Alex felt admiration burst in her chest. For all her frustrating qualities, her mother certainly was a remarkable hostess. For the second time that night, she felt very proud to be a Stafford... and very honored to have received an invitation to this particular gathering.
eleven
After dinner, the guests adjourned to the music room, where the conversation continued, and they were able to mingle with each other. Despite her intense enjoyment of her dinner companions, Alex was particularly happy to be able to ensconce herself in a corner of the room with Vivi and Ella — whom she'd missed during the meal.
"I've heard about these dinners for years." Vivi spoke in a hushed voice but was unable to keep the excitement from her tone. "But I never imagined they would be so..."
"Different from every other event we've ever attended or been prepared for?" Alex finished for her friend. "I know! Imagine how you would feel if the dinner were hosted by your parents. I'm barely able to recognize them! How was your company?"
Vivi replied, "I was seated with Lucian Sewell, Blackmoor's uncle, and the dowager duchess. He was quiet but charming, and she was positively outrageous! You wouldn't believe the things she's willing to say!"
Looking across the room, Alex watched as the aged character in question swatted Ella's father with the tip of her ever-present walking stick. She pointed out the interaction to the other girls and said, "Oh... I think we can imagine."
Ella laughed at her father's indignation. "I hope you didn't upset her, Vivi — I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that stick."
"I have been on the end of that stick," Alex said. "It's as pointy as you'd imagine. But it doesn't compare to the scolding you receive as part of your punishment for perceived slights."
She hunched over and raised the pitch of her voice, mimicking the old woman — sending the other two girls into gales of laughter at her eerily accurate impression. The laughter drew the attention of the rest of the room and an oddly knowing look from the Dowager Duchess of Lockwood herself.
"Uh-oh..." Alex gave her friends a sheepish look, making them both snicker. "I've a feeling I've been caught."
A masculine voice interrupted them. "You've definitely been caught — I've received that look one or two times myself. Prepare yourself for a deafening set-down the next time she's got you in earshot."
She turned to Blackmoor. "She’ll have to catch me first."
"Don't let the cane fool you. She's decidedly fleet-footed when she wants to be." Then Blackmoor spoke to the trio. "I've been sent by the duchess and countess to separate the three of you. Your mothers evidently don't trust you to stay out of trouble."
Vivi chuckled. "Unfortunately, they appear to be right. And not alone. My father is looking equally concerned — I seem to be caught as well." She continued, "I suppose I'm going to have to go make amends. Would anyone like to join me?"
Ella grinned. "I’ll come. After all, your father is far less likely to give us a scolding than my mother is at the moment."
Left alone, Alex turned to Blackmoor and with mock accusation, "Well, you certainly ruined that fun, my lord."
With a short bow, he responded, "It's a particular gift of mine. Would a turn about the room provide you with any entertainment?"
She took the offered arm and answered casually, "I suppose that if I have to take a turn about the room with someone, you're better than most."
"Your ability to flatter is absolutely mind-reeling, Lady Alexandra."
"It's a particular gift of mine, my lord."
He laughed at her use of his own words. "I noticed you were having a good time at dinner. You seemed to be participating in a very exciting conversation."
"I was lucky to be seated with fascinating company. If a little surprised by the entire experience."
"Surprised?"
"I suppose I never imagined my parents to be so different as hosts from how they are as parents. It's silly, really. I mean, of course, they have lives beyond their children."
His voice grew serious. "It's not silly, Alex. It's never easy to discover your parents are more than they seem."
Alex sensed they were talking about something more than the evening at hand. Noticing they had come upon the entrance to the terrace that overlooked the back gardens, she recognized the possibility for a private conversation and said, "I find I am a little warm. Do you mind escorting me outside?"
He gave her a slightly surprised look but nodded in agreement, and they moved through the open glass doors into the cool London night.
They were not alone on the balcony, however, for they found themselves interrupting the Baron Montgrave and Lucian Sewell, who were deep in conversation.
"There is nothing to do." Lucian spoke quietly.
"There is everything!" the baron replied, his voice louder, more excited.
That was all they overheard before the men became aware of their presence and Blackmoor spoke, "Apologies, Uncle. Baron. We did not mean to interrupt." He made a move to turn Alex away from the conversation and return inside, when his uncle spoke.
"No need for apologies. The baron and I were just talking about the war" — he turned toward his nephew with a half smile — "and frankly, you've saved me from some embarrassment."
"I was merely discussing the remarkable part your uncle has played in the war, Lord Blackmoor," the baron added without looking away from Sewell.
Lucian tipped his head in a manner Alex recognized as affected humility. "Baron Montgrave exaggerates. I am hardly the hero he makes me out to be."
"Not so. I assume your uncle has kept silent about his actions over the last few years, Lord Blackmoor. I can only hope that someday you will ask him to enlighten you about his... exploits."
Lucian shook his head and met the eyes of the baron, Alex noticed. His next words were directed at the Frenchman. "My nephew need not hear of my past, Baron. It is just that. The past." Offering a short bow to Alex, he continued, "Lady Alexandra, a pleasure as always. I think I shall return inside."
With that, Sewell took his leave, the baron quick on his heels, leaving Blackmoor and Alex on the terrace with the cool night breeze around them.
Alex had the distinct feeling that the conversation they had witnessed had been weightier than it seemed... although she couldn't quite discern why she felt so. Shaking off her thoughts, she looked for a way to lighten the moment for Blackmoor, who seemed lost in his own reverie.
"Well. They certainly were an unconventional pair."
Looking off into the darkened garden, Gavin murmured his agreement. "My uncle seems to col ect companions who don't quite fit him." Distractedly, he continued, "As I was saying... it's not uncommon to discover that your elders are somewhat different from how they seem. My uncle Lucian exemplifies that point."
"Your time together has not changed that?"
Blackmoor gave a little laugh. "Not in the slightest. He is as much a mystery now as he was when I was a boy — only now..." He trailed off.
Alex meant to let the silence hang until he was ready to say more. Truly, she did. But, unfortunately, she couldn't help herself. "Now?"
He stayed quiet, and she thought he might ignore her question — so far away he was from this moment, this night. Just when she was about to change the subject, he spoke quietly. "Now he is the only link I have to my father. And, much as I try, I can't seem to find any of my father in him. And I wouldn't be surprised if he said the very same thing of me."
"Why do you say that?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. Once the question was spoken, she qualified it almost immediately. "Not seeing your father in him — I understand that — they are markedly different men, to be sure. But why do you say that he must do the same?"