Stealing the Duchess

by Marie Higgins

“Xandria. You are here!”

  Alexandria’s heart lifted. “Yes. I was hoping you were up for visitors.”

  “Indeed, I am.” She motioned with her hand. “Please come sit and talk to me. I’ve been so bored.”

  “You appear to be feeling better,” Alexandria said.

  “Indeed, I do have a little more strength today.”

  “Tell me, Joanna,” she said, sitting on the chair next to the bed, “when did you start feeling so ill? Had you eaten something, or drank something? Or did it come upon you suddenly?”

  Joanna’s forehead creased. “I’m not certain. I suppose it came upon me slowly. Why do you ask?”

  Alexandria shrugged. “I’m just trying to figure out why you have been sick for so many days without improvement.”

  “Oh, but my dear Xandria, I am improving.” She smiled. “Please, do not worry about me. It’s not your duty to look after me, but mine to look after my younger sister.” She reached over and grasped Alexandria’s hands.

  She shook her head. “But you are the one who is ill, not me.” She squeezed Joanna’s fingers tenderly. “So allow me this one time to care for you.”

  “Oh, Xandria. You are sounding like my husband now.” She frowned.

  Alexandria hated being compared to that mongrel. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because he is smothering me with his concern. Can you believe he wants the physician to put leeches on me?” She shivered. “Forgive me, but that’s something I refuse to have done. Last night I argued with him until he stormed out of here. I told him I will not have those things on my body.”

  Sadness crept over Alexandria. “Are you really that ill? Why else would he suggest it?”

  “No, I’m not that ill. I have a passing malady and as I told you, I am starting to feel stronger. I will beat whatever it is inside me and return back to my fun-loving self once more.” She winked.

  “I pray you are correct. You and I have been together for so long, I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.” Alexandria’s voice choked. “Please allow me to help in any way you need me.”

  “You are so kind.” Tears spiked in Joanna’s eyes and she reached over with one hand to grasp Alexandria’s fingers. “I’ve been so blessed to have a sister like you.”

  A knot formed in her throat. She was the one who’d been blessed, but now she had to repay the Lord by taking care of Joanna and keeping Martin from killing her.

  ELEVEN

  Julian shuffled his balance from one foot to the other as he peered through the spyglass. His nervousness grew the longer he watched, and he couldn’t stand still. Martin had left the estate hours ago, and yet Alexandria still hadn’t come outside. Fear grew inside him as each minute passed.

  When Martin had briefly returned back home, Julian prayed Alexandria wasn’t caught. He suspected she had already begun her search. However, the longer it took for Alexandria to walk outside, the more he worried something terrible had happened to her.

  Even after watching Martin leave the estate again, Alexandria still hadn’t appeared. What could have happened to her? Had Martin tied her up somewhere? Was she unconscious and bleeding?

  Julian couldn’t stand it any longer. Although he would risk being seen by servants who had worked for his father, he knew he had to go inside the house to see if Alexandria was harmed.

  He set the spyglass down and left the security of his hiding spot. Ignoring the throbbing in his leg, he hurried toward the manor. He had almost reached the house when one of the side doors opened and out walked Alexandria. Relief washed over him. When his gaze met hers, panic crossed her expression and she shook her head. She motioned her hands toward his hiding spot as she glanced between him and the grove of trees.

  Understanding her silent instructions, he turned around and hurried back to the trees. Relief passed through him, knowing she was all right.

  It only took a few more minutes before Alexandria joined him. She looked so lovely today wearing a light green dress. Her hair was styled as it had been last night, and he wished she would leave it long, hanging around her shoulders. She had such glorious blonde hair, he wanted to stroke its silkiness again.

  “You are all right,” he said with a sigh as he took her hands in his.

  “Yes.” She smiled.

  “When I saw Martin return, I thought for sure—”

  “I hid behind the sofa in his study. He didn’t even know I was there.”

  “Good.” He stroked his fingers across her skin. “Did you find anything?”

