Chapter Twenty-Four
Alex looked at the door for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Lina had been gone far too long. Something untoward must have happened. Despite his initial flash of worry, deep down Alex knew Lina couldn’t be in too much trouble; they were in a house full of people and she was perfectly capable of looking after herself. If any gentleman a little the worse for drink cornered her in a secluded spot, he knew it would be the gentleman who came out of the encounter with a sore groin and a bloody nose. Nevertheless, when another five minutes passed without Lina reappearing, he made his excuses to the group of old friends he’d been talking to and stepped into the hallway.
There were fewer people out here compared to the ballroom and the air felt cooler and fresher. Still, he had to weave through the groups to make any progress and before he’d taken more than ten steps he saw a flash of emerald green descending the stairs towards him. Lina’s face was flushed as she rushed towards him, her steps measured but hurried, and as she gripped hold of his arm he sensed something had just gone monumentally wrong.
‘What’s happened?’ he asked.
‘Can we leave?’
‘Of course.’
There would be time to question Lina later, but right now he could see the urgency written all over her face. For whatever reason, they had to leave the Wilcox ball now.
They nearly made it to the door before Alex felt a sharp tug on his arm. Quickly he spun, anticipating danger, but instead came face to face with Victoria.
‘We will have to talk some other time, Victoria,’ Alex said, conscious of how Lina stiffened beside him as she spotted the other woman.
‘You’re leaving with her?’ The question was spat rather than said, her words dripping with disapproval and disdain.
‘Let’s go,’ Lina said quietly. ‘I don’t want to embarrass you.’
Even though their entire exchange had been conducted in low voices, already people were beginning to stare and a space was clearing around the three of them.
‘What’s happened?’ Alex asked, realising Victoria must be the reason Lina had looked so flustered as she met him in the hallway and requested to leave.
‘You can’t bring someone like her to a society ball, Alex,’ Victoria said, shaking her head as if he were a foolish child.
‘Miss Lock is a friend of the family. She is being sponsored by both Georgina and myself.’ Alex tried to keep the emotion from his voice whilst he figured out what was going on here. The black looks passing between the two women hinted at some harsh words being exchanged before Alex had arrived on the scene, but he couldn’t imagine what.
‘I should have guessed your sister was in on this,’ Victoria said. ‘Although I did think she had more morals.’
‘What have morals got to do with anything?’
‘You don’t bring your mistress to a ball with respectable people. Especially one as crude and uncultured as her.’
Alex glanced at Lina, expecting to see some sort of reaction on her face, either hurt or anger, but she remained quite majestically neutral, merely raising an eyebrow as Victoria jabbed a finger in her direction.
‘Please do not speak about Miss Lock in that manner,’ Alex said calmly, despite the explosion of anger he could feel building inside him. Struggling to keep himself under control, he turned again, meaning to make a hasty exit with Lina on his arm before Victoria could cause any more of a scene.
‘You used to be better than this, Alex,’ Victoria called. ‘You used to socialise only with a certain standard of people.’
Unable to stop himself, Alex spun around and took two steps back towards Victoria.
‘Lina is ten times the woman you’ll ever be,’ he said, loud enough for the assembled crowd to hear. ‘She’s considerate and intelligent and fun to be around, and what’s more she’s loyal and honest.’
He saw Victoria recoil as if she’d been slapped, saw the tears blossom in her eyes before spilling over on to her cheeks. Anyone else he might feel sorry for, but the remorse for his words just wasn’t there. She’d injured Lina, embarrassed her in front of all these people. He couldn’t bring himself to regret defending the beautiful woman on his arm.
‘Come, my dear,’ Winchester said softly, stepping forward and putting an arm around his wife’s shoulders. ‘Let’s get you home.’ He flashed a puzzled look at Alex, one infused with a silent apology, and forcibly escorted Victoria through the front door.
‘We should leave, too,’ Alex said, aware of all the guests trying to pretend they weren’t listening intently to every word.
‘I’m sorry,’ Lina said quietly.
‘What for?’ As far as he could tell, Lina had been blameless in this situation.
‘You’ve lost your wager.’
‘Nothing could be further from my mind.’
‘And I’ve embarrassed you in front of your friends.’
‘I think that was entirely Victoria’s doing.’
‘I’ve ruined the ball.’
