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“I’m in the middle of something,” Evan said tersely.
“Xavier,” one of the men said, “is this the lovely Alexandra you’ve been telling us about?”
Evan cleared his throat. “Yes, this is my stepsis
ter, Lady Alexandra MacIntyre. Alexandra, Mr. Jonathan Talkington and Viscount Clinton Canterwood.”
The gentlemen were tall and nice-looking, but Ally had no interest in meeting either of them. To be polite, she held out her hand. “Charmed.”
Before either man could say another word, she tugged on Evan’s sleeve again. “I’m sorry, Evan, but it is a matter of some importance.”
Evan looked at her sternly. He wasn’t happy with her, but she couldn’t care less. She would find out what was going on in that head of his.
“I beg pardon. If you could excuse me, gentlemen.”
Ally led him to an unoccupied corner of the ballroom. “What is going on with you?” she demanded.
“I’m sure I don’t have the slightest idea what you could be talking about.”
“Oh, don’t give me that. You know exactly what I’m talking about. You haven’t paid me a speck of attention all evening, despite the fact that you escorted me here and we are now family. It is bad form for you not to dance with me at least once. Instead, you’ve sent every drooling bachelor my way.”
“Alexandra, I told you I was going to find you a husband, and I intend to do so.”
She balled her hands into fists. “I told you that I have no intention of being forced to wed anyone. I shall choose whom I marry, and when I’m ready, I shall do just that. In the meantime, I will invite you and everyone else to stay out of the matter. Now”—she smiled sweetly—“I should like to dance with you, brother.”
The word brother felt all wrong on her tongue. Despite the marriage of their parents, Ally would never think of Evan as a brother, hardly even a stepbrother. They had known each other for only months, and the attraction between them could never be denied.
Evan let out a sigh. “Very well, then.” He took Alexandra’s hand and led her to the dance floor.
He held her a polite distance away. No time like the present to make her feelings known.
“Evan, I’ve told you before I will not be forced into marriage. I’ve seen arranged marriage at its worst. I will not go through what my mother went through.”
Evan looked down at her, his expression grave. “How could you think that of me? I would never arrange a marriage for you with a tyrant like your father. But of course, why would you believe me?”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“Just yesterday you accused me of rape, my lady.” Evan pursed his lips into a tense line.
Ally’s stomach fell. How could she apologize for her hasty words? She would never have gone through with it, but how could she get him to believe that? “Evan, I—”
“You’ve made it quite clear what you think of me, Alexandra. Well, here’s what I think of you. You are impulsive and self-centered, and I won’t have you being a hardship on me or on my father.”
“I would never be a hardship on anyone. Trust me, I have plans in motion that—”
“I am not interested in your plans. We have seen how your plans work out. You do not know what is good for yourself, so I will have to take care of you. Believe me, once I explain the circumstances, my father will be very happy that I took care of things in his absence.”
“And what of my mother? Do you really think she will be happy that you married off her daughter?”
“Your mother is a sensible woman. If I find a match for you, a good match, where you are treated well, why would she have any issues with that?”
“Because she has finally found love, Evan. I should think she would want that for me as well.” Alexandra choked out the words. The truth of them stung her. Here she was, ready to marry Mr. Landon solely for his money, when what her mother wished for her was a love match.
Well, she’d say it again—love was overrated. And she certainly wasn’t going to wait until she was fifty-two years old, like her mother, to find love. She was going to think of now, and she was going to make sure that she, Sophie, and their mother were taken care of. Once the earl died, her mother would be the dowager countess, and her financial stability would be in Evan’s brother’s hands. Ally couldn’t take the chance that they would be left destitute again.
“What makes you think any of these suitors are going to have the least bit of interest in me?”
“Oh, they are definitely interested. Can’t you tell?”