  Her smile disappeared as a frown took over. “Not really. However, I did find a letter from his mistress.” She rolled her eyes. “It said nothing about the murders, but I could definitely tell this woman, Mary, was his mistress, or had been at one time.”

  “A mistress, eh?” Julian shook his head. Why wasn’t he surprised? “But nothing about plans to kill his uncle for the title?”

  She paused in hesitation as confusion crossed her features. “Unfortunately, no. However, there was a missive from his mother. Apparently, Martin’s cousin, Julian Stanford, is assumed to be alive, because the authorities cannot find his body. Martin’s mother mentioned that her son might not hold the title of duke for much longer.”

  Julian froze, his mind whirling with worry. If Martin suspected Julian was still alive, he’d only be more determined to find Julian and end his life for sure. For certain he couldn’t show himself yet. Not until they had proof.

  “That is very interesting, indeed,” he said unhurriedly, not wanting to give Alexandria any hint that he was the man in question.

  Yet, the longer she studied him, the more the light of awareness sparked in her eyes. Slowly, she shook her head as her eyes widened with knowledge.

  “I’m wondering how you know Martin killed his uncle for the title.” She sucked in a quick breath. “In fact, I think I know just how you are connection with Linden Hall.”

  ALEXANDRIA’S MIND REELED with the possibilities. But of course Grey would know Martin or the others involved. That’s how he knew where to hide on this estate. If Grey was a friend of one of the Stanford men who’d been killed, that explained why Grey was so anxious to see her brother-in-law arrested for murder.

  This amazing man who had first kidnapped her, and then rescued her in so many ways, was more than he presented himself. That was probably why Grey didn’t want Martin discovering he was alive.

  “Grey, by chance, are you friends with Martin or with the Stanford men?”

  He remained stiff, and his expression was unreadable. After a few moments of silence, he nodded.

  “You guessed correctly, Miss Templeton. I was good friends with both Forbes and Julian.” He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. “I want to see their killer hanged for his crimes.”

  “That is very understandable. I would want the same, if I were in your place.” She grinned, feeling victorious over discovering a little bit more about Grey.

  Groaning, Grey closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t want you to know how close I was to them,” he muttered.

  She touched his shoulder. “I understand, but I promise, I shall not tell anyone.”

  His head snapped up and his eyes met hers. “Will you keep our secret...promise not to tell even your sister? Not until we find evidence against Martin. If the servants would ever overhear you saying anything to that nature, my secret would be out. Until we have the proof we need, I need to stay hidden.”

  “Forgive me,” she whispered, slowly pulling her hand away.

  Quickly, grasping her hand, his gaze locked onto her. “Please, Miss Templeton, I did not mean to insult you or doubt your words. It’s just very important—”

  “Yes, I know.” She nodded. “You may rest assured that I shall do as much as I can to help you.” She released a frustrated sigh. “I just want to do more. I wish I could have found something in my search this morning.”

  “I wish you could have as well.” He shr
ugged. “We shall have to look elsewhere.” He released her and walked farther in the grove of trees. A blanket lay on the ground with a sack of food.

  As she followed closely behind, her mind tried to piece together Julian’s story just as she would when writing her novels. “How soon after the deaths of the duke and his sons did you suspect Martin?”

  He took her hand and helped her to the blanket. Once she was seated, he linked his hands behind his back and paced in careful, measured steps around the blanket. He remained quiet for longer than Alexandria was comfortable with. She nearly sighed with relief when he stopped and looked at her.

  “I didn’t suspect Martin at first, however I was curious to know why the physician said they died from symptoms of the plague, and yet none of the other servants had contracted this disease.” His face grew hard as he stared at the ground, beginning to pace again. “I had just received word of their deaths, and I was on my way back home.”

  “Home from where?”

  “I was a sergeant in the military.”

  “I’d heard Lord Julian was also in the military. Was he one of your men?”

