29 #2
Alexandra could feel Maria’s incredulous gaze on her again, but she didn’t care. Keeping up the pretense for Maria’s benefit was much easier than she’d thought it would be, with Vasili present. Of course, he wouldn’t remain here. After dinner, he would return to his own house and…
“Just how many others do you have besides that concubine at your house, Petroff?”
Maria gasped. Vasili nearly choked. He couldn’t believe that even Alexandra, as frank as she was, would bring up such a topic in front of his mother, and where the hell had it come from anyway?
But at least she was losing her temper with him, and not with his mother.
He really couldn’t have arranged it better himself.
This was going to be the crowning touch, the coin to tip the scales.
“Only three others,” he answered, aware that his mother’s gaze had just swung back to him, but he kept his own eyes on Alexandra. And Alexandra was gloriously furious. This could only get better. And it did.
“Only three others? And you keep them all, pay for them all, fornicate with them all?”
He nearly choked again. His mother sounded as if she were also choking. He didn’t dare look in her direction. Even expecting something of the sort, he could still feel heat rising in his cheeks. And he’d thought Alexandra couldn’t shock him anymore.
Somehow he managed to answer calmly, “Something like that.”
“I’ll find them, Petroff, each one of them, don’t think I won’t. You won’t be enjoying them much longer.”
“Then I suppose I will be visiting you quite often, won’t I?”
“In your mother’s house?” she countered triumphantly. “I don’t think so.”
“You really don’t think that will stop me from keeping my promise, do you, Alex?” he asked in a softly warning tone.
“For a lecher like you, no, I suppose not. But Bojik will, and he’ll be sleeping with me from now on.”
Maria finally found her voice, and it came out quite loudly. “Who…is…Bojik?”
More color mounted Vasili’s cheeks. Alexandra so aggravated him, he had actually forgotten, briefly, that his mother was still sitting there with them. And finally looking at her, he was afraid that he’d managed to shock her as much as Alexandra had.
“Bojik is her dog, Mother.”
“There will be no dogs in my—on second thought—oh, God.” Maria started fanning herself. “You will not go sneaking into her room, Vasili, until after the—oh, God. This can’t be—she’s—oh, God.”
“I know, Mother,” Vasili commiserated.
“Did you know?” Her voice was accusing.
“Not everything, certainly. The trip was quite an eye-opening experience.”
“And you didn’t return her?”
“I believe you told me that wasn’t an option,” he reminded her.
“No, of course, but—oh, God, this is too unexpected. A lady who thinks horses are more important than—”
Vasili wished his mother hadn’t begun her complaints there, because now he had to stop her before she got too far along. But he knew Alexandra wouldn’t tolerate any complaints that included her horses.
“She has a mind of her own, Mother.” And then he grinned at Alexandra. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
“I must have misplaced it, to be sitting here listening to you two dissect me,” Alexandra replied as she stood up.
But there was no anger in her tone. She even licked her fingers, loudly, before adding, “If you have anything more to say to me, Petroff, I’ll be in the stable.
Don’t bother if it’s not what I want to hear. ”
At that moment, watching her leave the room, he realized that she expected him to end the betrothal tonight, that just about everything she’d said tonight had been deliberate.
Jesus, had she figured out what he had, that his mother could end this thing for them?
No, she was guessing, testing the waters, so to speak.
When he recalled some of the language he’d heard her use on the trip, he knew she could have been even more outrageous than she’d been.
Perhaps she’d merely been trying to show Maria her worst so she wouldn’t be shocked by her on a regular basis—as he’d been.
“My God, Vasili, that girl is barbaric,” Maria said as soon as they were alone.
“Yes, splendidly so.”
“You can’t marry her as she is.”
“Can’t I?”
“Of course not. She’d disgrace us both. She’ll have to be taught proper behavior first.”
He wasn’t expecting that. But his surprise quickly turned to amusement. Teach Alexandra to be a lady? It would never happen.
“You don’t know what you’d be letting yourself in for, Mother. Don’t you think sending her home would be the wisest course?”
She thought for a moment, he’d give her that. But he knew the way her mind worked. This was the closest she’d ever come to getting him married. She wasn’t going to give up yet.
“No, the girl needs a little help is all. She was undoubtedly taught better at some point—she’s a baroness, after all. She’s just forgotten, as she said. Her father must have let her run wild after his wife died.”
Her father had a live-in mistress. Why hadn’t she done something about Alexandra’s behavior?
“She swears like a drunken sailor, she wields a whip, she threatens to cut off the ears of any woman who comes near me. And you’re going to turn her into a lady?”
He could tell by his mother’s expression that she didn’t believe a word he’d just said. She wouldn’t even address it, asking instead, “Why has Alexandra gone to the stable at this time of night?”
He sighed. “Because she spends every spare moment with her horses. I wasn’t joking when I said she breeds them. She also trains them and cares for them, and she’s brought her whole herd with her.”
“Well, that will have to stop. I’ve never heard of anything more unladylike.”
“Those horses mean everything to her, Mother. She gets violent where they’re concerned. Go ahead and try to turn her into a lady, but I would advise you not to even mention keeping her from her babies.”
“We’ll see about that,” Maria huffed, but only to maintain her position.
She would take his warning to heart and work around the animals for the time being.
But she wasn’t going to work around him, so she added sternly, “And you, my boy, will stay out of her bedroom. Don’t think I didn’t understand that byplay between you. ”
He smiled, remembering her aborted “on second thought.” “If you haven’t seen her dog yet, Mother, I assure you, I’m not going to tangle with it.”
“See that you don’t.” And then she sighed. “Dogs in my house. The things I do to…”
She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to.