Page 2 of The Jilted Duchess
"Leave me alone!" a girl's voice cried out in the darkness with a hint of panic. "Please, sir! Leave me be!"
"Get back in here, you saucy bit," a low male voice growled.
Alexandra twisted her head, glancing from side to side until she spotted the lit-up summer house and the figures struggling at the entrance. A slip of a girl was pulling away from a tall manas hard as she could, but he was holding onto her wrist and dragging her back, laughing at her.
A wash of rage burned into Alexandra's blood. Even here, even at this beautiful, respectable event, men could not be trusted. She started towards the pair immediately, her hands forming into tight fists at her side and her blood thundering in her veins with rage and fear. How could anyone treat another person like this? As though it was nothing, as though it would do no harm!
Any lady found in such a position would be ruined immediately, her life would be over, but would the gentleman suffer? Would he care about the lives in his wake?
The voices grew louder, the girl pleading and the man laughing and pulling her towards him with promises and threats that made her face flush and her stomach twist in disgust.
He was big, bigger than her. He was strong, that was clear from how little effort he was using to keep the girl in place. He was a threat, and if Alexandra was being truly practical, she knew she would be rushing back to the ball for aid this moment. But that would mean the young lady would be found in the position, and her reputation would already be ruined.
Besides, this girl could be someone else's sister, someone's loved one. If it were her sister in this position, she hoped someone would step in.
"Stop that!" she called out, her voice crisp and sharp in the cold evening. "Let go of her!"
Both figures froze, as she drew closer, she could see that the struggling girl was one of the servants, a little thing with a cap on her head and a neat pinny tied at her waist. She looked desperate, hair escaping her cap, and cheeks flushed and stained with tears.
Alexandra felt her disgust grow sharper. It would be bad enough to attack any lady this way, but a servant without family or ties to protect her, who would be cast from her position if she found out, was even lower than she had suspected. The man holding her was dressed as a gentleman, but very clearly had never even heard of the term manners.
"Let her go," she said again, firmly, as though she were speaking to a stubborn dog. "What do you think you are doing, sir? This is no way to behave!"
The gentleman was startled enough to stop tugging on the girl, who, encouraged by the unexpected help, gave her hand a final furious tug and was free. She fled into the night immediately, not stopping to see what would happen next.
Smart girl, Alexandra thought. Now, for her to extract herself from the situation before this cad of a man could react. She was already backing away when the gentleman moved, quickly crossing the space between them. His face had sharp features and clean lines, and he was refined and handsome in a skin-deep way. His eyes were cold blue, making her feel like he was assessing her worth as prey.
"We do not know each other," Alexandra said shortly. "I will take my leave."
"You have spoiled my fun tonight," he said, his voice low and smooth. "You should recompense me for that."
"Oh, are we speaking of it in those terms?" Alexandra asked. "Very well, sir. Since you will have it this way. I have removed the 'entertainment' you were stealing from a member of this household. If you want recompense for being a foiled thief, I suggest that you look elsewhere."
"Do you call me a thief?"
"I have other names to call you, should it come to that," she said coldly. "I have already wasted enough of my evening in your presence, sir. Good evening."
She turned, but he moved to block her path. His shoulders were broad in his morning coat, and his hands were large and finely boned. She looked at them and wondered if the maid had been badly hurt by the way he had been holding her.
"Get out of my way," she said.
"I shall have a kiss from those sharp lips first," he said, grinning at her. A cold grin, a cruel thing meant to hurt. "If you'll call me thief either way, madam, then I shall be a thief indeed and steal one from you."
Alexandra felt her face burn with fury and embarrassment. Before he could move closer, she whipped back her hand and slapped him across the face with all of her strength, her palm burning with the impact. "Leave me be! I shall scream loud enough for the entire house to hear, sir, you wait and see if I do not!"
"And what shall that do for you, little shrew?" he asked, his hands grabbing at her shoulders and pinning her in place, the mark of her hand bright red on his cheek. "If not to just ruin you as quickly as kissing me might?"
"Let go -" Alexandra pushed at him, struggling, but it was too late. Footsteps hurried up, voices just behind her, and light swung across their faces. A few gentlemen stood there with lanterns, accompanied by the little maid and a footman, clearly having been summoned. As the little maid met her gaze with a look of mute apology, Alexandra closed her eyes.
She was practically in his arms. Alone.
She was ruined.
CHAPTER TWO
The Duke of Murray, Hector Lennox, stormed towards the dower house that the Dowager, Miriam Lennox, his father's wife, occupied. The sky above was a stormy gray and beginning to rain, but he was too furious to feel the first drops hitting his face. Perhaps the heat of his fury was keeping him warm at last in this dreary country.
How dare the man, he thought to himself, striding up the steps to the front door and banging furiously against the wood. He was barely home from a business trip abroad, and already his half-brother was causing trouble.
