Chapter 16

Who would have thought that an engagement could be so annoying?

Colin watched Alice as she laughed with his sister in the gardens of Blackthorn Estate, her hair turning a deep, burnished gold in the afternoon sunlight. The sound of her melodious laughter floated in the air and shook the very foundations of his soul.

With a grimace, he turned away from the idyllic scene of the four young ladies enjoying themselves. It was the first tea party that his sister had hosted since her coming out, and as their grandmother had advised, she kept the guest list to an exclusive minimum. Even with Alice in attendance, he had not deigned to show himself to the other ladies.

In the five days since they appeared at the Salisbury ball to begin the complicated rituals of courtship, he had attended far more social affairs than he had in the last five years and had not seen Alice at any of them. He had survived simply by indulging himself with the sort of fantasies that would most likely shock his betrothed.

As he wrote letters, he casually ruminated on peeling the numerous layers of clothing off her luscious body. He attended an opera with his grandmother and younger sister, and he decided that he would much rather drink in the music of Alice's breathy moans as he kissed every inch of her.

And they had not even started on that particular novel she had her pretty little heart set on reading. It was right there in his study, waiting for her to open it and discover the scandalous secrets in between its pages.

By the end of it all, he was completely and utterly convinced that the convoluted rituals of courtship and betrothal of the ton were nothing more than devices by which a man must be tormented before he could join his starving body to that of his betrothed.

Except, of course, Alice was not truly his betrothed, and to cross the boundaries between them would end up ruining her.

Or as his grandmother had warned him, send him to the Archbishop to beg for a special license.

To make matters worse, he had caught the Viscountess Pembroke shooting him sultry looks from over her shoulder at every possible chance she got. Perhaps he had not made himself clear enough to her that he had no intention of resuming what they had before. He would not make the same mistake in the future. After all, it was nothing for a Wolf like him to deliver a crushing setback in response to unwanted advances.

Still, it was enough to drive a man—even a Wolf—halfway to insanity.

But he supposed that he did not have to wait overly long, for Lady Wellington had just announced that the special invitations she had ordered for her house party had finally arrived. Lady Alice Barkley, as his betrothed, would be among the first to receive one.

"You look as if you are about to devour the lady."

He turned around with an annoyed look to find Daniel looking at him with an arched eyebrow. His friend paused to take a sip from his cup, the subtle flicker in his eyes denoting his displeasure with the brew.

"You might want to compose yourself, Blackthorn," he drawled with a slight smile. "It would be most unbecoming for a Wolf to regard his betrothed like a starving dog eyeing a piece of meat."

Colin turned away from his friend with a slight scoff. "You must be imagining things in your old age, Ashton."

Daniel's reply was just a half-smile. "And you are slipping." He edged his teacup away from him with a look of distaste. "Best be careful."

Colin's hand tightened around his teacup. Already, the rumor mills started working, and tongues started wagging.

It would seem that some things in London had never changed, even during his long absence.

* * *

"One cannot be complacent with these things!" the Marchioness of Brandon admonished the two young ladies of the house. "Why, it is the first time since… well, since that tragedy that Lady Wellington has deigned to hold a house party. Not even a ball but a veritable house party!"

The arrival of the invitation for Lady Wellington's house party was received with much enthusiasm in Brandon Estate. Lady Brandon herself had sent several maids scurrying to find "this dress" and "those gloves" while her two daughters helplessly watched on.

Alice thought that the Dowager Countess, despite her amiable character, was not one to do anything by halves, and a house party was especially within character for her. However, she was looking forward to the house party for an entirely different reason.

La Philosophie dans Le Boudoirhad been one of the essential provisions of her agreement with Colin, and she had yet to read it. A house party would be the perfect excuse for her to begin reading the book under the pretense of spending some time with her betrothed.

But was it prudent to be reading such a scandalous work with a known rogue?

Then again, Alice was not entirely known for considering such trivial matters before jumping into her pursuits. Besides, she doubted that even the Duke of Thorns would try anything with her, considering how much he despised the idea of matrimony.

No. He might tease me and try to test my boundaries. I simply have to be much stronger than him!

Just like that kiss in the garden. But then again, he had never even approached her after that.

He must have regretted it thoroughly. As he should, really.

And yet, she was still very much frustrated with him. It was one thing to keep a proper distance from her due to the constraints of their arrangement, but it was an entirely different matter when he would not even deign to look her way.

