Lady Alexandra's Lover (Sex and the Season #3) - Helen Hardt Page 0,43

what he thought he wanted—socially adept, from a good family of peers, beautiful, intelligent, soft, and gentle. Alexandra might be beautiful and intelligent, but she certainly didn’t fit in any of the other categories he’d thought were so important to him.

None of it mattered now anyway. She had proven what kind of person she was.

He was done.

Done or not, though, he did need to speak to her. He had to make sure she didn’t go running to Mummy and new Daddy crying rape. He slipped on his robe and poured himself a brandy. Rather than sipping, he swallowed the amber liquid quickly, burning his throat.

He walked out of his suite and down the staircase to the second floor. The hallways were dark, and he hadn’t brought a candle with him, but he knew this place like the back of his hand. Alexandra was probably sleeping, but he didn’t care. They needed to talk. When he got to her room, he knocked gently.

No response.

He knocked harder. Still no response. “Alexandra?” He knocked again.

Still nothing.

He inched open her door a bit. “Alexandra?” he said again.

He walked through the sitting area and stood at the doorway into her bedchamber. He knocked again. Still nothing.

This had gone far enough. He opened the door and walked in. “Alexandra,” he said, “I need to speak with you.”

He lit a lamp on her bed table.

No!

She was not there. His heart beat rapidly and his breathing accelerated. He looked around the chamber. A small piece of parchment lay on her pillow. He unfolded it.

Sophie,

I rose early and decided to spend the day out-of-doors. I packed a small luncheon and plan to be gone with a good book most of the day. Please do not worry.

Ally

That little minx! Evan knew very well where she had gone—London.

No chance of sleeping for him this night. He’d have to go after her.

A half an hour later, after interrogating the servants, he found out that one of them had been paid off to get Alexandra to Bath tonight. His business would have to wait. Evan promptly dismissed the man in question and rode his stallion, Leopold, into Bath. After checking the inns and rooming houses, he located Alexandra, ironically, at the same hotel where he’d spent the previous night. Rather than abducting her and taking her back to the estate, he booked a room himself. He would deal with this in the morning.

And he would deal with it in London. Forcing her to go back to the estate would be futile. She would only run again. The woman was determined to go, so rather than trying to stop her, he would simply follow her.

* * *

Alexandra woke early the next morning, her backache increased from sleeping in a bed she was not used to. She rang for a hot tub, bathed quickly, dressed in her traveling clothes, ate a light breakfast, and walked to the railway station.

Freedom! Within days she would be a married woman, and her freedom would be limited. However, her purse would not be limited. Still, she would relish these last few days of liberty. She inhaled the summer breeze on the sunny July day.

Big mistake. She was no longer in the country. In the city, the aroma was vile. Clearly not everyone had indoor plumbing in Bath. She wrinkled her nose. London would likely be no better.

But London was where her future lay. She reached the railway station, purchased her ticket to London, and sat down to await her train. She gazed around at all the people. Other women her age appeared to be riding the train alone, so she didn’t feel too out of place. Despite what her stepbrother might think, young women of an age frequently traveled alone. People from all walks of life gathered at the station—young women like herself, many young businessmen, families with small children, and older couples as well. She looked back toward the ticket booth. A man stood, his back to her, purchasing a ticket. With broad shoulders and a shock of wheat-blond hair, he could have been Evan. But of course Evan had no idea where she was. She turned her head and gazed in the other direction. She had bigger fish to catch.

The train ride was rickety, and she’d purchased an inexpensive ticket, so her seat was lumpy and uncomfortable. She hadn’t packed a lunch, so by the time they reached London she was quite famished. She disembarked and found a small café near the station where she took a