Page 5 of The Marquess of Temptation
"I was looking for a place to freshen up," she stuttered, avoiding his eyes as she alluded to that most private of feminine acts, "And Lord Payne sent me in this direction. I think he might have been confused..."
"...By what types of pots were in the pottery room," Alex finished her sentence with a guffaw of laughter. Lord Payne, who was heir to the Ducal seat of Hawkfield was a character Alex knew well from the clubs, as well as the papers. He was renowned for his pranks and high-jinks, Alex wouldn't put it past the blighter to have sent the girl the wrong way for his own amusement.
"I'm afraid that Lord Payne was mistaken in his direction, Miss --"
"Bowstock," the girl supplied, after an oddly lengthy pause.
"Miss Bowstock," Alex felt a stab of satisfaction at having spoken her name. Remembering his manners, he gave a curt bow before introducing himself, "I am Lord Delaney."
"I know, my Lord," Miss Bowstock responded, dipping her knees in a curtsy that would not have looked out of place in any ballroom across the country. Perhaps she was gently born, Alex thought, and had simply taken up a paid position out of necessity. It was not unheard of, for many a family had lost their fortune at the hands of a bad heir.
"Allow me to escort you back to the auditorium to Miss Deveraux - I'm sure she is wondering where you have got to." Alex said and gallantly held out his arm for Miss Bowstock to take. Most women in her position would have clung on to it, enchanted by his wealth, his title and his status as a widower - but not Miss Bowstock. Instead she gave him a rather alarmed look, as though he had offered her a hissing snake and not his arm.
"Thank you," she said in a decidedly firm voice, "You're very kind, but that's really not necessary. I will find my own way back to the auditorium."
"Oh, but I insist," Alex replied, adopting his most haughty, commanding tone. He was not used to people rejecting anything that he offered - especially not women. It rankled slightly at his pride that Miss Bowstock seemed most eager to be rid of him. "I would not like anything untoward to happen to you...again."
"You are too kind," Miss Bowstock sounded pained by the kindness she referred to, "But I am afraid that I will have to insist. You have helped me far too much already, my Lord. I will find my own way back - safely - thank you."
"Are you always this stubborn?" Alex sighed irritably as he realised that she would not budge. He was not usually quick to anger, but his nerves had already been frayed by the tension of touching Miss Bowstock's hair - and now, at her seeming indifference to him, his normally ice-cool demeanour had disappeared.
"No," Miss Bowstock frowned at his words, "Are you always this bossy?"
"Yes," Alex's eyes narrowed dangerously; he was not used to insubordination of any kind. "Though I like to think I am more suggestive, than bossyper se."
"You're not being suggestive if what you suggest is not optional," Miss Bowstock pointed out cheerfully, "I think the word is dictatorial, my Lord. Thank you again for your kind offer, but I cannot allow you to escort me back to Miss Deveraux, for she would wonder what we had been doing together all this time...alone."
Dash it, the girl was right. Alex frowned, he may have been a man who liked reason, but he didn't like it when it was used against him.
"You win this battle, Miss Bowstock," he finally said, his eyes holding her gaze.
"Well, there won't be any other battles, my Lord," she smiled, a triumphant grin on her face, which made her eyes crinkle at the corners. "So I suppose you might say that I have won the war."
With a wave of her fingers, Miss Bowstock turned on her heel and fled the room, seemingly desperate to be free of his company. Alex stood still for a few minutes, after she had closed the door and contemplated their brief encounter. It had been a long time since he had met a woman who piqued his interest so and, unlike Miss Bowstock, he was certain that there would be many battles ahead. He was certain, because he would instigate them.
Alex reached into the breast pocket of his coat, took out his time piece and checked the hour; the afternoon had all but disappeared. Knowing that he would get no more work done that day, he decided to return home to wash and change for dinner - after which he would pay a visit to White's and reacquaint himself with Lord Deveraux. He had never been particularly fond of the chap - but it stood to reason that to be friends with the man who employed Miss Bowstock, could only be in his interest. And there was nothing that Alexander Jack de Pfeffel Delaney liked more than reason...
