“I have already told you so, many times.” He shook his head, the dark hair that bent down across his forehead bounced with the movement, tempting her to reach out and entangle her fingers in the ends. “Why can you not believe me?”
“Because you are a man who can lie as easily as you can breathe,” she barely whispered the words, as her gaze darted between his gray-blue eyes.
“No, that is not the reason.” He shook his head, preparing to turn away.
“What do you mean?”
“You want someone to blame for his death, that is only natural, but in the presence of a lack of suspects you have fixated on the only name you can find. That is why you cannot believe me.” He stepped forward, as though about to touch her, but she recoiled away. He thought the better of it and moved back. “Until tomorrow, Cleopatra.”
As his feet took him away from her, she called after him.
“It is Miss Beckett!”
“After tomorrow, Beckett will no longer be your name.”
The ceremony had been rushed and hidden away at a chapel on the outskirts of London, somewhere that none of the ton would be able to witness.
It had not been what Cleopatra had once dreamed of in a wedding. There had been no flowers or bouquet for her to hold to bring good luck, no friends to wish them well and of course, no wedding celebration or breakfast.
The event was hastily witnessed by Pip and another one of Alexander’s workers while John sat quietly in the pews on his knees, watching with a rather put-out expression. He stayed good to his word to Cleopatra though who had requested he behaved during the ceremony.
The one surprise had been Alexander producing a ring. Her raised eyebrows were enough of a demonstration of her surprise.
“You did not seriously think I would not buy a ring, did you?” Alexander smiled as he placed the ring on her finger. She looked down at it, struggling to make sense of the coiling feelings within her chest. It was a thin gold band with multiple diamonds encrusted in the surface, creating the image of a sun.
“I had not considered it.” Cleopatra rearranged the ring on her finger until it sat perfectly. “What is the symbol for?”
“It is an Egyptian symbol. Its meaning is my secret to keep.” He looked away from her again, back to the vicar. The momentary intimate flicker into the man closed, and she longed for it to re-open.
After the ceremony, they were hastily rushed from the chapel and into the waiting carriage, where they were quickly taken across the town. The windows of the carriage were covered to hide the occupants.
“You are certainly trying to keep our wedding a secret.” Cleopatra nodded to the covered windows. Alexander sat beside her; his manner was much more relaxed than she had ever seen it before.
“It is the case when a marriage takes place using a special license. Tomorrow our marriage will be announced in the paper.”
“It will?” Cleopatra flicked her head round with her mouth agape, her mind jumping between thoughts of what her friends would think of the union.
Alexander was leaning back in his seat of the carriage with his arms folded, completely at ease.
“It will. So, the repair of the damage you have done to my reputation can begin.” He smiled, happy in his accomplishment. “The Gazette is to print the announcement and to hint at a retraction too for the piece you gave them.”
“Why would they do that? What I told them was true.”
“It was far from all being true.” Alexander shook his head, clearly unwilling to speak anymore on the subject.
Cleopatra turned her gaze to John who sat opposite them with his face set into a harsh frown. The frown quickly changed to wonder as the carriage came to a stop.
“We are here,” Alexander declared loudly, jumping from the carriage door. He offered his hand to help Cleopatra descend, which she automatically took. She regretted it when his warmth seeped through her gloved fingers.
She lifted her eyes to his as she reached the ground, seeing the same look in his expression as she felt. Her mind was wandering back to the piano and what they had done. Now they were married, no such barriers prevented them from exploring each other.
It is to be expected of married couples, is it not?
She looked away again toward the Manor.
I am married to the man who may have killed Robert. I should be making his life miserable, not dreaming of nights together in bed.
Alexander cleared his throat and helped John out of the carriage too, turning him to face the Manor.
“This is Larson Manor. What do you think?”
Cleopatra had, of course, seen it before from when she had watched him from the shadows, but up close, it was even more magnificent and grand. John beside her was equally amazed – his eyes were wide as they darted over the surface, but a second later he shook his head and returned his gaze to the ground.
“It is nothing special,” the boy lied, kicking the dirt on the path with his shoes.
“You have high standards,” Alexander chuckled, leading the way inside. “Come, I will show you around.”
Cleopatra took John’s hand and hurried up the steps toward the front door between the white pillars. She was not afraid to appreciate her surroundings as John was, the building was stunning, a complete statement of wealth.
In the strangest sense, it brought her some comfort. She had agreed to marry Alexander as his wealth would give John the best opportunity in life. The evidence was before her eyes – it was a spectacular Manor for the boy to grow up.
