Lady Ellingham and the Theft of the Stansfield Necklace: A Regency Romance (20 page)

 The time past slowly
and did nothing to alleviate his temper but finally the waltz was announced. 
Alex sought out Felicity and led her to the dance floor.  Felicity thought that
Alex looked rather fierce as he grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him. His
brow was lined and he had a dark brooding look that was enough to make any
lesser female bolt for cover.  He put his free hand in her gloved one and led
her into the dance. He was by no means gentle as he guided her around the dance
floor and Felicity began to realise that he was in a black mood. She looked up
into his dark inflexible face and wondered what had happened to bring on such
displeasure.  She waited however for him to speak for she was not going to give
him the satisfaction of knowing that she had noticed.  Finally, he gave her a foreboding
look, ‘When this evening is over I wish to speak to you.  I appreciate it may
not be easy for you to get away but dismiss your maid as soon as you can and
meet me in the library.  I will wait at your convenience.’

‘Why whatever is the
matter,’ she replied somewhat apprehensively.  She had only seen him like this
once before and that was when they had argued at Almack’s, when she had accused
him of being a thief and he had challenged Richard to that stupid duel.  She
looked at him with some foreboding and then made up her mind. ‘You know Alex I
do not think I will. Apart from the fact, this it is hardly proper for me to be
meeting you alone in the middle of the night, you appear to be in a bad temper
and I do not think I shall subject myself to your dark humours. So say what you
have to say now and be done with it, though for the life of me I cannot see
what I can have done to offend you.’

Alex tightened his
grasp and pulled her closer. He whispered ominously in her ear. ‘Oh it is
hardly something that can be discussed on the dance floor my dear. Do as I bid
you if you do not wish to incur my displeasure.’

‘It appears I already
have,’ she retorted spiritedly, ‘so all the same My Lord. I think I shall
decline to meet you.’

‘If you do not appear I
shall come and seek you out in your bedchamber.  I will give you up until
precisely 1 am to appear.  You may choose where it is to be, but wherever you
choose, I will speak to you.  Do not underestimate me for I mean what I say.’

Felicity tried to pull
away in extreme displeasure but he had anticipated it and held her firmly
preventing her from doing so. ‘Oh no you do not!  You are not going to
embarrass either me or yourself by stalking off the dance floor in humdugeon
and if you make a scene I cannot answer for the consequences.’

Felicity was wise
enough to realise that it was better to brave it out and did as she was bid.
Much to his amusement but not to his surprise, she spent the remainder of the
dance deliberately standing on his toes in an effort to make his experience as
unpleasant as possible.  She was not going to let him treat her this way
without exacting some punishment for his uncouth behaviour. Alex reflected with
perverse satisfaction that he could not have expected much less and loved her
all the more for it.

No matter how hard
Felicity tried to enjoy the rest of the evening her peace had been cut up and
she could not be comfortable.  She did however make an extremely good effort to
conceal the fact as the guests continued to seek out her company and she
continued to act with all the decorum of an honoured guest.  Alex noted with
satisfaction that she could behave impeccably when the situation demanded it
and even under adverse circumstances, she was very much the Lady. She was not
going to let anyone guess that she was seriously indisposed.  She occasionally
looked across at Alex who seemed to be acting very much as usual and playing
the perfect host for his grandmother.  Despite his observations, Felicity would
frequently catch him glancing across to her with a dark and brooding look, and
she knew with no question that it was solely meant for her.  Her mind began to
race, my goodness whatever could she have done to warrant such displeasure.

After the last of the
guests had left, Felicity returned to her bedchamber still none the wiser.
Sarah helped her to undress and she dismissed her early advising her that her
services were no longer required.  She lay restlessly in bed watching the ormolu
clock on the mantelshelf above the low embers of a comforting fire; it was twenty-five
minutes past twelve.  She toyed with the idea of dancing none attendance but
after some deliberation thought better of it. She did not doubt him when he
threatened to seek her out in her bedchamber and between the two venues, the
library was infinitely the safest place, but all the same, she was going to
make him wait until the very last moment. 

