Page 51 of Is This Real or Just Pretend?

Park House

London, England

The ballroom of Park House was nearly bursting with guests for Phoebe and Will’s wedding breakfast which, given it was now well after dark, had spilled over into more of a wedding supper.

Alex stood with Lucien by the edge of the dance floor, taking in the happy couple as they waltzed for what must have been the sixth time that evening.

“Do you wish our wedding had been like this?” Lucien murmured by Alex’s ear.

“Of course not,” she replied, instantly repelled by the idea, then met his gaze.

Lucien had been her husband for almost two months now, yet she still hadn’t grown used to the feeling.

She woke up most mornings worried it had all been a dream until she saw him sleeping soundly beside her.

No, this was real. This was her life. “Our wedding was perfect for us .”

He gave her a slow smile and drew her even closer to his side. “I agree.”

They had taken her father’s suggestion and married in Bunbury only two weeks after Alex’s proposal so as not to encroach on Phoebe and Will’s wedding date.

The preparations had been simple out of necessity: autumn flowers from the garden at Atkinson House, a decadent chocolate mousse cake made by the cook based on a trusted recipe Lucien’s mother had developed, and a small guest list of only family and very close friends.

And, to her mother’s great disappointment, Alex wore a gown she already owned that was not white.

It was, however, the same gown she had worn the night she propositioned Lucien in the summer house at his request.

“That was the night it all began for me,” he had admitted. “The night I began falling in love with you.”

It was harder for Alex to pinpoint exactly when her feelings had crossed over into this all-encompassing love, though she expected it was around the time when Lucien became more interesting to her than work.

Since leaving Atkinson Enterprises, she had partnered with Marguerite LaSalle to create an investment firm that focused exclusively on women who had been turned down by banks and other firms. They offered interest-free loans for smaller businesses in addition to funding larger-scale ideas and inventions.

The firm handled everything from neighborhood laundries to a company that produced a dishwashing machine for home use.

At first Lucien had been all too happy to assist Alex in this new endeavor but lately he had been talking with Alain about reopening the supper club or at least a modified version of it at the hotel.

The newlyweds hadn’t yet found time for a honeymoon, but they intended to visit Paris in the spring.

Alex was very much looking forward to visiting the catacombs and also meeting Lucien’s relatives.

She had even resumed her long-abandoned French lessons in preparation.

She and Lucien had whiled away many an evening practicing increasingly scandalous French phrases by the fire in the parlor of their small, elegant townhouse in a sleepy little square not far from Park House.

“Do you think we can slip away now?” Lucien murmured as he subtly nuzzled her ear.

“Yes,” Alex said with a smile. “We’ve shown our faces here long enough.”

Lucien gripped her hand in his own. “And we can always blame our absence on being newlyweds ourselves.”

“Excellent point.”

But just as they made their way to the exit, they were intercepted by Inspector Holland, looking as stern as usual. “May I have a word, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor?”

“Inspector. I didn’t know you were here,” Alex replied.

“Their Graces were kind enough to invite me,” he began. “But I only just arrived.”

“I see. Well, we were just on our way home. Can’t it wait?”

The inspector’s eyes narrowed. “Afraid not. It involves the Nun.”

“ Him again,” Alex grumbled. She was growing quite tired of that man interrupting her life.

“I think we should hear this, my dear,” Lucien said gently.

Alex crossed her arms. “Very well.”

They moved to a secluded corner of the room where they would not be disturbed. “Gerald O’Hara was brought in last night,” the inspector began. “He was arrested during a raid of an illegal boxing ring that he has been running.”

“Why, that’s excellent news,” Lucien said enthusiastically as he turned to her, but Alex was still watching the inspector’s face closely and knew there was more to come.

“And?” she asked.

“He admitted to following you on orders of the Nun, but when we visited his alleged headquarters, the place was empty. The man seems to have vanished.”

Alex frowned. “What does Mr. O’Hara know?”

“Apparently not much,” the inspector replied. “He claims he never even met the Nun in person.”

“And you believe him?”

The inspector gave her a level look. “For the time being. As I understand it, that is largely how the Nun operates and why he has so effectively evaded capture all these years. Very few people know what he looks like.”

