William nodded. For the first time ever, those simple words made his chest expand with a familiar feeling, one he was not willing to explore. For now, he only wished to do exactly what he’d said—protect Lady Alice and the most important person in her life.
Bowing her head and effectively ending the conversation, Lady Alice turned and made her way back to her family. After a moment, William followed. He didn’t take his eyes off her, watching as she reached a gloved hand out to take Lady Emma’s and stood by her side. Lady Emma tried to smile, but it fell away a second longer. Christopher was staring at her, looking pained by the unease that still lingered within her.
Pained—yes, that was that familiar feeling. Pain for someone else, bolstering so many other emotions within William that he didn’t know how to deal with it. It was certainly not something he ever wanted to feel again but when he looked at Lady Alice, he had a feeling his heart had no say in the matter.
* * *
They left early that night. As the ball continued on, well into the early morning of the next day, Alice had convinced her father that she was feeling ill and that she’d danced with enough gentlemen—and had seen enough faces—to leave without getting the feeling they were missing out on something.
Of course, the Duke had been reluctant, but once Emma agreed with her, hopping onto the lie that she too was feeling a little under the weather, their father finally agreed that they should take their leave. This was only a few hours after the incident in the gardens, and Alice had not been willing to reveal to her father what had happened. At least, not yet. Not when it was still fresh in her mind.
She sighed, crawling out of bed. Her black hair fell down her back, stark against her white nightdress as she padded over to the window and pulled the drapes apart enough to shower half the room in moonlight. It was probably well after midnight now, Alice thought, and even though she longed for it, she couldn’t sleep. She kept hearing Emma’s scream, kept seeing Lord Erlington’s steely expression flashing in her mind.
Not to mention what she’d said to Lord Erlington out of irrational jealousy.I hope this faith you have in Lady Susan is well-placed.
Embarrassed beyond words, Alice held her face in her hands, swallowing the urge to groan. She didn’t know if Lord Erlington had noticed the snideness in her tone when she’d said that, if he saw how bitter she’d become at the fact that he was defending Lady Susan. But all she could think about in that moment was the fact that Lady Susan had already claimed him to be hers…and there he went protecting her from any form of liability.
Be rational, Alice. It could only be because he truly does not believe her to be the mastermind behind the attack.
But Alice knew it was too late to be rational, and even so, it was far too difficult to listen to those words. Tonight had been far too dramatic for her liking—what with a jealous lady confronting her, the man scaring Emma, and the fact that he’d called Alice’s name thinking Emma to be her. Alice didn’t have it in her to process it all at once.
With another sigh, she drew the drapes closed once more, filling the room with darkness. She paused a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust before she made her way to the door and slipped out. She set course for the library, hoping one of her mother’s old fairytales would serve to settle her mind some. A light read, none of the intellectual and technical tomes she usually preferred to pick up, would certainly do her some good.
Alice continued down a few hallways before she drew to halt, her heart beginning to pound. The library was just around the corner. All she had to do was continue down this hallway, take a left, and she would arrive. But there was someone in the center of the hallway, by one of the large windows flooding the long space with light—Lord Erlington.
What is he doing here all alone?Alice inched closer, frowning when she realized that there was glass of whiskey in his hand. He was still dressed in the clothes he’d worn to the ball, and appeared so lost in his own world that he didn’t notice her until she was right upon him.
Lord Erlington’s gaze was dark when it landed on her. She expected him to smile, to perhaps joke about the fact that they, once again, without a chaperone. But he only tilted his head in acknowledgement then looked back out the window.
“You do not need to worry, My Lady,” he said, his words slightly slurred. He was a little drunk, she realized. “I have never touched a lady without her expressed consent and I do not intend on changing that now.”
Alice watched as he raised the glass to his lips and took a large gulp. There was something about his somber tone, about the way he stared contemplatively out the window, that made her believe him. Suddenly, she was hit with the urge to go closer to him and she quelled it as best as she could.
“What are you doing out here, My Lord?” she asked.
“Thinking,” was all he said. “And you, My Lady? I thought you were feeling ill. Are you all better now?”
“I’m sure you know that was a lie,” she said without remorse.
Lord Erlington’s lips twitched. He raised his glass to his lips again but didn’t drink just yet. “Yes, you seemed quite adept at that.”
“A necessary evil at times, My Lord,” she told him, not completely sure whether he was joking with her or not. She couldn’t read his mood very well and, for some reason, it bothered her. Wanting to bridge the quiet that had settled over them, Alice continued, “I was on my way to the library, actually. I could not sleep very well and thought a nice story would help me to relax.”
Lord Erlington turned to her at that. The light now shone on one side of his face, casting a shadow on the other that deepened his jaw and made his eyes unreadable. “Perhaps I could help you with that instead, My Lady.”
“Pardon?” she asked, a bit warily.
“I believe a stroll through the gardens would be a far better alternative,” he continued. “And with company, an even better one. That is, if you are not too afraid.”
The gauntlet had been thrown. Alice wasn’t in a hurry to pick it up. It was one thing to stand here speaking with him without a chaperone, since she’d only happened upon him by chance. Perhaps she could even write it off as simply worrying about his state of mind as an explanation as to why she’d stopped. But to go for a stroll with him through the gardens in the dead of night was something else entirely.
Rather than turning him down the way she should have, Alice cocked her head to the side and asked, “Why should I walk with you, rather than do so alone?”
It looked as if he’d almost smiled. The fact that he didn’t in the end made her worry heighten. “We can come to an agreement, then. If I am not capable of keeping your mind off the attack, then I will stay away from you for the remainder of my time here. I shall bother you no longer.”
That took Alice by surprise. She hadn’t told him that it was the attack that had been weighing on her mind this entire time. She had no intention of telling him that there was someone else she could not get off her mind.
“Very well,” she agreed with a nod. “That is far too tempting an offer for me to turn down.”
