When We Meet Again (29 page)

"Would you?" She could barely choke out the words.

"As I can take care of you now. I have a great deal of money, you know, thanks to Constance and my father's demise. Pamela"—he stepped toward her and grabbed her hand—"it's not too late to recapture what we once had. Marry me now."

"Thank you, but I think not. " She tugged at her hand, but he would not release it. "And I should tell you my betrothal to someone else is to be announced tonight."

"I heard mention of that. Some foreign prince as I understand. " He sniffed. "One without so much as a country to his name I hear."

She hated to lower herself to George's standards, but there were obviously only certain things he would understand. "Yes well"—she jerked her hand from his—"he does have a substantial fortune."

"Oh, I see. " Understanding showed in his eyes. He thought for a moment. "Still, we should not let a simple matter like your marriage stand between us. There are ways to be together."

"George. " She clasped her hands together and adopted a hard tone. "If you are proposing the idea of an arrangement of an intimate nature between the two of us, I shall have to decline. I have no intentions of having a"—she closed her eyes for a moment and prayed for strength—"/over outside of my marriage."

"Don't be absurd, Pamela. The man's a prince. Royalty sees these things entirely differently than we do. " He leaned toward her in a confidential manner. "I'd wager he'll have a mistress before you've been wed a week if he doesn't already."

Her jaw clenched. "Nonetheless—"

"We were meant to be together, Pamela, don't you understand? We are fated to be with one another. Why else are we here together, now, alone? It's destiny I tell you."

"Hardly. Half of London is here, and at some point nearly everyone wanders on to the terrace."

"Yes, but we are here alone."

"I was not alone when I—" She sighed with annoyance. "Were you watching me? Did you follow me?"

"Only driven by the hand of fate, " he said quickly.

"As much as I hate to defy fate, George, we are not destined to be together. My fate lies with His Highness"—she paused for emphasis—"as does my heart." He considered her for a long moment, his look assessing, as if he were a general preparing to redeploy his troops. She did not like that look. "Does His Highness know about your past?"

"You mean does he know about you?"

"Yes."

It was all she could do to keep from cracking her hand hard across his face. As satisfying as that might be, it would probably not be the wisest course of action. George seemed harmless, even comical, but there was something about him she did not trust. She chose her words carefully. "He knows there was a scandal in my past and generally what it was about, but he does not know the specific details."

"Excellent."

"Why?"

"Well, he will not be suspicious of me, of course."

"I fear I'm a bit confused."

"Pamela, dearest, if he does not know who I am, he will never suspect that your lover—"

"You are not my lover!" She resisted the urge to stamp her foot. "Nor will you be. Ever!"

"Fate, " George said smugly. "You cannot deny it. It has brought you back to me."

"It brought me back to London!"

"And to me."

"You are incidental."

"I am the only true love of your life."

She stared. "You're completely mad."

"Indeed I am. Mad with love."

"George. " She drew a deep breath. "I am going to say this once more, then I am going to return to the ball."

"Capital idea. " He chuckled. "It would not do for anyone to catch us out here." She rolled her gaze toward the heavens. "Listen closely, George. I have no interest in resuming the acquaintance we once had. Whatever it is we shared is over, done with, and in the past."

"Not for me, " he said staunchly.

She ignored him. "George, I don't know how to say this kindly, and indeed you have destroyed any tendency toward kindness I may have felt for you. Therefore, I shall just say it quite plainly and in words you can comprehend.

"I would prefer never to see you again. However, as that is unlikely, I will warn you right now. If you pursue me in any manner or do anything that even remotely annoys me, if we run into one another on the street and I find your presence so much as a tiny bit irritating, I shall have my brothers thrash you to within an inch of your life. Or better yet, I shall simply shoot you myself. " She smiled in a most cordial manner. "Do you understand?"

"You would never shoot me, although your brothers are a nasty lot. " He narrowed his eyes. "Did you know they accosted me and inflicted a brutal beating after you left London? I was bruised for weeks."

"Consider yourself fortunate, " she snapped. "I forbade them to duel with you, which means I would not allow them to kill you."

He smiled knowingly. "Because you loved me."

"Because I loved them!"

"And you love me still, as I love you. " He stepped closer. "Don't you feel it between us, Pamela? There is an excitement in the air when we are together. A tension you cannot deny."

"Of course there is a tension in the air. You refuse to listen to anything I am saying. You are a lunatic, and you are driving me mad! For the last time. " She shook her finger at him. "What occurred between the two of us six years ago was a dreadful mistake in judgment brought on by emotion, and it is best forgotten. I have gone on with my life as should you. I am going to marry Prince Alexei. He and he alone is the man fate has destined me for. I do not care about the state of his country, nor do I care that he has a great fortune. He has my heart, George. And that is the end of it."

George stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged. "I don't believe you." If she screamed out of sheer frustration, it would probably just attract no end of scandalous attention. Still, it might be worth it.

"Perhaps, " a familiar wry voice sounded from the shadows, "you will believe me."

"Your Highness, " Pamela said with obvious relief.

Alexei stepped forward casually, as if he had not the slightest intention of planting a fist in this lout's face.

"Your Highness, " the lout said, and bowed low in a most obsequious way. Obviously, he was a man impressed by royalty and probably social position and wealth as well.

"Allow me to introduce myself. " The lout straightened. "I am Viscount Penwick, and I am at your service, Your Highness."

"Are you indeed?" Alexei said in an indolent manner and studied Penwick for a long moment. So this was the man who had taken advantage of Pamela's innocence and boasted about it. The fool who had not been clever enough to understand what he was losing when he had allowed her to slip through his grasp. Although Penwick certainly did not look like a man who could sweep an intelligent woman, no matter how inexperienced with men, off her feet and into his bed. He was really rather nondescript, altogether too fair in coloring, and his chin was somewhat weak although Alexei could see where his blond charm might possibly appeal to an impressionable young woman who did not know better.

