"Tristan?" Rachael echoed, looking shocked. "You cannot be seriously interested in him."
"Why not?" Alexandra asked cautiously, afraid she knew the answer.
"He's tainted with scandal! Everyone knows he's been accused of murdering his uncle."
"I didn't," Alexandra pointed out. "How is it we never discussed this?"
"I don't know." Rachael reached for another cake. "It happened years ago, didn't it? It must have been one of those seasons when I was in town and you were stuck here…but that doesn't signify, does it? Whether we discussed the scandal or not, it did happen—and in light of that, you cannot consider Lord Hawkridge's suit."
"There's no suit." Alexandra clenched her hands in her lap. "Tris refuses to even entertain the thought of marriage."
"Good for him. He's retained some honor, at least."
Alexandra's eyes widened at her cousin's tone. "You cannot think he committed murder? He wasn't convicted."
"Not in the House of Lords. But in the hearts and minds of the people who matter—"
"Rachael! You know Tris. He cannot have done something so heinous."
"I don't know him. Not anymore. It's been years—"
"He hasn't changed," Alexandra insisted. "Not that much."
Rachael's lips curved in a faint smile. "You always have been the most loyal person I know."
"My loyalty isn't misplaced. Not in this case, anyway."
Rachael considered, then nodded. "Very well. But that still doesn't make him marriageable."
"My sisters don't seem to agree." Alexandra turned to Juliana. "You left us alone again. You're trying to push us together, and don't try to deny it."
Juliana didn't. "Is it working?" she asked instead.
"Yes," Alexandra admitted miserably. "But he hasn't kissed me again."
"He kissed you?" Rachael breathed. "And you allowed it with no intention of marriage?"
Alexandra measured her cousin for a long moment. "You've had four seasons. Have you never been kissed?"
"Well…" Rachael's cheeks flushed a delicate pink, then deepened when Alexandra looked pointedly at the fourth finger of her left hand. "No, I didn't marry any of them."
"Any?" Corinna burst out. "How many men have you kissed?"
Rachael fisted the hand with the ringless finger. "They were only kisses!"
"Exactly," Alexandra said with not a little satisfaction.
Corinna snatched another lemon cake. "I must be the only unkissed girl in all of England."
"Not the only," Juliana disagreed with a sigh.
Alexandra sighed in sympathy. "You'll both have your seasons. But only if I don't marry Tris. So it's in your best interests to let him finish what he came here to do and leave…without being caught in a compromising position with me, thanks to you."
"But what about your interests?" Juliana insisted. "You don't care so much for society—you'll be happier married—"
"I won't be happy if you're not. And how many times do I have to tell you that Tris has no intention of marrying me regardless of your plans?" She took a lemon cake, too. "Perhaps at the ball I'll dance with someone who will sweep me off my feet."
Rachael smiled. "Waltzing always makes me fall halfway in love."
"Waltzing?" Alexandra repeated, alarmed. "There will be no waltzing. We don't know how to waltz."
"Of course there will be waltzing! There hasn't been a society ball without waltzing since 1812."
"We've had no dance lessons since 1812—people in mourning don't dance." Juliana looked panicked. "There's no time to send for a dancing master—the ball is in only four days. Good gracious, how will Alexandra find a husband if she doesn't know how to waltz?"
"This isn't just about me," Alexandra snapped.
Rachael bit into another lemon cake and shrugged. "One way or another, you will all have to learn how to waltz."
SEVENTEEN
THE GRAY DAY had finally delivered on its promise, and rain pattered on the drawing room's windows. "Lord and Lady Charlford will be delighted to attend," Alexandra read off a sheet of heavy cream-colored paper. Seated on one of the blue sofas, she set the acceptance note facedown on the empty space beside her.
At the desk, Juliana flipped through the guest list. "Charlford," she murmured. "Ah, here they are." She made a mark. "Next?"
Griffin peeked into the room. "Is she gone?"
"Who?" Alexandra asked innocently.
Her sisters snickered.
"Rachael," Tris clarified, walking in. He moved the stack of responses aside so he could sit next to Alexandra. "Griffin would just as soon avoid her."
Griffin grunted as he plopped down on a chair.
"Rachael? You're afraid of little cousin Rachael?" Juliana walked over from the desk to hand her brother the last of the lemon cakes. "Here, this will cure your melancholy."
"I'm not melancholy," Griffin growled before biting into it anyway.
Tris's thigh pressed alongside Alexandra's skirts, and she could swear she could feel his heat burning through them. Not only that, she could still feel the imprint of his lips on her forehead from earlier. Right in the center above her eyes.
This would never do. The euphoria she'd experienced upon sighting him this morning was rapidly turning to despair. If only he hadn't returned! She should be looking forward to the ball, not fighting this impossible attraction.
Rubbing her forehead hard, she rose and wandered over to see Corinna's latest painting. On the unfinished canvas, a young couple lounged, sharing a cozy picnic. Corinna often painted landscapes, but Alexandra couldn't remember her ever including people.
She watched her sister create the dappled shade beneath a tree. "That's not one of your usual subjects."
Corinna looked up from her easel. "Do you like it?"
"Very much," Tris said, suddenly standing beside Alexandra. "The two of them look like they're in love."
Corinna glanced at him and Alexandra before focusing on her scowling brother. "Griffin's in love," she teased.
"I am not," he mumbled around a mouthful of lemon cake.
She swirled her brush in gray paint. "Rachael took a fancy to you, too."
He swallowed, half choking. "She did?" They all burst out laughing while Griffin slowly turned red. "I'm sure she said nothing of the sort."
Alexandra started inching her way back to the sofa. "Of course she didn't, but we could tell."
"We're girls," Juliana added.
"As though I hadn't noticed with