“But why was he at Alex’s office that night?” Lucien asked.

“Mr. O’Hara maintains that he did not think Mrs. Taylor would be there at that time of night,” the inspector explained.

“He had been instructed to look for any information related to her business activities and insists that he would have left once he realized she was still in the office.” Inspector Holland then addressed Alex with a smile.

“I am beginning to think the Nun is more of an admirer of yours rather than a threat.”

Alex snorted. “If he is so interested in understanding my business acumen, he would be better off making an appointment.”

“You take this too lightly, Alex,” Lucien grumbled. “I don’t like it.”

“Well, it’s no matter anyway,” she said. “The Nun is gone and I no longer work for my father.”

“He will return though,” the inspector replied darkly. “That is the only thing I am sure of. You still need to take care. All of you.”

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but Lucien cut her off. “We will, Inspector. You have my word.” He then gave Alex a pleading look. The one she hadn’t yet been able to resist and she let out a sigh.

“And mine,” she said.

“There you two are!” Freddie suddenly cried out from behind them. “Don’t think you can slip out without saying good-bye—” She froze once she saw the inspector with them.

“Miss Atkinson,” the man said flatly, but even Alex noticed the way his entire form seemed to tighten in her sister’s presence.

Interesting.

Not long after Alex and Lucien’s wedding, Freddie had called off her engagement to Hank Jr. and returned the massive diamond ring. Alex hadn’t been terribly surprised, only that it had taken her so long to do so.

“I knew it wasn’t right,” Freddie had explained. “But I didn’t want to distract from your wedding.”

However, since then she seemed more unhappy than ever. Yet every time anyone tried to talk to her about it, she insisted she was fine.

Now Freddie stared at the inspector with a strange mixture of hostility and interest.

“We were just leaving, actually,” Alex said in a bid to keep her sister from boring a hole into the man’s forehead.

Freddie didn’t even look at her. “And what are you doing here?”

The question sounded much more like an accusation, yet the inspector appeared entirely unbothered. “I had some information for your sister. And I was invited,” he added, arching a brow.

Alex and Lucien exchanged a look, but he seemed just as bewildered as she was.

“May I speak with you privately?” Freddie asked.

Alex was certain the man would deny her, but just before the silence could grow even more excruciating, the inspector nodded. Just once.

Freddie didn’t wait a minute longer and strode toward the hallway.

Alex frowned as the inspector trailed after her. “I have half a mind to follow them.”

“Oh, let them be,” Lucien said. “The house is full of people. And the inspector is a good man. He wouldn’t do anything improper.”

“It isn’t him I’m worried about,” Alex replied.

But Lucien only chuckled. “If you interfere now, it will only prolong the inevitable. You must let them work it out themselves. Whatever it may be,” he added.

Alex turned to him then. “I suppose you’re right.”

“You don’t say that very often,” Lucien said with a grin as he led her toward the coatroom. “Let that be the last word on it.”

Alex rolled her eyes even while she fought back a smile. “I suppose I can indulge you just this once.”

“And here I was hoping you would indulge me quite a bit more when we got home,” he said with a very obvious eyebrow waggle as he handed Alex her velvet cloak.

“You really are the most incorrigible man,” she said with a laugh. “If I had known you were like this, I might not have proposed to you.”

But her husband only grinned wider. “Oh, it is all because of you, my dear. You have been a terrible influence on me,” he said with a wink. “And don’t you ever think otherwise.”

“I might need a thorough demonstration of just how terrible,” Alex murmured as they walked down the long hall toward the front door.

“Well, I will be very happy to oblige you, madam,” he replied, tugging her closer to him. “As I am quite unable to deny you a thing.”

Alex turned to him then and pressed a hand to his jaw. “I think that is a particular malady we both suffer from.”

Lucien covered her hand with his own and kissed her palm while his eyes burned into hers. “Then we had better get home and hope the cure is a nice long stay in bed.”

Alex chuckled. “I don’t think there is a cure for this, my love.”

Lucien tucked her arm through his as they continued down the hall. “And thank heavens for that.”