Forever My Love (Berkeley-Faulkner #2)(51)

“That is sage advice, I am certain,” Alec replied politely, a dance of laughter shining in his eyes. “But there are urges a man can’t always regulate by the seasons. And suddenly I find myself facing the coming winter with a newfound loathing for cold sheets.”

“Then,” Sackville inserted with mock gravity, “make certain, Falkner, that the woman you choose is the type who will have a penchant for warming her husband’s sheets instead of some other fellow’s.““I will,” Alec said gravely, and after that was very quiet.

Mira paused at the library door before knocking. She knew that Sackville had been engaged in conversation the past hour or two. But she had just seen Osbaldeston’s heavyset form leave the library and now it was possible that she would have a few moments of privacy to speak to Sackville. After thinking about the subject of the Berkeleys all morning, she had decided to tell him that she might have to leave sooner than she had planned. If her presence proved to be intolerable to the arriving couple, Mira would leave today, for she had no wish to inflict more pain on them. It was only fair to warn Sackville of an early departure, although she did not yet know what reason she would give him for it.

“Come in,” she heard Sackville call, and cautiously she opened the door. Immediately Mira realized her mistake. Sackville was not alone. Alec was in the library as well, encased in pale gray pantaloons and short Hessian boots, were crossed and propped on the heavy wooden table, the sleeves of his white shirt billowing and gathered at the wrists in a piratical style. Slowly he lifted his raven head, his gray eyes containing a smoky darkness as he looked at her.

“Forgive me,” Mira said to Sackville, already beginning to back out the way she had entered. “I didn’t know you were conversing with—”

“Please, don’t apologize,” Sackville said instantly, catching her by the upper arm and dragging her into the room. “I’m speaking with Falkner. I’m certain he doesn’t mind such a pleasant interruption.”

“Not at all,” Alec said softly.

“After all,” Sackville continued, sliding his arm around Mira’s waist, “he’s an old friend of mine and knows all about the relationship between you and me.”It took all of Mira’s acting skill to keep from turning crimson. Her eyes darted to Alec’s impassive face, and he shook his head slightly. Mira would have sworn at first that he looked vaguely amused by the unknowing accuracy of Sackville’s remark. But as the older man pulled her even closer into his paunched side, she saw Alec’s jaw tighten into a rigid line. And as Sackville’s thick fingers moved to stroke along her waist, Alec looked like a man completely incapable of amusement. Suddenly Mira sensed an explosive tension in the room. Her forehead creased with uneasiness.

“My lord,” she said to Sackville, “I wished to talk to you privately. But there is ample time for us to talk later, so I will leave you to—”

“You are a picture this morning,” Sackville de-clared, warming to his role. “A veritable picture, A beautiful flower.” He bent his head to kiss her on the corner of the mouth. Mira stood there, frozen and revolted. It was intolerable to her to be touched by any man but Alec… but to have him sitting there watching…

“Please, Lord Sackville…” she said stiffly. response to Mira’s obvious reticence, Sackville be-came playful, squeezing her affectionately.

“The perfect woman,” he said to Alec. “Knows when to tease and when to be affectionate. A man never gets bored with a woman like this, eh?”

Alec made no reply, his expression unfathomable Mira tried ineffectually to edge away from Sackville’s groping. “Lord Sackville,” she said, making a greater effort to pull away from him. His hand continued to caress her waist, brushing perilously close to the curve of her breast. What was he trying to prove? MirA thought wildly.

“There are thoughts going on in that pretty that you would never suspect.” Sackville remarked He threw a wink at Alec, whose narrowed eyes werenow following the movement of that errant hand as it moved up and down Mira’s side. “To look at her, you’d never suspect what special talents she has—”

“Please!” Mira cried, flushing as Sackville caressed the curve of her hip.

Alec could stand no more of it. “Like digging up mandrake roots?” he asked. The venomous question was belied by the casual softness of his voice. Alec stood up slowly, heaving an almost unnoticeable sigh as Sackville’s hand dropped from Mira’s body. The gall rising in his throat from watching her being handled by another man subsided a degree or two, but still Alec had to fight the impulse to snatch her away from Sackville. “It’s not necessary to fondle her for my benefit any longer. I know. I know.”

Both Sackville and Mira stared at him as if they hadn’t quite heard what he had said. Then Sackville turned to the woman at his side, his blue eyes faintly dazed. “You told him?”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, feeling like a traitor, wanting to crawl away in shame and regret. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“I trusted you!” Sackville said in a rasping voice, his face heavily lined with encroaching pain. “I know you did. I… I don’t know what to say—” “She didn’t want to tell me,” Alec broke in quietly. “I forced her to.”