The Heart of a Duke (21 page)

And yet, she still wore the
necklace.

She suppressed a sigh as her fingers skimmed
the filigreed heart pendant. Every time she had reached to take it
off, she’d hesitated. Perhaps she had grown accustomed to the
weight of the piece, or maybe deep down she wanted to believe in
the power of the gypsy necklace. Not to win the heart of a duke,
but to win the heart of the man who had stolen hers.

She trapped the charm in her palm and smiled
ruefully. It was silly to hope for magic from a tarnished piece of
metal, but she couldn’t quite part with it yet. She had been
wearing it the night she and Alex had renewed their friendship. The
necklace held sentimental value for her.

Her heart stuttered when she finally spotted
Alex across the ballroom. His back was to her as he engaged in
conversation with someone, but she knew him as well as any of her
dear friends. It was the way he held his body—shoulders back, feet
planted wide. He knew his place in the world and claimed it without
apology.

His companion shifted, her hip thrust out, as
she laughed at something he said. With her head tipped at a
flirtatious angle, Lady Pitsford licked her lips. Her movement was
suggestive and designed to entice.

A cold knot dropped like a lead ball in
Valera’s belly. The striking widow had been the fortunate recipient
of Alex’s attentions more than once since the start of the Season.
Valera had noticed they often disappeared from gatherings around
the same time, but no longer did she find the coincidence
amusing.

She looked away, blinking rapidly to
discourage tears from coming. What a ninny she was for hoping Alex
might be developing the same feelings for her as she was for him.
He had only been doing as she had requested, feigning interest so
she might catch Langley’s attention. Only she didn’t have the
duke’s attention, nor did she want it now.

“
It appears Ravenswood is back to
his old tricks,” Janine whispered in her ear. “Lady Pitsford will
be insufferably annoying at tomorrow’s luncheon, touting the earl’s
impressive reservoir of tricks in the bedchamber.”

A sour taste coated Valera’s tongue, and her
stomach roiled when she witnessed the malice glittering in the
frosty blue depths of her sister’s eyes. How was it Valera was
closer with her intimate circle of friends than she would ever be
with her sister? Her friends would never purposely try to hurt her
like Janine was.

Valera shook her head sadly, recalling how
much she had loved and admired her beautiful older sister when she
was a child. “When did you become so bitter and cruel,
Nanine?”

Her sister’s face contorted. “I told you never
to call me that.” She pinched the tender part of Valera’s upper
arm. Valera swallowed a yelp and tried to pull away, but Janine dug
her fingers deeper into her skin.

“
Now, now, Lady Fairlight,” a flat
baritone voice chided. “Is that any way to treat your
charge?”

Janine released her with a soft gasp. Red
flooded her sister’s cheeks, but she attempted to cover her
discomfort with a smile aimed at Valera’s rescuer. “You know how
troublesome younger sisters can be, Your Grace.”

The Duke of Langley towered over both of them.
He flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his jacket with a bored
air. “I do not, but I have fair experience with older sisters.” He
met Valera’s stunned gaze with a small spark of warmth lighting his
brown eyes. His lips curled into a half smile. “Beastly creatures,
older sisters. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Bell?”

Valera sensed the outrage rolling off her
sister, but Janine gritted her teeth in the pretense of a smile
rather than the snarl she usually reserved for Valera.

“
You gave your sister to a
gentleman three times her age, practically exiling her to the
Highlands,” Janine said blithely. “I think we know who the real
beast is, Your Grace.”

He offered an arrogant shrug. “My sister
should have been nicer once I was old enough to remember her bad
deeds. She had no cause for complaint; the match was advantageous.
I assure you, she was happy to marry the earl.”

Valera didn’t know whether to believe him
about his sister’s happiness, but since he had stalled Janine’s
attack, she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

He must have sensed her gaze still locked on
him for he glanced down and flashed a charming smile. “Miss Bell,
if no one has claimed the supper dance this evening, would you do
me the honor of partnering with me?”

“
Ugh,” Janine muttered in disgust
and wandered away to gossip with a friend.

Valera’s throat felt too dry to speak. One
didn’t decline an invitation from a duke, much less one who’d just
come to her rescue. Fighting the urge to run and hide in the
retiring room, she passed her dance card to him and watched in a
state of detached fascination as he signed his name.

Alex was pleased with Lady
Pitsford’s report on her brother. Viscount Lyndhurst, by all
accounts, was a decent chap. If anyone would be forthcoming about
his nature, it was Madelyn. She was a plain-speaking, hard woman
who afforded no one leeway. And she certainly never bothered to wax
poetic over anyone, so her endorsement of the
viscount—
he is honest and
responsible
—could be taken as
truth.

Alex’s association with Madelyn had been brief
and uncomplicated. Just as he liked. In fact, he experienced a
touch of nostalgia when she invited him back to her town house
later that evening.

He had no intentions of abandoning Valera,
however, or his mission to present her with an alternate suitor.
The sooner she was safe from Langley’s clutches, the easier he
would rest. Although not entirely. He didn’t like the thought of
her with another man, but if she married someone who would be good
to her, it would ease his own unhappiness.

Madelyn’s thin eyebrow inched up. She was
waiting for an answer.

“
Let’s see how the evening
progresses first.”

Her lips pursed in a tight circle before a
forced smile spread across her mouth. “Of course, my lord. You know
where to find me.”

