Chapter 6
“You’re going to ask her again, aren’t you?”
“But of course. Perseverance is key to victory, Hudson.”
“I still can’t believe your wager, and judging by the looks we are getting from Farley and Carlton, they’ve seen it too.”
“Your care for other people’s opinions is a useless waste of time, Hudson.”
“I’m the younger brother of an earl, not a prince. I have to care.”
“That is where you are wrong, my friend. Aside from your Queen, no opinion is above your own.”
“Sure, let me rewrite a lifetime of training.”
“Indeed. Now, I wish to waltz.”
“Good Lord, here he goes.”
Alexander smiled as he rounded the outside of the glittering candlelit ballroom as the first strains of the waltz came from the orchestra.
Miss Theodosia Templebourne—whose full name he’d been delighted to learn—sat with the matrons, looking radiant in an emerald-green silk gown that would look ravishing on the dance floor with her in his arms. But something was different this evening.
Her two charges hovered by her side instead of taking the arms of gentlemen to participate.
Fans came up among the chaperones, and the whispering started behind them. They’d seen him.
Miss Templebourne’s gaze dropped to her lap, but came up just enough to watch him approach. Something about her was demure yet regal. The dignity with which she held herself spoke of the worth she placed upon her own person, and to Alexander, it was magnetic.
He stopped in front of the women, uncaring about the piercing stares coming from around the Graftons’ ballroom.
With a deep bow, the likes of which he would offer the tsar, he said, “Your Grace, my ladies, Miss Templebourne.”
He rose to his full height and couldn’t help but dip his gaze to the floor. Peeking out from beneath the hem of her gown, he spied the flash of jewels.
An inner grin spread warmth through his chest. Without a calling card, he’d hoped she would not be tempted to try to return the slippers. They were fit for a princess.
“Miss Templebourne, if you would do me the honor, I would consider myself a very fortunate man if you would waltz with me this evening.”
“She will,” the dowager said quickly.
“She accepts,” said the other woman.
“Yes, she will,” replied one of her charges.
The corners of Alexander’s mouth lifted. “Such enthusiasm. But I must hear from the lady herself.”
Lady Theodosia lifted her gaze to his, and he was entranced. There was no fear, reticence, or resistance. Just … interest.
“I would be honored, Your Highness.” And as she held out her gloved hand, he noticed she’d flashed the slipper from beneath her hem as she rose.
“What a privilege you have granted me this evening, Miss Templebourne,” he said as he took her hand and squeezed her fingertips lightly with his.
“ ’Tis like a fairy tale,” Fanny said.
“Hush. It is one dance,” one woman said.
“It always starts as one dance,” said the dowager duchess.
But Alexander was no longer paying attention to the older women, even though he greatly appreciated their support and encouragement. His attention was fully fixed on the woman whose hand was in his.
“What made you finally say yes?” He couldn’t help but ask her the question.
“Perhaps I finally wore the correct footwear,” Lady Theodosia replied lightly.
“Somehow, I believe there is more to it than that.”
“Perhaps, Your Highness.”
As they took their place in the center of the ballroom, Alexander reveled in the opportunity to hold her in his arms. This was his moment.
As one of the matrons had said, “It always starts as one dance.”
“You are utterly captivating, Miss Templebourne. Like no other woman I have laid eyes upon since landing in England.”
“You are too bold, sir. First the slippers, and now your words.”
“Is the truth bold? Perhaps. But you draw me in, and I wish to know you.”
“Why?”
“Does the wind need a reason to blow?”
She smiled as they moved seamlessly into the steps of the waltz as though they had practiced together for years.
“You fit me. Your bearing … it is unmistakably royal.”
In that moment, Miss Templebourne missed a step, and her face paled. She recovered as quickly as she had faltered, but Alexander’s curiosity was piqued.
“You do not wish to fit me?”
“It isn’t that,” she replied hurriedly.
She regained her composure quickly, but Alexander wasn’t fooled. His comment had struck a nerve for some reason.
“Then what?”
“I am firmly on the shelf, Your Highness. Thirty years have I. You cannot be honorably pursuing such a woman.”
“Says who?”
“All of British society.”
“Then it is fortunate I am not British or blinded by tradition.”
His words seemed to shock her once more. But instead of paling, as she had before, bright red flags appeared upon her cheeks.
“You … truly, you must be mad.”
“Because I don’t care that you’re not a child with whom I would have nothing in common?”
She blinked and then stared at him as they moved in perfect harmony around the dance floor.
“Let me know you, Miss Theodosia Templebourne.”
“Thea. Not Theodosia, please.”
The thrill of victory shot through Alexander’s chest. Progress. Truly.
“Thea,” he said. He already loved the way her name felt upon his tongue.
“What am I even doing?” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
Alexander smiled. “You feel the same pull I do. You know a title doesn’t make a man a good match. You must know his character first.”
Her brown eyes sparkled. “You overheard me say that.”
“It was intriguing. What kind of woman speaks such truth in a society obsessed with glitter and titles? I could not help but wonder. Then I saw you. And I realized only a gift from God himself would say such a thing.”
Her mouth opened, and shock swept across her countenance, but Thea said nothing.
“Let me know you, Thea. Get to know me. Perhaps it may lead somewhere beyond your wildest dreams.”
She sucked in a breath with a shake of her head. “You’re dangerous.”
He smiled. “To some. Not to you.”
“No, you are most dangerous to me.”
He had an idea of what she spoke, and as the music ended, he bowed over her hand.
“Then I shall take that as a compliment.”
He led her off the dance floor, equally impressed at the silent daggers being thrown his way and by how Thea held herself like a queen.
She was intoxicating. If either of them was dangerous, it was she.
He had never met another woman like her, and Alexander was beginning to realize there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her.