Page 44 of The Jilted Duchess
“Did you?”
“Ye may have noticed it’s not quite the same as all the others.”
“They all seemed a bit more…formal, yes.”
“Aye. I wanted ye to have them, but I thought ye would be drawn to this one…and to be truthful, it’s the one I pictured ye in today. I’m glad you saw it the same way I did.”
She looked up into his eyes, shivering a little at the closeness between the two of them, glad to be near him but made nervous by it at the same time.
“It looks good on ye,” he said under his breath.
And then he reached up and caught a loose curl of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, and Alexandra forgot how to breathe altogether.
Maddening!She ought to pull away, but she couldn’t. Not with him looking at her as if she were something he wanted to devour. Shivers broke out all over her body, and she couldn’t decide whether this was something she even wanted to be rid of.
And then she remembered that she was surrounded by her sisters and their husbands, and the spell broke just enough. She took a step back and forced her gaze down to the ground. “Let me go see to our guests,” she murmured.
“As ye wish, lass,” he said softly.
She turned and hurried off before he could summon her back, her heart still pounding.
“Alexandra!” Evelina stepped into her path, stopping her flight. “You look as if you’d seen a ghost. Is something the matter?”
“I…”Alexandra let out a heavy sigh. “Everything is all right, Evelina. I don’t want you to worry.”
“No, you’ve not been yourself at all today,” Evelina said firmly. “You’ve been enjoying this picnic, and I’m glad of that, but then to see your mood turn sour so quickly…”
“Not sour.”
“No, that’s right. This isn’t a sour mood. It’s something else. Did the duke say something to trouble you?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. Or rather…yes, hedid…” Alexandra glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no one else was near enough to hear what she was saying. “Alexandra, I worry that I may be starting to have feelings for him.”
“For your husband?”
“It sounds harmless, but you know it’s nothing I ever intended!”
“I do know,” Evelina said gently. “And I know how you fear a gentleman. But, Alexandra, you know…allowing yourself to put your trust in the man by your side…it can be wonderful. It can be a gift. They aren’t all like Father.”
“No, of course not, and I know your husband isn’t.” She did not know that at all. She still struggled to put trust in her sisters’ husbands, much as she knew they wanted her to try to do so. Much as they had told her that their men were good and could be relied upon.
“Has he done anything to make you doubt him?”
“Not a thing,” Alexandra said. “He’s done everything right.”
“Then I have to ask—what hasn’t been enough? What evidence of his quality are you waiting for?”
“It’s the fact that he’s done everything right that worries me,” Alexandra said. “He stepped up to wed me when he didn’t have to. He has been generous and kind, and he has never forced my hand into anything I didn’t want. How could I do anything but doubt him? How am I supposed to feel sure of a man’s intentions when he gives no clue as to what he’s thinking? He’s supposed to be a beast. A brute. And he is ill-mannered sometimes—but he’s kind and humorous and…and Ilikehim, Evelina. How can I trust something like that?”
“You simply have to make the decision to trust it,” Evelina said. “I know that it will be frightening at first, Alexandra. But I promise you, if you have a little faith, it will all be worth it. Put your trust in your husband. Allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you feel. You won’t be sorry you did.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Are ye busy right now?” Hector asked Alexandra.
She looked up from the book she had been reading in the sitting room. Hector had been loath to disturb her, seeing how at peace and content she was. He had been inclined to walk away and leave her to what she was doing. But he did have something he wanted to address with her—something he wanted her to see.
She set down the book. “I’m not busy.”
