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PROLOGUE
My beloved.
I trust that you are well… Ah, I could go on rambling, trying to find myself an excuse for writing, but there is none. Truthfully, there is no reason for this letter other than to say that I miss you. Alas, I set eyes upon my coat, which had just been cleaned and returned to my chambers, and it reminded me of how it looked around your bare shoulders that first night as I tasted your lips on the balcony.
Of course, this in turn led me to think of many other things, starting with your eyes, sparkling like sapphire jewels as you smiled at me, letting me in your window. I know it has only been a few nights since then, but can you blame me? I am a man lost to your charms. I find myself longing for your kiss again… No matter how many times your soft lips succumb to mine, it could never be enough.
It has been too long, my lover. I wish to hold you close once again… to feel the softness of your skin against mine, without our clothes barring me from my fill of you. I catch myself at many points in the day, dreaming about your breasts and how your back arches when I bring my lips to them. It is with great effort that I am able to put thoughts of you aside for even a moment. How loathsome it is that we must run around like this, as though ashamed of our love. I cannot wait to hold you in the open… Perhaps then I would not need to write letters such as these, detailing how bereft I feel when you are not here.
Alex.
Alexander Mannfield put his quill down. The letter he had just finished stared back at him, a mirror showing just how infatuated he had become. Heat bloomed slightly on his face from embarrassment as he watched the ink dry on his penmanship.I am absolutely being led by the nose here, am I not?His thoughts put a wry smile on his face.
It was one thing to realize it and another entirely to want to do anything about it. He knew that he was much more taken by Isabella Levingston than she was by him, but he did not mind at all. He still counted the days until he could see her again; and did silly things like sending her a frothy letter all because he saw a coat that reminded him of her.
Sighing, he folded the letter up, preparing it to be sent. Before he could convince himself to change his mind, he rang the bell in his room, calling for his valet to collect and deliver his message. It did not take long before his call was answered. However, when he looked up, it was not the valet but the old butler who had come.
A concerned frown settled on Alexander’s face from the surprise. “Baldwin? Why are you here?” he asked.
“Why, I am responding to your call Master Alex,” Baldwin said.
“Why would you respond to my call? You are to be resting Baldwin!” The old butler had served the Mannfield family for two generations already, with Alexander being the third. Recently, his eyes had begun to fail him, signaling that it was time he retire. He was immediately relieved of most of his duties and made to focus on training his understudy to replace him. Baldwin was an important member of their family, to the point where he had practically raised Alexander, so of course everyone wanted to pamper him. Despite their efforts, Baldwin, who had been busy all his life, did not know how to rest.
Baldwin had the grace to look sheepish. “Master Alex, I have been resting all day. This is nothing,” he said.
Alexander folded his arms over his chest. “Well, you should not have come anyway, I wanted to speak to Barnaby.”
“Oh, you must not have heard it yet. After he helped you dress this morning, Barnaby received a letter from his sister saying his mother suffered an apoplexy. He asked the Baron for permission and left in a hurry,” Baldwin said.
Alexander’s eyes widened in shock. Barnaby was his valet, and just that morning he had been asking him if he missed his family yet as the young man helped him put his clothes on. The thought of something happening to Barnaby’s mother worried him greatly. “An apoplexy you say? That is terrible! I can imagine how anxious he must have been when he left. I hope she is alright…”
“Indeed, we all do. The Baron made sure he had enough money to see a physician; a most generous extension of aid,” Baldwin said, seeming proud of Alexander’s father. “What did you needed him for?”
“I was going to have him deliver a letter for me,” Alexander said, waving it off as nothing. It was not as though the letter was truly urgent anyway.
“Why not have the footman deliver it instead?” Baldwin asked.
Alexander shook his head. “No, I think it best not… the contents are rather… sensitive.” His cheeks warmed again, making obvious to Baldwin, who knew of his relationship, the contents of the letter.
“My, my, Master Alex, I am sure I told you before to be careful of the liberties you take with the young Miss Levingston,” Baldwin said, a trace of teasing in his voice.
“I never said the letter was for her,” Alexander said, struggling to hold back a smile.
“Oh please, young master I was not born yesterday,” Baldwin said, giving him a look. “However, seeing the nature of the letter, I can deliver it for you.”
Alexander refused immediately. “You shall do no such thing! I have told you that you should be resting and I shall not send you on an errand.”
Baldwin waved a hand. “Pah. I might be blind as a bat, but I can still get things done easily! You all are overreacting! My bones will go brittle if I stay still.”
When Alexander did not budge, the old butler sighed. “Everyone is occupied, and I was going to deliver a letter to the butler of a neighboring estate during my daily walk anyway. I can just deliver yours too while I am out. How’s that?”
Alexander’s resolve cracked a bit. If he was already on his way out he could just drop the letter off. He had already accepted it in his mind.
Baldwin smiled at him as he took the plain envelope. “Do not worry, your secret is safe in my hands,” he joked.
Alexander could not help but return his warm smile. “Indeed. Just remember when you deliver it, to ask that the letter go straight to the young Miss and no one else.”
“Of course, Master Alex,” Baldwin bowed as he left.
