Page 36 of The Lady’s Dirty Letter

Alexander knew he needed to end this conversation immediately and get her out of his home. She was dangerous to be around right now. She just needed time to clear her head and come to her senses.

Alexander heard footsteps heading in their direction, just as Isabella once again reached out to touch him. His brother’s voice sounded from the hallway asking where his brother was, and Alexander closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as relief flooded him. Isabella would have to leave now that his brother was here, considering the nature of her visit. He was glad that it was not Caroline who had just returned. He did not want to imagine how that would have played out.

Isabella stood up quickly when she heard him, “I hope we can meet soon to continue our conversation. Goodbye for now, Alexander, and think about what I said.” She walked out of the room, leaving him with a deep frown on his face as he watched her go.

Colin walked into the room, a look of puzzlement in his eyes as he stared at Alexander who was still standing at the spot where he was after Isabella left. “Was that not your Lady Isabella I saw leaving just now? Or did my eyes deceive me?” Colin asked. He dropped into the seat Isabella had been occupying and waited for Alexander to answer.

“She is not mine, Colin. Do not refer to her like that again. And yes, you are correct in your assessment,” he said. Alexander dragged a hand down his face. He felt like he had aged a couple of years.

“What did she want? Shouldn’t she be by her husband’s side?” Alexander let out a groan as Colin badgered him with questions.

“She came here to inform me that she is not happy and believes that the only solution was for us to… reunite,” Alexander said. “I told her I was happily married and that I had no intention of being unfaithful to my wife, but she kept trying to convince me that I was not as happy as I believed myself to be and that I would be happier with her.”

“She must be very unhappy for her to come to you with that idea. I do not know if I should feel sad for her because of the situation she finds herself in or be annoyed that she would choose to destroy her marriage and yours just to make herself feel better,” Colin responded. “You seem to be embracing your role as a good husband, however. I mean, Lady Isabella was all you wanted, and you tried to find ways out of your marriage so you could be with her, and now you won’t even consider her as an option.”

Alexander rolled his eyes. He was more than ready to be done with this topic and would be happy if his brother would not bring it up anymore. “Is there a reason you have come here, Colin?” Alexander asked in a displeased tone.

Colin raised his hand in surrender, “No need to get snarky with me, Alex. Yes, actually. There is something I need your help with.”

Alexander sighed, willing himself to forget about Isabella. “Get on with it then, what did you want?”

Colin cleared his throat. “There is a ball I am to attend tonight, that Ann will be attending as well. As you know, she and I have been connecting and I was considering… proposing. I plan on doing so tonight and I need your advice.”

Alexander looked at his brother, overwhelmed with emotion. Colin had matured in the time he spent with Ann. He no longer kept late nights or slept in until the late hours of the morning, and now he was talking about marriage when not long ago he had proclaimed that he would remain a bachelor until his forties so he could enjoy all the pleasure life had to offer.

“Look who is willingly choosing to be tied to one woman. Was that not how you always phrased it? Lady Ann must be special,” Alexander laughed, mocking his brother in return.

“If you are done laughing at my expense, I would like an answer to my question, Alexander. I have drawn up different ideas as to ways I could propose but none of them seem to be good enough,” Colin said, scowling at his brother.

“Fine, fine. I will help you,” Alexander said. Colin stared impatiently at his brother, causing him to laugh. His usually cool brother was suddenly turning into a panicky mess.

“I ruined my proposal to Caroline, but if I could propose to her again, I would gatherenough flowers to fill a room and write her a poem about everything I love about her and how much joy she has brought to my life since she entered it. Then I'd take her on horseback to a beautiful placeI know she wouldenjoy, and when she wouldleast expect it, I wouldask her the question, emphasizing how happy I'd be with her and promising to make her happy.”

“I would rather throw myself off a bridge. In fact, Ann might throw me off it herself.” Alexander laughed when he spotted the look of disgust on his brother’s face. “I do not know whether your wife would have liked it or not, but I am suddenly glad you did not have the chance to find out. I do not have the time for this elaborate plan of yours, and even if I did, I do not think I would be able to support it. Sorry brother, it is not my style,” Colin said, shivering in disgust.

“Well, in that case, you would need to come up with plans of your own, dear brother,” Alexander said, neither surprised nor offended.

“Yes, I suppose I will rather be on my way if I am to come up with a plan in time for the ball.” Colin got up immediately and headed for the door, promising to give his brother details of how everything went later.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Caroline was bubbling with excitement as she headed down to breakfast. She could not wait to hear from Ann how things had gone. When she returned home, after helping her sister get ready for the ball, she had finally managed to pry the information out of Alex, who informed her that his brother came over to ask for advice on how to propose to Ann but that was all he knew. She had squealed with excitement and jumped into his arms.

She found that Alex was already at the table when she arrived, a cup of tea in his hands as he read from a book. Caroline smiled as she thought of how lucky she was and how handsome he looked as he sat there, oblivious to her presence. She walked to him, eyes fixed squarely on him, and felt her smile widen when he finally noticed that he was not alone.

“Good morning, my darling. I hope you slept beautifully,” he said with a glint in his eyes. Caroline blushed deeply at that. He knew just how well she slept. He had put her to bed after all.

“Yes, I did,” she replied shyly. “Thank you for your help.” She looked at the maid as she placed her food in front of her and wondered if she knew what they were talking about. Caroline still felt shy whenever her husband tried to touch her or say something naughty in front of the servants, no matter how many times he had done it.

“I will be going to my parents’ home after breakfast to talk to my sister,” she said, trying to move away from the topic. “I am so excited to hear what transpired in the ball.”

Alexander smiled at her excitement. “I am looking forward to finding out as well. Extend my greetings to my in-laws while you are there.”

After breakfast, Caroline kissed Alexander and went back to her room to prepare for her outing, she made quick work of it and went outside where the carriage was waiting.

Caroline walked into the Campbell house, excited to talk to Ann, expecting to hear very happy news, but was surprised to find her sister still in bed and unhappy.

“Ann, what is the matter?” Caroline climbed into her sister’s bed and wrapped her hands around her.

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