Page 18 of One Jewel-tide Scandal (Singular Sensation #10.5)
With a happy woof, Charlie immediately ran to the door and then pelted into the corridor.
“I believe we are about to have our answer,” Alexander said as he stood aside and let her exit the room before him.
“Let us hope it’s a good surprise instead of a troubling one.” Even still, there was a bit of excitement that accompanied the chase as they followed the dog as he raced down the stairs.
Charlie didn’t stop. In fact, he darted into the library. Only two candles burned in the room, one on the mantel and the other on a desk in the corner, both in brass holders, for it wasn’t uncommon for either her or Alexander to wander into that room in the evenings to read.
It was also the room that Cleo enjoyed when she wanted privacy and peace.
“Well, show us what you found, boy,” the baron crooned to his dog, and his voice sounded overly loud in the silence of the room.
With a woof, Charlie trotted across the room, weaving his way between the furniture groupings until he reached the window alcove that was partially obscured by draperies.
“Oh, that is where Cleo goes when she doesn’t wish to be bothered.”
“Let’s see why she doesn’t want to be bothered right now.
” Alexander swiftly arrived at the window seat and then drew back the draperies until a velvet cushion was revealed—a fitting throne for a cat the likes of Cleo.
Except the feline wasn’t reclining on that cushion.
She was standing with her back to them while peering out the window.
“Dear Lord,” Charlotte breathed as the dim illumination reflected on what was cluttering the surface of the cushion.
“My necklace.” The diamonds glittered and gleamed coldly in the light.
“And, what is all this?” Gingerly moving the necklace aside, she gasped.
“The other items that have gone missing.” The housekeeper’s reading glasses, the pen from her desk in the morning room, the butler’s pocket watch chain, a stick pin Stuart had lost ages ago with an emerald head. “Cleo, did you take all of this?”
The cat glanced backward at Charlotte, and with an expression of no remorse only felines could give, she licked a forearm and then daintily jumped from the window seat and eventually left the room.
“It seems we have discovered your thief,” Alexander said with a measure of humor in his voice. He ruffled the fur on Charlie’s head and gave both ears a decent scratch. “Good boy, Charlie, for ferreting out Queen Cleo’s secret life.”
The beagle barked twice in succession as if he were telling them it was about time they paid attention to what he was trying to say. Then, since his mission had been completed, the dog ran from the room in pursuit of something else equally exciting, no doubt.
“Oh, dear.” With a tight chest, Charlotte turned to the baron. “I owe you an apology for accusing you of stealing the necklace.” What he must think of her!
“It’s forgotten. Perhaps because it’s Christmastide, Cleo will let me pet her for once later.
” When Charlotte said nothing, he reached down and plucked the diamond necklace from the cat’s ill-gotten gains.
It glittered like mad in the candlelight.
Out the window, it had stopped snowing, and the clouds must have begun to clear, for starshine glittered on the snow as if the ground were blanketed with millions of tiny diamonds instead of frozen precipitation. The whole scene was beyond gorgeous.
“I should have known you would never have stolen the necklace,” she whispered and kept her gaze carefully on the snow outside.
“Hush, Countess.” Alexander moved and positioned himself behind her. Then he slipped the necklace around her neck. “Perhaps now you can feel more secure,” he whispered, and the warmth of his breath steamed her nape as he fumbled with the clasp.
“Oh, I…” In that moment, when her emotions bubbled to the surface and ran rampant through her chest and heart, Charlotte trembled.
Perhaps her maid had been correct because finding the diamond necklace and knowing the baron had been the height of honorable this whole time only confirmed what she’d felt for him from the start.
Turning to face Alexander, she sighed. There was no sense in denying it any longer.
“I don’t need diamonds to feel that, for I’ve found an uncommon safety and protection with you.
” She swallowed to encourage moisture into her suddenly dry throat; her nerves crawled, for it made her vulnerable to say such things to a man she barely knew and who might not feel the same. “It is difficult to explain.”
“I believe I understand exactly what you are trying to say.” The emotions that crossed his face were a miracle, and they affected her to the point that tears welled in her eyes.
“Do you truly mean that, though? This isn’t being overly influenced by the holiday or the relief of finding your necklace? ”
It was a fair question. “Yes, I mean it, and it comes straight from my heart.” Needing to touch him, she laid a palm on his chest as she peered up at him.
“There is something about you that calls to me, that makes me feel as if I was always meant to be here, with you, on this night of miracles, and I still can’t explain it.
” Her voice broke; that was how emotional she felt, and she might as well confess the rest. “It’s as if I’ve been waiting…
for you.” A tear slipped to her cheek. “And here you are, even when you wouldn’t be if the storm hadn’t happened. ”
“Or if I’d left at an earlier or later time,” he finished in an equally choked voice.
“Exactly.”
Emotions flitted through his expression, but the reflection in his eyes was the most glorious thing she’d ever seen. He went from shock to realization and finally landed on awe with… dare she think it… love hard on the heels of that. “Ah, Charlotte, this is the best news I have ever heard.”
“Are you certain? It’s far too fast, don’t you think? And I—”
The lovely man didn’t answer her with words.
Instead, he tugged her into his arms and set out to apparently kiss her senseless.
And it was glorious! So much so, she looped her arms about his shoulders and returned those kisses with a vigor and ardor that matched his.
Just as she was breathless and trembling with a need that had been denied for far too long, Alexander pulled slightly away from her.
“To answer your question, yes, this has come on unusually quickly, but some things in life are like that.” Then he paused merely to kiss her again.
“Suffice it to say, each time I’m in your company, I feel as if I have finally come home after years of wandering, of chasing something I had no idea I wanted. ”
“Oh, Alexander, that is so romantic.” Her heartbeat accelerated. Anticipation twisted down her spine. “What should we do now?”
“First, I am going to lead you over to the nearest sofa,” he said in a whisper as he took her hand and did just that.
“And then, if you are of the same mind, I am going to slowly remove that wonderful gown and keep going until you are beautifully naked beneath me—except for that necklace—and we shall see what happens after that.”
“Oh, dear.” Dozens of butterflies took flight in her lower belly, and she gave in to a shiver.
The courage and daring she should have shown in her marriage came bubbling through her chest, and she smiled.
“I am most definitely of the same mind.” Then she threw herself into his waiting embrace, lifted on her toes, and then shamelessly kissed him.
Worries about the future could wait until tomorrow. In this one perfect moment, she finally understood what it felt like to be wanted and appreciated in all the ways that mattered.
And she couldn’t wait to see where it led.