Page 32 of Never a Bride
Alex leaned his elbows against the balustrade and munched the lamb pasty he’d just purchased, fighting a feeling of boredom. Bear-baiting was not his first choice in entertainment—in fact, it was near the bottom. But his dwindling supply of money was keeping his entertainment simple.
He took another bite of the pie and let his gaze wander over the crowd. Down below he heard raucous cheering, and watched with interest as a boy was being urged to drink by a circle of half-drunken revelers.
Alex’s smile slowly faded, and a strange sense of tension tightened his muscles. The boy looked about him, then up at the gallery Alex was standing in. Their gazes locked, and Alex saw blue-green eyes rimmed with a heavy fringe of lashes no boy would have.
Emmeline.
What the hell was she doing at Paris Gardens dressed as a boy? And why was his first reaction on seeing her an immediate tightening of his groin and the memory of her well-curved body held against his?
Dropping the pie, he ran for the back of the gallery and pushed past several men on the stairs. It was more crowded at the bottom of the stands, and he had to force his way through until he reached the circle of men gathered around Emmeline.
“Excuse me,” he said loudly, elbowing two of them aside. “Emmett, why did you run off?”
He almost laughed at the sight of Lady Emmeline Prescott with a cap pulled low over her forehead, and a pint of beer in each hand. She gave him a nervous smile as he scowled and shook his head.
“Em, you promised that if I brought you today, you’d remain at my side.”
She grinned, and he realized she was already befuddled from the beer.
“But Alex—” she began in a dangerously normal voice.
“Not another word.” He hoped she understood the warning. “I see you’ve not finished the beer these kind gentlemen purchased for you. I’ve taught you better manners than that.”
Slowly her eyes widened, and she looked from him down to the beer and back to him. He could have sworn she gulped before obediently bringing the first tankard to her lips. It only took her a few gulps to drain the contents, and as a cheer rose around her, she blearily grinned.
Straightening almost in defiance, Emmeline started on the next beer. Alex let her have a few swallows before his conscience got the best of him.
Taking the tankard from her hand, he said, “I guess that’s enough for today, Em. How do you feel?”
She shrugged, and to his surprise, her gaze dropped almost speculatively down his body. Pleasure stole over him like a warm summer rain until he remembered that they had an audience, drunken though it was. He took her by the shoulders and turned her toward the entertainment. He sipped her beer, and found himself contemplating drinking from the same spot her mouth had touched. Damn, but his thoughts were getting away from him.
Emmeline was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Feeling uncomfortably aware of the men all around them, Alex for once wished a woman wasn’t staring at him so blatantly.
She suddenly took the tankard out of his hand and swallowed a gulp before he managed to pull it away. Her eyes were full of amusement as she licked the last drop from her lower lip. All sensation seemed to pool in his groin. He couldn’t look away from the slow, knowing smile that spread across her face. Innocent that she was, she couldn’t possibly understand what she was doing.
“Gentlemen, thank you for taking care of my brother,” Alex abruptly said. “He can be a handful, as I’m sure you’ve discovered.”
“He’s a good lad, that he is,” said one of the men cheerfully.
“Thanks, Robbie,” Emmeline replied through a grin.
Alex wanted to groan. How could they not know she was a woman? Her doublet was sagging down one shoulder, and soon the thin shirt she wore would reveal her charms. The tantalizing thought gripped him with a dark eroticism. Or had she bound her breasts?
He shook himself back to reality.
“I thank you, too, Robbie,” Alex said, handing the tankard over, “for taking care of my brother. Good day to you.”
He gripped Emmeline’s elbow and pulled her away from the pit. When they reached the grounds outside the entrance, he continued to drag her along.
“You can let go of me now.”
“I don’t think I shall.” He managed to frown down at her. “You’re drunk enough to be a danger to yourself.”
“I am not inebriated, I assure you,” she said, pulling away and straightening her doublet.
“Youmusthave been drunk to even think of coming here dressed like that. This is a dangerous place for a woman alone.”
“But I’ve got you to guard me, don’t I?” Grinning, she leaned against his arm.
