He was going to catch her in his study. He’d kill her for sure.
Frantically, she glanced around the room, searching for someplace to hide. One of the sofas was near the window and pulled out away from the wall enough for her to squeeze behind.
Hurrying, she scampered toward the sofa and slipped behind it. Just as she crouched, the door to the study opened. Walter’s heavy footsteps pounded on the floor, heading straight for his desk. She held her trembling hands together and prayed he wouldn’t find her.
She didn’t dare peek around the piece of furniture to see what he was doing, but it sounded as if he was shuffling through the papers on his desk. He grumbled low, making it difficult to tell what he was saying.
Two very long minutes later, he finally marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him. She remained behind the sofa, listening for signs that he left the estate. Finally, she heard his voice outside and then the thundering pounds from the horse’s hooves on the ground.
Relief swept over her. Why had he even returned? But she hoped…prayed…he wouldn’t come back so quickly next time.
Being as quiet as she could, she moved from behind the sofa and walked back to the desk. There were papers scattered on the top of his desk, and she carefully moved them around, looking for anything that might be evidence in his misdeeds. So far, she’d seen nothing—except for the letter from the woman. But that didn’t prove he was a murderer, only that he was a dolt for possibly cheating on his wife.
She finished looking through his desk, but didn’t find anything of importance. There weren’t many other places to look in his study, so she quietly left. As she hurried away from the room, she breathed a little easier. But now she should look through his bedchamber. He and Joanna didn’t share the same room, which Alexandria thought was odd since she remembered her parents sharing the same room. Nevertheless, it was better this way because then Joanna wouldn’t see her and ask what she’s doing.
Last evening, after Grey had dropped her off, she had visited with her sister for a few minutes without Walter seeing. Joanna was still not looking well at all. It worried Alexandria that something was dreadfully wrong. Joanna appeared not to have any strength at all.
As Alexandria neared Walter’s bedchamber, a thought struck her, stopping her in her tracks. Walter had gotten rid of people he didn’t want around—either killing them or finding them a husband. Was he thinking he didn’t want his wife any longer? Did he want this woman, Mary, instead? If so, would he sink so low as to try and murder his own wife?
Alexandria’s gut twisted as bile rose to her throat. Grey believed Walter was capable of murder, so she must, as well. And that meant, she needed to take her sister away from this place, and very soon!
She glanced toward the nearest window, wondering if Grey was hiding and watching her. She really needed to speak to him about assisting her with getting Joanna out of here. But then without the proof they needed to have Walter arrested, what good would it do to take Joanna some place different?
She straightened her shoulders and breathed deeply. All of these thoughts were confusing her more. What she needed to do was find evidence! Making the decision, she walked into his room.
The musky scent that had always been with Walter suddenly surrounded her. Chills ran up her arms and she shivered. Yet, at the same time, confidence grew inside her. She was determined to find something.
As she glanced around at his personal items, she tried not to feel embarrassed. After all, she was in a man’s bedchamber, which was highly improper. Trying to put the feeling aside, she tried to think of herself as one of the investigators she’d written about in her novels. It was her duty to find evidence no matter how she went about obtaining it.
First she went to the armoires. As she searched through them, she checked in pockets or anywhere a piece of paper or missive could be hidden. Nothing was found.
Frowning, she glanced around the room at each chair and sofa. There would be no place to hide secrets in pieces of furniture. Still, she checked underneath each one just to be certain. Once again, she found nothing.
The side room was his bathing chambers, but nothing of consequence was in there, either. Leaving his room, she felt as if she’d failed. The only thing she could report to Grey was the letter from Walter’s mistress.
Either Walter was very crafty in hiding the evidence…or he destroyed it.
Disheartened, she walked toward her sister’s room. She needed to check in on her to see if she was making any sort of recovery. But then if Walter was slowly killing her, was it too late for Joanna?
Slowly, Alexandria opened the door and peeked in. Her sister sat up in bed, reading a book. Immediately, Joanna’s gaze jumped and locked with Alexandria’s. A smile stretched across her sister’s face.
“Xandria. You are here!”
Alexandria’s heart lifted. “Yes. I’d hope you would be up to visitors.”
“Indeed, I am.” She motioned 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 sure. 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.”
“You are so kind.” Tears spiked in Joanna’s eyes. “I’ve been so blessed to have a sister like you.”
A knot formed in Alexandria’s throat. She was the one who’d been blessed, but now she had to repay the Lord by taking care of Joanna and keeping Walter from killing her.
~*~
Julian shuffled his balance from one foot to the other as he peered through the telescope. Walter had left the estate hours ago, and yet Alexandria still hadn’t come outside. Fear grew inside him. When Walter had briefly returned back home, Julian prayed Alexandria wasn’t caught. He suspected she had already begun her search. However, the longer and longer it took for Alexandria to walk outside, the more he worried something terrible had happened to her.
He couldn’t stand it any longer. Even though he risked being seen by servants who had worked for his father, Julian knew he had to go inside the house to see if Alexandria was harmed.