Alexander opened the door and revealed an interior that was just as grand and luscious as the exterior. The chandelier above glinted in the sunlight, reflecting beams of light across the cream-and-gold grand hallway. At the back was a magnificent staircase that split into two after the first landing and meandered two different ways through the Manor.
“What do you think?” Alexander moved to Cleopatra’s side as she released John’s hand, allowing the boy to wander forward and explore.
“It is…” she turned in a circle, struggling for the right words, “breathtaking.”
When her eyes landed on Alexander, she found him smiling as he watched her. There was that softness to him again, the feeling that returned every now and then between his sternness and acrimony.
“We must talk.” Alexander stepped toward her, taking her hand in his. It made her stomach tense.
“About what?”
A sudden thud in the corridor took both of their eyes away. John had taken off one of his shoes and thrown it across the room, just as he had at the gaming hall.
“John, what do you think you are doing?” Cleopatra released her hand from Alexander’s grasp and marched toward the shoe, collecting it quickly from the floor.
“I want to go home!” the boy complained with a stamp of his other shoe.
“Well, this is your home now.” Cleopatra handed his shoe back to him. Feeling the words settle in her own chest.
This is our home.
Chapter Fourteen
“Ah, Mrs. Webb, good evening.” Alexander was only too pleased for the distraction when his housekeeper approached from the servant’s stairwell. He had no liking for John’s mischief, but he had the strong impression it would not tire quickly. “May I present my wife, Lady Cleopatra Trevor, and her brother John.”
Cleopatra flinched beside him at the use of her new name.
The housekeeper had always been a stern woman. Her reaction to the announcement of his sudden wedding the day before had not surprised him. She clearly thought it improper, though her strong sense of propriety prevented her from making such a statement.
“Lady Larson,” the tall spindly form of the housekeeper dropped a low curtsy.
Alexander watched Cleopatra closely for her reaction and could not help but smile as she tried to hide John’s shoe behind her back.
Alexander, though frustrated by the boy’s behavior, could not be angry. It was easy to recognize that the motivation behind the child’s
mischief was a want of attention more than a wish to cause trouble. He could not blame the child for that.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Webb.” She pulled on John’s shoulder, gently steering him toward the housekeeper. “Come John, where are your manners? Say hello to Mrs. Webb.”
The boy kept his gaze on his feet – wriggling the one foot now without a shoe and clad just in his stocking. He did not reply.
“My apologies, Mrs. Webb,” Cleopatra smiled, trying to brush off her brother’s behavior. “My brother is somewhat…surprised by recent events.”
“Perfectly understandable, My Lady. Shall I take that?” she gestured for the shoe Cleopatra was still trying to hide.
Alexander smiled again, attempting to hide his humor, but failing. Nothing ever slipped by Mrs. Webb unnoticed.
“Thank you.” Cleopatra handed it over and Mrs. Webb lowered to her knees in front of the boy.
“Now, young Master. If you are to explore your new home, you must wear shoes.”
“Do I have to?” The boy looked up with his bottom lip put out. The lad suddenly appeared an innocent, a sweetness of manner had returned. It made Cleopatra hold the boy’s shoulder and offer a comforting squeeze.
“I can hardly take you for a tour without your shoes. What if we are to go into the garden?” Her stern manner made the boy drop his gaze again. “Good, now that is settled. Be quick about it, Master.” She opened the shoe for the boy to step in. He dutifully followed, offering Mrs. Webb a small smile.
Cleopatra looked up at Alexander with wonder, he could only shrug in response. Few people could control the boy, but Mrs. Webb clearly had a talent for it.
“Now, My Lady. Shall I take you for a tour along with the young master?” Mrs. Webb stood up, already taking the boy’s hand in hers to lead him away.
“I wonder if I may retire first, Mrs. Webb. I am somewhat tired and suffering from a headache.” Cleopatra stepped away from Alexander, already walking toward the stairs. He followed her, reluctant to let her go. They had so much to discuss and he did not want her to escape him.
Half of what Alexander now felt for her he struggled to put into words, but he knew he needed to speak with her. He wanted to discuss all that had passed between the two of them.
He was bound to her now. Not just by the marriage and the ring he had given her, but as though something else connected them.
“Of course, My Lady. Young Master, if you sit here for a moment, I will show Lady Larson to her room.” She directed the boy to a chair with ease and he followed her instructions. As she patted the child’s head, he offered a small smile, once again a sweet child. “Come, My Lady. Shall I order you a bath too?”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
Alexander caught Cleopatra’s arm as she tried to escape up the stairs.
“Are you running from me, Cleopatra?” He tried to mask the irritation from his voice. “We must talk.”
