Page 7 of Never Doubt I Love (Calloway #3)

When Olivia caught sight of Lord Alexander brooding on the other side of the Mansfields’ drawing room, she barely stopped herself from abandoning her current conversation to tell him just how much she appreciated his information from Almack’s. It had been two days since she had seen the man, and she felt inordinately eager to speak to him again. Perhaps, if Lucy had not been hanging on to her arm, she might not have managed to keep her feet in place like she did.

If only this conversation were more stimulating. Olivia had not said a word since being introduced to Lord and Lady Mansfield. She glanced at Lord Alexander again, wondering whether he had chosen to stand at the edge of the room on his own or the other guests were avoiding him. This was the first time she had seen the man without his brother, the duke, and he seemed uncomfortable.

He looked up, meeting her eyes for half a second before turning his gaze back to the floor.

“Who is that?” Lucy asked in a whisper.

Olivia hoped her blush was not as bright as it felt. “Someone I met at Almack’s.”

“I wish I could have come with you. I have always wondered what Almack’s is like.”

Olivia smiled. “Not worth your time. I honestly wish I had the excuse of a baby on the way to give me a reason to avoid it.”

“And how are you enjoying the Season?” Lady Mansfield said, pulling Olivia’s attention back to the group.

She brightened. This was a subject she could speak about. “Oh, it has been wonderful, my lady. London is so full of life, and I have made so many friends since my arrival.”

Lady Mansfield nodded, fanning herself with some measure of exuberance. “And what of suitors? I have heard you are quite the diamond of the first water.”

“Yes, well, I believe Society is prone to exaggeration, Lady Mansfield.”

“Nonsense! Every eligible gentleman in the room has been keeping his eye on you since you arrived, hoping to be the one to accompany you in to supper. Why, I have never seen so many men after one prize, though I suppose your dowry does make you quite a catch.”

It was supposed to be a compliment, or so Olivia hoped, but it only made her stomach sour. Unless Lady Mansfield was overestimating the interest of the room, Olivia would be fending off fortune hunters all evening. It was a shame, considering she could name at least three young ladies in the room who had plenty to offer a man. True, they did not have thirty thousand pounds, but there was more to life than money. Surely she was not the only person in the world who thought so.

Glancing around the room, Olivia found herself growing more and more frustrated with each man she saw. Lady Mansfield seemed to be right about their interest, but Olivia knew none of them. Therefore, she had no idea what to expect from tonight’s dinner party. If only she could steer them away as easily as she had done Mr. Ladner yesterday. One mention of how much time she spent in the stables back home, and Mr. Ladner had picked up the pace and walked them through the park at an exhilarating speed to get her home quickly.

An idea sparked to life, and she turned her gaze to Lord Alexander again.

As if he felt her stare, he looked up, one brown eyebrow lifting slightly higher than the other. When Olivia smiled, he returned a frown, but then his eyes traveled the room, lingering on each of the men as if he could read her thoughts. When he met her eye once more, his expression was full of reluctance, but then he pushed off the wall he had been leaning against and slowly made his way across the room.

It was quite a sight, the way he managed to pull everyone’s attention his way without trying. Perhaps no one else had ever seen him among Society without the duke, and they were just as interested in his attendance as Olivia was. He ignored them all, keeping his eyes fixed on her until he reached their little gathering.

“Lord Calloway,” he said, his voice soft as he bowed his head to Simon.

Simon gestured to Lucy. “Lord Alexander, this is my wife, Lady Calloway.”

Lucy sank into a curtsy, her hold on Olivia’s arm tightening. She was even more out of her depth in Society than Olivia was, as she had been a governess during her adult life until she married Simon.

“It is a pleasure,” Lord Alexander said, giving Lucy a polite smile before turning his attention to Olivia. “Miss Calloway.”

Olivia’s body hummed under his gaze, though she could hardly explain why. Perhaps it was simply how handsome he was that affected her; he seemed to have grown more attractive in the two days since she’d spoken with him at Almack’s. His dark hair curled around his ears, the wavy locks resting somewhere between mussed and tamed, and his sharp jaw gave him an authoritative appearance, though he did not quite have his brother’s commanding presence. Despite his eyes, almost gray, piercing her with their intensity, everything about him was soft.

She had never seen anyone like him.

“Olivia?” Lucy whispered.

She blinked, realizing belatedly that Lord Alexander had spoken her name. She dropped into a hasty curtsy that nearly pulled Lucy down with her. “Forgive me, Lord Alexander,” she said, keeping her head low to hide her blush. “I was lost in thought.”

Lord Alexander offered a brief smile, some amusement lurking in the expression, before he focused on Lord and Lady Mansfield. “Again, my apologies that my brothers could not be in attendance this evening.” Olivia may have imagined it, but he did not seem sorry in the least. “His Grace had some important matters to attend to.”

Lady Mansfield, who had turned quite red as soon as Lord Alexander started speaking, fanned herself more vigorously. “We are simply pleased that you, at least, could grace us with your presence, my lord.”

“Have you many acquaintances here?” Olivia asked, hoping he would understand her meaning.

Lord Alexander sent a sweeping glance over the room, as if he had not already examined the other guests. “A few. I know some better than others.”

“Well,” Lady Mansfield said brightly, “is that not what a dinner party is for? To gain better acquaintances? I do hope His Grace will be able to join us next time.”

Rather brief again, his smile contained little genuine happiness. “As do I, Lady Mansfield. Miss Calloway, would you permit me to take you on a turn about the room? Perhaps we may compare our acquaintances until dinner is announced.”