  “Yes. You see, Lord Julian wanted to travel with me, and so he came along with a few of my men from the regiment. We were headed to the next town over to search for a missing soldier. I received word that this man might be in this particular town. Although I was heartbroken for my friend’s death, at this particular moment, my mind was on finding my soldier. Out of nowhere, I heard the squeal of a cannon flying through the air. My men and I had very little time to scramble out of the cannon’s path before it hit.”

  “Oh, my. Was this where Lord Julian was killed?”

  He hesitated before he nodded. “We actually couldn’t find his body.”

  She slapped a hand over her mouth. “How very awful.”

  He scratched his chin as his gaze peered off into the distance. “My men were closer to the blast than I was, and so I wasn’t knocked unconscious right away. I struggled to sit up and I looked to where the cannonball came from and saw three men running away. Although my leg was cut up badly, and I was losing not only a lot of blood, but I was fading into oblivion, I was still able to take my pistol and shoot at them. One of them fell to the ground, but soon he stood and continued to run. He was clutching his left arm.” He turned his focus back on Alexandria. “I don’t know if this man was Martin, but I’m certain he was part of the few who shot the cannon toward me and my men.” Frowning, he lowered himself to the blanket beside her and then rubbed his leg. “I cannot prove that Martin was behind it, but I have a sickening feeling he was. There’s no logical reason that someone would try to kill me and my men with a cannon, but it makes sense that someone would want to kill Lord Julian for his title.”

  “Indeed, that’s a rational explanation.” She dared touch him again by laying her hand on his arm. “I’m just very relieved Martin wasn’t able to kill you. He needs to be arrested. I don’t think he makes a very good duke.”

  Grey chuckled. “I don’t think he does, either. Then again, he was never raised to take that title.”

  “So perhaps we are going about this search all wrong. We need to look for a man with an injured arm,” she said.

  His eyes widened and excitement grew on his face. “Alexandria, you are brilliant!” He grasped both of her shoulders. “That’s exactly what we need to do.”

  Happiness grew inside of her hearing her given name flow from his lips. She hadn’t given him permission to be so personal with her name, but she wouldn’t reprimand him for not asking. She wanted them to become more personal toward each other.

  She loved how he made her feel so smart...so special and needed. Nobody had ever said such things to her that uplifted her spirit, except for her parents, of course. Her face grew warm from his compliment, and her cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. “I wouldn’t say I was brilliant.”

  “You’re not the one saying it. I am.” He winked. “But you are exactly right about looking for someone with an arm injury that happened a few months ago.”

  “In his left arm.”

  “Correct again.” He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Oh, Lexie, I’m so very fortunate to have found you.”

  Lexie? Her heart melted from not only his tenderness but his new nickname for her. Joanna had always called her Xandria, but she actually liked being called Lexie even better. She lifted her head and stared deep into his dreamy eyes. “I’m the one who has found good fortune,” she said in a soft voice. “Because of you, I’m gradually coming out of my shell, something I never thought I would do.”

  His gaze caressed her, took her in, and devoured her in slow measured increments, finally coming to rest on her mouth. Suddenly, the mood between them altered and her throat turned dry. Anticipation made her heart quicken, and the urge to kiss him became overpowering. She prayed he would make the first move. They were so close. All he had to do was lean in just a few inches.

  When he licked his lips, she swallowed hard. He leaned forward and she closed her eyes, waiting...hoping...

  TWELVE

  Alexandria couldn’t stand the wait. If he didn’t kiss her soon, she’d go absolutely mad! Perhaps she needed to make the first move...

  Just then, Grey’s lips brushed against hers. She closed her eyes and sighed with happiness. His arms wrapped around her, and pulled her closer. When her bosom made contact with his hard chest, she melted. Never in her wildest dreams could she imagine such a thing feeling so wonderful. The longer he kissed, the more her body was sapped of strength—but she didn’t mind at all.

  At first the kiss was soft, but soon his hold became tighter, and with a small groan, he tilted his mouth over hers. There’s more? How could she have known there’d be more to the kiss besides two set of lips pressing against each other? And yet, there was more. The way his mouth moved over hers, nibbling in certain spots she never thought could make a woman squirm with anxiousness.

