Page 79 of A Gamble with the Rakish Duke
“It saved me, too.”
John smiled then. There was still a hint of sadness there, in the way the corners of his lips tilted down a little, but it was still a smile. Alexandra was glad to see that he was determined to move on.
“The Duke came to save you, Your Grace. I am merely a fortunate bystander who happened to be present when a man came to save the woman he loves.”
Oliver loved her?
Alexandra’s chest tightened at the thought. Could it be true, or was she merely raising her hopes?
“I wish you well, John,” was all that she could say. Perhaps they wouldn’t part ways as true friends, but they shared a terrible encounter with the same man. “And I forgive you. You were not given much choice.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I bid you farewell, for now. Let time decide if we will see each other again.”
“I hope you forget about J. Lewis, John. He must retire for now, until he is brave enough to face the challenge,” Alexandra murmured.
“J. Lewis who?” John asked with a grin before he turned around and walked away.
Alexandra took a deep breath before she walked to the carriage that awaited her. Ellen quietly followed. The Duchess felt guilty that she almost forgot her maid was there.
“I will ride in the other carriage, Your Grace,” Ellen said with a small smile.
Alexandra knew that it must have taken some courage for Ellen to say the words. It was not considered proper for maids to make suggestions. Then again, it didn’t seem right to let Oliver ride alone.
“I will see you at home, then,” she said.
She said it. She had finally called her husband’s townhouse her home.
In her room, Alexandra had already prepared for bed. She sat at her vanity and combed her brown curls, her eyes fixed on the reflection of her husband standing behind her.
“You are a marvelous woman, Alexandra,” he said softly.
“Marvelous? Didn’t you just tell this same woman to leave your home immediately?” she teased, though she still felt a little hurt.
“I am sorry, my darling. It won’t happen again. I was blinded by jealousy. Instead of thinking about you meeting with Prescott in private, I should have focused on your strength and independence.”
“Ironically, it was my father who instilled those qualities in me—by not being there for me. By being constantly condescending.”
Alexandra squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think of all the moments her father had been cruel to her. She remembered the sleepless nights she willed herself to finish her compositions for him.
“I suspected so, Alexandra. He made you strong by being weak. One day, he will realize what he has lost,” Oliver said, resting his hands on her shoulders.
“I had hoped that when I paid off his debts, he would see me as a person and not a burden. He often told me that I was nothing because I was a woman,” Alexandra lamented, her voice breaking.
She reached for the hand that was on her shoulder. It was warm and solid. It was Oliver.
“You are not a burden. I wish I had treated you better, but I was drowning in my own misery and bitterness,” Oliver explained, gently massaging her shoulders.
She moaned softly. She had not realized just how tired she was. Her muscles recalled how she and Ellen scrambled for her belongings and the seemingly perpetual tension they were in.
“We were strangers, Oliver. I can’t blame you for that. However, I must admit that I didn’t like you back then. I resented how I had been passed from one cad to another.”
Oliver chuckled softly, but his eyes were melancholy as they met hers in the mirror. “I had lost a chance to discover who you truly were, back then. You seemed to have quickly adjusted to life in the country, from what I heard. When I last visited our house there, the servants praised your practicality and tidiness. They miss you.”
“I miss them, too,” she whispered.
“Do know this, Alexandra. If you wish for us to leave London and live a quiet life in the country, you only need to tell me. I love you. I have loved you for some time now. It frightened me, at first. It made my head whirl and my chest hurt to think that you may love another man,” Oliver confessed, still holding her gaze in the mirror.
“Y-You love me?”
