A Study In Seduction(26)

“I do hope you’ll be there,” she continued. “And I believe Mother would like to invite you for tea one afternoon before her departure.”

She blinked up at him. Alexander gave a half bow.

“Thank you, Miss Cooper. I shall look forward to receiving the invitation. Do enjoy the remainder of the evening.” He walked away before she could respond and headed for the card room.

Tension stiffened the back of his neck as he wove through the crowd. He ought to have asked Miss Cooper to dance. He ought to have asked her if he could fetch her a glass of champagne. He ought to have told her she looked beautiful. He ought to have bloody well flirted.

A week ago, he might have.

Before he’d met Lydia Kellaway.

He stopped inside the card room. Crossing his arms, he drummed his fingers against his biceps. An image of Lydia appeared in his mind: flushed cheeks, angry eyes, and hot desperation.

“She’s far prettier than Fulton’s sister.” Sebastian stopped beside him.

“Of course she’s prettier than… Oh.” Alexander cleared his throat. “You mean Miss Cooper. Well, yes. She is.”

Sebastian gave him a shrewd look. “Who else would I have been referring to?”

“Any number of young chits, I’d imagine.” Alexander steeled himself against his brother’s curiosity. He’d told Sebastian about his encounter with Miss Kellaway, about the locket, but he hadn’t divulged his growing interest in the woman.

“You ought to take up with one of them,” Sebastian continued. “Plenty around like Miss Cooper. Pretty and a bit idle headed. I assure you such women are a delight to keep company with. Lady Welbourne’s niece is new to town, and word is she’s quite lovely. You ought to attend her ladyship’s dinner party tomorrow, make her niece’s acquaintance.”

“I’ve other business to contend with tomorrow. A meeting with Father’s solicitors. Letters to dictate regarding Floreston Manor.”

Sebastian was quiet for a moment, then moved in front of him. Alexander suppressed the urge to take a step back, to try to deflect whatever it was his brother intended to say.

“Being the firstborn doesn’t mean you need surrender to duty, Alex,” Sebastian said. “It doesn’t mean you need to put responsibility above all.”

Alexander looked past Sebastian’s shoulder to the numerous card games in progress.

“If I do not,” he said, his voice stiff, “who will?”

Sebastian didn’t respond. Alexander shifted his gaze to meet his brother’s eyes. They were both thinking of Rushton. Alexander smothered a rush of frustration directed at their father.

“And you,” he continued, “are the one who suggested I marry. What other reason would I have if not for the future of the earldom? If not for duty?”

Sebastian stepped back. An odd flash of disappointment crossed his features. “You could do so for you.”

“Don’t be foolish.”

“For Christ’s sake, Alex, duty doesn’t mean you need to be wound tighter than a clock.” Sebastian scrubbed a hand through his hair. “There’s no law against you having a good bit of fun. Why don’t you come with me to the Eagle Tavern later tonight?”

Alexander hesitated, temptation warring with the ever-present fear of what people would say. He shook his head. Sebastian’s disappointment visibly deepened.

“All right, then,” he said. “Do whatever makes you happy. Oh, no, you’ll never do that, will you? You’ll always do what you have to do instead.”


Alexander watched his brother walk toward a card table. For all his efforts and work in recent years, Alexander wasn’t even certain what he truly wanted to do.

He did, however, know what he did not want to do. He did not want to marry a woman like Miss Cooper whose life revolved around the latest fashions and social functions. He did not want to enter into a union reminiscent of his parents’ marriage, one of brittle formality and coldness. He did not want to be bored.

Well. Perhaps he did know what he wanted to do, after all. He wanted to marry a woman who was interesting and clever. Who made his blood run quick and hot. Who challenged him and forced him to look beyond the boundaries of his own life. A woman whose beauty was only enhanced by the keen intelligence in her eyes.

A woman who hadn’t been far from his thoughts since the day she walked into his life.

A woman like Lydia Kellaway.