Free Be My Prince by Julianne MacLean Page B

weight as he climbed onto the iron step, pounded on the side of the vehicle to signal the driver, and swung inside.
    “My apologies, ladies.” He took a seat across from Alex.
    The coach lurched forward and they rolled on in silence toward Grosvenor Square.
    Alexandra kept her eyes downcast for the first few minutes, for her stepmother was right about one thing. It was not easy to look at him without falling under his spell. Even Lucille had fallen victim to it, by her own admission.
    Eventually, Alexandra could resist temptation no longer and found herself taking a slow perusal of his legs, which were gorgeously muscular beneath his dark trousers.
    “Are you looking forward to the ball at Almack’s tomorrow evening?” she asked before she had a chance to consider the ramifications of such a question or how it would appear to her stepmother.
    His gaze traveled from the dark window glass to Alexandra’s face, and he tilted his head to the side as if studying her with some curiosity. “Yes, I am.”
    It was a perfect opportunity for him to request a dance with her, as his brother had done at the theater, but he simply added, “And I am sure it will be a most enjoyable evening.”
    He looked out the window again and said nothing more.
    Disappointment pooled in her belly, but she had no right to moan about anything, for she had rejected him quite blatantly a number of times and he had given his word in the letter that he would say nothing more about their previous intimacies.
    She should be relieved that he was treating her with indifference, but to her utter dismay, she was dissatisfied.
    Then his eyes turned to hers. “Perhaps you would honor me with a dance as well, Lady Alexandra.”
    And just like that, the world came alive again and her heart swelled with relief.
    God in heaven, what did this mean?
    “I would be delighted,” she replied.
    They gazed at each other across the dimly lit interior, and suddenly her future was not so clear after all. What she thought was most important to her—the crown that belonged to her family—suddenly seemed less vital. Her heart was pointed in quite another direction this evening, and it felt astonishingly liberating to finally admit to it.
    They continued to gaze at each other in the flickering lamplight, and she knew without a doubt that he still wanted her, though he was trying very hard not to. As was she.
    “I expect it will be a full house tomorrow evening,” Lucille announced, intentionally interrupting their staring fest with a brusque reminder that they were not the only two people in the coach.
    “I expect Your Grace is correct,” Nicholas replied, without the slightest hint of discomfiture.
    He glanced only briefly at Alexandra again before engaging her stepmother in a conversation about the weather—always a safe and acceptable topic.
    When they pulled to a halt in front of the house, he helped Lucille out first, then offered his hand to Alexandra.
    This time, however, as she exited the coach, Lucille did not walk on ahead. She waited beside Nicholas, as if she knew she must stand guard against any clandestine whispers of an improper kind.
    “It has been a pleasure escorting you both home this evening,” he said as he walked them to the steps. “Until tomorrow,” he said with a bow; then he departed.
    Alex and Lucille slipped inside and handed over their capes and gloves to the butler, but before Alex could make haste to her bedchamber Lucille stopped her. “Not so fast, young lady. I wish to speak with you in the library.”
    With sinking dread, she followed her stepmother across the hall. Lucille closed the double doors behind them.
    “What did I say to you about keeping your eyes off Nicholas, but there you sat, practically throwing yourself at him.”
    “I did no such thing.”
    Lucille scoffed. “Do I look like a blind fool? Clearly you are smitten with the man, and I daresay he looked to be enjoying every minute of it. Have you forgotten why we