Page 68 of The Remarkable Myth of a Nameless Lady
“Would you care to walk?” Jacob asked.
Alicia nodded. “Itisa pleasant afternoon.”
“I thought we might go to the old ruins?”
“Lead the way,” she replied, struggling to hide her delight. Her father knew that letting his daughter wander alone with Jacob, without a chaperone, was not exactly proper, but the Prices were still remembering all the details of the upper echelons. And that allowed certain freedoms that Alicia was only too happy to take advantage of. She would endure the chiding from the Duchess later, when news reached her.
A warm breeze embraced them as they walked away from the present manor and headed for the broken sentinel of the old castle, which kept perpetual watch over Ballyroyal. A few more of the ruins had fallen away, but the majority remained, stubborn as ever.
“Did you think this would ever happen?” he said, as they came to a stop by one of the crumbling walls and looked out over the verdant landscape.
She frowned. “What?”
“That you would be back here, living in this house, learning how to be a lady again?” He smiled and glanced at her, the sunlight catching him in such a way that she had never seen him look more handsome. Then again, she had found herself gazing at him more often of late and remarking the same thing.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever live up to your mother’s expectations,” she said glibly. “I have lived too long among the ordinary folk, that some aspects of high society seem completely foolish to me now. And I don’t know that I will ever know which knives and forks to use. Some of them are so tiny, they ought to be reserved for dolls.”
He laughed. “I have told you. Work inwards, always.”
“My dancing pleases her, though. I haven’t forgotten that. Even as a child, I loved to dance.” She closed her eyes and let the wind wash over her, tepid and gentle.
“I would like to see you dance.” His voice made her eyes open, for there was a curious, desirous note to it that she could not ignore.
“I would like to dance with you,” she said, unable to keep the words from tumbling out.
He offered her his hand. “Dance with me, then.”
“Here?” she gasped.
“It is as good a place as any.”
“But we have no music,” she protested.
He shrugged. “We do not need music.”
Shyly, she took his hand and allowed him to turn her in a circle, before they came back toward each other, their palms pressed together. She stepped back, imagining other dancers with them, as she turned and twirled and whirled in rhythm with his movements, always coming back toward the pull of him.
“What do you make of the ball?” he teased, as the pretended to step around absent figures.
She chuckled. “I think it rather fine.”
“Really? I find the conversation lacking and I have not so much as glanced at any of the ladies my mother has presented. Indeed, you are quite the only interesting person here.” Their palms pressed once more, leaving Alicia breathless.
“I was about to say the same thing. I only wished to be polite, as I know the efforts your mother has gone to with arranging this ball at such short notice,” she replied, grinning. “The ballroom might have sufficed, instead of having the walls falling down around us.”
He smiled. “You dance beautifully.”
“As do you,” she said.
“May I speak frankly?” He twirled her around again, before bringing her back toward him, one hand resting boldly on the curve of her spine. She made no motion to pull away. It felt nice to be held by him, and there was nobody to watch them. Not unless Tom was hiding in the trees beyond, which would not have been implausible. He had been given a position at the household, to take care of security matters.
There had been no enduring rift between the two men, for once the first stings of grief had faded, Jacob had realized the favor that Tom had granted him by acting so swiftly and decisively, as a military man ought to have done. If he had not shot when he had, Alicia and Jacob both knew that he would be the one in the family mausoleum instead of Owen.
She tilted her head. “Always.”
“I am so very pleased you accepted the offer of coming to live here. My request was not entirely selfless, I have to admit,” he proceeded.
“It wasn’t?” Her voice held a hint of teasing.