“We will, but I have been awake half the night with nerves. Please, allow me some rest.” She turned her chin away and followed Mrs. Webb up the stairs.
Alexander watched her go with an ache in his chest. The thread that connected them felt stretched as she walked away.
Lady Larson.
She was his wife now. They had all the time in the world to talk.
As she climbed the stairs with her regal bearing held high, he compared her to the Egyptian Queen once again. Her black curls framed her face and cascaded down her back beautifully. Her dark eyes and eyebrows were bold – they surely captured any man that looked at her as they captivated him.
The wedding dress he had purchased fitted her perfectly and could have been worn by the Egyptian Queen herself. Alexander yearned to follow her and explore beneath that dress with cascades of gold silk flowing behind her.
If he could not be alone with her yet, then he would attend to the other person he had to see. He hurried up the stairs but parted across the landing from where Cleopatra had been led to the west wing of the Manor. In this part of the Manor was a collection of chambers and rooms that he could not allow his wife to see.
He knocked gently on the door of the first chamber, waiting for the maid’s acceptance to enter then opened the door slowly. He looked inside with a smile when he found the person he was looking for.
“Good morning. How are you today?”
As Cleopatra rested in the copper bath, surrounded by the scents of lavender oils and herbs, the headache finally managed to leave her, allowing her to open her eyes and truly appreciate the chamber that had been given to her.
Even before Robert’s debts, her family had never owned such a grand estate with such fine rooms. The gold-and-silver decorations were ornate, centered on a stunning four-poster bed that was bordered in gold damask curtains.
This is a good decision for John. Here, he will want for nothing.
Alexander’s eyes disturbed her peace. They visited her imagination. Those gray-blue eyes watched her. The way he had looked at her at the bottom of the stairs, pleading to talk in private had her longing to return to him.
She dipped her head under the water of the copper bath, hoping to wash from her mind thoughts of him, but it did little use. With nothing but the water and soap touching her skin, her mind was drawn back to the piano and his words from that night, how he had promised not to touch her until they were married.
Well, now we are married.
She thought of what it might feel like to continue their exploration of each other. To have him above her as he had been in the carriage the first night they met, but this time without clothes.
She pushed her head above the water again, brushing the wet tendrils of hair behind her.
I must stop thinking of him so.
A loud clatter echoed somewhere in the Manor. The smash was quickly followed by running feet and a shout, making Cleopatra splash in the bath with worry.
What was that?
Alexander followed the shout of Mrs. Webb until he found where she was. In the drawing room, she was standing over a broken vase, shattered into pieces against the hearth of the fireplace.
John stood on the other side of the fireplace with a smile of mischief and a glint in his eyes.
“My Lord,” Mrs. Webb shook her head with despair. “The child…he–” she was struggling for words to explain.
Alexander jumped forward, bending down to look at the pieces to discover which vase had been broken.
“This was a family heirloom.” The realization dropped in his stomach like a stone. “Priceless. It was dated to the sixteenth century.” He raised his eyes to John who was now swinging from side to side with glee. “Is this amusing to you, John? You have destroyed a priceless heirloom?”
The boy said nothing in reply, he merely continued to smile.
“This is unbelievable.” Alexander jumped to his feet again, sudden rage striking through his body like thunder. “How dare you break something that does not belong to you?” His voice shook with such anger that the boy lost his smile for the first time. “Mrs. Webb?”
“Yes, My Lord?”
“Take him to his room. He will not be let out until he apologizes for this.”
She tried to take the boy’s hand, but he pulled it away and stamped on the ground.
“I will not apologize.”
“You will not speak to me like that.” Alexander took the boy’s arm and directed him from the room, with Mrs. Webb following hastily behind. “Do you not understand what you have done? That cannot be replaced! You willingly broke something of great value that did not belong to you.”
He released the boy, seeing the lad’s cheeks turn pinker by the second.
“Mrs. Webb?”
“Yes, My Lord. I’ll take him to his room now.” She took his hand and dragged him up the stairs, even though he kicked out at every step along the way, screaming against her hold.
Alexander ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm his anger as John’s voice disappe
ared along a corridor upstairs, but it was no use. Nothing would stop it. As though a storm had taken hold within his chest and needed its outlet.
Cleopatra had caused an immense amount of trouble since she had walked into his life. He sprinted up the stairs, heading for her room.
The shouts of John forced Cleopatra from the bath. She was standing up, reaching for the pale cotton towel to dry herself when the door to her chamber burst open. She flicked her head round to see the intruder – it was Alexander.
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