The Heart of a Duke (20 page)

“
It is so strange. I’ve developed
a sudden throbbing in my head. I hate to ruin our evening, but
would you mind too much if we cut the night short, Val?”

“
Of course not.” Valera put her
arm around Alex’s sister and led her toward the staircase that
would take them to the theatre entrance.

A pang of guilt turned his stomach. Perhaps he
was no better than Lady Fairlight for sabotaging Valera’s chances
for a match with the duke. Yet, Langley was wrong for her. She
deserved a man who would listen with rapt attention when she
expounded on the latest book she’d read. She needed someone to tell
her she was beautiful every day to erase any doubts her sister had
planted in her mind. She should marry a man who would laugh with
her and appreciate her sunny disposition. Someone who would embrace
her whimsical side and strive to make her dreams come true. She
deserved someone who would love her, cherish her for the rest of
her life.

She could never have that with the
duke.

Alex rubbed the center of his chest, mildly
confused by the hollow sensation there. Betraying her bothered his
conscience more than he would have expected, even if it were for
her own good. But he would make it up to her. He would find a
suitable replacement for the duke.

After he saw the ladies and Mr. Farrish home,
Alex headed to his club. He didn’t expect to find many gents about
White’s, but that suited him. He wasn’t in the mood for
companionship.

“
Hellfire,” he muttered as the
carriage rolled to a stop in front of the steps of the gentleman’s
club.

That was a bloody lie. He
was
in the mood for
companionship, but he didn’t want just anyone’s company. He wanted
to be with Valera. He wanted her carefree and laughing as she had
been during their carriage ride. He wanted her alone, her hair
colored like a sunrise falling around her ivory shoulders, her keen
eyes sparkling as she shared her critique of the evening’s
performance.

Ever since she had collided with Langley in
the corridor and Alex had helped her up, he’d been unable to stop
thinking about her. At the oddest times, he would find her on his
mind. Just that morning, he’d been trying to recall if she
preferred chocolate or tea with her breakfast as if he had some
need to know.

That afternoon, he’d heard about an upcoming
lecture on the treatment of wounds sustained on the battlefield
during the Greco-Persian wars and immediately thought of her, which
he’d never before been able to say about another woman.

And tonight, just like the night before, he
would be dreaming of kissing her sweet lips.

He groaned under his breath as he
alighted from the carriage. This obsession with her must stop.
Nothing good could come of it. Valera Bell was the type of lady one
married, not a woman to warm his bed. Perhaps if Alex were free to
choose his wife,
he
would court her, but he wasn’t.

Besides, he saw no evidence she
felt anything other than friendship for him. Tonight at the theatre
when she’d laid her hand on his arm, he had hoped for one moment
there might be more. But her touch had been too brief for a lady
who held a
tendre
for him. Ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of his
stomach, he had captured her hand and held it through the first
act, using Langley as an excuse. He’d behaved like a smitten
fool.

Shaking off his embarrassment, he climbed the
front stairs to the gentlemen’s club. She may not belong to Alex,
but she sure as hell didn’t belong with the duke. And she never
would. Which begged the question, what gentleman could he recommend
to her instead?

He entered the dim club and handed his hat to
the porter. Only a handful of members were present, some nursing
snifters as they lounged in leather wingbacks and others gathered
around tables playing cards. Most were married men, or old enough
to be Alex’s father. The young rakehells were at the gambling dens
by now or seeking entertainment at the brothels.

As he wound through the club, the clacking of
billiard balls caught his attention, and he headed for the
billiards room. Viscount Lyndhurst, a man of Alex’s acquaintance,
was leaning over the table, his waistcoat stretching across his
broad back. His companion tapped the end of his cue against the
floor in a quick staccato.

Lyndhurst lifted his head slightly to glare at
his competitor. “If you’re trying to distract me, Hart, you are
wasting your time. Once I make this shot, I win.”

The tapping stopped and his opponent shrugged.
“A gentleman never surrenders without a fight.”

With a noncommittal grunt,
Lyndhurst returned to lining up his shot. Alex waited patiently,
sizing up the two bachelors while they paid him no notice. If
memory served, Hart was the second son to the Duke of Sedgemoor, a
decent chap, but without much to offer a wife. Rumors had it his
allowance would be cut off if he continued to rebel against
entering the clergy.
Just another buck
drawing off the family teat
? Alex normally
believed in giving one the benefit of the doubt, but since he was
seeking a husband for Valera, he’d rather not risk her livelihood
on a principle.

Lyndhurst drew the stick back
sharply.

“
Blah!” Hart shouted just as his
opponent was about to hit the ball. The viscount’s stick ground
into the felt and the ball jumped the table.

“
Dammit, Lavender!” Lyndhurst
threw the stick and advanced on him.

Hart rounded the table to meet
him, squaring his shoulders. “It’s La-
vin
-der! Not the bloody flower, you
arse.”

Alex cleared his throat loudly. “Come now,
gents. You are too sober to enjoy a good brawl. Allow me to buy you
both a brandy.”

As expected, Lord Lavender Hart gave up the
fight readily. A man with a dwindling allowance couldn’t afford to
refuse a drink that cost him nothing. Hart grinned at his friend.
“No hard feelings?”

Lyndhurst nodded sharply then stepped aside to
allow his opponent to pass. “Nothing for me,” he said with a
negligent wave of his hand as he turned toward the
table.

Alex’s smile grew. A member of the nobility
with a respectable yearly income that didn’t drink? The viscount
was a rare gent indeed. And maybe one he wouldn’t mind recommending
to Valera. He just needed to get rid of Hart so he could speak in
confidence with Lyndhurst.

“La-
vin
-der, you say?”

