneuvering around other carriages
out for a drive.

Sunlight infused Miss Bell’s hair with auburn
and created a fiery halo. She adjusted her bonnet to shade her
eyes. “I suppose I should get on with it then. The reason I asked
you to call.”

A quiver of anticipation met with a sense of
dread. When he was on the verge of waking that morning, a fleeting
thought had filtered through his sleepy brain. What if she had set
her cap for him? But she hadn’t been behaving as a lady smitten,
and he couldn’t deny the disappointment her indifference
evoked.

“
It was kind of you to bring
flowers. If anyone saw you, they are sure to erroneously believe
you are courting me. And if I allow you to escort me to the
theatre, everyone will think we are on the verge of an agreement.”
She laughed, making his chest puff out in indignation.

“
What makes you think I’m not
courting you?”

She swiveled toward him, her knee brushing
his. Her beaming smile transformed her from pleasing to
breathtaking in a blink. And he wasn’t the only one to notice the
change. As they neared a group of gentlemen gossiping in the shade
of an oak, conversation ceased and they turned to stare.