She spent the time
fidgeting and trying to recollect the events of the evening.  It was
immediately after her performance that she had noticed a change in Alex’s
demeanour.  She remembered that she and Richard had played out a joke at his
expense. Had he been annoyed that he was the only one who did not realise that
Felicity could sing? She could not think that Alex would be so shallow as to
take offence at such a small prank, however she could not think of anything
else.  She realised however after some thought that it could not be that, for
she could see that he was still on good terms with Richard.

 Not that Richard would
have noticed if the devil incarnate had bore down on him for he had spent a
considerable part of the evening captivated by the charms of young Jenny
Allon.  She smiled to herself for she was rather diverted by the fact. Watching
her twin brother succumb to the charms of another female had been amusing and
had helped to keep her mind off Alex’s dark humour but the thought could not distract
her for long.  She glanced again at the Ormolu Clock.  It was a particularly
beautiful piece with cherubs posed gracefully on either side of the clock face
and doves of peace perched on the top.  How ironic she thought for she felt
anything but peaceful. It was now ten minutes to one.  ‘Ah well,’ she sighed to
herself as she pulled back the bed covers and reached for her white satin
dressing gown, the sooner it was over the better.

Alex had retired to the
library with a brandy decanter and was sitting in front of a roaring fire that
he had just banked up. He sat with a glass in his right hand and the long
fingers of his left hand were gently tapping on the arm of his Queen Anne
chair. The decanter was a third empty but he had not imbibed enough to dull his
senses. Alex looked at the clock in the candlelight, it was five minutes to one
and there was still no sign of Felicity. He knew she would be playing a game
and leaving it to the last possible minute before she appeared. He could expect
no less of her but he had not joked when he said he would seek her out. He
would be true to his word however and give her up until the hour.

 It was exactly one o
clock when he heard the tentative knock on the library door and she slipped
quietly into the room.  She remained standing by the door and they looked at
each other for some seconds, each weighing the other up.  Alex had been
drinking and she could not decide whether he was in his cups. The room reeked
of brandy but his eyes were bright and his perception particularly keen.  In
her usual intrepid way, she could not be frightened. She had known Alex long
enough now to know that he would not hurt her, besides she had the protection
of her brother.  She was still however decidedly nervous, as his humour had not
appeared to have improved and she had no idea what this interview was about. 
Indeed, he looked larger and more ominous in the flickering candlelight and she
could not help but feel somewhat anxious.

Alex watched her for a
few seconds. She was dressed in a white satin dressing gown with fell to her
feet in gentle folds and it had long flowing Tudor style sleeves.  Her hair,
which she had brushed out, hung loosely about her shoulders in luxuriant dark
golden curls and her violet blue eyes sparkled even in the dim light.  She was
dressed modestly in pure virginal white and looked like Venus rising, causing
Alex to hold his breath.  Alex realised how subconscious she was of her alluring
attraction and realised that he was going to have difficulty keeping his hands
off her. 

A few hours of
contemplation had done nothing to subdue his anger but his desire for her was
stronger than ever and he felt a familiar stirring within his loins. All he
wanted to do was take her in his arms, hold her close and kiss her senseless. 
He wanted to tell her all was well, but his need for explanation won the day
and he took a firm hold of his self-control.

Alex rose out of his
chair and walked over to the door, which she had left slightly ajar.  He locked
it and consigned the key securely to his pocket.  ‘A precaution my dear,’ he
said dourly, ‘after all it would not do to be disturbed would it?’

Felicity walked further
into the room if only to put some distance between herself and this dark smouldering
man, but to her trepidation he followed her in her wake, suddenly picked her up
and sat her unceremoniously on the desk.  She tried to wriggle off it and onto
her feet but he leaned over her with one arm planted firmly on each side of her
thighs, his hands planted firmly on the desk.  He was leaning intimately close
and brought his face close to hers.  She could smell the brandy and she was
totally bewildered by his humour. ‘Suppose you would care to explain,’ he whispered
intently in her ear.

