Owen turned to her with wide eyes. “Pardon?” He couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly. An innocent did not want to go off onto the terrace alone with him.
Alex waved her gloved hand in front of her face. “I’ve misplaced my fan and am in need of some fresh air. It’s sweltering in here. I feel as if I might faint.”
“Well, we can’t have that.” He grinned at her. “But what did I tell you about going off alone with strange gentlemen?”
She arched a brow. “Oh, so now you’re a strange gentleman?”
Was that flirtatious? His little student learned quickly, it seemed. “A dance is one thing, but your reputation may well be shredded if you go onto the terrace alone with me.”
“No, it won’t. Not if we don’t stay long. I think it will give my reputation just the cachet of mystery that it’s currently lacking. The dance was a good start, but this may solidify my entrée into Society as an incomparable.” She blinked at him innocently.
“I don’t know about this, Alex,” he said in a warning tone, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Very well. I’m going out alone, then.” Taking her half-empty champagne glass with her, she turned on her heel and headed toward the French doors that led out onto the terrace that in turn led down to the garden.
Owen followed her. Of course he followed her. What choice did he have? Not to mention, he found he wanted to talk to her. She was infinitely more appealing than her bad-tempered sister. And she knew how to handle her champagne, apparently, too.
They strolled outside separately, but Owen met her on the far side of the terrace. The light from twinkling candles spread throughout the gardens lit their path. The late summer air was warm and inviting. Alex turned to him and splayed her gloved hands across the balustrade behind her.
Owen tilted his head to the side and contemplated her. “Our dance was a success, it seems. Your dancing card appears to be much fuller.”
“Yes. I’m suddenly quite popular. Thanks to you. I’ve barely had a chance to breathe, let alone have a glass of champagne, so thank you for that, too.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, bowing.
He watched her carefully. The moonlight touched her cheekbones, the shining crown of her head, the sparkling bodice of her gown. She smelled like strawberries, as usual. He wanted to … kiss her. The thought stopped him, surprised him. He wasn’t in the business of wanting to kiss innocents. And he certainly wasn’t in the business of wanting to kiss the young sisters of the lady he was supposed to be courting. But all he could think about was the feel of her mouth on his yesterday when she hadn’t stepped away from his kiss. This was madness. The moon was doing insane things to him. That was all.
“How did you fare with Lavinia?” she asked, jolting him from his indecent thoughts.
He rubbed a knuckle against his forehead and expelled his breath. “Lavinia would barely look at me, let alone dance with me.”
Alex took another tiny sip of her champagne. “Did you ask her to?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you think she heard the rumor?”
“She said she found it crass of me to attempt to use her sister in order to make an impression on her.”
“That sounds like Lavinia.” Alex tapped a finger against her cheek. “You didn’t mention horses, did you?”
“I might have.”
“Did you give her a rock?”
“No. But I’m not above foraging in this garden for one if it will help my cause. Why is she such a—?”
“Shrew?”
“I was going to say ‘difficult lady,’ but ‘shrew’ is apt as well.”
“She’s always been given everything she wants in life.”
“You’re making excuses for her behavior.”
Alex’s hand fell to her side. “Perhaps, but she was very ill as a child, and—”
“Another excuse.”
Alex glanced away.
Owen sighed. He remembered how Alex had changed the subject when he’d asked her how her parents had treated her. She was used to getting the castoffs of affection. His heart tugged at the thought. It was a singularly surprising experience. But he could tell that Alex didn’t want to talk about it, so he turned the conversation back to Lavinia. “She’s always been given everything she wants in life, and she doesn’t want me.”
Alex shook her head. “You’re not her ideal suitor.”
“Who is? Sir Lancelot?”
“Perhaps.”
“She’ll be waiting a long while if she’s waiting for me to turn into Lancelot, for God’s sake.”
Alex shrugged. “That’s what we’ve been studying, isn’t it? How to make you into the perfect romantic gentleman?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and kicked at a pebble that had somehow made it onto the terrace.
“I fear it’s a lost cause. Your sister doesn’t seem a bit more impressed with me tonight than she has been in the past.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alex replied softly.
“And given her reaction to my offer of champagne, and my speech about horses, I’m beginning to wonder if everything you told me about her is correct.”
Alex paled slightly. “She’s … difficult,” she repeated lamely.
Now Owen shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about Lavinia. Something else was on his mind. “Did the gentleman with whom you’re enamored ask you to dance tonight?” Why did Owen hope she said no?
Alex blushed beautifully and glanced away. Her gloved fingertips glanced over her collarbone.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said softly.
Surprise marked her features as she turned back to look at him. “Why, Lord Owen, I do believe you’re learning a bit. I don’t think the man I met a few days ago would even have known he’d embarrassed me.”
Owen chuckled at that. “You’re learning as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with such a fetching smile on your face, and when you touch your neck in that particular spot, I—”
She blushed more deeply, and Owen clamped his lips together. He was certainly embarrassing her now. Blast it.
He ducked his head and cleared his throat. “Well, the man’s a tosser if he can’t see the good in you, Alex.”
Her head snapped up and her dark eyes met his. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course I do. I curse my father every day for picking your sister and not you.”
Alex gasped. Her hand fell away from her throat.
Damn it. He shouldn’t have said such a reckless thing. What could she possibly reply to that?
“My apologies. I don’t mean to be so boorish,” he said. “And I don’t mean to seem so cavalier about it all. I know your heart belongs to someone else, but I never expected it to be this difficult to court a lady with the intention of marriage. I’ve never tried it before, true, but it’s proved deuced difficult.”
The surprised look caused by his earlier statement slowly drained from Alex’s face. “I’m sorry Lavinia is so much trouble.”
Owen shrugged again. “It’s hardly your fault. You’ve done nothing but try to help me. I cannot fathom how two such different young ladies were born to the same parents.”
Alex laughed. “Believe me, I ask myself that same question quite regularly.”
He stepped closer and touched her hand. “Thank you, Alexandra. For helping me.”
She glanced away. Those couldn’t be tears in her eyes, could they?
“What do you propose to do, about Lavinia?” she asked quietly.
He tipped up her chin with his thumb. “I propose that we meet again for another lesson. Tomorrow.”