Page 91 of Kiss an Angel

She felt oddly protective of her little home. “It’s not so bad inside. I’ve fixed it up.”

She opened the door and let him in, but despite the changes she’d made, he was no more impressed with the interior than he’d been with the exterior. “Alex could certainly have done better than this.”

Strangely enough, his criticism made her defensive. “It’s fine for us.”

His gaze lingered for a moment on the trailer’s only bed. She hoped the sight made him uncomfortable, but she couldn’t read his expression.

As she went to the stove to boil water for tea, the gingerly way he sat on the couch made it obvious he was afraid he’d catch some disease. She took the chair next to him while the water heated.

An awkward silence followed, broken finally by her father. “How are you and Alex getting on?”

“We’re doing all right”

“He’s quite a man. Not everyone could overcome their upbringing as he has. Did he ever tell you how we met?”

“He said you saved his life.”

“I don’t know about that, but when I found him, his uncle had him on the ground behind one of the trucks. He was holding him down with his foot while he brutalized him with a stock whip.”

She winced. Alex had told her he’d been abused

, but hearing it from her father’s lips made it seem even more horrifying.

“Alex’s shirt was ripped. He had red welts across his back, some of them bleeding. His uncle was cursing him for a minor offense while he whipped him with all his strength.” She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her father to stop talking, but he went on. “The thing I most remember is that Alex was absolutely silent. He didn’t cry. He didn’t call out for help. He simply endured. It was the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen.”

Daisy felt sick. No wonder Alex couldn’t believe in love.

Her father leaned back on the couch. “Ironically, I had no idea who the child was at first. Sergey Markov was traveling with the old Curzon Circus at the time, and it was only a whim that made me decide to look him up when I learned he was going to be performing near Fort Lee. There’d been some rumors about the family connection. I’d been told it was authentic, but I’m always skeptical about stories like that, and I didn’t really believe it.”

Although she knew of her father’s passion for Russian history, she hadn’t known it extended to the circus. As the kettle began to whistle, she walked over to the stove. “The connection is authentic all right. The Markovs are one of the most famous circus families in history.”

He looked at her strangely as she began preparing the tea. “The Markovs?”

“For the most part they seem to trace their heritage through the women in the family. Don’t you think that’s unusual?”

“It’s hardly significant. The Markovs were peasants, Theodosia. Circus people.” His lips thinned with disdain. “I was only interested in looking up Sergey Markov because of the rumors about his sister Katya’s marriage—Alex’s mother.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It was Alex’s father’s family I was interested in. The family Katya Markov married into. For God’s sake, Theodosia, the Markovs are of no importance at all. Don’t you know anything about your husband?”

“Not much,” she conceded, carrying two earthenware mugs of tea over to the couch and handing him one. Her hands were tightly clenched around the mug as she took a seat at the other end of the couch.

“I thought he would have spoken about it, but he’s so secretive I suppose I should have known he wouldn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?” She had been waiting for this, but now that the time had come, she wasn’t certain she wanted to know.

A distinct quiver of excitement ran through his voice. “Alex is a Romanov, Theodosia.”

“A Romanov?”

“On his father’s side.”

Her immediate reaction was amusement, but that faded as she realized her father was so obsessed with Russian history that he’d been taken in by circus hype. “Dad, that’s not true. Alex isn’t a Romanov. He’s Markov, through and through. The Romanov story is just part of his act, something he invented to make his performance more dramatic.”

“Credit me with some intelligence, Theodosia. I’d hardly be taken in by a show business stunt.” He crossed his legs. “You have no idea what I went through to verify Alex’s heritage. Once I’d done that, I had to get him away from Sergey Markov for good—the bastard didn’t die until ten years ago. Then there was the matter of arranging for Alex’s education, which had been abominable up to that point. I took care of his boarding school, but he insisted on putting himself through college, which made it impossible for me to keep him away from the circus. Do you think I would have put myself through all that if I hadn’t been absolutely certain who he was?”

A chill slithered along her spine. “Exactly who is he?”

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