Page 51 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“Perhaps we can get you an invitation too,” Miss Haverstock put in politely.
A pit of queasiness settled in Allie’s middle.
As a child, she’d perceived her father as larger than life and had been awestruck by his achievements. Now she viewed some of his actions more critically.
“He did not bring them for that purpose,” she told the group, “but he sold them to collectors, and perhaps that was just as distasteful.”
“You speak thus of your own family’s livelihood?” The disdain in Haverstock’s tone caused everyone to shift uncomfortably. The older man’s color was high, his speech slightly slurred, and Allie wondered if the glass of whiskey clutched in his hand had been one of many.
“I speak honestly, Sir Felix. Disinterring human beings for entertainment is disrespectful. Eventually, I believe my father came to regret his involvement in the practice too.”
“You disrespect your father by saying so.”
Allie pressed her lips together. He was wrong, but she wouldn’t convince the man, especially if he was in his cups. Still, she found she couldn’t keep silent. “None of us would wish anyone we cared for to be treated in such a manner.”
Haverstock scoffed. “You’re quite naive, Miss Prince. And you’re far too severe in your condemnation for one so young.” The white-haired man turned away from her, leaving his daughter looking miserable.
From the corner of her eye, Allie noted Jo’s approach. Drake took a step closer before Jo reached her.
“Ladies, would you like to come see the new book Lord Echolston has brought me?” She glanced meaningfully at Allie and then at Drake too. “You too, Inspector.”
Lavinia joined Jo immediately, but Allie held back.
“May I escort you over?” Drake asked her quietly.
“Aren’t you meant to be escorting Miss Haverstock?”
His eyes widened and he gave one decided shake of his head. “It’s not what it seems.”
Allie felt awkward and foolish, and she could not bear another moment of Haverstock’s sneering looks or Lady Wellingdon’s unspoken criticism.
“I’m sorry, Inspector. I need some air.” It was all she could manage before she turned away from him and headed for the Wellingdons’ back garden.
Chapter Eleven
Drake didn’t bother excusing himself before following Alexandra.
By the time he reached the Wellingdons’ broad veranda, the lantern-lit stones were empty. Then he caught sight of the skirt of her raspberry gown as she cut around a row of tall hedges.
He feared she might have rushed off because Haverstock’s pomposity had driven her to tears. But when he found her on the other side of the neatly clipped greenery, she was pacing and muttering to herself.
“I know why you’ve come to find me,” she told him when he rounded the hedge. “I’ll apologize to Sir Felix when I go back in.”
“That’s not at all why I’ve come. And what the hell would you apologize for? Being magnificent?”
She stopped short and stared at him, narrowing her eyes as if she wasn’t certain he was in earnest.
“Was I?” She shook her head. “I didn’t think through a single word. It just came out. Perhaps I should have been more respectful and tempered my—”
“No, you should not have.” He’d admired herstraightforward manner since meeting her, but seeing her with Haverstock, who’d had far too much to drink and was desperate to impress Lord Wellingdon with his boasts, had been spectacular. “You were honest. Perhaps blunt, but you’re as entitled to your opinion as the chief is to his.”
He stepped closer and longed to reach for her. It seemed he would forever feel the urge to touch her, be connected to her, even if only for a moment.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice trembling as if the emotions welling inside her were too much to contain. Then she closed her eyes and drew in a long breath, exhaling slowly. After a while, her expression softened.
He realized she looked at home out here in the garden, her face lit by moonlight, free of all the constraints and expectations even he found confining in aristocratic drawing rooms.
He stroked his fingers along the satiny curve of her cheek, and she opened her eyes, looking much more at ease.
