As guests slowly began filling up Kit and Cassandra's parlour, Allie wished that it would once again become as empty as it had been when they'd first arrived two hours before to spend a little time with the children.
The main reason for her wish was the simple fact that among the guests invited to dinner was Richard Kensington, the last man Allie wanted to see, no matter what Kit had to say on the matter. Even if she was mildly more understanding, she still did not like rakes in the least, no matter how sad their story.
Of course, to Allie's great misfortune, the man himself, amused upon seeing her, crossed the room at the sight of her, beaming wryly and mockingly "If it isn't the exceedingly charming Lady Alexandra herself."
"Master Richard." Allie said with a curtsy, doing all she could to maintain decorum in front of everyone else. She'd already seen him sizing up all his options in the room, eyes scanning over all the ladies, presumably to see which of them he could bed. Rakes like him were certainly most annoying.
"What, no snark tonight, milady?" He asked teasingly, eyes alight. At least he was not angered by her words and had, instead, chosen to make light of the situation. That was an appreciable quality in any man, she supposed, even if the man was he.
"You see," Allie spoke before she could catch herself, "Tonight, I am determined to be the perfect lady. If I am not, then however am I to trap the perfect husband?" She said, as she fluttered her eyelashes. Slowly, it dawned on her what she had just done and, mortified, her eyes widened and met his. Firstly, she'd been joking along with him and, secondly, she'd made a remark that could be construed as being almost flirtatious in nature.
Fortunately, he took it exactly as she'd meant it, and he grinned widely at her. It was the sort of smile that was so perfect it was practically designed to lure women in with all its splendour. Even she found it difficult to resist the beauty of that smile.
"Well, milady, I'm sure that in this room you shall find very few options." He advised, his eyes making it evident that the conversation was anything but serious. "Nearly every man in this room is married."
"That still would not stop quite a few of them." Allie quipped before she could stop herself from speaking, and she flushed in embarrassment as she realised that she had made it sound as if she was willing to.....seduce, for lack of a better word, a married man. "That was not how I meant it."
"Of course not." He agreed with her, his tone making it sound as if he did not believe her in the least. She opened her mouth to defend herself but, when her eyes met his, she found that they were twinkling in amusement and certainly did not belie anything but humour at the situation. Fortunately for her, she had found someone who did not misconstrue the things she said when she spoke without thinking.
Perhaps he truly was not all that bad.
His eyes caught sight of something across the room that made him grin, and she followed his gaze over her shoulder to a woman who had just arrived. Her untied hair was a jarring shade of red that looked like flames that fell across her shoulders and her eyes, even from such a distance, were a striking green that could not be missed. Her skin was like porcelain— pale and almost delicate looking— and her beautiful white dress was of a very flattering cut.
Needless to say, Alexandra was entirely awestruck by her beauty and didn't blame Richard Kensington for reacting the same way.
Her gaze followed the gorgeous woman as she spoke briefly with Kit and Cassandra and, much to Allie's surprise, made her way across the room to where Allie was standing with Richard.
"Annaliese, it's lovely to see you." He greeted warmly as she came to halt right before them, and Allie's eyes widened as she recalled hearing the name Lady Annaliese Walker being mentioned in close connection with his by Rebecca and Susan. From what she could remember, they'd said the two of them were...intimate.
"Richard." Annaliese said with a nod, her reaction less welcoming than his, but the smile that broke out across her face revealed a true pleasure at seeing him. Her voice was slightly accented, and that was what made Allie remember that she was American by birth, her family having settled in Britain a while back.
"Annaliese, may I introduce to you Lady Alexandra Whitlock?" Master Richard said, gracious enough to take note of Allie's presence and introducing her almost immediately. "Lady Alexandra, this is Lady Annaliese Walker, a very dear friend of mine."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Allie said, still awed by how truly lovely she was, without even trying. Her face bore no signs of any attempts to enhance her beauty, not even rouge. It truly was all natural.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Alexandra." Lady Annaliese replied kindly, even granting her a little smile that left her feeling like a child again. It reminded her of those rare moments as a little girl when her mother had smiled at her unexpectedly and Allie would be left reeling as she did not know how to respond. "I have heard quite a lot about you, from both your sister and brother-in-law as well as from Richard."
"All good things, I hope." Allie said, glancing quizzically at the man before her who avoided her gaze entirely.
"Of course." She smiled again, "As if any of those parties have a single bad thing to say about you. I must say, you certainly have lived up to the raptures about your beauty that I have heard." She said, looking at Richard mischievously while Allie glanced between them, far too confused to understand what was happening.
