The Hellion and The Heartbreaker (38 page)

He
shrugged.  “The fact that she married another man not more than a few
months after we parted, would seem to defy that notion, don’t you think?”

“You said
yourself that you were the one who ended it.  I’m sure the poor girl was
devastated.  Is it so surprising that she would turn to someone else for
comfort?”

“That is
beside the point and you know it,” Alec retorted.  “She was carrying
my
child, a fact that she was well-aware of at the time of her marriage.”  He
ran his fingers through his hair in agitation.  “She kept my son a secret
from me for over three years damn it.”  Rising angrily to his feet, he
faced his grandmother.  “Don’t get your hopes up Duchy, I can assure you
that this isn’t going to be the grand love story you were hoping for.”

“I
wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Gwendolyn murmured under her breath.

Hearing
his grandmother’s quietly spoken declaration, Alec simply rolled his
eyes.  She would be disabused of her romantic notions soon enough.

At
precisely four o’clock that afternoon, Alec stood outside the McPhearson’s
front door and rang the bell.  He and Colin had agreed upon the time the
night before, and now, as he waited for the butler to answer the door, he felt
like a man about to face a firing squad.  When it finally swung open, it
was almost a surprise to see the stoic butler standing on the other side,
rather than an angry McPhearson brother ready to take his head off.

“Come in,
Your Grace,” he said with a polite bow.  “If you will please follow me.”

Stepping
in line behind the older man, Alec followed him to the library. 

Opening
the large set of double doors, he motioned for Alec to enter, and then shut the
doors securely behind him.

He had
expected to find all of the McPhearson’s waiting inside, but surprisingly he
found only Scarlett.

“I asked
my brothers to give us a few minutes alone,” Scarlett said, noting the surprise
reflected in Alec’s expression.  She stood near the window that overlooked
the rear garden, the afternoon sunlight falling softly on her delicate
features.  She noted the bruises on his face, and despite all that had
happened, she longed to reach out and brush her fingers lightly against his
cheek and soothe the angry looking discolorations.  She didn’t of course,
and simply waited for him to approach.  Instead, he remained motionless,
standing before the closed doors, simply regarding her coolly with his steady
emerald gaze.

“I’m sorry
about Colin.  I had no idea he would…” she trailed off, feeling suddenly
awkward and unsure.  “Are you alright?” she asked when he remained silent.

“A few
bruises, it’s nothing,” he said dismissively.

She waited
for him to say something more, but instead, he reverted back to silence. 
Obviously he was still angry, and he wasn’t going to make things any easier for
her.  “I’m truly sorry Alec, about Oliver I mean.  I should have told
you,” she said, hoping that her voice, as well as her expression conveyed the
depth of her sincerity and regret.

“Why
didn’t you?”  His tone was clipped, his features as hard as granite.

She
couldn’t bear the enmity she saw in his face and turned back toward the
window.  “At the time, I thought it was best, best for all of us.”

“Do you
honestly expect me to believe that?”

The
harshness of his words caused her to turn back around and face him. 
“Actually I do.  I did what
I
thought was best Alec, just like you
did.”

“It is
hardly the same thing and you damn-well know it,” he retorted, finally moving
from his position by the door.  “For Christ’s sake, Scarlett, you could
have come to me.  You
should
have come to me.”

As he
approached, Scarlett could see the anger reflected in his eyes, but she held
her ground.  “If I had told you, would you have offered to marry me?”

“Of course
I would have.  How could you have doubted that?”

“I didn’t
doubt it, Alec, don’t you see?  I knew that you would feel honor-bound to
do the right thing.  Do you think I wanted to force you to the altar,
knowing you would always resent me for trapping you into marriage?”

“Scarlett…”

“You made
your feelings very clear, Alec.  You didn’t want me,” she said with
conviction, hoping that the pain she felt, even now, wasn’t entirely visible on
her face.  “But not only that, you were always so careful when we were
together that it was quite clear you didn’t want to have a child any more than
you wanted a wife.  I could only imagine what your feelings would have
been if I had foisted both upon you at once.”

Alec felt
the brunt of his anger begin to lessen as Scarlett spoke.  As much as he
would have liked to, he couldn’t deny the truth of her words, just as it was
highly unfair of him to blame her for all that had transpired.  Clearly,
they had both made mistakes.  In any event, the past was the past, and
there was nothing they could do to change it.  He took a long, deep
breath, gradually coming to grips with the situation at hand.  Taking a
step toward her, Alec opened his mouth to speak, but halted as a light knocking
sounded at the door.  Cursing under his breath, he shook his head. 
“Apparently when you requested
a few minutes
, your brothers took you quite
literally.”  They couldn’t have been alone for more than five minutes at
best.

They both
turned as the door was pushed open and her two eldest brothers entered the
room.  Scarlett knew that Rory and Gavin had taken Oliver to the park, and
would be returning shortly.

“Alec,”
Colin said simply. 

“Hello
Alec,” Conner nodded in greeting, his features slightly less severe than
Colin’s. 

Though
somber, at least his expression wasn’t overtly hostile, Alec noted. 
“Hello Conner.” 

Despite
the civility, tension hung in the air like a heavy cloud.  “I for one
could use a drink,” Colin stated, already moving in the direction of the
sideboard.  “Would anyone else care for one?”

While
Conner and Alec both accepted the offer of liquid fortitude, Scarlett
declined.  Moving away from her position near the window, she took a seat
on the tufted leather sofa situated against the opposite wall.  Conner
immediately moved to sit next to her, almost as if he feared Alec might take
the seat for himself.

Alec didn’t
miss the telling gesture as he moved to sit in the chair to Scarlett’s
right.  Only Colin remained standing, resting his backside against his
desk, as he took a sip of his whiskey.  The continued tension in the room
was palpable.

