Of all the odd events that had happened to her in the past two days, a marriage proposal was the last thing she would have imagined. Many times, she’d pictured her reaction to a proposal, and in those visions, she’d seen herself pleased but composed, elegant but not cold.
But Alexander was another matter. He wasn’t one of those gentlemen who left her uninterested or bored. His hungry gaze made her feel beautiful; his gentle touch warmed her body; his words and the way he treated her made her feel happy to be herself. She was more than enough when she was with him.
She swallowed past the lump of emotion in her throat. “You mean it.”
He took her hand and kissed it. “We can have a long engagement if you want, but yes, I mean every word.”
Mother had always told her never to say yes immediately to anything, except to a silk hat at a reduced price. But she couldn’t contain her honesty.
“I would love to marry you,” she whispered. “Not because my mother hopes I will marry a duke. Not because I’m expected to marry soon. But because I’ve never felt as free as when I’m with you.”
He laced his fingers through hers. “I feel the same.”
They burst out laughing for no reason. His shy smile called up the same shyness in her, but instead of making the moment odd, it drew them closer, spiritually and physically.
He inched closer and kissed her. The kiss wasn’t the strong, passionate one he’d given her earlier. Like his smile, it was delicate and shy, but it awoke a desire within her she’d never experienced…at least not that she remembered.
He caressed her cheek and pulled back. “Just so you know, I’m grumpy in the morning, work a lot, and I’m unbearable when I lose a competition.”
“I’m slow to forgive, oftentimes I enjoy being alone, and I’m very energetic in the morning.”
“It promises to be a lovely marriage.”
“But first, I want to find your foil.” She racked her brain for an idea. “We need a map.”
Esther studied the map of Brighton spread over the table. She didn’t know the town well, but the centre was tiny compared to London. Yet a sword had disappeared. If someone had stolen it from her, she would never find it.
“The New Club is here.” She put a finger on King’s Road. “Your house is here.” She circled Alexander's house with a red pencil. “So the area to search is this.” She drew another circle around the club, the centre, and his house.
“We tried these routes.” He traced the streets they’d walked earlier. “You left Benedict’s house at around one o’clock, and I found you in my garden at fifteen to two.”
“I walked then. A cab would have delivered me here in a few minutes.”
“But where did you lose your clothes and swapped them for that worn gown?”
She rested her forehead on the table. “I would like to know that, too. Or maybe not.”
He straightened to study the map. “You could have taken this route through these alleyways.” He pointed at a little maze of intricate back streets.
“A convoluted, nonsensical choice. It’s certainly me.”
“Let’s go.”
When they arrived at the secluded quarter, people stared at them as if waiting for the right moment to slit their throats and take their wallets.
She must have been out of her mind to walk alone on those streets at night while wielding a sword. Whispers and sideways glances followed them, and she could bet that, had it not been for Alexander’s menacing presence, a footpad would have attacked her. Which begged the question, how on Earth had she walked there and returned in one piece?
She gripped his arm and moved closer to him. “I think we should go.”
“If you feel uncomfortable, I’ll return here alone.”
She tensed as the people’s whispers increased.
“Good gracious.” She skidded to a stop.
A woman wearing Esther’s gown walked down the alleyway.
“Look, that’s my gown.”
