When We Meet Again (27 page)

"I would in your place. " Aunt Millicent's eyes narrowed. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You said he was a nice man, " Pamela said under her breath.

"I hadn't planned to be nice at all. You humiliated me in public, and for a long time I plotted all kinds of various and assorted acts of revenge."

"I can well imagine, " Aunt Millicent said, in a grudging manner. "And I cannot blame you."

"No, you can't. And I don't believe you can begin to imagine what you put me through. I even considered following you after your abandonment—"

"Abandonments such a harsh word, " Aunt Millicent murmured.

"Harsh but true. And then I decided"—he shrugged—"you simply weren't worth the trouble."

"What? Not worth the trouble? How could you, Winchester?" Aunt Millicent glared. "I most certainly am worth the trouble, and you well know it!"

"Aunt Millicent!" Pamela said sharply.

"Well I am. " Aunt Millicent glared at Sir Winchester. "I thought I broke your heart?"

"You did, " he said simply.

"Then why didn't you come after me?" There was the oddest note in Aunt Millicent's voice. "To break my heart or the very least my neck?"

"Why would I chase after a woman who did not want me?"

"You simply should have, that's all. " Aunt Millicent was definitely flustered.

"Would it have made a difference?" he said quietly.

"I don't know, " she snapped. "It might have."

"I see. " Sir Winchester paused for a moment. "That's something I didn't consider."

"And it changes things considerably, doesn't it?" Aunt Millicent's manner was lofty, as if his actions excused hers.

"Not in the least. " The man shook his head, perhaps in an effort to clear it from Aunt Millicent's unique way of looking at the situation. "Blast it all, Millicent, you left me! You broke my heart!"

"We've established that. " She waved aside his comment, releasing her grip on her niece. Pamela promptly stepped out of her reach. "You needn't repeat it."

"It bears repeating, " he said sharply.

Any minute now, Pamela could make her own escape. This was far too personal a conversation for an observer. She took a casual step toward the ballroom door.

"Yes, well, I am sorry about that. " Aunt Millicent huffed. "There, now, I've said it. You have my heartfelt apologies."

"That's it?" His voice rose. "That's all you intend to say? You left me waiting to marry you at a church accompanied by a fair number of family and friends, and you have nothing more to say?" Aunt Millicent shrugged. "It was inexcusable of me."

"Inexcusable? Hah! You didn't even leave me a note, a letter, nothing!" Sir Winchester's voice rang with anger. "It took hours before I realized you were not coming at all. I had to find out that you had left the country from your sister because you had left a note for her!"

"She's my sister."

"And I was the man you were to marry!"

Because Aunt Millicent might well need someone else present as a deterrent if for no other reason, Pamela sighed to herself and slipped back to her previous position.

"I'm extremely sorry, " Aunt Millicent said, in a tone that had even Pamela questioning her sincerity.

"Oh that is better. " Sir Winchester glared. "Extremely certainly makes up for everything! There's nothing like the addition of extremely to rectify all of life's ills!"

Still, Aunt Millicent could probably take care of herself. Pamela cast a longing glance at the doors, which were entirely too far away.

Aunt Millicent glared. "I do not recall your being this sarcastic, Winchester."

"I do not recall your being this selfish, Millicent."

Pamela winced.

Aunt Millicent gasped. "Selfish! I most certainly am not selfish." He snorted in disbelief.

"Well possibly I am just the tiniest bit selfish but... but... " She smirked. "I don't remember you being quite so sanctimonious."

Pamela groaned.

"Sanctimonious? Sanctimonious?" Sir Winchester sputtered.

"Sanctimonious, " Aunt Millicent said smugly.

Sir Winchester gritted his teeth and clenched his fists by his side. Probably not at all a good sign.

"Well, I don't remember you being this"—he paused and his eyes narrowed—"lovely."

"There! That's precisely what I am talking about. That's definitely sarcasm and it simply does not suit you. You are not at all... " She stopped and drew her brows together. "Did you say lovely?"

"Yes, " he snapped.

"Why?"

He threw his hands up in frustration. "Because you are."

"But I am substantially older, " she said slowly.

"And hopefully wiser as well!"

"Hopefully. " She studied him for a long moment. "Have you forgiven me then?"

"No, " he said sharply, then ran his hand through his hair. "Blast it all, Millicent, I have not forgiven you. I may never forgive you, but the moment I saw you tonight I realized I am the worst kind of fool. Twelve long years, and my feelings for you haven't changed."

"Really?" Aunt Millicent's expression brightened.

He glared.

She paused for a long moment, then drew a deep breath. "Then I confess, I have indeed missed you."

He stared at her.

"We should talk, I think."

"Yes. " He drew a deep breath. "We should."

"Not here of course. This terrace is entirely too public. One cannot find a moment alone. " Aunt Millicent glanced pointedly at Pamela. "You may leave if you wish."

"Only if you're certain you're no longer in danger of being shot, " Pamela said in an overly sweet manner.

"By Sir Winchester, that is."

"You may rest assured, Miss Effington, I would never shoot your aunt. " Sir Winchester chuckled.

"Tempting as it may be."

"Nonsense, no one is going to shoot me. What a ridiculous idea. Winchester. " Aunt Millicent stepped to Sir Winchester and gazed up at him. "Would you escort me home?" He stared down at her. "Now?"

"We do have a great deal to discuss. " Aunt Millicent trailed a finger along the edge of his lapel. "It is past time, I think."

He caught her hand and stared down at her. "Indeed it is." For an endless moment they gazed at one another in a manner that was most intimate and extremely personal.

Pamela looked away and cleared her throat. "I believe I should return to the ballroom."

"Yes, you should, " Aunt Millicent said, although Pamela was confident her aunt wasn't paying the slightest attention to her niece. "Do enjoy yourself, dear."