Colin was
the first to speak.  “There’s no sense beating a dead horse,” he
began.  “We all understand the situation and I think we all know what
needs to be done.”

Alec
nodded in agreement.  “Obviously, as we can’t announce our engagement
immediately without rousing suspicion, Scarlett and I will need to be seen
together in public.  There is a charity event at the National Gallery at
the end of the week, an art exhibition and auction.  I think we should
attend.”

“Yes, that
sounds like a good idea,” Colin agreed.  “In the meantime, I think the
three of us,” he began, nodding toward Conner, “should spend some time together
at the clubs, let everyone assume that what happened last night was nothing of
significance and already forgotten.”

As the men
talked, Scarlett merely sat in silence, listening with disheartened resignation
as she and Alec’s future was planned out before them.  Sadly, it was
nothing like the romantic tale that had played out time and again in her
fantasies.

When they
concluded their conversation, having plotted out the course of the upcoming
weeks, Alec rose to take his leave.

“Until the
end of the week then,” Alec said to Scarlett, as the four of them exited the
library and moved toward the front foyer.

Looking
toward Alec, the man she had loved since she was fourteen-years-old, Scarlett
simply nodded.

As they
reached the front hall, the four of them halted as the front door unexpectedly
swung open.  In the next instant, Gavin, Rory and Oliver passed through
the opening, with Rory having ducked down to allow Oli, who was sitting atop
his shoulders, to avoid bumping his head on the doorframe.  As the trio
caught sight of them, Rory immediately reached up to lift Oliver from his
shoulders and then set him down on the marble floor, his features tightening as
he looked at Alec.

“Mama, we
saw a man at the park with a monkey,” Oliver said excitedly, running to his
mother’s side.

“A
monkey?”

“He was
wearing a red vest and eating a banana,” he told her, his expression animated.

“Well
that’s something you don’t see every day,” Scarlett said, widening her eyes in
an appropriate display of interest and wonder.

It was
then that Oliver noticed Alec.  “Hello,” he said, recalling his manners.

“Oliver,
this is His Grace, the Duke of Worthe,” Scarlett told him.  “Do you
remember him from yesterday?”

Oliver
smiled and nodded, looking up at Alec in admiration.  “You caught Mr.
Hoppy for me.”

As Alec
looked down upon his son, he felt a tightening in his throat.  “I’m glad I
was there to lend a hand, Oliver, though I’m sure you could have caught him on
your own just as easily.”

“Uh huh,”
he agreed, unmistakably confident in his own abilities at frog catching. 
“Would you like to see the house I made for him?”

Alec
glanced toward Scarlett questioningly.

She met
his gaze, hesitating for the slightest moment before she spoke.  “I’m sure
His Grace would love to see it,
Oli
.  Why don’t
the two of you go on ahead and I’ll be there in a minute.”

“All right
Mama.  Come on,
Your
Grapes
,” Oliver said, holding his hand
out eagerly for Alec to take.

As he
grasped his son’s small hand, Alec struggled to keep his emotions in
check.  “Lead the way, Oliver,” he directed with a slight catch in his
voice.  Hand in hand with his son, on their way to visit a frog, Alec
realized that nothing in his life had ever felt quite so momentous.  It
was a profound moment.

Though he
tried to maintain a somewhat cavalier expression, it was plain to see that Alec
was deeply affected by the unanticipated interaction with his son.  Reaching
up to brush away the tear that threatened to spill down her cheek, Scarlett
realized just how wrong she had been to keep Oliver a secret from Alec. 
She could only hope that someday he would find a way to forgive her.

As
Scarlett walked into the lobby of the National Gallery on Alec’s arm, heads
immediately swiveled in their direction.  It wasn’t difficult to read the
expressions of their peers and to know what they were thinking.  It was
well known that Alec had been showing an interest in Vanessa Brookshire of
late, while she was rumored to have garnered the affections of the Marquis of
Fordham.  There was also the much gossiped about altercation between Alec
and Colin.  Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that their presence together would
cause a stir.

Regardless
of the tension between them, Scarlett’s hand tightened apprehensively on Alec’s
arm, unconsciously seeking reassurance.  During the ride to the gallery,
they had conversed very little, for the situation they faced was still quite
awkward and uncomfortable.  However, now that they were in public, they
both understood that it was imperative not to let their unease with one another
show.

Placing
his gloved hand atop her own, Alec gave Scarlett’s fingers a reassuring
squeeze.  “Everything is going to be fine, Scarlett, just smile and try to
act natural,” he murmured softly.

Drawing
courage from his words, Scarlett forced a bright smile to her lips as they made
their way into the crowd, where they were immediately hailed by one acquaintance
after another.  After a while, she realized that her smile was no longer
forced.  Alec remained protectively at her side as they moved throughout
the gallery admiring the vast collection of artwork on display, and as they
studied the various works their conversation gradually became less and less
stilted.  As they strolled arm in arm, she was reminded of how much she
used to enjoy spending time with Alec, not just in bed, but simply talking and
laughing.  He was charming and witty, exceedingly intelligent and
remarkably attentive, and she had missed him desperately.

“Would you
like another glass,” he asked, motioning to Scarlett’s empty champagne flute.

“That
would be lovely, thank you,” she said, handing him her empty glass.

“I will
only be a moment.”

As Alec
went to procure the champagne, Scarlett turned her attention back to the vivid
landscape they had been admiring.  The bright flowers and tall, leafy
grasses reminded her of the lush countryside surrounding Grey Oaks in late
spring, her favorite time of year.  Studying the delicate brush strokes
and intricate detail of the painting, she failed to notice that someone had
come up behind her.