Page 66 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
Clenching his jaw, Niall opened the door.
Alicia sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the door, her head bowed. Was she praying? Reading something?
“Alicia,” he called, her name seeming to echo in the quiet place.
With a gasp, she whipped her head about and met his gaze. Her swollen, red-rimmed eyes shook him for he’d never seen her so distressed.
“Niall,” she whispered, rising to her feet. She clenched her hands in her skirts, her chest expanding with her inhale. “I have something important to tell you.”
As much as Niall wanted to reach for her, he moved not an inch. He simply nodded and waited for her to continue.
“It’s me,” she said, with no preamble. As forthright as ever. “I’m the chapbook writer.”
“I know.” He took no pleasure in saying the words.
Nor did he relish how she pressed her hand to her mouth. “You do?”
Niall nodded. “Torres saw you today. With Miss Assan. He already knew she was working for Charles Hughes.”
Her lovely throat, the expanse of skin he had kissed and licked and nipped now numerous times, worked on a swallow.
“Why did Matthews come to see you?” he demanded, refocusing his thoughts.
“He knows.” Alicia clamped her eyes closed. “He’s had someone follow me.”
A fresh fire of anger sparked at the viscount taking such liberties. But Niall smothered his rancor, unable to deal with it when his wife stood before him now.
“The viscount has been searching for a way to turn you against me and I have given him the perfect reason.”
“Matthews hasn’t turned me against you, Alicia,” Niall growled. “You have.”
Blinking, she gave a jerky nod. “I should have told you—”
“Damn right you should have.”
Alicia squared her shoulders, her mouth pinched. “But I wasn’t done—”
“Maligning me?”
Both words were coated in bitterness.
“I have never maligned you. Not once.” Alicia furrowed her brow. “You seem to be operating under a belief that I wanted you to fail, but you know I believe you have all the makings of being a truly excellent Prime Minister.”
She took a step toward him, her eyes large and beseeching. “You’re thoughtful, not just to your peers and those who could benefit you, but to those who benefitfromyou. To those you employ and to those you support. Many people would not give that much emphasis, but I do, for I know it means that the policies your government proposes and enacts will not just be a boon for the elite.”
Niall grunted, but held his silence.
Alicia took another step closer. “The whole point of my critiques was to showcase where you could do better. No man is perfect, and I have never expected your voting record to be faultless. But, if the party was going to tap you as their leader, I thought you should strive to address those areas in which you’ve been deficient.”
He knew that. In his heart he knew she had been fair in her criticism…but his anger, his sense of betrayal was not an easy thing to relinquish. Niall could barely look at her now without the duplicity of her actions stealing the air from his lungs.
She stood directly in front of him, the gold in her dark eyes shining with unshed tears. Christ, she was so lovely.
“Those first dozen essays were written before I knew you. You were just Lord Inverray, a charismatic member of Parliament that many believed would lead the party one day.” Alicia hiccupped. “And then we met and…and you were so much more than I thought. But I had a job to do, and I was determined not to be seduced by your intelligence and charm. But the Talbot ball happened…”
Mention of their unfortunate dance thawed the ice he’d been encased in. “You’ve had plenty of opportunities to tell me since then. During our ride in the park. At our engagement party. Our wedding breakfast. During any of the breakfasts or dinners we’ve shared since then. After you cried out my name as you came on my cock. Why did you not, Alicia? I don’t understand.”
Flushing clear to the roots of her hair, Alicia lifted her chin. “Because I didn’t want you to make me stop.”
