“Truthfully? Yes. I have received countless reports from other gentlemen that she can be quite…apathetic. Of course, to Emma and I she is herself, but I’ve always been afraid that she would never show that loving side of her to anyone but her family.”
“That does appear to be the case.” Hearing that Alice has treated other gentlemen the same way she did him made him smile even more. Though, something told him that his reputation hadn’t helped his case very much. “I am curious about one thing, Your Grace.”
“Allow me to hazard a guess. You wish to know why Alice is so against growing close to others.”
“I hope I do not sound too insolent in asking.”
“Not at all, My Lord.” The Duke of Warington sighed heavily. “I wish I could understand it well myself. She never gives me a true response whenever I ask. I’m sure you can tell by now that she is quite the sly speech so I never get a proper response. However, she’s…”
William raised his brows expectantly. The Duke’s brows were furrowed in deep concentration as he trailed off. William’s curiosity nagged incessantly at him in the interim, waiting impatiently for the Duke to finish his thought.
“I believe,” the Duke continued after a while, coming to a stop. William stopped with him, staring at the Duke as he thought deeply, “that it has something to do with—”
“What a surprising sight,” came a familiar voice. William looked up to see Alice standing a short distance away, looking as if she’d just happened to come around the corner. Her hands were clasped before her, her, her head tilted to the side as she regarded William and her father with a steady gaze.
“Alice!” Her father sounded surprised by her sudden appearance. He couldn’t have made it more obvious that he was shocked at being caught while talking about her. Though, judging by the way Alice raised a brow at him, William had a feeling she already knew. “Where did you come from?” the Duke asked.
“I was on my way back to the library,” she responded easily. “You two seemed to be getting along quite nicely. What were you talking about?”
“Nothing of concern,” her father responded, waving his hand dismissively. Alice leveled her eyes at him, as if she didn’t believe a word he said but would choose not to say anything about it. The Duke looked at William.
“Is that so?” She looked at William. He kept himself still, willing himself not to smile at her. He didn’t want the Duke to catch it. Alice returned her attention to her father and nodded. “Then I shall leave you two be so that you may continue.”
With that said, Alice lilted her head in a little nod of farewell before she walked away from them. William watched her go, fighting every urge he had in him to go after her.
“Heavens, she has the uncanny ability of appearing whenever I’m talking about her,” the Duke murmured, watching his daughter leave as well. He shook his head. “Perhaps I should take that as a sign to end my meddling for now. There are a few matters waiting for me on my desk that I should attend to at any rate.”
“Very well, Your Grace,” William responded, grateful for the fact that the Duke was taking his leave. “I pray those matters do not cause you undue stress.”
“When you inherit the Dukedom, My Lord,” the Duke said with a rueful smile, “you will find that there are no matters that do not cause stress. It all depends on how you handle it.”
With a pat on the shoulder, the Duke turned on those words, heading back the way they’d come. William watched him go for a few moments, and once he was far enough away, he headed down the adjoining hallway, in the direction Alice had gone in.
* * *
Alice knew William would follow her. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but every fiber of her being told her that he would not pass up the opportunity. Relying on that, she made sure not to walk too fast or too far. She strolled instead, her ears perked for any sounds of his approach. Once or twice, when she thought she might have heard him, Alice looked over her shoulder and was hit with a stab of disappointment when she realized it was just her imagination.
I truly need to calm down. Why am I acting like this?
She kept asking herself the question, even though a part of her already knew the answer. It was because of last night, because of everything that had happened between them. How easily she’d gone along with him to the gardens, the things he’d told her about his past, the way he’d thrown himself in front of her when he thought she was in danger. And when they’d stood outside her bedchamber, staring at each other as the planes of their relationship shifted out of focus. Alice couldn’t deny that she felt closer to him than she ever thought she would be, but to eagerly anticipate his approach like an enthusiastic child was not like her.
Before she could berate herself for her actions any longer, she heard something—the unmistakable muffle of the sound of shoes being swallowed up by the carpet. It meant he was close, close enough that she had to keep herself from looking around, not wanting it to seem as if she had been waiting for him.
“You know, Alice,” William said as he came to her side. He slowed his steps to match her casual stride. “You have the uncanny ability of appearing everywhere.”
“How odd of you to say,” Alice responded, grateful that her voice was normal. Heaven forbid she let him see just how much his appearance was affecting her. “I would have thought it was the other way around.”
“Oh, no, no.”
Alice could hear the smile in his voice. She didn’t dare to look around at him.
“Need I remind you that you were the one who happened upon me in the library, and in the hallway last night. And now just then as well.”
“Are you saying that I am following you, William?” she asked, sliding her eyes to him.
“I know you’re not,” he responded with a shrug and an easy grin. “But you cannot deny these strange twists of fate.”
Alice, unable to stop herself, huffed a laugh. “It seems you will not let go of that narrative. Tell me. Does insinuating fateful encounters work when you are flirting with other ladies?”
