Page 23 of Is This Real or Just Pretend?

The next afternoon, Alex alighted from the carriage at Great Russell Street and raced across the courtyard of the British Museum—or rather, as fast as her blasted skirts would allow.

She was late, and Alex hated being late.

But it couldn’t be helped. Just as she was preparing to leave the office, Mr. Tompkins, her father’s good friend and a key member of the board, had stopped in to see her.

That had never happened before. Granted, he only came to ask if Lucien was still looking for investors, but still.

It was a welcome development that Alex would have relished if she hadn’t also been trying to leave at that exact moment.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to concentrate on him and not the clock. When she finally answered his litany of questions, the man made a not-so-veiled reference to an impending engagement, complete with a shocking eyebrow waggle, and bid her good day.

Alex could have done without the inference, but otherwise her plan was beginning to work perfectly.

And if Lucien really did make a success of his supper club, that could only help her own reputation.

All in all, it had been a productive morning at the office.

Yet the satisfaction she usually felt at a job well done paled in comparison to the nervous excitement bubbling in her belly. But there was no accounting for it.

She had just seen Lucien yesterday.

And she came to this museum all the time.

But not with him.

Alex pushed the unhelpful thought from her mind and mounted the steps.

Aunt Winifred, Phoebe, Will, and Lucien were waiting by the entrance and she could see them between the columns all smiling and talking.

For a moment Alex felt out of place, as if she were watching a scene in a play rather than participating in her own life.

The uncomfortable sensation came over her every now and again, usually followed by a compulsion to escape.

But just then Lucien glanced over and spotted her.

His handsome face split with a grin and he waved. The compulsion immediately vanished, replaced instead with the unfamiliar warmth of acceptance.

Alex felt herself smiling back as she joined the group. “Sorry I’m late,” she said in a rush.

“Only by a few minutes,” her sister replied kindly.

“Terribly out of character for you, though,” Will quipped. “I was considering sending a search party.”

Alex rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. “I was held up by Mr. Tompkins. He stopped by my office to ask about Lucien’s supper club.”

Will raised his eyebrows. “That’s excellent news.”

Lucien frowned in confusion. “Who is he?”

“One of our board members,” Alex explained.

“And filthy rich,” Will added. “If you’ve already caught his interest, more will soon follow.”

“Ah,” Lucien replied, looking a little nervous.

“Enough business talk,” Aunt Winifred groused.

“Yes, I want to see some mummies,” Phoebe said.

“Then see some mummies you shall,” Will said gallantly as he offered her one arm and Aunt Winifred the other.

As the three of them entered the building, Lucien offered Alex his arm and she took it.

“I’m sorry about all this,” she murmured as they followed.

Lucien tilted his head. “Whatever for?”

“It’s more than I expected,” she said honestly. “Certainly more than I outlined in the contract.”

That had been limited to one social outing a week. But this would be the third.

“It’s all right.” Lucien then huffed a laugh. “Though I suppose you’ll need to revise it again.”

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “I will do it tonight.”

“Alex.” He waited for her to meet his eyes. “I was only joking.”

“Right. Sorry.” She turned away just as his gaze softened, as she had no need to see the pity in his eyes.

Poor awkward Alex.

Luckily, they had entered the Great Court, so Alex pulled away and pretended she was simply taken by their surroundings.

Though truthfully, she did not have to pretend very hard.

She never grew tired of visiting this mansion full of treasures.

It might not possess quite the same grandeur and pomp of the newer buildings she had visited in New York, but she preferred this nonetheless.

As she completed a full turn, she caught Lucien staring at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” he replied. “I just… I like watching you,” he added hesitantly.

Alex glanced around, but no one was paying attention to them at the moment.

Aunt Winifred was haranguing a frazzled-looking docent while Will and Phoebe were poring over a map.

She turned back to Lucien and he must have read the confusion on her face.

He smiled a little wider this time and took a step toward her. Then another.

“Let us look at the map,” Alex said briskly and hurried away before he could even respond.

She didn’t need a map, of course. Alex could probably find her way around the museum blindfolded.

But Lucien’s attention unnerved her. She could admit that now, as silly as it was.

He paid her attention because of their arrangement.