A distinct sense of gratitude gripped Alexei. After all, if Penwick had not been such an idiot, Pamela might well be his wife right now. It was a dreadful thought. Penwick would have sucked the life from her, and she never would have become the spirited creature she was today. She would never have left England's shores. Instead, she would have lived a life of desperate boredom and probably never even realized it.

And Alexei never would have met either Serenissima or Pamela.

"Why?" Alexei said coolly.

Penwick looked decidedly confused. "Why what, Your Highness?"

"Why are you at my service?" Alexei narrowed his eyes. "Did I not just hear you tell the lady I intend to marry that you did not believe her claim that she does not care for you?"

"Oh, you misunderstand, Your Highness. " Penwick laughed, a distinctly awkward sound. "Miss Effington and I are very old friends, and I was simply trying to renew our acquaintance." Behind Alexei, Lady Overton snorted in a most unladylike manner.

Alexei raised a brow. "Were you?"

"Indeed I was, Your Highness. " Penwick nodded vigorously.

"Obviously the night air has distorted my hearing. I had the impression that you were trying to do far more than renew an acquaintance. Indeed, I thought I might have heard a declaration of affection from you as well as Miss Effington's rejection of said declaration."

"Why, Your Highness. " Penwick gasped in dismay. "I would never presume to press my affections."

"I was mistaken then?" Alexei glanced at Pamela. "Miss Effington, was I in error, or has Lord Penwick been both forward and offensive?"

"I say, Your Highness. " Penwick stepped forward. "That's not at all—" Alexei held out a hand to quiet him. "Well, Miss Effington, what say you? Shall I allow him to retreat to the ballroom with apologies all around for the misunderstanding, or shall I slay him where he stands?" Penwick gasped. "Your Highness!"

"Oh would you, Your Highness?" Pamela said brightly. "You would do that for me?"

"Indeed I would, Miss Effington. " His gaze met hers, and his words abruptly carried far more meaning than he had intended. "I would do anything for you."

"Be that as it may, Your Highness. " Roman stepped up behind him. "I might point out that at the moment you are unarmed."

"Am I?" Alexei adopted a note of surprise. "No sword? No pistol?"

"Regretfully no, Your Highness, " Roman said with a sigh. "Your cravat is the most dangerous item on your person at the moment."

"It is certainly starched enough to be lethal. Nonetheless it will not do. " Alexei shrugged. "I fear, Miss Effington, should you decide to allow me to free this miserable excuse for a man from his earthly bonds, I shall have to make arrangements to do so later."

"A duel, Your Highness?" Precisely the right touch of eagerness sounded in Roman's voice. Alexei nodded solemnly. "A duel."

"I must protest, Your Highness, " Penwick said quickly. "While I would certainly honor any such challenge I should tell you dueling is not legal in this country."

"As I intend to be the victor, that is scarcely your concern. You will not be around to suffer the consequences, and I am more than prepared to do so. " Alexei smiled pleasantly. "Now then, Penwick, swords or pistols?"

Penwick's eyes widened. "Your Highness, I—"

"Before you choose, my lord, " Roman said in a confidential manner to Penwick, "you should know that His Highness is considered one of the best marksmen in all of Europe."

"Am I?" Delight sounded in Alexei's voice. "I had no idea."

"Swords, " Penwick said quickly. "I will warn you, I am rather good with a sword."

"Excellent. " Alexei grinned. "There is nothing I like better than a challenge."

"A challenge?" Pamela said to Roman.

Roman nodded. "He enjoys a challenge a great deal. Not at all easy to come by for him, you know. He is excellent with a pistol, but he is the best swordsman in all of Avalonia and I would hazard to guess one of the very best in the world."

Pamela glanced at Alexei. "Is that true?"

Alexei shrugged modestly. "I would admit it, but it would be arrogant to do so." Pamela bit back a smile.

"Your Highness, " Penwick said in an earnest manner. "It has been my experience that Miss Effington does not approve of duels. " He turned to Pamela. "Miss Effington?"

"Well, they are frightfully messy things. All that blood. Less with a pistol, though, than a sword, I should think. " Pamela looked at Alexei. "Don't you agree, Your Highness?"

"Most certainly. There is scarcely any blood at all with a pistol. But a sword, especially when the severing of a limb is involved"—he shuddered dramatically—"frightfully messy indeed." Panic shone in Penwick's eyes. "Regardless of the methods, Miss Effington, surely you of all people cannot sanction this sort of activity?"

"It is an interesting question. When I was younger I thought a duel to be a dreadful thing even aside from the illegal nature of the activity. Now, however, it doesn't seem so very bad at all. " She shrugged. "I told you I'd changed, my lord."

"Is this what you wish then?" Penwick's voice rose.

Pamela appeared to mull over the question although Alexei suspected she was just giving Penwick time to consider his fate. At last she cast Alexei a resigned look. "I suppose not." Penwick breathed a sigh of relief. "I do apologize, Miss Effington, if I offended you in anyway."

"We shall consider it an unpleasant misunderstanding then and put it all behind us. " Alexei cast Penwick his most beneficent smile.

"Yes, of course, Your Highness. " Penwick bowed and backed away as if in fear Alexei would change his mind and skewer him on the spot.

"I assume such a misunderstanding shall not happen again? I fear I shall not be quite so, " Alexei thought for a moment, " understanding as it were if there is a next time."

"Of course not, Your Highness. Do have a pleasant evening, Your Highness. Miss Effington. " Penwick nodded once again, turned, and fled.