Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

ALEXANDER

I only felt a small twinge of guilt as I watched the color drain from Anne’s face.

“You?” she scoffed.

“Yes, me.” I interlocked my hands behind my back. She had a pastry crumb above her upper lip, and I had been tempted to brush it away for the past ten minutes. I clenched my jaw against the laughter in my throat. The horror on her face at the prospect of me vying for her heart should have been offensive, but I took it as a compliment.

She must have thought I had the best chance at succeeding.

Her horrified eyes met mine. The green hues overpowered the brown, matching the pale green of her dress. “Are you trying to…steal me from Miles? Is this some sort of retribution?” The anger in her features only made her more attractive. I eyed the crumb on her lip again with a smile. No matter how threatening she tried to appear, she was nothing short of endearing.

Her concerns were valid. Courting Anne would be a delicate endeavor. If she thought the courtship was real, she would never agree to it. If I tried to poison her opinion of Miles, she would only put more distance between us. But I wanted to come to know her, to show her how she deserved to be treated—and that she was worth more than an occasional letter from the man who supposedly loved her. I stared down at her face.

Perhaps I did want to steal her from him.

“No,” I said. “It’s not retribution.”

Her dark brows furrowed. “You said you wanted to prove that Miles wasn’t the man for me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I want to show you what a real courtship should look like.”

She exhaled sharply with frustration, tipping her head up to look at me. “You’re going to try to woo me, and charm me, and win me over just to spite him. It isn’t going to work.”

“Is it not?” I took a step toward her, leaning down until my face was just inches away. She took a step back, running into the edge of the table. The teacups clattered, and the chess pieces slid off the board. I brushed my finger across the top of her lip, wiping away the pastry flake. “A crumb,” I said in a low voice. I dropped my gaze to her mouth a moment longer. There was a faint line of freckles above her cupid’s bow, and a crease at the center of her full lower lip. I met her gaze. Her beauty was everywhere, but her eyes were what made my stomach drop the furthest. The anger vanished from her expression, a hint of pink rising to her cheeks.

I leaned forward. She didn’t move. She seemed to be frozen there against the table, her gaze trapped in mine. Kissing her now would be premature, no matter how gladly I would do so. If she came to her senses, she would kick me across the room.

I reached around her at the last second to pick up my teacup from the table. I took a long sip, hiding my smile with the cup.

The color on her cheeks deepened, and she marched several paces away from me. “I will not court you, Alexander. I know we made a bargain, but I wasn’t under the impression that you were a contender.”

“I am a guest at this house party.”

“Yes, but…” Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath.

I regarded her seriously. “Are you afraid I might steal your heart?”

“ No. That is the least of my concern.” She paced the floor on the other side of the table. “Courting you would be entirely pointless.”

“It wouldn’t be pointless.” I set my teacup down and gripped the back of my chair. She stopped walking, facing me across the table. “If it were known throughout Birch House that there was an attachment between us, there would be many positive consequences. Lord Kirkham would give up his pursuit, Miss Octavia would give up her pursuit, and Lady Tottenham would be pleased to see a match forming. She might even stop throwing both of us into matchmaking games with the other guests here.” I paused. Anne still seemed guarded, but a little more open to the idea. “What I’m suggesting is a fake courtship.”

Her eyes widened. “Fake?”

“Unless you would prefer a real one.”

“No.” She paced the floor in a loop again, hands on her hips. “It would be a relief not to have Lord Kirkham at my heels.”

I nodded. “And I would like to kindly send the message to Octavia that I’m not planning to court her.”

“She isn’t the only one who would benefit from that message.”

“What do you mean?”

“Miss Morton and Miss Rowley are infatuated with you as well.” Anne cast her gaze heavenward, as if she couldn’t begin to understand. I chose not to be offended. “They were gossiping about Miss Octavia with no small measure of envy.”

I stood up a little straighter. “Well, then, you shall be the envy of the party.”

“They’ll all hate me!” Anne said with a laugh. “Octavia most of all.”

“Do you think I’m fond of the idea of Lord Kirkham hating me? He could knock my teeth out.”

Anne’s broad smile was contagious. She covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. When it subsided, she shook her head. “I don’t know. A fake courtship is madness.”

I withdrew a rose from the vase. “I think it’s brilliant. At any rate, you made a bargain.” I walked around the table and extended the rose to Anne. “I won the game, so you don’t have any choice but to accept me as your…counterfeit lover . ”

Her nose wrinkled as another laugh escaped her. “Never say that again.”

“Your pretend beloved?”

She covered her face with both hands, peeking between her fingers. “I understand how a fake courtship could benefit us both, but how could I ever explain it to Miles?”

“You won’t have to. At the conclusion of the party, we may go our separate ways. He doesn’t need to know we were ever acquainted.” The idea of Anne running back to Miles was enough to make me ill, but I ignored the dread in my stomach. I had plenty of time to show her that he was not worth her time and not worthy of her heart.

She released a long, shaky breath, taking the rose from my hand. She stared down at the petals. “If we’re going to do this, we have to make a plan. If Lady Tottenham hears of any deceit, she will be sure to send us away. Neither of us can afford that.”

“No.” I rubbed one side of my jaw. “We will have to be convincing.”

She blanched. “But not too convincing.”

“The other guests have to believe that we’re madly in love,” I said with a grin. “There will need to be some acting involved.”

Her features hardened, becoming more stern. “I will create a list of rules to ensure you don’t…take your role too far.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked in an innocent voice.

“You know exactly what I mean.” She pointed an accusatory finger at me. “I won’t tolerate any flirting unless it’s done in public to add credibility to our attachment.”

“Very well.” I gave a resolute nod. “You may create your list of rules if it makes you more comfortable.”

“Good. I will share it with you in the morning.” She rubbed her hands over her skirts. “Lady Tottenham obviously already believes there is something between us. It won’t take a great deal to convince her of a deepened attachment.” The soft glow of the candlelight on her skin, and the way her curls fell over her brow tossed my stomach like a ship in a storm. Anne was the one that would take the most convincing, but I was determined.

“So we begin tomorrow?” I asked.

“I suppose…but what do we plan to do at breakfast? How shall we make our attachment clear enough? I haven’t the slightest idea of how to act.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “You may leave that to me.”