Because he was supposed to. She would be a fool to look for something deeper.

“I know you are all eager to see the mummies, but I am far more interested in Grecian pottery,” Aunt Winifred pronounced as she joined them.

“My late husband dragged me to one of those ghastly unraveling parties once. Macabre practice if you ask me. So why don’t you go ahead and we will meet by Lord Elgin’s marbles in an hour.

” Then she arched a brow. “I trust you can all behave yourselves in public?”

Will and Phoebe leaned a little closer to each other and exchanged a look sweet enough to give Alex a toothache.

It also made her even more aware of Lucien’s looming presence.

Should she look at him too? Or, worse, flutter her eyelashes?

Alex didn’t think she could manage that.

Lucien was liable to think she was suffering from some sort of apoplexy rather than a poor attempt at coquetry.

But just as Alex had mustered the courage to reach for Lucien’s arm, Aunt Winifred simply strode off toward the Greco-Roman room.

Saved from embarrassment at least for the moment, Alex let out a sigh of relief.

She had utterly failed to consider how awkward it would be to pretend to be courting while in the company of the two most lovesick people she knew.

She would need to strategize with Lucien about reasonable displays of affection.

Alex could allow for walking arm-in-arm if the occasion called for it and perhaps even some brief hand-holding.

But she drew the line at saccharine looks and mawkish nicknames.

In her opinion, some things should never leave the confines of a bedroom.

Do not think of him in a bedroom .

Yet despite the admonishment, Alex could feel her entire body start to flush.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well?” Lucien murmured.

Alex startled a bit, as he was much closer than she realized, and noticed the genuine concern in his face.

Then she brought a hand to her cheek, though she very well knew the cause.

“Oh, yes. I’m perfectly fine. It’s just warm in here.

Do you not think so?” She said this all in a great rush and Lucien’s look of concern only deepened.

“Perhaps I should take you home. I can flag down a hackney right now—”

“No.” The very last place she should be was alone in a carriage with Lucien Taylor. “That is, I’m quite well,” she added with an enthusiastic smile that probably bordered on derangement. “Please, let’s continue.” Alex then rushed them toward the Anglo-Roman Gallery.

Will gestured for Alex to enter before him, and she was only too glad to walk with her sister for a bit. She needed to sort herself out and it was difficult to do that while worrying about Lucien.

Phoebe flashed her an easy smile and looped their arms together.

“I stopped by the house earlier today and when I told Freddie about our outing she wasn’t exactly pleased,” Phoebe said. “I think we could have made more of an effort to invite her along.”

Alex scoffed. “Did you not see the effort she was putting in at the Turners’ last night?”

“I saw her speaking with Lucien for a little while, if that is what you mean. But it looked perfectly innocent to me,” Phoebe said. “And besides, you have nothing to worry about on that front. Lucien seems very attentive towards you.”

Alex held her tongue, though she longed to reveal the truth to her sister. It would be nice to confide in her.

“Truthfully, I don’t think Freddie is very content,” Phoebe continued.

“She seemed perfectly happy to me last night,” Alex said dryly.

Phoebe shot her a frown. “Freddie always looks perfectly happy in company. But I’m talking about a deeper purpose. A life’s work.”

Alex let out an impatient sigh. “You know very well that she has never shown the least bit of interest in work of any kind. You are coddling her once again, Phoebe. But she isn’t a child anymore. And she is perfectly capable of making her own choices.”

“Even if those choices go against what you and Father want?”

“I am not making Freddie marry Hank Ericson!” Alex exclaimed rather too loudly. A nearby matron examining a bust of Marcus Aurelius cast her a disapproving look and Alex mouthed an apology before turning back to Phoebe. “How could you think such a thing?” she hissed.

“I know you aren’t making her,” Phoebe allowed. “But you have made your preference perfectly clear.”

“Freddie doesn’t do anything unless she absolutely wants to,” Alex insisted.

“When it comes to most things, yes. I agree. But I don’t think you realize how much your approval means. Freddie might not even realize it herself,” Phoebe added.

“Oh,” Alex said flatly, though she still harbored significant doubts.

“Do you remember how we quarreled before you left for New York?” Phoebe asked after a moment.