“Perhaps not. Ultimately, however, she will do as I tell her.” Geoffrey poured a second glass of brandy and offered it to Drake. “I will not inform her of your real identity, Captain Barrett. That delightful task I will leave for you.”
Drake accepted the glass, thinking of Alex’s reaction to the news. Fireworks would ensue, a manifestation of her passionate nature.
He could hardly wait to take her to bed.
Geoffrey raised his glass. “To the future Duke and Duchess of Allonshire.”
Drake raised his glass as well. “To Alexandria,” he replied. “May she be up to the challenges that lie ahead.”
Geoffrey studied Drake thoughtfully. “I believe, Lord Cairnham, that my untamable daughter has finally met her match.”
A slow smile curved Drake’s mouth. “Perhaps, Lord Sudsbury, we both have.”
Chapter 12
BRIGHT SUNLIGHT PLAYED INSISTENTLY upon Alex’s closed eyelids, demanding that she open them and greet the day. Gloriously aware of the absence of motion all around her, Alex resisted the relinquishing of sleep and snuggled back down into the warm blankets. Vaguely she wondered why La Belle Illusion was so still and why her berth suddenly seemed so luxurious. It was almost as if she were someplace else.
Her eyes flew open as memory reasserted itself. The dark, sparsely furnished room in which she found herself was her new home. She was in York.
After throwing back the covers impatiently, Alex scrambled out of bed. Apparently she had been more fatigued than she had imagined herself to be. It was obvious from the position of the sun, high in the sky, that it was almost noon.
Yesterday had been a most disconcerting day. She had been ushered into her chambers by a flustered servant and left there to rest. But Alex’s excitement had not permitted sleep to come. After several unsuccessful attempts to drift off, she had given up and gone in search of her father. One glance had told her that the library was empty. That meant that whatever had transpired between her father and Drake had been settled. She only hoped that Drake had at last accepted her father’s generous offer of compensation.
Upon questioning some of the servants she had discovered that her father had gone off to Fort York for an important meeting and was not expected back until late in the day. She had contented herself with exploring the mansion. Though it was modest compared to Sudsbury, Alex recognized that it was considered to be ever so grand a home in Upper Canada. She longed to return to the waterfront, to sail on Lake Ontario. But she didn’t dare venture outside without her father’s permission; she had no desire to further incite his wrath. And so she had waited, taking her evening meal alone and finally retiring to her room, restless and lonely.
But today was another day, she thought cheerfully, as she brushed her thick hair until it shone. She had no patience or desire to ring for a servant to arrange her hair or to help her don the lovely gown that had been hastily sewn and brought to her room the previous day. The months at sea had taught her to tend to her own needs. And really, if one thought about it, it was quite absurd for one perfectly able adult to be dressed by another.
She stood and surveyed her appearance in the gilt-framed oval mirror that stood in the corner of the room. The lemon yellow gown made her look soft and feminine. Well, that should please her father—perhaps enough to make him agree to provide a small skiff for her use? With a conspiratorial grin at her reflection, she left the room and headed down the winding staircase. Victory was but a moment away.
Lord Sudsbury looked up from his desk at the sound of Alex’s knock.
“Come in, Alexandria.”
She entered the room with a dazzling smile. “Good morning, Father. I hope I am not interrupting?”
Geoffrey Cassel shook his head, put down his work, and walked around the desk. “No, I am glad you’ve come. I need to speak with you. Unfortunately I was called away yesterday before I could do so. But that couldn’t be helped.”
Alex was itching to know if the meeting had anything to do with the message to Brock or with Drake’s suspicions of war. But if there was anything Lord Sudsbury disliked more than Alex’s independence it was her curiosity about things that “did not concern a woman”—of which politics was definitely one—so Alex held her tongue.
“I have resolved things with Lo … Captain Barrett,” he announced.
Alex brightened. “I’m glad, Father. He is a trifle arrogant, but he really is a very good man.” One whom I shall find hard to forget, she added to herself.
“I’m glad you feel that way, daughter.”
“Oh, I do!” Alex praised. “He is a superb leader, somewhat stubborn and unyielding, but nonetheless respected by all those beneath him.”
“Really.”
“Yes.” She nodded, warming to her subject. “He lends his strength to those who need it, is extremely kind and loyal to those who have earned the same from him, and is generous to those who are worthy of his generosity.”
“He sounds like a most exemplary man.”
Tenderness constricted Alex’s throat. “He is.”
“Then how fortunate you are.”
“I?” She was puzzled. “Why am I fortunate?”