Olivia gladly took his arm, though Simon stepped forward, as if thinking he might join them. Thankfully, Lucy held him back with a smile, allowing Lord Alexander to lead Olivia across the room without anyone to eavesdrop.

“Thank you for thinking of a way to extricate us from Lady Mansfield,” Olivia said as soon as they were out of earshot of the woman in question.

“I have my suspicions that is not the only assistance you wanted from me,” Lord Alexander replied. He was frowning again, his eyes dropping to Olivia’s hand on his arm. “I am uncertain what service I might provide to you, Miss Calloway, but you did seem overwhelmed.”

“What do you know of the gentlemen here?” Olivia smiled at one of the men as they passed, a giggle threatening to break free when the man scowled at Lord Alexander. Whoever he was, jealousy was not a good look on him.

“I know a good deal about many men,” Lord Alexander replied. “Is there anything in particular you wish to know?”

“Your insight into Mr. Ladner’s character proved to be most helpful yesterday. Something like that?”

Ah, there was the man’s smile. Olivia was beginning to think it was not something easily won.

“You wish to drive away all of your suitors? You are peculiar among women, Miss Calloway.”

“Not all of them. Only those who will not see beyond my dowry.”

He chuckled. “Do you think so poorly of my sex?”

“I am certain most of these men are of good character,” she argued. “But, as you hinted the other night, dowries like mine seem to make men blind. You see there, in the corner?” She lowered her voice to avoid being heard. “Lady Amelia and Miss Woodard are both such wonderful women, and yet no gentlemen have taken notice of them at all. Miss Woodard, in fact, has the most beautiful voice and an incredible kindness, and any man would be lucky to have her for a wife. But, see, even when you have claimed my arm, they only look at me.”

Olivia resisted a shudder. She knew she sounded vain, but it was the truth. “I have dreams of a happy marriage, just as any young lady does, but I am more than my brother’s money. Do you see?”

He examined her for a moment until they came to a pause not far from Lady Amelia. “Are you aware of what you are asking of me, Miss Calloway?”

Olivia grinned. “I am asking you to help me navigate the ton , to which I am a painfully new addition.”

“You are asking me to divulge character flaws of my peers, which may hurt their chances with a beautiful, albeit wealthy, female.”

Olivia hummed, thinking over his words. He was right, but she could not get past the idea that he thought her beautiful. There was also the notion that he seemed to find her wealth a flaw rather than an enticement, something she felt deep in her chest. While it was true they hardly knew each other, he had yet to give her any sign that he might be interested in courting her, which made the mystery around him all the more intriguing. There were so many reasons that could explain his disinterest.

Perhaps he thought her beneath him. The brother of a duke, after all, was far loftier than the sister of a baron. Or he found her unappealing? No, he had called her beautiful. Perhaps, then, it was her personality that did not interest him, even though he had chosen to approach her tonight. The other explanation was that he had already found his other half and therefore did not have a heart to give away.

Not that Olivia considered him a possibility to begin with. She hardly knew him well enough to think they might make a match.

“Do you not wish to help me?” she asked, lifting one eyebrow. To her brothers, the expression was always a challenge they could not resist, but she was not certain how Lord Alexander would see it.

His lips twitched as he studied her carefully. “I did not say that.”

“But you are worried about speaking of others,” she guessed. “I would not call it gossip, per se. It is educational.”

“Educational,” he repeated. “You think learning that Mr. Keller is afraid of dancing is educational?”

Olivia’s hold on his arm tightened, as if that might keep her from laughing. “He is afraid of dancing? The poor soul.” That did not necessarily make him unsuitable, however, and she almost hoped she would get the chance to meet the man at a ball so she could help him face his fears without judgment.

Lord Alexander’s eyes brightened as he watched her. “He also proposed to three different women last Season, all of them with dowries over five thousand pounds.”

“Ah. I take it none of them agreed to his suit?”

He shook his head and glanced around the room, eyes resting on Simon for a moment. “I suppose I could share any information you may find relevant. Although, I am not sure why you would trust me when you barely know me.”

If she was being honest with herself, Olivia had not even considered the idea that she should not trust him. From the moment she’d run into him at the park, he had done nothing but intrigue her. “You seem to have a good heart, my lord.”

To Olivia’s surprise, that seemed to confuse him, pulling his eyebrows low and dousing whatever light had been behind his eyes. “You cannot know that,” he said, almost too quietly for her to hear.

Olivia gave his arm a squeeze. “I like to think I am an excellent judge of character, Lord Alexander. You have given me no reason to think I am wrong.”

“Yet.” He clenched his jaw, shaking his head. “I do not mean... I would never wish you harm, Miss Calloway. I am simply warning you that associating with me may not... end well.”

Olivia believed he spoke in earnest, and yet all she could think about was how much this man must have gone through to think she would be better off without knowing him. This was twice now that he’d suggested she not allow him into her life, and that only made her all the more inclined to befriend him.

“Perhaps you and I were meant to be friends, Lord Alexander,” she said, smiling up at him. “I do not know yet how I can help you in exchange for your invaluable knowledge of the ton , but I will find something.”

She seemed to have rendered him speechless, though several different emotions passed through his eyes as he stared at her. Finally, just before Lord Mansfield announced that dinner was ready, Lord Alexander leaned close and said gently, “There is nothing I need, Miss Calloway, but I will help you. However I can.”

Olivia believed he would. But there was no conceivable world in which he needed nothing, and she was determined to learn everything she could about Lord Alexander Bailey, if only to discover his deepest wishes and dreams and try to make at least one of them come true.