Page 15 of The Marquess’ Disguised Heiress (Love and Secrets of the Ton #13)

The moment Eliza walked back into the kitchen, her confused blue eyes searching for him, Alexander knew he had been right. While coming downstairs, she had seen him disappear into the passageway, but gauging the situation quickly, Alexander had returned to the kitchen before she could.

All he needed to do was behave as if nothing had happened because the relief on her face was enough to tell him that she did not think it was him in the house.

After all, according to Eliza, he was just a stable boy named George who had no reason to snoop around the Russel house.

Besides, he had already found what he needed. After excusing himself from the kitchen, Alexander had quickly made his way directly towards Edgar’s study, completely shocked at what he had found out. The documents he had needed were lying in plain sight right in the bottom drawer of Edgar’s desk, waiting for Alexander.

The papers clearly stated how Edgar’s sole finances were being met through Eliza’s inheritance, along with a copy of the late duke’s will, which stated how everything belonged to his daughter, except for what legally went to the new heir.

It even contained the deeds to all properties, which mentioned how the country estate went to the heir as per legal rights, but the London estate belonged to Eliza. Moreover, bank details, which mentioned Edgar stealing Eliza’s inheritance, were also included.

Even though those documents were more than enough, Alexander still needed more proof to make sure the Russel family was properly held accountable for their crimes. And for that, he would need to wait a little longer.

He had been tempted to steal the documents right then, but that might raise too many questions. For now, he was simply glad about finding them so he would be able to use them later when the time was right.

The fact that Edgar had not even bothered to hide those documents was evidence of how careless the man was, comfortable enough to think that no one was on the verge of discovering the truth behind his money.

Edgar certainly believed that his sin of stealing his niece’s inheritance would never be found out, but Alexander was not going to let this go.

He would make the Russels pay.

“George.” Eliza came to stand beside him, her smile intact. The faint scent of flowers, which always lingered about her, filled his senses, making him heady with desire for her.

“Beth.” He smiled back, nodding.

He had not failed to notice Eliza’s growing affection towards him or at least towards George.

Whenever Amelia had tried to come close to him, he had been able to see the anger and jealousy on Eliza’s face, even when she was trying to do an excellent job at hiding it. She had failed miserably before him, warming his heart towards her even more.

“The games are over?”

“Yes.” Alexander nodded, not breaking eye contact. “The family must be about to return. Dinner time is almost over.”

“You are right.” She blushed, quickly looking away. He had noticed how she could never hold eye contact with him, her shyness setting his heart aflutter.

“I must head back before someone discovers I have been gone too long.” he placed the glass of ale in his hand back on the counter before turning towards Eliza, “Mind walking me out?”

“I would love to.”

Alexander quickly said goodbye to everyone else present, finally making his way outside the kitchen, where Eliza was already waiting for him. He was glad she had still not mentioned anything about seeing him inside the house, making him sure that she must have believed it to be a hallucination.

He did not want her to think that George could be snooping around the house, trying to steal something, because it would surely ruin her relationship and trust in George.

That was the last thing Alexander wanted.

“I had a really good time today, Beth,” he finally spoke, breaking the silence, “thank you so much for letting me come and making me feel so welcome with everyone.”

“I did nothing.” She glanced at him, appearing beautiful in the moonlight. “You are warm, kind, and friendly, and everyone was simply drawn by your aura. You truly know how to charm people, George, just the way you have charmed me.”

“I have charmed you?” He raised an eyebrow at her, unable to control the smirk on his lips.

To his surprise, Eliza rolled her eyes before she burst out laughing and began to shake her head as if she had just now realized what she had said.

He stopped walking just then after reaching the footpath between the two estates, exactly where Eliza had come to pick him up in the evening. He had definitely been looking forward to this night, and he couldn’t believe it was over this quickly.

“So, you haven’t answered me yet. I have charmed you?”

“Your home is right here. You must immediately head back,” she replied sheepishly, evading his question.

“Oh no, I must get my answer first.” He came a little closer to her, only a few inches between them. He could see her sharp intake of breath at the closeness, not wanting to pull away at all.

“Which answer might that be?”

“Beth, have I charmed you?” he almost whispered, realizing their closeness.

“You might have.” She shrugged, finally looking into his eyes.

A loud gust of wind breezed past them, a wisp of Eliza’s beautiful golden hair falling on her face. Without thinking about what he was doing, Alexander pushed away the strand from her face, lightly tucking it behind her ear as he stared deeply into her eyes.

Everything about her was beautiful, from head to toe, and he simply couldn’t get enough. He traced his thumb over her soft, pink cheek, a slight tremble running through her body. The two of them were so close that her breath fanned his hand, but Alexander still didn’t pull away, wanting to savour the moment.

“Really?” he whispered, his hands cupping the sides of her face. He pulled her face upwards, making her look at him, and leaned down slightly until the breath that had been on his palm only moments ago was now on his face.

The coldness of the night made him enjoy the warmth of Eliza’s skin, not wanting to pull away. Her eyes were already closed, and Alexander knew she was expecting a kiss. He closed his eyes, their lips just inches away from one another’s, and even though Alexander knew he shouldn’t be doing this, he had no desire to pull away when he was this close.

“BETH!”

As if waking up from a trance, the two of them immediately parted, Alexander almost cursing under his breath. He turned to look, noticing Amelia standing just a few feet away, her eyes on them.

“BETH! It’s late, let’s head back!” she shouted again.

“Coming!” Eliza replied, raising her hand to indicate she had heard her friend.

Alexander wanted to strangle Amelia for ruining their perfect moment, but a part of him was relieved.

He knew this was not the right time to let his feelings for Eliza come to the surface, especially when she did not even know the truth about his identity. He could not let his feelings for her ruin his plans to bring the truth to the surface.

All he needed to do was wait for a little while.

“Good night, Beth.”

“Good night, George.” She smiled at him, her blue eyes shining underneath the moon.

Waiting was indeed the right decision. He wanted to kiss her when she knew he was Alexander, her childhood best friend. He wanted her to know the complete truth rather than keep her in the dark.

She waved at him, beginning to walk away, as he stood there waiting until Eliza had completely disappeared in the darkness of the gardens. All he needed was a little more information to reveal the truth about the Russel family, and after that, he would make sure that he and Eliza were never separated.