A Study In Seduction(87)
“You’re coming home with me,” Alexander said.
Irritation prickled the back of Lydia’s neck at the implacable tone in his voice.
“Alexander, if you hadn’t divulged your intentions to my grandmother, we would not be in this position,” she whispered. “If you had listened to me when I first declined and…”
Her whole body rippled with a sudden chill.
“Lydia?” Alexander stopped at the sound of her strangled voice. “What is it?”
Someone bumped into Lydia from behind, forcing her to move forward. Her eyes locked on to the back of a blond man, his hair cropped short against an elegant neck, his shoulders narrow beneath a dark suit coat.
She shook her head. No. Don’t be silly. It couldn’t be, of course; there’s no way in the world…
He turned. She gasped.
“Lydia?” Alexander clutched her arm and used his body to push through the crowd, pulling her along beside him. When they reached the lobby, he eased her back away from the men still streaming through the doors. “Lydia, what’s the matter? You’ve gone sheet-white.”
Lydia swallowed through a parched throat, her eyes skimming the crowd. He was gone, his sculpted features obliterated by the crush of people heading for the adjoining room.
“Alexander, would you… would you bring me a glass of water, please? I feel a bit faint.”
He didn’t look as if he wanted to leave her. “Come with me.”
“I’m fine.” Lydia pressed her hand against the wall. “Please. Just… hurry.”
Alexander released her arm with reluctance and moved past her. As soon as he was gone, she looked toward the doors.
She had to get out. Even if she’d only imagined him, even if she’d seen something that wasn’t there… she had to get out. Now. Gathering in a breath, she turned and started through the lobby.
“Guten tag, Lydia.”
She fought down a scream.
“Bitte setzen Sie sich.” He drew a chair against the wall and gestured with a long, elegant hand.
She didn’t take the seat, not because her legs weren’t about to collapse underneath her but because she wanted nothing he offered. She didn’t look at him, her gaze fixed on some blurry point beyond his shoulder.
“What… what are you doing here?” Her voice sounded thin, vibrating with tension.
“Ich bin—”
“I don’t speak German.”
She felt rather than saw his smile; then he spoke in fluent English. “I came to hear the symposium, of course. I received notice last month.”
“Lydia.”
A choking combination of relief and terror rose in Lydia as Alexander crossed the lobby back to her. His gaze slanted to the other man, his expression hardening with a dislike that seemed instinctive rather than rational.
Alexander stopped beside Lydia and handed her a glass of water, then slipped his hand around her arm and pulled her quite deliberately to his side.
Lydia grasped the glass. “Thank you. I… Would you give us a moment, please, my lord?”
He frowned. “I’d rather not.”
“Please.”
“I am Viscount Northwood,” he told the other man, his voice flat and cold. “Miss Kellaway’s fiancé. You are?”
The man’s mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile. “I am Dr. Joseph Cole. Miss Kellaway and I are old friends.”
“Odd. She doesn’t appear to think of you as a friend.”
“I’m fine, Northwood.” Lydia infused a forceful note to her voice. “Please go.”
She willed him to hear the plea in her voice. He hesitated, then stepped back—barely. “I’ll wait over there.”
He jerked his head toward the other side of the lobby, not taking his eyes from the man beside her as he backed away.
Lydia sipped the water and placed the glass on the chair. She sought the courage she didn’t know she possessed, then turned her head to look at Dr. Cole.
Her heart thumped hard against her rigid corset. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him, the analytical part of her brain submerging the emotions threatening to wreak havoc upon her soul.
She assessed him with a clinical eye, noting the gray strands threading his thinning blond hair, the wrinkles furrowing his forehead and the sides of his mouth. Behind his spectacles, his eyes looked the same—a pale green like ocean ice, thick spiky lashes.