"As will you, no doubt, " Pamela said under her breath, and without pause started across the terrace, leaving the couple alone in the shadows.

This was certainly an unexpected turn of events. Who would have imagined the man Aunt Millicent had abandoned still had feelings for her after a dozen years? And who would have imagined Aunt Millicent would have felt the same? It was obvious from the way she behaved in Sir Winchester's presence that her feelings for him went well beyond any embarrassment at being confronted by the man she had left on her wedding day.

It was something of a revelation. Sir Winchester did not strike Pamela as the kind of man Aunt Millicent usually dallied with. He seemed a solid sort. The type of man one could depend on on a permanent basis. Perhaps that was why Aunt Millicent had left him? Pamela smiled to herself. No, Sir Winchester was not a mere dalliance; he might well be forever.

Without warning a figure stepped from the shadows some feet directly in front of her, and she pulled up short, very nearly colliding with him.

Pamela stifled a stab of impatience. She did need to return to the ballroom and had no desire for polite conversation on the terrace.

She forced a pleasant smile. "Do forgive me, I was paying no attention to where I was..." He stepped into the light.

Her breath caught.

"Good evening, Pamela."

"Have you seen her?" Alexei scanned the crowd impatiently. "It is nearly time for supper, and she is nowhere to be found. " He glanced at Lady Overton. "Is this a habit of hers? Is she always this evasive?

One would think she was hiding from me."

"Or you were hiding from her. " Lady Overton smiled politely.

"Indeed, it is decidedly odd the way the two of you cannot keep sight of each other, " Roman observed.

"How can we keep sight of each other when we are constantly being besieged by one person or another wishing to have a private word? Everyone in London must be here. " Alexei cast a disgusted look around the room. "I barely managed a single dance with Miss Effington before I was accosted by a gentleman and his overbearing wife who claimed a previous acquaintance, and Pamela was pulled away by some relative she had not seen in years. How many of these blasted Effingtons are there? Tens of thousands no doubt."

"Not quite that many. " Lady Overton bit back a smile. "Although admittedly they are a rather large family."

"It occurs to me, Your Highness, that I have not noticed you to be unoccupied in Miss Effington's absence, " Roman said.

"Unfortunately no. " Alexei blew a long breath. "There are any number of people here I met on my last visit, and a few others I have met elsewhere in the world. All of whom seem eager to renew their acquaintance."

"Wasn't that Lord Westerfield you were speaking to?" Roman nodded at the crowd. "Over there? I believe I met him last year when he traveled to Avalonia."

Alexei nodded. "Westerfield has long been one of the guiding forces behind the Society for the Preservation of Anglo-Avalonian Brotherhood. Social more than political in nature really, its members all have ties of one sort or another, ancestral for the most part, to Avalonia."

"What did he want?" Roman's gaze met Alexei's.

Alexei shrugged. "Nothing of any significance."

"Oh?" Roman studied him. "The expressions on your faces seemed rather intense for nothing of significance."

"It was a pointless conversation, Roman, " Alexei said firmly. "And best forgotten altogether." Even so, it was difficult to ignore completely Westerfield's suggestion that it might be possible to reclaim Avalonia as a sovereign state if Britain led Austria and Prussia in demanding Russia relinquish control over the country. It was a possibility Alexei had desperately pursued once but with no success. Russia had moved too quickly, and the time and distance between Avalonia and England, or any country that might come to Avalonia's aid, too vast for effective diplomatic pressure. Besides, much of the European world was in awe of Russia's might as well as its ruthless nature. Now, it was too late, the opportunity for diplomatic solutions long passed.

"I believe I saw Pamela step out to the terrace with Aunt Millicent, " Lady Overton offered.

"What did I just say?" Alexei huffed. "We cannot keep sight of one another if we are constantly being spirited off for meaningless discussions. She is supposed to be my fiancée, yet I cannot keep her by my side for two minutes. It does not bode well for the marriage, I tell you that." Lady Overton and Roman exchanged glances.

"And precisely what do the two of you think is so damnably amusing?" Alexei glared.

"Not a thing, Your Highness. " Lady Overton's eyes widened innocently.

"Nothing at all. " Roman tried and failed to hide a grin. "Except perhaps the fact that you are remarkably on edge."

"You would be on edge, too, if you were about to allow an honorable gentleman, who has just done you a great service, to announce your intentions to marry his daughter, even though you have no real intention of doing any such thing, and the daughter cannot be found. " Alexei glared at the open doors on the opposite side of the ballroom that he assumed led to the terrace. "Dare I wonder if she is planning to return, or will she take up residence on the terrace?"

"Perhaps, " Roman said slowly, "Miss Effington is having second thoughts about the advisability of your ruse."

Alexei snorted. "Only an idiot would not be having second thoughts. I have had second thoughts from the moment the idea was proposed."

Still, in spite of his earlier reassurances to her, it was entirely possible Pamela had indeed decided not to go through with their charade. The oddest sense of disappointment stabbed him. Certainly he had not been enthusiastic about the idea originally, nor was he especially enthusiastic now, and the wisdom of it all was definitely in question, but he had to admit he was rather looking forward to playing attentive fiancé

to Pamela. There was no future to be had with her, of course, but was there really any harm in savoring whatever time he could with the woman he had kept in his dreams, in his heart, for so long? If he was fated to spend his life without her, was this time together too much to ask?

"I imagine a gentleman always has a second thought or two when he is announcing his intentions to wed,

" Lady Overton said in a casual manner.

"I do not see why, " Roman said staunchly. "Once he has realized that the lady in question is precisely what he has always wanted, indeed, what he has always longed for even if he did not realize it, he is a fool to so much as hesitate."