Jane realised that they had stopped walking. They were in the shadow of a huge clump of cedars and the figure of the groom seemed suddenly far away. There was no one else in sight. Her throat had gone dry. She could read his intentions in his face…
‘Oh, no…’
Alex gave her a whimsical smile. ‘Is it so horrifying a prospect, Miss Verey? You must be quite honest, as I know you can be! You do not wish to marry me? It is such a neat solution!’
The breeze caressed Jane’s hot cheeks. Her mind was racing.
‘Oh, I could not! I am…you are so-’ She stopped before she could say anything she regretted. She was not entirely sure what she had meant to say. For all her feelings and half-formed wishes, the whole idea was so shocking, so sudden, that she could not comprehend it. Yet Alex was looking quite composed, almost lazily amused, as though her confusion pleased him.
‘Oh!’ Jane burst out. ‘This is so like you! To replace one outrageous suggestion with one even more monstrous! After all the trouble I went to-’
‘To thwart me?’ Alex was laughing openly now and it only added to Jane’s distraction. ‘But surely you did not wish to marry Philip?’
‘No, but-’ Jane almost stamped her foot with frustration. ‘Nor did I plan to have to reject you, your Grace!’
‘Then do not…’ Alex had taken her gloved hand in his and his touch was almost too much for Jane to bear. She realised that something strange was happening to her. The combined shock and the heady influence of Alex’s presence threatened to sweep away her good sense. It would be thrilling to give in to her instincts and accept him. For a moment she revelled in the idea, before sanity intervened.
There were so many reasons to refuse him. He had admitted that he had proposed in order to fulfil the pledge to his grandfather. Then there had been his bitterness when he had spoken of his dead wife. Alex must have loved her very much, and who could compete with a ghost? Surely not a naive girl of nineteen! And then there was Francine Dennery…
‘What of Lady Dennery?’ she said, suddenly forlorn, remembering the Beauty’s flagrant charms.
Alex raised his black brows. ‘You need not concern yourself over her,’ he said cryptically. ‘Lady Dennery will not be surprised at our betrothal.’
He was moving much too fast for Jane. Betrothal…She frowned a little at his presumption.
‘I do not find that particularly reassuring, sir,’ she said candidly. ‘Do you imply that Lady Dennery would accept the situation and carry on as before, or that your association with her would be at an end?’
Alex gave her a wicked grin. ‘Straight to the point, Miss Verey! Do
‘I have no wish to discuss your precise relationship!’ Jane snapped, fast losing her temper. ‘My point was that I would not marry a man who would be unfaithful to me!’
Alex inclined his head. ‘I respect your views and you need have no concern on that score. I do not intend to be unfaithful to my wife!’
His wife…Jane realised that her question had given the false impression that she would accept. Drawing away a little, she turned to look at him. She had to put a stop to this now, before she became further entangled. Alex had viewed the marriage as a neat solution, and on that basis she had to decline. The balance would be too unequal otherwise-she loved him, but he saw her as a way out of a problem…
‘I am sorry,’ she said formally. ‘I cannot accept you, your Grace.’
Alex’s face was very still. Jane found herself studying him closely, committing to memory the strong lines of his face, the dark eyes that could lighten so easily to unexpected laughter…Her throat ached with tears as an intense love swept over her. Oh, if only he had said that he loved her!
‘May I ask why you have refused?’ he said at length, very quietly.
‘Because…’ Jane cleared her throat ‘…I understand that it would only be a match of convenience-’
‘A match of convenience! What extraordinary ideas you do have, Miss Verey!’ Alex stepped closer. ‘Surely you must realise that I find you prodigiously attractive?’
Jane gave a despairing squeak. That was not what she had meant at all and now matters were taking a decidedly difficult turn. ‘Oh, no, your Grace, that cannot be so! You are funning me! Please do not say any more!’
‘Pray do not distress yourself, Miss Verey,’ Alex murmured. ‘Let me convince you of my good faith!’
Jane was aware that the situation was slipping from her grasp. She had witnessed Alex’s potent charm on many an occasion but never imagined that there would be a serious need to defend herself against it. She put out her left hand to ward him off-he appeared to already have possession of her right-but he simply captured it in his and pulled her closer.
She knew that he would release her at once if she appeared truly distressed and yet she discovered that she had not real inclination to pull away from him.
He freed her hands only to draw her more closely into his arms and Jane found that, instead of pushing him away, she was leaning confidingly against his chest. His cheek grazed hers, rough against the softness of her skin and Jane gave a pleasurable shiver, breathing the delicious male scent. She had a sudden urge to turn her face against his neck and inhale deeply until she was intoxicated with the essence of him, but Alex was kissing her already and this time it was very different from at Malladon. Gone was the gentleness, to be replaced with a real urgency that was both exciting and a little bit frightening at the same time.
The stretch of parkland, the tall trees and the cool breeze all receded from Jane’s consciousness. She was aware of nothing beyond the powerful circle of Alex’s arms and the melting warmth that was invading her body.
Her lips parted instinctively beneath the skilful pressure of his own and Jane felt herself tremble in response. Nor did Alex seem unaffected by the embrace as she had thought him at Malladon, for she could feel the racing of his heart where her hand still rested against his chest. She slid her arms up around his neck and felt him draw her all the closer until she was resting against the whole length of his hard, muscular body. The kiss deepened into a dizzying spiral of desire, easing after an immeasurable time only as Alex let her go a little to catch his breath.
Jane swayed a little within his arms, aware that she would have fallen without his support. She was still trembling and her blood was alight with a strange mixture of heat and ice-cold excitement.
Jane struggled to free herself, suddenly overcome with emotions she could not understand.
‘Oh, please-’
Alex let her go at once. He was pale and breathing hard, and for a moment Jane saw the reflection of an emotion in his eyes that she found deeply disturbing.
‘I am sorry,’ he said expressionlessly. ‘I forgot that-’ He broke off. ‘I did not intend to frighten you, Jane.’
‘I was not frightened precisely,’ Jane said, incurably truthful, ‘only a little shocked to know how it felt. I am told that young ladies should not be subject to violent emotions…’ She looked away, too shy to admit that she had found the encounter as enjoyable as it was disturbing.
Alex tucked her hand through his arm and steered them back towards the path. ‘I have heard that said too, and thought it so much nonsense!’ he said cheerfully. ‘I should feel flattered and more encouraged were you to admit to taking pleasure in the experience!’
‘Oh!’ Jane cast a dubious look at him. ‘More encouraged?’
There was a wicked glint in Alex’s eyes. ‘My dear Jane, I wish to repeat my actions on plenty of future occasions, but will not do so if you hold them in strong dislike! However, I cherish a hope that my advances were not entirely unwelcome, and as your fiance-’
Jane felt her spirits sink a little. The delicious pleasure of Alex’s embrace had helped her to forget temporarily that he had other motives for the marriage, motives that had little to do with love. She frowned a little. For a moment she hesitated on the edge of confiding her concerns in him, then there was a spattering of gravel and she realised that the groom had returned with the horses. A carriage crossed her line of vision, then two ladies on horseback. The Park was beginning to wake up.
‘Have you changed your mind?’ Alex asked quietly, as they turned the horses towards the gate. ‘Will you marry me?’
Jane’s troubled green gaze searched his face. ‘I do not know…I am not sure…there are reasons…’
She saw the shadow that touched his eyes, before he said with constraint, ‘Is that a definite refusal, Miss Verey?’