Yes, he did. For now, however, he was more
interested in finding Elle and corralling Lyndhurst for a formal
introduction to Valera. Alex had been stalling for days, and
Lyndhurst was growing impatient.

Alex’s gaze strayed to the spot where Valera
had been standing with her sister earlier, a burst of awareness
coursing through him when he saw her heart-shaped face through a
gap in the crowd. Just as swiftly, he received the equivalent of a
kick to the bollocks. A wheezing breath escaped him as Langley
lifted her dainty hand to his lips, and she smiled at the
duke.

Hellfire
!
Alex had only turned his back for a moment. Langley had been
happily engaged in a game of loo with Lyndhurst when Alex had left
the card room. Well, as happy as the duke ever got. Alex would
hardly describe him as jolly, which was reason number four Langley
was wrong for Valera.

Yes, Alex had made a list.

He stared holes into Langley’s back until the
duke took his leave then sauntered toward Valera, hiding his upset
behind a lazy grin.

Valera’s sister suddenly appeared at her side.
“Lord Ravenswood, how lovely to see you again.” Lady Fairlight
fluttered her ghostly-blonde lashes and preened as if he’d come
seeking her.

He nodded an acknowledgement, but focused his
attention on Valera. Pink rose in her cheeks and her
whiskey-colored gaze darted around the room looking everywhere
except at him.

“
Miss Bell,” he said when it was
clear she wouldn’t speak first.

She met his eyes, the pink of her cheeks
darkening to red. What had gotten her in such a dither? If Langley
had spoken out of turn…

Alex made fists at his sides. He needed to
speak with her alone and find out what the bounder had said. “Miss
Bell, would you grant me the supper dance this evening?”

She pulled her card close to her body. “I
can’t.”

Lady Fairlight’s smug laugh raised his
hackles, but he cared nothing for her. His only concern was for
Valera and learning the reason for her sudden aloofness.

“
I don’t understand. Are you
injured?”

Her chin jutted forward and something flared
in her eyes. Anger? Indignation? “Is it hard to believe I already
have a partner for the supper dance, Lord Ravenswood? You are not
the only gentleman to pay me notice, although we know your interest
is less than sincere.”

The snap to her tone drew attention. Gossips
waved one another closer, practically leaning forward to catch
their exchange. Alex looked frantically for his sister.

Blasted girl
! Where was she when he needed her? She would know how to
talk to Valera and diffuse a situation that was becoming
dangerously volatile.

He fidgeted with his cuff link, unsure what to
say. The beginning measure of a waltz rose on the air. “I’ve never
been insincere, Miss Bell. Perhaps we could discuss this further
while we waltz?”

The stubborn set to her jaw eased
and her rigid posture began to melt. She peeked at her card then
glanced at him from beneath her lashes. “
This
dance is still
unclaimed.”

He released his breath when she took his arm
and allowed him to lead her to the floor. “I never meant to imply
another gentleman wouldn’t desire your company.” He’d simply
assumed she would save the most important dance of the evening for
him as she had every night since they’d joined forces to catch
Langley’s attention.

A chill seeped into his bones even as he
gathered her warm body close. “May I ask who the lucky gentleman
is?”

Her golden lashes fluttered as she blinked up
at him. Her pearly teeth captured her bottom lip, tempting him to
kiss her until she forgot every gentleman’s name in the ballroom.
“The Duke of Langley requested it a moment ago,” she
murmured.

Jealousy ripped through his chest. He didn’t
want to think of her with the duke. Langley would never make her
happy.

And you can
? The answer stole the wind from his sails. The duke would
offer her marriage. Granted, it would be a passionless marriage,
the kind Alex had to look forward to some day.

When he looked into Valera’s luminous eyes, he
couldn’t imagine anything cold or passionless about her. She was
fire; he was the moth. And God help him, he wanted to
burn.

The realization rattled him and filled his
head with improbable wishes. She could be his. He could be
hers.

Forever
.

He tested the word in his mind, rolling it
around on his tongue. Surely his parents could be convinced of
their mistake. He must at least try.

Needing her closer, he pressed his hand
against her upper back just as the music faded. She pulled away
with a serene smile.

“
It’s over, my lord.”

He blinked, not taking her meaning until the
other couples began filing from the floor. She linked arms with him
as they entered the promenade line.

“
I’m sorry for my churlish
behavior, Alex,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to sound
ungrateful for all you’ve done for me these past several
days.”

“
I didn’t do anything.”

She squeezed his arm affectionately. “You did
exactly as you promised, and I cannot ask anything more of
you.”

When she touched the damned pendant, he wanted
to remove it from her neck and fling it into the gardens beyond the
terrace. She still believed in that gypsy foolishness.

He nodded toward the necklace. “What if fate
doesn’t know what she’s doing?”

“
Then she is in the same
predicament as most of us.” They reached the end of the promenade,
and Valera turned to face him. “Thank you, my lord. I hope you
enjoy the rest of your evening.”

As she began to walk away, the ground beneath
him felt like it was crumbling. Their parting made his stomach
roil.

“
Miss Bell—”

“
There you are.” Lady Pitsford
captured his arm as Valera spun toward him with an expectant smile.
Her eyes lost their sparkle. Lifting her hand, she gave a sad
little wave then disappeared into the crowd.