Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(98)

Alex could change from arrogance to gentleness in the blink of an eye, luring her to confide private things she had never thought anyone would want to know about her. He saw through her with terrifying clarity, understanding the shyness beneath her facade. Countless times she was tempted to tell him about Nicole, but she held back in fear. The time with him was becoming too precious. She couldn’t lose him yet.

She waited in vain for word from Giuseppe, warning Burton privately to bring her any messages from him. Although she had considered the idea of rehiring the Leary officer, Mr. Knox, to look for Nicole, she was afraid he might inadvertently jeopardize her chances of regaining her daughter. All she could do was wait. Sometimes the strain caused her to lash out irritably at those around her, even at Alex. On one occasion he responded with a sharpness that nearly moved her to tears, and they had a bitter argument. She was hardly able to meet his eyes the next morning, embarrassed by her outburst. She was also afraid that he would demand an explanation for her unreasonable behavior. Instead Alex behaved as if nothing had happened, his manner gentle and warm. Lily realized that he made allowances for her that he would make for no one else. He was the kind of husband she had never imagined existed—generous, quick to forgive, concerned more for her needs than his own.

But as she discovered, Alex did have his faults. He was overprotective and jealous, scowling at any man he perceived to be staring at his wife too closely or taking her hand too long. It amused Lily, his attitude that every man in London must be lusting after her. He took special pains to warn her away from his own cousin, Roscoe Lyon, who made charmingly outrageous overtures to her every time they met. At a magnificent ball they attended, Ross made her laugh by seizing her hand and bestowing a multitude of kisses on the back, as if he were a starving fox in the company of a delectable hen. “Lady Raiford,” he sighed eloquently, “your beauty is so luminous that we have no need of moonlight. It fairly humbles me.”

“I’ll humble you,” Alex interrupted grimly, retrieving his wife’s hand in short order.

Ross encompassed Lily with a beguiling smile. “He doesn’t trust me.”

“Neither do I,” she murmured.

He affected a wounded look. “All I wish for is a waltz with you, madam,” he protested, and added with a seductive grin, “I’ve never danced with an angel before.”

“She’s promised this one to me,” Alex said darkly, and began to pull his wife away.

“What of the next?” Ross called after them.

Alex answered over his shoulder. “She’s promised all of them to me.”

Laughing, Lily tried to warn him as he led her toward the waltzing couples. “Alex, there’s something I should tell you. Mother always tried to teach me to glide gracefully, but it was no use. She said my style of dancing is comparable to the romping of an unbroken horse.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“I promise you, it can!”

Alex thought she was jesting, but to his amusement he discovered that it was true. It took all of his skill to restrain his athletic wife’s vigor upon the dance floor, not to mention several firm maneuvers to keep her from trying to lead. “Follow me,” he said, slowing his pace and guiding her through the steps.

Despite the strong guidance of his hand, Lily kept moving in the wrong direction. “This might be easier if you just followed me,” she suggested impishly.

He bent his head and whispered in her ear, telling her to think of the last time they made love. The unorthodox advice caused her to giggle, but as she stared into his eyes and concentrated on being together with him, it was suddenly easy to allow him full control of their movements. She relaxed enough to allow something approaching a glide. “Why, we’re very good at this!” she exclaimed. Grinning at her expression of pleased surprise, Alex claimed her for several more waltzes, causing more than a few raised eyebrows.

It was unfashionable for a husband to dote openly on his wife, but Alex didn’t seem to care. Lily was amused by the sophisticated society women who mocked enviously behind their fans at the close attention Alex paid to her. Their own husbands spoke indifferently to them, if at all, and spent every night in their mistresses’ beds. To Lily’s surprise, even Penelope remarked on Alex’s possessiveness, declaring that Zachary never sought out her company the way Alex did with Lily.

“What do you talk with him about all the time?” Penelope asked curiously during the intermission of the most recent play at Drury Lane. “What do you say that interests him so?” The two sisters stood together in a corner of the domed foyer on the first floor, fanning themselves. Before Lily could answer, they were joined by Lady Elizabeth Burghley and Mrs. Gwyneth Dawson, both of them respectable young matrons Lily had begun friendships with. Lily especially liked Elizabeth, who had a lively sense of humor.

“I must hear the answer to this,” Elizabeth declared with a laugh. “All of us have been wondering how to keep our husbands planted firmly by our sides as Lily does. What do you say that he finds so enthralling, dear?”

Lily shrugged, glancing at Alex. He was standing with a group of men across the room, all of them involved in idle conversation. As if he felt her gaze, he glanced back at her and smiled slightly. She turned her attention back to the women. “We talk about everything,” she said with a grin. “Billiards, beeswax, and Bentham. I never hesitate to give him my opinion, even when he doesn’t like it.”