The Season(50)

But not a mention of the kiss! No attempt to repeat it! No reference to it whatsoever, which both frustrated and confused her, leaving her wondering if she was imagining the kiss meant more than it did—after all, Blackmoor had had a particularly difficult time of it that evening, and perhaps the kiss had been a strange occurrence. She’d been running this possibility over and over in her mind and, finally, had decided it was time to tell her friends. She was tired of her stomach twisting every time he entered the room or she heard his voice, irritated by how surly she was beginning to feel about the whole situation, and she needed a dose of objectivity to regain her sanity.

Of course, she hadn’t told them yet. She wasn’t quite sure how one announced to one’s friends and one’s maid that she’d been kissed. The whole experience made her feel rather like a fish out of water. The idea of simply blurting it out in the middle of conversation was distasteful—she didn’t want to make a scene, especially if it wasn’t an event of import. So, instead, she had told them about the burglary at Blackmoor House, which allowed her to shore up the courage to tell them the rest.

Vivi spoke from her place on the settee on the opposite side of Alex’s dressing table. “My father said the house was thoroughly ransacked. Did you see?”

“No. Though Gavin said that the damage was mostly confined to the study. He seems to think that the intruder wasn’t simply looking for something of value. He was looking for something specific.”

“My father said the same,” Vivi agreed, “but it seems that no one knows what, exactly, someone would be looking for there…so no one can be sure if the item in question was indeed taken.”

“Perhaps it was something that belonged to the former earl?” Ella surmised.

“Perhaps. But wouldn’t Gavin know if there was something of importance that his father possessed?” Alex wondered as Eliza fussed over another curl.

“It’s possible.” Ella ran her hand back and forth over the coverlet. “But the earl’s death was such a surprise, maybe not.”

“Well, what is most important at this point is that Blackmoor is safe. Between my father and Bow Street, someone will get to the bottom of it.” Vivi stood and walked to stand behind Eliza, watching her work as she asked Alex. “Did he sleep at Blackmoor House that night?”

Alex shook her head, garnering a stern look from Eliza as the maid tugged on a curl a touch too firmly. “No. My mother never would have stood for that. He came here after the investigators left.”

“Poor Blackmoor, it must have been a difficult night for him.” Vivi speculated. “Were you able to talk much when he arrived here? Or was it too late to do so?”

“No, my mother and I waited for him.”

Vivi nodded, recognizing that, of course, Alex and the duchess would have waited. “How was he?”

“He was…” Alex paused, looking at her reflection in the mirror, pretending to be caught up in Eliza’s work as she realized that now was the appropriate time to tell her friends exactly what had happened. “Fine…tired and certainly overwhelmed, but we…” She took a deep breath, then lost her courage. “We stayed up for a time and talked and he seemed to be in fairly good spirits.”

“Did he say anything more about the state of the robbery? Suggest any suspects? Mention any clues?”

Vivi laughed at Ella’s line of questioning as Alex watched Eliza insert the final pin into her hair. She smiled up at her maid and thanked her, announcing “There’s no one on the island of Britain who is more of a genius with hair than you are, Eliza.”

She turned the spot at the dressing table over to Vivi and moved to her wardrobe to retrieve the chemise that she would be wearing under her ball gown that evening. As she did so, Ella prodded again, flopping back on the bed. “Well? Did he?”

Taking another deep breath, Alex answered, “No. He failed to mention any of those things. I rather think he was too busy kissing me.”

There was a moment of silence as the words hung in the air of the chamber, and then three gasps erupted in the room, followed by an “Ow!” from Vivi as Eliza accidentally yanked on a strand of her hair.

Alex couldn’t help the nervous giggle that escaped from her as she looked from one face to the next. Vivi’s shock had quickly turned to excitement; Eliza was the portrait of surprise; and Ella looked thoroughly dumbfounded.

Ella spoke first. “I beg your pardon?”

“He DID? And you haven’t TOLD us?” This from Vivi, who had twisted around in her chair and had waved off Eliza.

Which suited Eliza, it seemed, for she couldn’t hold back a starry-eyed “Oh! Lady Alexandra!”

Alex sat in a nearby chair, embarrassed by all the attention, and said, “Yes. He did. I didn’t tell you because it’s not really something that one feels entirely comfortable speaking aloud.” Looking at Eliza, she continued, “I wouldn’t get too excited, Eliza. I’ve been given no indication that it will happen again.”

Vivi and Ella pounced on that. “What?”

“Why not?” from Eliza.

Alex shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. “Because he’s ignoring the whole event!”

Ever the pragmatist, Ella asked, “What do you mean he’s ignoring you? I thought you said you’d seen him since?”