Gobsmacked, Alexandra stared as they approached, thinking of all the scandals that were born here…
How ironic it must be that at a time when she couldn’t care less about tittle-tattle, she would find herself here.
Only for the briefest instant, she wondered what Ben must think of it all. And then she frowned, pushing the thought of Ben right back out of her head.
Who cares what Ben thinks!
She was not here to see Ben.
She was here to see Claire.
Whatever rapport she’d once had with Claire’s elder brother, it was over now, and good riddance!
Long before the carriage came to a halt before the largest of the red-brown brick buildings, Claire was already standing outside waiting, clapping her hands, surrounded by servants all prepared to help Lexie disembark.
Oh, Claire! she thought, tears stinging her eyes at the sight of her beloved friend. Dressed in a pale green chiffon morning gown, Claire was even more beautiful than Alexandra remembered. She glowed like an emerald flame! Standing with shoulders back, her head tall and back straight, she looked every bit the part of a queen.
The instant the carriage came to a halt, Alexandra was up from her seat, tears brimming in her eyes. She threw open the door and fell out of the carriage, straight into Claire’s waiting arms.
For the longest bittersweet moment, it was as though they’d never parted—friends forever, with nary a care between them. But, oh, what Alexandra would give for a return to simpler days.
“Lexie!” said Claire. “Oh, Lexie!”
But Alexandra couldn’t speak. Tears clogged her throat. The only sound that emerged from the constriction was more like a piteous gurgle. Blessedly, Claire seemed to understand—as only friends ever could—and she squeezed Lexie tighter, which only brought forth another cascade of tears.
Really, for all that she’d considered it endlessly, Alexandra hadn’t any notion at all what she’d meant to say at this moment, but it all came out in a rush in five little heartfelt words. “I am so sorry, Claire.”
“Think nothing of it,” said Claire easily, smiling and patting the long strands of Alexandra’s hair that fell loose at her back—what a sight she must present, fresh from travel, eyes red-rimmed and stinging. Her voice softer now, barely a whisper at Lexie’s ear, Claire said, “All’s well that ends well, my dear friend. I never blamed you even once.”
And then she wrenched herself free of their maudlin embrace, somehow understanding how it could end if she didn’t take matters in hand. Smiling, she turned Lexie about, linking their arms, and said brightly, “Let me show you where we’ll be sleeping. Isn’t this grand?” And she patted Lexie’s hand, and gave her the state of affairs.
Some of the guests had already arrived, including her fiancé’s twin brother and his wife, who was apparently very, very pregnant. Alexandra and Claire would be sharing one suite, Merrick and his wife another, Ian and Ben another. Mr. Cameron, perhaps inspired by the accommodations, was bringing a “guest.”
“Chloe is a doctor,” Claire explained. “Can you imagine?”
Alexandra blinked in surprise. “A true doctor?”
Claire nodded. “True as they come. As I understand it, she’s the physician for all of Glen Abbey as her father was before her.”
“How incredible!”
Claire smiled artfully. “I suppose no one ever told her she couldn’t do it.”
“Good for her,” Alexandra said, and meant it.
“She’s delightful,” Claire said. “I know you’ll be fast friends. And Ben will be so pleased to see you.”
Ben.
Alexandra wrinkled her nose.
Unfortunately, Benjamin Wentworth, the man who’d once held her heart without ever realizing it, was the very last person Alexandra wished to see.
Certainly, she blamed her father most of all for the majority of Claire’s troubles, but Benjamin had had a part to play as well. It was his gaming, after all, that had brought his family to ruin, and if he’d never gambled a penny, her damnable father would never have had the chance to abuse him—and all for what? Really, it had to be Ben’s fault. Alexandra couldn’t imagine Claire’s father leaving them in too deep.
But she didn’t wish to think about those travails any longer. She was determined to make the most of the weekend, and judging by the size of the house, she need not ever see Benjamin Wentworth if she didn’t wish to. “So, have we the entire Pavilion?” she asked.
“Oh, no. Only this one was restored by the Duke before he died. The others are still in disrepair. Mr. Moore and his wife are both currently abroad, so the Duchess impressed upon them to lend it for the holiday. Of course, how could they refuse, when it was originally her husband’s?
“Lovely,” said Alexandra, though it struck her yet again how fickle the haute ton could be. Less than a year ago, the Duchess had barely tolerated Claire. Now, she was arranging holiday accommodations?
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Claire, with a hint of a smile, because, despite their recent estrangement, Claire knew her only too well. “She’s family now.”
Alexandra lifted a brow. “Victoria?”
“Be nice. She may be joining us and she’s bringing Drina along with her.”
“Lovely,” said Alexandra, torn. She did enjoy little Drina— infinitely more than she did her meddling mother. But where that child got her good cheer, no one could say, because, by all accounts, her father had been utterly loathed by his peers and her mother was a dour-faced matron.
A flutter of movement caught her eye, and she peered up, spying an all-too familiar face in the upstairs window. Against her will, her heart did a flip and a flop. But that wasn’t joy, she apprised herself. Those days were done. It was merely that she hadn’t seen him in nearly a year, and she didn’t know how they would get along.
It’s all well and good, she reassured herself.
Chin up, do it for Claire.
Alexandra Huntington.
But, of course.
His sister had a heart of gold, and there was no wonder why Claire would invite her. Those two had been friends since the cradle. Their mothers had met with prams in the park, and Ben himself had scarcely been old enough to pull himself up to peer inside at the round-faced babes within.
She was not a child any longer.
From the upstairs window, he watched as she descended from her coach—or, more like spilled from it, into a billowing cloud of sapphire skirts—quite sedate for her. She was usually aglitter, with gems in her tresses and jewels at her throat. From his vantage it seemed that she hurled herself into Claire’s arms, clutching his sister in a veritable death grip. Frowning, Ben watched the pair embrace, releasing the curtain as they started for the house.
It wasn’t that he was unhappy to see her. Quite to the contrary. Claire and Lexie should make amends.
But.
And that was the word of the moment…
But.
Seeing Alexandra left him feeling bedeviled on so many fronts; the worst of it being the guilt he felt over what her father did to Claire—held her at pistol point, fully intending to defile her. He took Claire to that house of ill-repute—the one where he’d swindled Ben. And some believed Huntington intended to do his worst.