She did not expect that he'd have a single good word for her after what had happened when they had first met. Perhaps he was simply being polite when he had said whatever he had said to Lady Annaliese.
"Allie!" She heard a voice say from behind her, and she turned to see Nate standing there, Kit by his side. Nate appeared slightly frantic, but Kit had kept his cool, despite the undercurrent of worry she could see in his eyes.
"Yes, Nate?" She asked, gritting her teeth as she feigned a smile and stepped quickly towards them.
In a hushed tone to ensure no one else could hear, Kit began speaking, "Sir Heathcote brought with him his nephew, and it is not someone you wish to see. Mr. Bennett is here, Allie, and I will escort him from the premises myself if you'd like me to."
"No, you don't have to." Allie assured him, even as her blood ran cold at the thought of the man who'd broken her heart a year before. "It would be unseemly. I shall simply grin and bear it. Thank you for informing me, though, before I saw him myself without warning."
Kit seemed to accept this reply, but Nate certainly did not. "Allie—" he began, but was interrupted by Richard Kensington and Lady Annaliese, who joined them to inquire whether all was well.
"Is something the matter?" Lady Annaliese asked, her voice sounding almost musical.
"Certainly not." Allie said firmly, directing her tone at Nate pointedly, who nodded in defeat and allowed his features to relax. His shoulders, however, were still tense. He would not be reassured until Allie fully proved that she was alright, even though she really wasn't. "There is simply some sort of emergency in the kitchen with the fish course that needs to be sorted and Cassandra can't be pulled from her guests."
While Lady Annaliese seemed to accept Alexandra's surprisingly convincing bluff, Richard's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he did not fully believe her.
To buy herself some time before she had to inevitably face Edgar Bennett, Alexandra excused herself and hurried from the room so that she could pretend to solve whatever problem had allegedly arisen with the food. She could feel Master Richard's gaze on her back the entire time. Hopefully, he would not bother her for a little while.
Once she'd exited the room, the air was instantly clearer, and the cool marble walls of the corridor left a slight chill that was a welcome contrast to the warmth of the crowded parlour. She slipped down the long corridor till she was at the other end, at enough of a distance from the party to be safe from prying eyes.
Finally, she allowed herself to breathe. It came as a relief to let herself react away from all the prying eyes that had been following her every move. It gave her a moment to compose herself and put on a brave face before appearing before the man she had once, not too long ago, thought she would marry.
"Milady, are you alright?" A voice asked, from a distance of perhaps two feet away. It was a familiar voice, but one that was entirely unwelcome. Her prayers that he would leave her alone had clearly gone unanswered. It was not his fault, however, for he was simply being a good person, not that she would ever be able to admit that.
"Uh, yes, I am quite alright, Master Richard." She lied, tightly pressing her eyes closed for a moment before reopening them and turning to face him, her features having been schooled into composed nonchalance. "Why do you ask?"
Ignoring her question, Richard Kensington narrowed those lovely blue eyes of his at her and allowed them to roam over her form, scrutinising her. "You might be a very accomplished woman when it comes to everything else, Lady Alexandra, but you are the worst liar I have ever seen."
"Whatever could I be lying about?" She asked innocently, eyes widening as he took a step closer to her, until he was a less than respectable distance away from her. It was the sort of position that could easily be mistaken as being something else. "M-master Richard....." She stammered, but he paid her no mind.
"You aren't alright, milady." He whispered huskily to her, sending a trail of gooseflesh running down her arms. "I might not be privy to the details of what exactly has made you so....disturbed, but you needn't pretend, even if only in my presence. If you'll allow me, I might even serve as sufficient distraction from whatever it is that has upset you."
"Well," Alexandra began, determined not reveal a single thing to him, but changing her mind the moment she met his eyes. "You are correct in assuming that something has happened, but I must ask— as our acquaintanceship has not even reached what might be considered a friendship, why do you offer such kindness?"
"What, may a rake not be kind?" He asked, donning a roguish grin that made her heart clench in her chest for reasons she couldn't fathom.
Before Alexandra could respond to his words— with what exactly she did not know— there was the sound of footsteps advancing down the corridor. Fortunately, Allie noticed quickly enough and, placing her hands on his chest, shoved him away from her as hard as she could, causing him to stumble backwards until he was an appropriate distance from her.
"Wha—?" He began, but was interrupted by whomever had arrived. Realisation dawned clear in his blue irises and he nodded briefly at her. It was then that the mystery stranger revealed themselves.
"Alexandra? Is that you?" A much too familiar voice asked bemusedly, causing Allie's eyes to widen in surprised speechlessness as she struggled to formulate a coherent response to the man who had just arrived.
Of all the people in the room, of course it had to Edgar Bennett.