‘Explain what,’ she queried
somewhat thrown. He roughly grabbed her right arm, slid up the long satin
sleeve and forcibly turned her wrist over to reveal the unsightly disfigurement
she did so well to hide. ‘Explain that!’ he retorted harshly.

 Felicity was confused,
the scar was unsightly but surely, he could not have been annoyed to discover
that she had kept it a closely guarded secret.

 ‘Surely you have seen
a scar before,’ she responded bewilderedly. ‘I know it is unsightly but I do
not understand why it should upset you so, it is hardly that you own me or that
I have agreed to be your wife. You will not be forced to look at it for the
rest of your life.’

‘Oh yes my dear I have
seen many a scar before.  In fact I saw this very scar as I clutched this very
pretty hand the night you dangled from my balcony some weeks ago.’  Alex felt
Felicity stiffen.  So he knew! Her secret was out and she felt her interminable
spirit buckle under the weighty burden of discovery. She looked into Alex’s
solemn face, his voice was distant but as she gathered her wits, she realised
that he was asking her a question. ‘Is that why you refused to marry me that
day in the rock garden? Is that your secret? You are a thief and you could not
bear to admit it. You dared to call me a thief that night at Almack’s and it
turns out that you are no better yourself.’

 Felicity’s eyes
glistened with tears. ‘That is hardly fair considering the great effort I made
to ensure that the necklace was returned,’ she retorted with spirit.

‘That is hardly the
point,’ he growled. ‘I should have you whipped for your behaviour. Do you not
realise that if I had of caught you I could have broken every bone in your body
before I had taken good measure of you.  The risks you took were beyond foolish
and for what?  That doxy Emily whom you considered a friend.’

‘I did not know that at
the time, but I can see that you feel very strongly about it even though I
tried to make amends. At least you can be thankful that I had the decency to
refuse to marry you and now you can be grateful that you have had a very lucky escape.
 Just think of it, a Marchioness who turned out to be a thief.  You would be a
laughing stock if it ever got out. At least I had that much consideration for
you.  Now if that is all you have to say I think I will return to my room. It
is not proper that I should even be here and if we were caught, you would be
well in the suds. Just think if you were made to marry me now!’

Felicity attempted to
wriggle off the desk but he blocked her with his body and held her wrists
firm.  I am not finished with you yet.  I have a lot more to say.’

‘Well I am quite
finished with you.’ she retorted as she struggled to get free. ‘Let me go you tyrant,’
she cried out and as he relaxed his grip, she hit out and caught his eye with
one angry balled fist.  He realised to his cost that Felicity was indeed robust
as he felt the sting of pain across his temple. He had to exert more power that
he would have liked to restrain her again, but eventually she stopped
struggling.  Tears now rolled down her cheeks. ‘Well now you know,’ she
murmured quietly, ‘I know you have a disgust of me, goodness I have a disgust
of myself.  Now let me go and I will persuade Richard to cut our stay short and
we will leave your house as soon as we possibly can.’

Alex realised that she
was in distress and his heart softened, ‘that is not what I want Flick,’ he answered
as he bent over to kiss her wet cheeks.  She just sat there stunned as his
kisses became more passionate and he moved to cover her mouth with his. She
would have liked so much to succumb to the strength of his embrace and lean
into his broad chest for comfort.  He was so close she could feel the warmth of
his breath on her skin but as his anger melted hers was fuelled with resentment
and all she wanted to do was render him another almighty slap. ‘How dare you,’
she cried out, ‘You bring me here, act like the devil incarnate and hope to
resolve matters with a kiss. Let me out of here you beast. Richard was right in
his first estimation of you before he became your friend; you are nothing but a
rake. Now let me out of here!’