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“By heaven man! Did you ever see service as a spy? If you didn’t, you have missed your calling.”
Angelo smiled. Rafe touched his shoulder.
“Angelo is resourceful. I apologize for our clandestine approach and any offense this may have caused. We had to be discreet. But it is important to me to know if the rumors were true.”
Harold looked at Alice.
Say yes. Oh please just say yes!
Harold lifted Alice’s hand to his lips, kissing it softly and tenderly. Alice had eyes only for him, the others could have vanished from the face of the earth, taking the house with them. The silent affirmation set alight fires within Alice, sending waves of pleasure and excitement through her body. She felt as though her knees were trembling.
“So, I would ask you, Your Grace, to make public your courtship of the fair Alice. Once you proclaim your love for her, I will be free to step away. As I said at the Shilling earlier.”
“There is nothing I would like better. But, I am constrained by the attitude of the Viscount, Alice’s brother. He would see it as a seduction, intended to scupper his plans. He seems to have cast me in the role of nemesis to the Hathway family.”
“Simon would be furious,” Alice confirmed.
“But would be forced to accept the reality of the situation, surely,” Angelo said. “After all, he would be gaining a Duke for a brother. That can only be of benefit to his family and household.”
“He would not see it that way,” Alice said.
“I have just had a rather heated conversation with him,” Harold replied. “During which he threatened to challenge me to a duel if I interfered.”
“And you are afraid of this man?” Angelo said challengingly.
Harold glared at him. “I am afraid of no man. But I would not begin my relationship with Alice by killing her brother.”
That sent a cold chill down Alice’s spine.
He does not say that he would not accept a challenge to a duel from Simon. He would accept it. And of course, he would kill Simon. My brother would not stand a chance!
“I’m sorry, Alice,” Harold said softly. “But in such a situation, there is only one way that I can act. I cannot allow myself to be killed and nor will honor allow me to refuse the challenge. We must ensure it does not come to that. It is the only way to save Simon’s life.”
Alice felt herself growing pale. Her face felt cold and her stomach turned over. Until now, Simon’s enmity was an inconvenience. It had been a game, trying to escape a chaperone in order to be alone with Harold. She had never considered that Simon’s hate for Harold might be such that he would feel himself driven to try and kill him. The room seemed to spin around her. The last thing she was aware of was strong arms catching her as she fell.
CHAPTER21
Alice awoke in a strange room. She could hear the rain drumming against a window and was staring up at a canopy above the bed. She was fully dressed, though without her shoes, and atop the bedclothes. She looked around, trying to remember what had happened. A silhouetted figure sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. The profile was familiar, even in shadow. Strong and resolute, angled, and capable of harshness but not to her.
“Harold,” she said breathlessly.
“I’m here. You fainted,” he said kindly.
Alice tried to sit and realized that a sensation of cold wetness on her forehead came from a wet folded piece of linen that had been draped there. She brushed it aside. As she sat, there was a momentary feeling of dizziness that made her waver. Then Harold’s strong arms were about her, holding her up. Her arms went about his shoulders, holding herself to him. She rested her head on his shoulder.
Harold stroked her hair and she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of the caress. It made her feel safe and cared for.
“I don’t know what happened. I don’t usually faint.”
“The subject of our conversation was not pleasant,” Harold said by way of explanation.
“I remember. You talked about killing my brother.”
The caressing stopped and she felt tension entering his body. Pushing herself up from his shoulder, she looked him in the eye.
“That will not happen though. I will find a way.”
Harold’s eyes looked haunted. “He caught up with me downstairs. He must have seen us with Angelo. He is almost insane with his hatred. If he issues a challenge…”