‘Far from it.’ Alex chuckled. ‘Every ball needs a good scandal. The gossips will be talking about this little interlude for years to come.’
They stepped out into the warm evening air and suddenly Alex felt a little reckless. He wasn’t sure what had made Victoria act so strangely, why she was so concerned with his life after so long apart, but he found he didn’t care. She was part of his past, part of events that had shaped him into the man he was today, and now he was sure he would not see her again for a very long time.
‘She still cares for you,’ Lina said, as if reading his thoughts.
‘Bizarre, when she was the one who decided to leave.’
‘I suppose there is a sort of intoxicating power when someone wants you, when they’re in love with you. She doesn’t like the idea that you might not be under her spell any more.’
‘But she’s married.’
Lina shrugged. ‘She probably always thought you would be there waiting, ready to pick up the pieces if anything did go wrong. When she saw you moving on with your life, it unsettled her.’
Alex nodded, then leaned in closer. ‘Or she’s just a little crazy.’
‘Or that.’
They’d nearly reached the line of carriages when Alex pulled Lina to a stop. He knew he should just carry on walking, take Lina somewhere private where they could work out exactly how they were going to go forward with their lives, but for one mad moment he just wanted to be reckless, foolish even.
With one arm looped around Lina’s waist, he pulled her in towards him, seeing the shock and anticipation in her eyes before he covered her lips with his own. For an instant Lina was completely still, but then she moaned softly into his lips and began kissing him back. They were in full view of the house, in full view of the hundreds of guests, but right in that moment Alex did not care at all.
She tasted sweet, of lemonade and champagne, and Alex felt all sense of time slipping away from him. He could happily have stayed kissing Lina on that very spot for hours had she not pulled away, regarded him with heavy eyes and then turned and walked towards their carriage.
‘Even I know you don’t kiss a young woman with that much passion in front of a ballroom full of people,’ Lina said as he caught up with her. She was up in the carriage before he even had a chance to offer her his hand, and as he vaulted up, banging on the roof at the same time to signal to the driver to start moving, Lina grasped him by the lapels on his jacket and pulled him on to the bench beside her.
‘I couldn’t help myself,’ Alex said, as Lina stroked his cheek with the tips of her fingers. ‘You’ve bewitched me, I don’t behave as I should when you’re around.’
‘You think it’s a gypsy enchantment?’
‘I’m not sure I care what it is,’ Alex said, dropping his head to trail kisses from the corner of her mouth to the line of her jaw. ‘All I care is that we’re here together, right here, right now.’
Lina allowed her head to fall backwards and Alex took the opportunity to move his lips farther down, kissing her collarbone, the exposed skin of her chest and the swell of her breasts as they peeked above the material of her dress. For a moment he paused, but already Lina was urging him to go lower, so he pushed down the emerald green bodice, pushed down the white cotton chemise and exposed Lina’s breasts to the air. He felt her shudder as he captured one of her nipples in his mouth, teasing and biting until he felt her hips start to writhe underneath him.
‘Alex,’ she whispered, ‘please.’
‘Please stop?’ he asked, pulling away a little, grinning as she gripped his shoulders to stop him withdrawing any further.
‘Please don’t stop.’
The carriage was moving faster now, speeding through the empty streets towards home, but still Alex grasped the hem of Lina’s skirts and lifted the layers one by one until he could touch the skin of her legs.
Before she had a chance to protest, Alex had dipped on to his knees, his lips trailing kisses up her thighs, his fingers caressing and stroking the skin. At first Lina tensed, but as the seconds passed he felt her relax, overcome by the pleasurable sensations.
As his lips reached the top of one thigh, he paused, but only long enough to appreciate the thrum of anticipation emanating from Lina, then his mouth was covering her most private place and Lina’s hips were bucking beneath him.
Slowly he nipped and teased until he felt Lina tense and shudder, letting out a low moan and squeezing his shoulders with a strength he didn’t know she had.
‘What did you do to me?’ she whispered.
Alex simply grinned, joining her on the seat of the carriage just as they began to slow. Quickly he helped Lina rearrange her dress so she looked passably presentable, or at the very least not completely indecent. When the carriage stopped, Alex was outside helping Lina down before any of the footmen could reach them and from there he and Lina dashed hand in hand inside the house.