Punishing His Ward (33 page)

Alex was leaning against the doorway of
her drawing room as if he had every right to be there, watching
them come down the stairs. He wasn’t shouting or retreating, he was
just standing there, observing.  And as much as Grace wished
she could just see Rupert off with his usual kiss and promise of a
later engagement, she didn't think she could pull it off with her
husband standing there.  Her stomach churned with nervous
tension even though she didn’t look directly at him.

Rupert reached the bottom of the stairs
before her.  "Lord Brooke.” He nodded his head in greeting,
still wary but apparently determined to be civil.  “What an
unexpected surprise."

Ah yes.  And this was why she'd
fallen in with Conyngham.  He was never at a loss for words,
unlike herself.  He always managed to find something civil to
say; it was a talent that Grace wished she had.  That and he
made her smile, which was hard enough to do these days.
 

Grace felt like Sisyphus, and the great
stone of her marriage was about to roll over her and crush her
flat.

Divorce.

It had finally come.  She'd wanted
it, waited for it, planned for it... and yet now that Alex was
standing here in her home, finally ready to deliver it, the pain in
her chest was so great that she thought her heart might actually be
falling into tiny pieces.  Not for the loss of Alex, she told
herself, but for the loss of what might have been.  The
marriage that could have been.  The girl that she had been,
before she'd spent years estranged from her deceiving, philandering
husband.

"I need to speak with my wife," Alex
said, almost affably.

Grace tensed at hearing her described
in such terms.  Surprisingly, Rupert didn't, and neither did
he completely abandon her.  Instead he straightened, looking
Alex directly in the eye.  "I would like your assurance that
no harm will come to her from you."

Tears sparked in her eyes.  Rupert
cared.  He didn't love her and she didn't love him, she knew
that, but she did care for him and enjoyed his company, but she
hadn't truly known how he felt about her.  Whether or not
there was more to their relationship than her affection for him and
his desire for her.  But he did care; for the first time in
her life she was actually hearing a man stand his ground for her,
for no reason other than to ensure her well-being. He was standing
up to her own husband for her.  And it shocked her nearly
speechless even as it made her want to cry out with
gratitude. 

Alex looked back at Rupert, just as
serious, his face as stone-like as ever, and nodded.  "On my
honor."

Rupert nodded back and looked up at
her, she was only standing a few stairs above him.  "My
dear... I'll call upon you this afternoon."

To check on her.  To ensure that
Alex had followed through with his word. And suddenly Grace knew
that if she asked, Rupert would stay.

As practiced as her social mask was,
she could feel it cracking and saw Rupert's eyes widen as he took
in her watery smile.  Despite his willingness, she knew he had
things he needed to attend to this morning, and she didn't truly
want any witnesses around for her conversation with Alex or the
immediate aftermath.  As wonderful as Rupert had been, and as
good a friend as he was in addition to being her lover, she doubted
he would quite understand her need to mourn a marriage that had
been effectively over for years.  Seeing him this afternoon
would be soon enough, after she could compose herself
again. 

"Thank you Rupert," she said, the
warmth in her voice completely sincere and not just a show for
Alex.  "I'll see you then."

He took her hand and kissed it, rather
than the usual kiss on the lips; apparently she wasn't the only one
feeling stymied by Alex's presence.  Then he left, leaving her
alone with her husband for the first time in years.

Blinking away the tears that Rupert's
stalwort support of her had engendered, Grace swept down past Alex
and into the drawing room, trying not to tense as she passed by
him.  It wasn't exactly easy to pretend he wasn't there, when
he took up nearly half the doorway with his muscular frame, but she
managed well enough.  

Firmly entrenched in the middle of one
of her favorite rooms, Grace took a moment to gather herself before
turning to face him, her expression as blank as she could possibly
make it.  She wished that she'd had more time to prepare, but
she hadn't realized that Alex was here so she was wearing a soft
pink morning gown that was more comfortable than flattering, and
her hair was curling down her back rather than being tidy and up.
 It made her feel at a disadvantage when he was looking so
splendid, but that couldn't be helped.  She didn't realize how
warm and beautiful she looked in the soft pink, or the way her dark
hair framed her face and shoulders, or how the fabric clung to her
curves.  

Raising her chin stubbornly, she forced
herself to calm, hiding her clenched hands in her skirts.  "I
assume you're here about a divorce?"

If she couldn't manage relieved, at
least she sounded indifferent if rather brittle.  But there
was no point in tip-toeing around the issue, she wanted it right
out in the open so she could get through this part of her life and
move on.

Alex raised one eyebrow, and Grace's
stomach seemed to drop somewhere around her knees.  Just that
one look and she knew that she had assumed incorrectly.

"No Grace, I'm here about a
reconciliation."