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Chapter 30
Alexander waited for her to respond. She looked slightly stunned, as if news of her engagement was news to her as well.
His eyes flickered over her. It had been ten days since he had last seen her and it was like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. To say he was struck by her beauty was an understatement. The pale cream muslin gown she wore accentuated the dark silkiness of her hair and her eyes which were as pale blue as ice.
“I do not know where you heard that news,” she spluttered eventually. “I am not engaged.”
His jaw dropped. “You’re not?”
“No,” she said, raising her chin, sounding irritated. “I am not engaged and not intending to become engaged. Who told you such a thing?”
He smothered his surprise. “My aunt. She said she heard a rumour that you and Lord Bertram had become engaged.”
Olivia’s mouth twisted. “I am afraid she seems to have misheard. My dear friend Miss Percy has recently become engaged to Lord Turnbury. Perhaps she is confused.”
Alexander’s shock turned to pure relief. He leaned towards her, staring at her intently. “You are not engaged to Langley? But you are still courting him and would accept him if he did propose?”
“I do not know why I need explain anything of my personal business to you, Captain,” she said, in a tart voice. “But if you must know, Lord Bertram and I have decided to end our courtship.” She hesitated. “He did propose but I did not accept.”
“Why, Olivia?” he pressed, his heart pounding hard. “You were so adamant that you wanted to marry him. That he is the man of your dreams. Why did you refuse him?”
She raised her chin higher in the air. He saw that her eyes were glistening with tears. There was a long silence. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and sink his lips into her neck, to breathe in the sweet smell of her, to taste her skin. He resisted the impulse. Now was not the time.
“Why do you want to know?” she cried abruptly. “Why is it important to you?”
“Because it is,” he said, through gritted teeth. “It is very important to me. I care for you, Olivia. I know you think I do not, but it is not true.”
Her face twisted. “You care for me? You have a very funny way of showing it, sir! You act as if you despise me. You make fun of me. You look down upon my life. And still…you torment me like this.” Her chest was heaving. “You should leave.”
“I will not leave,” he growled. “I cannot leave. I am here because I am compelled.” He ran a hand over his face. “When I heard you were engaged, Olivia, it was like someone had punched me in the stomach.”
She glared at him, her chest still rising and falling. But she did not speak. He took a deep breath. He had to tell her how he felt, and he must say it now. There was already too much confusion between them. He had to straighten it out.
Suddenly, she stood up. “I did not marry Bertie because I do not love him,” she said quickly. “But that does not mean that my grandfather will compel you to marry me, sir. I know that you do not believe in love nor marriage, and quite frankly, I do not know what I feel on the subject myself any longer.”
She took a deep gulp of breath, before rushing on. “So, you do not have any obligation. If you have come here just because you think you have been put on the hook again then I tell you it is not true…”
He got up quickly, pulling her into his arms.
“Hush,” he whispered. “You do not need to be so frantic.”
She stilled, turning into his chest, placing two hands upon it. He breathed in the sweet smell of her. It was divine. She was trembling like a leaf all over.
When his mouth finally descended upon her own, he pulled her closer still, running his hands over her back and down to her sweet derriere. She shuddered in his arms, almost whimpering. He deepened the kiss, flickering his tongue into her mouth, feeling desire overwhelm him.
Neither of them heard anything until a sharp intake of breath behind them made them jump apart like scalded cats.
Olivia’s mother, the Lady Henrietta, was standing there. She was so shocked by what she had just witnessed that her face was white. Her mouth dropped open. Olivia gave a cry of distress.
“Oh, Mama,” she cried. “I am so sorry…”
Alexander flushed. He did not know how much Olivia’s mother had seen but any of it would be enough to damn them. It was highly embarrassing. There was a strained silence.
“I do not understand,” stammered Lady Henrietta eventually. “I thought that you despised each other.”
Olivia was as red as a beetroot now. “It is complicated, Mama,” she said, taking a deep gulp of air. “Captain Fletcher and I are not indifferent to each other. That is to say, we have found we like each other more than we both expected.”
Alexander stared at Olivia. She was rambling, but he did not blame her. What was she expected to say? It was not every day that her mother walked in on a lover’s embrace.