He set the telescope down and hurried out of his hiding spot. As the house grew closer and closer, one of the side doors opened and out walked Alexandria. He halted and held his breath. 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. He couldn’t believe how his heart leapt in happiness. 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 Walter return, I thought for sure—”
“I hid behind the sofa in his study. He didn’t even know I was there.”
“Good.” He st
roked his fingers across her skin. “Did you find anything?”
Her smile disappeared as a frown took over. “Not really. The only thing I found was 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. Slowly, she shook her head as a light of awareness sparked in her eyes.
“Walter killed his uncle for the title?” She sucked in a quick breath. “If Walter killed his uncle, that means you, Lord Greystone, are one of his cousins!”
Chapter 7
Alexandria’s mind whirled with the discovery of his identity. Everything made more sense now. If Grey was one of Walter’s cousins which had been killed, that explained why Grey was so anxious to see her brother-in-law arrested for murder. It also was why Grey could assure her that Walter wouldn’t marry her to the highest bidder.
This amazing man who had first kidnapped her, and then rescued her in so many ways, was the true Duke of Linden. No wonder Grey didn’t want Walter discovering he was alive.
Groaning, Grey closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t want you to know that,” he muttered.
She touched his shoulder. “I understand, but I promise, Your Grace, I shall not tell anyone.”
His head snapped up and his eyes met hers. “Alexandria, you cannot call me Your Grace. If the servants would ever overhear you saying that to me, 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.
He quickly grasped it, his gaze deeply locked to her. “Please, Alexandria, I did not mean to snap at you. It’s just very important—”
“Yes, I know.” She nodded. “And I shall do as much as I can to help you.” She released a frustrated sigh. “I just wish I could do more. I wish I could have found something in my search this morning.”
“I wish you could have as well.” He shrugged. “We shall have to look elsewhere.” He released her and walked further in the grove of trees. A blanket lay on the ground with a sack of food.
She followed him closely, her mind trying to piece together a story just as she would when writing her novels. “When your father and brother were killed, did you suspect him?”
He took her hand and helped her to the blanket. Once she had sat, he slowly paced the area around them with his hands linked behind him.
“Not at first, but 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.”
“What about you? When he attempted to kill you, did you know it was him?”
His face grew hard as he stared at the ground, continuing to pace. “I had taken a few of my men from the regiment into town to search for a straggler who had been missing a few days. My mind was on finding my soldier and nothing more. 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.” He stopped, facing her, and 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 looked to where the cannon had been shot and saw three men running away. Although my leg was bleeding and broken, and I was losing consciousness fast, I was still able to take my pistol and shoot at them. One of them fell to the ground, but he’d soon 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 Walter, but 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 Walter was behind it, but I have a sickening feeling he was. My father and brother were killed not long before this accident with me. There’s no logical reasoning that someone would try to kill me and my men with a cannon, but it makes sense that someone would want to kill me for my title.”
“Indeed, that’s a rational explanation.” She dared touch him again by laying her hand on his arm. “I’m just very relieved Walter wasn’t able to kill you. He doesn’t make a very good duke, if you ask me.”
Grey chuckled. “I don’t think he does, either. Then again, he was never raised to take that title. Both my brother and I were raised for that.”
“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. 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. I’m saying it.” 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 to him 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 eye. “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 ran over her face slowly, from her hair down to her eyes, nose, and finally coming to rest on her mouth. Suddenly, the mood between them shifted and her throat turned dry. Her heart quickened with anticipation, and the urge to kiss him became overpowering. Would he make the first move or should she? They were still close, and 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…
As soon as his lips brushed against hers, she sighed with happiness. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to his body. At first the kiss was soft, but soon his hold became tighter, and with a small groan, he deepened the kiss.
Breathless, she clung to him, wanting more…wanting their kiss to last longer. Forever. Nothing in her life had made her feel so alive—like a woman should always feel. She never wanted the emotion growing inside of her to end. Her whole world felt as if she were tilting, going down…down…down…until her back pressed against the ground. 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. The pressure of his upper body on hers, made her feel safe and protected. Strange how she’d felt this way from the beginning. Well, perhaps not those first few hours after he’d kidnapped her, but certainly since then.
“Oh, Lexie,” he muttered against her lips. “I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be feeling this way.”
Her heart skipped a beat. If he felt anything like she was right now, she understood him perfectly. “I know, Grey.”
“No, say my name. My real name.” He kissed her briefly. “Call me Julian, I beg you.”
Her heart soared to heaven and back. “Julian,” she said with a sigh.
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, even the way his tongue swept through her mouth. Although this was highly improper, she couldn’t tear herself away from what they were sharing. She never wanted to leave his side.
Just w
hen she thought she was lost forever in her pleasure, Julian 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 kissed a man?”
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. What we just shared was indeed a kiss.”
“Oh, well…then yes, that was my first.”
His fingers moved to her lips and gently traced them. “I usually don’t kiss fair maidens such as yourself, but I do know I shouldn’t be so daring.”
“Even if I enjoyed it?”
He laughed. “Oh, my 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 of her, but leaned on his elbow next to her, gazing into her eyes. Julian 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.
~*~
He 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 minutes.
Sweet Summer Kisses Page 31