  Breathless, she clung to him, wanting more, wanting their kiss to last longer. Forever. Nothing in her life had made her feel so alive. Did all women feel this elated? She never wanted the emotion leaping and expanding inside of her to end. So many emotions assaulted her all at once, and the sheer volume threatened to sweep her away. Where? She was not sure, nor did she care. Her whole world tilted, going down...down...down...until her back pressed against the ground. Then she realized Grey had laid her on the blanket and loomed over her, moving his mouth with hers.

  She wound her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair—hair that was remarkably silky...hair that she never wanted to stop touching. The pressure of his upper body on hers made her feel safe and protected. Strange how she’d feel this way now when in the beginning he frightened her.

  “Oh, Lexie,” he muttered against her lips, “I shouldn’t be doing this. I cannot have these feelings.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. If he felt anything like she did right now, she understood him perfectly. “I know, Grey.”

  He groaned and tightened his hold on her, kissing her urgently at first, and then slower, more meaningfully. She copied the way his mouth moved with hers. Although this was highly improper, she couldn’t tear herself away from what they were sharing. She never wanted to leave his side.

  His hands wandered up to her neck, and then to her hair. The pins holding her coil together fell out one by one, until he combed his fingers through her hair. Sighing with pleasure, she thoroughly enjoyed the way he touched and caressed her...as if he couldn’t get enough. She knew she would never be able to get enough of this amazing man.

  Just when she thought she was lost forever in her pleasure, Grey gradually pulled his mouth away from hers and rested his face in the crook of her neck. His hot breaths touched her skin, sending tingles of delight through her. His irregular breathing matched hers perfectly.

  “Oh, Lexie, forgive me...”

  “For what? Stopping?”

  His body shook with silent laughter as he lifted his
head and looked into her eyes. “Well, certainly for that, but mostly for not being able to control myself. I should not have let the kiss become so...intense.”

  “I enjoyed how intense it was.”

  He ran the pads of his fingers across her cheek. “You are so lovely, my Lexie, and I’ll be eternally grateful that you were not offended by my kiss.”

  “Why should I be?”

  “I’m assuming that was the first time you have been kissed?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  His eyebrows creased together. “It wasn’t?”

  She chuckled. “Are you forgetting the brief kiss you gave me last night?”

  His smile widened. “No, my Lexie, that was not a kiss. That was a mere sample. What we just shared now was indeed a kiss.”

  “Oh, well...then yes, that was my first.”

  He gently traced her lower lip with the pad of his thumb. “I usually don’t kiss fair maidens such as yourself, and I do know I shouldn’t be so daring.”

  “Even if I enjoyed it?”

  He laughed. “Oh, my sweet Lexie, you are so endearing. I never want you to change.”

  She loved hearing his nickname for her and how he said it with a sigh. “I never want you to change, either.”

  He kissed her again, but kept it brief and pulled away. He moved completely off her, but leaned on his elbow next to her, gazing into her eyes. Grey was such an intoxicating man, she could stare at him forever. By the way he stayed in that position, she wondered if he was thinking to stare at her forever, too. She could only hope.

  JULIAN REALLY SHOULD move, but he couldn’t. Being this close to her was torturing him, only because he knew he must behave like a true gentleman. Meeting in private was very improper, and if caught, it would certainly ruin her reputation. Yet, he didn’t want to leave the coziness they had shared these last few, earth-shattering, and blissful moments.

  At times, guilt flowed through him for lying to her. She nearly guessed his true identity, and although he would love nothing more than to hear his real name from her lips, he still worried for her safety. If Martin ever discovered Alexandria was helping him, she would be in grave danger. It pleased him so much to think she was so selfless in her endeavors. And now after just sharing that magical kiss and seeing the twinkle in her eyes, he suspected she had some feelings for him, as well. It was hard to believe she had already captured his heart.