At this point, one would think that their betrothal was on the verge of being broken off before it had even begun!

"What sort of tragedy, Mama?" she heard Phoebe inquire with some curiosity, snapping her out of her thoughts.

The Marchioness looked taken aback for a moment before pulling her two daughters close. "You are not to speak of this matter in public," she admonished them. She turned to Alice. "Especially you, Alice. His Grace will discuss it with you when he will. You are not to bring it up with him under any condition."

"I do not understand, Mama…"

"The late Duke and Duchess," Lady Brandon said in a low voice. "They perished in a fire in Blackthorn Estate half a decade ago. His Grace had been on a Grand Tour at that time, and Lady Evelyn was barely more than a child."

Alice sucked in a deep breath. A tragedy, indeed. Her heart already ached watching her papa become frailer with each passing day, although her betrothal seemed to have improved his spirits. To lose both parents in a fire would be nothing short of devastating.

"Poor Evie." Phoebe shook her head sadly.

"We are not to speak of this again," the Marchioness reminded them. "Such things… should not be discussed at all. I am only telling you this so that you may know better to avoid such unsavory topics when they come up in conversation. In fact," she added, "it would be best for you to leave the conversation entirely if someone were to bring it up."

"Yes, Mama," they both chorused.

Some tragedies were best left unspoken. Avoided, even.

Ever since her debut, Alice had learned that there were things that she must turn away from, not only because it was the tactful thing to do but also because of compassion. Nobody ever needed a reminder of the tragedies of their lives—even a beastly Wolf like Colin Fitzroy.

She sighed inwardly as she tucked her mother's words into her heart, although her own ached for him. To have to bear the grief of his parents' death and the great responsibility they left behind would be a most daunting task that she would not wish on anyone.

Knowing what she did now softened her heart as she thought of how he must have tried to hold everything together for his younger sister and Lady Wellington. Even the gossips would say that he managed rather well in that regard, for the Fitzroy family continued to be one of the wealthiest and most influential in all of London in spite of their having disappeared from most social affairs for more than half a decade.

But it was not her place to soothe or console him, as much as she ached to—and it continued to steadily gnaw at her until the day of Lady Wellington's house party arrived.

* * *

The two sisters and the Marchioness made their way to Fitzroy Hall by carriage on Thursday, arriving late in the afternoon. They were amongst the first guests, much to the delight of the Dowager Countess, who greeted them at the front door with Lady Evelyn and Colin.

As Phoebe and Lady Evelyn immediately gravitated towards each other, giggling over how much fun they were going to have over the weekend, Alice only felt her heart hammering in her chest. She slowly raised her eyes to meet those of her betrothed, who was gazing intently at her in the manner of a panther eyeing its prey. His lips curled into a slight smile as he walked towards her and reached for her hand.

"Lady Alice," he murmured, bowing and pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. "Welcome to Fitzroy Hall."

Alice had to remind herself to breathe. Just a few short days of not seeing him, and already she was losing her composure faster than a boulder could sink in the Thames.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Lady Wellington smiling at them, looking extremely satisfied. Her own mother looked exceptionally pleased with Colin's warm welcome as well, and even her father looked as if he had recovered from his long illness just by looking at them.

It was enough to make her head ache, really.

Fortunately, she did not have to dwell much on that, for she was whisked away to join the small group of young ladies in the parlor. Phoebe briefly shot her a look of concern when she sat down, but Alice subtly shook her head. It would not do well to show signs of anything amiss in the presence of others.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Colin stalk off to join a group of gentlemen—the Wolves, Scarlett had whispered to her with wide eyes. It seemed that the old group had gathered in Fitzroy Hall as well.

Her eyebrows knitted when she saw him turn his back to her almost deliberately.

So, we are back to ignoring each other now, are we?

Alice pursed her lips. She should have known that the warm welcome she received had been nothing more than a play he enacted for their family.

With a slight huff, she turned her back to him and devoted her entire being to enjoying the conversation with her sister and friends. If he meant to ignore her throughout this whole affair, then she could play along. After all, he was not the only one she could talk to in the whole of Fitzroy Hall.

Let him have a taste of his own medicine.

Colin Fitzroy did not have a monopoly in the art of purposely ignoring someone—she could do it, too, and very well at that…