Light to Valhalla (3 page)

“I believe the door is at the front
of the cabinet
, my l
ord.”

The marquis’
s
jaw clenched dangerously
.
“Unless you h
ave my
coffee
, get
the he
ll
—oh,
Charlotte
.
”
The
wooden panel
broke off in his hand
, a shower of splinters raining onto the carpet
.
“D
amn.
”
He glanced at the wood fragment in his hand, and tossed it aside
.
“Sorry
about that.”

“Cursing or breaking
t
he cabinet
?” she quipped.

Alex
grumbled
with all the aplo
mb of a schoolboy taken to task
.
“B
oth, I suppose.”

An uncomfortable silence lapsed
.
Charley
’s mind whirled, searching for something
suitable to say
.
She hadn’t meant to scold him, but t
he man had just broken the cabinet for heaven’s sake!  What did one say to that?  Her gaze flicked about the room, looking a
nywhere
but
the
daunting figure of her husband
.
A
t last she looked into his eyes
.
Alex
’s cool gaze
sliced through her
.
Charley
clasped her hands
in the blue silk folds of her skirt
to hide the trembling
.

“Are you injured, my l
ord?”

He glanced down at his left hand
.
“Only a splinter
.
Nothing serious I assure you.”

“
I was referring to your limp, but if you have a splinter it should definitely come out
right away
.
I-I could remove it if you’d like.”

“It’s really nothing
,
”
Alex
insisted
.

“
We wouldn’t want for it to become infected.”

“Very well.
”
The marquis
strode across the room and
settled the afflicted extremity palm up in her hands
.

A jolt of awa
reness shot up her arm, tugging
at all the sweet memories she f
ought to
lock far, far away
.
Alex
radiated pure energy
.
Mesmerized, s
he smoo
thed her fingers over his rough
hewn
, calloused
pa
lm
—a
working man’s palm
.
The stories
these hands could tell…
  In a flash her mind transported her back to the sunny afternoon when she’d taken a nasty tumble off her pony
.
Alex had been with her
.
He’d
gently washed the dirt and gravel from her scraped palms in a nearby creek and
then
brushed the tears from her cheeks
.

Shaking her head, Charley pushed the painful memory aside, allowing her anger to return
.
He was not the same man now as he’d been back then
.
She must remember that or have her heart broken all over again.
“
Can you get the splinter
?”

Charley
jumped, glancing
up briefly
.
H
is
impatient
expression
warned her to hurry
.
“
I believe so
.
”
She shifted her attention to the sliver and wedged the end of her thumbnail against the base of the fragment, pushing it up and out of the skin
.

“Ouch!
”
Alex
jerked his hand away
.
“Keeping the splinter
may have been the
less painful
option.”

Charley
opened her mouth to protest
, but caught the teasing quirk of his lip, and smiled
hesitantly in return
.

“Thank you.
”
He
graciously
inclined his head
, a twinkle warming his eye
.
“
Not many women I know would have performed such a task themselves
.
As for the limp, I
was shot
in
June
.
Twice
.
The injury is why I’m home now.
”
He hesitated
, eyes thick with swirling emotion
.
He stepped close—too
close—
the heat of his
athletic frame
assaulti
ng
her senses
.
The back of his knuckles grazed her cheek,
and her
heart
dropped
.
Heaven help her
.
After all the harsh turmoil between them could she still be in love with him?

“
Charlotte
, we need to talk,
”
he said
softly
, the deep timber of his voice
str
o
king
the
long stifled
affections
within her
.
“Is there some place we can go to be alone?
”

“N-n
ow?
”
Charley
gulped, unsure if she was ready to exchange more than
the most
platonic
chitchat
.
Undoubtedly any attempt at pleasant conversation would dissolve into bitter fighting, and moreover, s
he
knew to be suspicious
.
S
he had good reason to be,
in recent years
Alex
had become known
for
calculating
ruthlessness
.

“
Shot?
”
T
he shrill voice of the dowager marchioness
cracked
the
air
.
“
N
ot again
, Alex
.
”
Regina
swept regally into the room, raking a scathing glare the length of
Charley
.
“At this rate you’ll join your father and
brothers long before an heir is
produced
.
Time is wasting.”

Charley
snatched away from her husband as though burned
, avoiding
the
glowering stare
of her mother-in-law
.
Heat crept up her neck
.
At this moment Charley would love nothing more than to crawl beneath the desk or evaporate into thin air
.
Her intention to maintain a face of indifference was going up in flames
.

“Good to see you too, Mother.
”
All good humor flashed from
Alex
’s face
.

At that moment Mrs. Roark, the houseke
eper, bustled into the room
,
a silver coffee service
expertly balanced
on thin forearms
.

“If it’s not too much trouble, madam, I may need something more pote
nt than coffee, perhaps brandy?
  I can’t seem to locate any in here.
”
Alex
flashed Mrs. Roark a melting grin
.
Charley
’s stomach fluttered
, he never smiled at her that way
.
Not anymore.

“
It would help if you
were ever home
,”
Regina
railed
.
“You might actually have the chance to store a few personal items.”

The housekeeper glanced between mother and son with poorly concealed interest
.

“The brandy?”

“Of course, milord.
”
Mrs. Roark bobbed a harried curtsy
.
“I will fetch a decanter straight away.”

“Excellent.”

“Excuse me.” Hasting
s ste
pped
through the doorway
just
as Mrs. Roark sped out
.
“Lady
Coverstone’s
carriage is waiting out front.”

“Thank you, Hastings, but seeing as
my husband
has just arrived home I w
ill not be attending Lady Car
micha
e
l’s
dinner party
.
In a moment I will prepare a
note to send my regrets.”

The dowager snapped her head in
Charley
’s direction
.
“You cannot reject Lady Carmichael’s invitation for tonight,
Charlotte
.
She will be deeply offended.”

Charley
met Regina’s chilly regard
.
“Surely the countess will understand given the circumstances.”

“You already declined invitations to her birthday celebration and her daughter’s musicale
.
R
efusing again is unacceptable.”

Charley bristled, the continual lectures of ‘acceptable ladylike behavior’ beyond wearisome
.
Half the ton had begged
off of Lady Marisol’s musicale—
to include Regina
.
“
Hastings, inform my driver that
I
will
be staying in tonight.
”

Regina’s face turned positively green, t
he
deep
lines sur
rounding her mouth and eyes
taut
with rage
.
“How dare you de
fy me
?
  I—”

“No nee
d to cancel plans on my account.
”
Alex
intervened
, casually
raising a hand, drawing
the dowager
’s attention
.
“
I am bound to be terrible company
this evening
.
I
plan to retire early anyway.”

Charley
swallowed, glancing between the dowager and marquis, contemplating her options
.
“My lord, I
hardly think it appropriate seeing as you’ve just returned
.
I have no doubt
—”

“Go.
”
The cool glow o
f disdain resurfaced in his eye
s
.
“I insist.”

Charley
’s heart plummeted
.
F
or just a moment
, before Regina’s arrival,
a sp
ark of the old
Alex
had appeared
.
The
Alex
she’d created mischief with as a child
.
The
Alex she’d dreamed of marrying
.
In that briefest of instants she’d hoped
he’d
finally
found himself again
.
She
gulped
, throat thick with hurt and
bitterness
.
Hurt and
bitterness
she’d sworn never to feel
because of
this man again
.
“Very well, my lord.
”
She dipped in
to
a flawless curtsey, refusing
to show the effect of his words on her, and left the room
, head held high
.
The cruel sting of tears bit the back of her eyes and
Charley
slumped against the wall
just
outside
the door to collect herself.