Hart notched his chin. “It’s a family
name.”

“His
grandmother’s
name,” the viscount
said with a smirk thrown over his shoulder.

“
Her name is Rose!”

Alex stepped between them and planted a hand
on the younger man’s chest. “Go find a footman and tell him to
bring the bottle.”

Hart, his face red, narrowed his eyes at
Lyndhurst before turning on his heel and storming from the
room.

“
Shall we play a new game?” Alex
asked.

The viscount snatched the stick from the
table, his mood improving at once. “For what stakes?”

Alex paused. Perhaps he was being too hasty in
choosing Lord Lyndhurst for Valera. A gambling man was just as
dangerous as one who drowned his troubles in spirits. “I only
gamble when I’m certain I will win,” Alex replied.

“
As do I.” A smile broke across
Lyndhurst’s face as he moved to rack the balls. “Since you found a
way to get rid of Lord Frilly Flower, I’ll show mercy. No stakes
attached.”

The tension drained from Alex’s shoulders, and
he chuckled. He was taking this husband-hunting venture too
seriously. Gentlemen drank and gambled, even Alex. “What brings you
to Town, Lyndhurst? I’d heard you planned to summer in the
country.”

Lyndhurst raised a dark brow. “My sister has
been talking, has she?”

One could say that. The widowed
Lady Pitsford had a propensity for discourse after intercourse. Too
much talk, truthfully. He knew tidbits about members of the
ton
he never wished to
know.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck as he
retrieved a cue stick. “Your sister may have mentioned something in
passing.”

“
Then I imagine my sister also
mentioned I have been ordered to find a wife or else. My father is
not to be trifled with.” Lyndhurst lined up his shot. “I hate
London this time of year.”

Alex’s eyes flared with interest. Lady
Pitsford hadn’t said anything about her father’s demands placed on
her brother, but it boded well for his mission. “It sounds as if
you would like to make a match quickly. Perhaps I can
assist.”

The viscount sank his first shot and glanced
up. “I will accept whatever help is available.”

Alex grinned. “Miss Valera Bell is just the
sort of lady to please any man. My sister can arrange an
introduction. I’m sure you will find her to your
liking.”

“
I will need more details than
that, Ravenswood.” Straightening, the viscount crossed his arms.
“What is wrong with her? Is she ugly?”

“
No!” Alex sounded
affronted.

“
She is, isn’t she? Why else would
she need your help making a match?”

“
She is nothing of the sort. I’ve
never seen a lady who lights up the room with just a smile. She is
radiant.” He jabbed a finger toward Lyndhurst when he opened his
mouth, probably to ask another ridiculous question. “She’s not
dull-witted either.”

Lyndhurst just smiled.

“
I’m not jesting. She is smart.
Miss Bell can hold her own in any conversation with a man. Why, she
is probably better read than either of us. And she is delightfully
amusing.”

“
Sounds like you hang on her every
word.”

“As would any man. To say Miss
Bell is charming is a great disservice. She is
enchanting
.”

The viscount shook his head, his grin growing
wider. “You have it bad for the chit.”

Alex balked. “I do not!”

“
Why don’t you marry her since you
obviously hold an affection for her?”

His stomach plunged. “An
affection?”

He most certainly didn’t hold an
affection for Valera. It was true he wanted her, desired her every
moment of every hour, but that wasn’t the same as love. He tried to
swallow against the dryness of his throat. He didn’t
want
to love someone he
couldn’t marry. It was the defining element of a tragedy. And while
he had come to accept a mediocre existence with whomever his
parents chose for him, he couldn’t fathom winding up like that poor
sap Romeo.

“
She is an old family friend.
Nothing more. Do you want an introduction or not?”

Hart returned with a bottle of brandy in hand
and a big smile on his face.

“
I will meet her,” Lyndhurst said
with a shrug. “But if you change your mind, you had best inform me
before I make an offer. The sooner I can dispatch my duty and
return home, the better.”

Hart’s head swung back and forth as he looked
to Lyndhurst and Alex. “Is someone getting married? Are
congratulations in order?”

A vision of Valera and Alex standing in front
of the parson, defying his parents just as his younger sister had,
made his heart slam against his ribs. His father would cut off his
only means to provide for her. What could he offer her except a
life of poverty? She deserved so much more, the kind of life only
another gentleman could give her.

He scowled and stalked toward the exit. “You
talk too much, Lavender.”

“La-
vin
-der. It’s not the bloody
flower.”

“
I don’t bloody care.”

Chapter Six

Valera had barely arrived at Lady Milburn’s
ballroom with her sister before two men approached to request a
dance. Janine’s pale brows shot up to her hairline as Valera
granted them each a spot on her dance card.

“
My, my,” Janine muttered toward
the men’s departing backs, “did Father raise your
dowry?”

Valera ignored her. Acknowledging the caustic
remark would only increase her sister’s pleasure. Janine delighted
in stirring up Valera’s emotions to the point of eliciting an
outburst. She had been that way ever since they were children. Let
her sister ponder the cause of her increased popularity. Valera
knew who was responsible.

She scanned the crowd in search of that
someone.

Ever since Alex had escorted her to Drury Lane
four days earlier, she had shed her wallflower status. Her card
didn’t fill up like the most sought-after debutantes, but Valera
danced more often than not. Gentlemen watched her as she strolled
in Hyde Park with her mother. Some flattered her with compliments
when granted a moment to speak with her. It was all very
overwhelming at times, but far from exciting as she had
imagined.

At the various parties she had attended, she
and Alex hadn’t been given more than a few minutes at a time to
speak with one another, and never where they were free of
eavesdroppers. He didn’t know she had changed her mind about the
duke.