We could still go, you and I.
He had just gathered the courage to say those words when two finely dressed ladies emerged from a curve on the path just up ahead. Alex subtly stiffened beside him but she said nothing as they continued on. After a few more steps, the two women took notice of them and whispered to each other. As they grew closer, Lucien could see that one of them was staring at Alex in recognition.
“Ithoughtthat was you, Alexandra,” she said with a broad smile that reminded Lucien of a tigress. Or perhaps an eel. She wasn’t pretty, exactly, but she carried herself with the kind of confidence Lucien had recognized among the very wealthy.
“Hello, Mildred,” Alex replied evenly.
“Oh, you know it’sMillie,” the woman said with a humorless laugh. “Millie Henderson now, actually. And this is my cousin Mrs. Bates.” She waved a hand toward the mousy woman beside her.
Alex nodded in greeting and then the two women turned expectantly to Lucien. “This is Mr. Taylor,” Alex said after a moment. “And my aunt, Mrs. Bailey.” By then her aunt had come beside them. They all exchanged polite greetings, and while Alex’s expression remained neutral, the tension never quite left her body.
“And you are still MissAtkinson?” Mrs. Henderson asked, emphasizing her last name with brows raised.
“Yes,” Alex said.
When it was clear that she would say nothing more, Mrs. Henderson addressed her cousin. “Alexandra and I were at Oxford together. Though I left as soon as Mr. Henderson proposed. Ghastly place, Lady Margaret Hall, though I suppose it was better than Somerville. Filled with nothing but godlessbluestockings,” she said, referencing Oxford’s other women’s college. She then turned to Alex with a pinched look. “But you had a much more interesting experience, if I recall.”
Something about her tone set Lucien on edge, but Alex’s expression didn’t change. “I found it very educational. Especially once I moved over to Somerville.”
“Oh,” Mrs. Henderson said, surprised. “That must have been after I left.”
“Yes.”
The woman let out a soft huff at this but said nothing more. Then they forced out a bit of small talk before the quota for propriety was reached.
“Well, it waslovelyto see you,” Mrs. Henderson said at last. “Perhaps we will meet again this season?”
“Perhaps.”
Before things could turn even more awkward, Mrs. Bailey made some excuse and they continued on down the path.
“Well, that was unpleasant,” her aunt remarked once they were out of earshot. “What on earth happened between you, Alex?”
“Nothing,” she said far too quickly. “Mildred is a silly woman. She only bothered with Oxford in the first place to make her beau jealous or some other nonsense and caused naught but trouble while she was there.”
Her aunt arched a brow. “Whatkindof trouble?”
Alex’s lips pursed. “The distracting kind,” she said firmly. Then she moved ahead of them, signaling that the subject was closed.
Mrs. Bailey stared at her retreating back with a look of concern mixed with irritation. “Are you open to a little friendly advice, Mr. Taylor?”
“Certainly,” he replied.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like our Alexandra. I’m sure you could say the same.” Lucien nodded at her expectant look. Then her aunt sighed a little. “That girl carries so much on those slim shoulders of hers and hides it all from the world. She is a tough nut to crack, to be sure. And not many are up to the task.” Lucien couldn’t help glancing at Alex’s stiff form marching up ahead. “But I truly believe it is worth the effort,” her aunt finished.
“As do I,” Lucien replied, mainly because it was the kind of thing a suitor would say. But as her aunt gave him an approving smile and gestured for them to follow in Alex’s wake, Lucien recognized that it was also the truth. Not forhim, of course. But somedaysome other man might manage to storm the gates that surrounded Alexandra Atkinson. And the rewards would likely be very great indeed.
After that uncomfortable meeting with Mildred Henderson, Alex let her aunt carry the conversation while they continued down the footpath. As Aunt Winifred peppered Lucien with questions about his time in Paris while also relating her own experiences in the city, Alex couldn’t stop thinking of her brief conversation with Mildred. It had been the knowing look in her former classmate’s eye that set her particularly on edge.
And you are still MissAtkinson?
Undoubtedly her aunt and Lucien had assumed it was a dig at her spinster status, but Alex knew the truth. Mildred was needling her quite deliberately about something very different.
Not Mrs. Chisolm.
For though she may not have completed her course of studies at Oxford, Mildred had been there long enough to share a tutor with Alex. And long enough to notice that Alex developed something of a tender for Benjamin Chisolm. Luckily, the idea that her feelings would ever be returned by such a dashing young man was too far-fetched for even Mildred to believe. So the exact truth of the matter was safe. For now. But it was the closest her secret had come to being revealed. And Alex didn’t much care for that.
As they grew closer to their starting point, Aunt Winifred not so subtly mentioned a tearoom close by but Alex had reached her limit for socializing for the day.
