Jacyn corrected her firmly. “We are notplanningpractical jokes. I am trying todissuade youfrom doing any such thing. However, we were talking hypothetically about jokes thatmaybe funny, but which Willa has promised she would never, ever—”
Willa cut in. “That’s not fair! Grandmaman says that Ton Alex and Papa were awful to their tutors. So awful many of them quit! And papa says that you guys once got your governess lost in the maze and left her there for half a day!”
Alex chuckled. He’d forgotten that. “We’ve done worse. One time…” He went on to describe the kind of mischief that only two hyperactive young boys could devise. As he talked, he was aware of Jacyn’s admiring eyes on him, as well as Willa’s awestruck glee. He felt himself warm inside as he reconnected with the boy he used to be, back in a time when his brother was his friend, rather than the man who had stolen the only woman he would ever love.
“Papa!” Willa broke away from them and began streaking across the garden as Liam appeared at the top of the stone steps.
Immediately, Alex felt a chill bury itself deep in his bones. He didn’t want to see William again today.
Jacyn seemed to sense that something had gone wrong. Her eyes were upon his face, rimmed with concern. “Alex?”
Instead of answering, he slipped away, mumbling something about needing to get back to work, leaving her staring after him.
It wasn’t until much later that he returned to the château, having wandered around the grounds for a time before sequestering himself in his study. On instinct, he went first to Jacyn’s suite, hoping to ask her to have dinner together.
The moment he entered, he knew he’d stumbled upon something. Jacyn was on her phone, and it was on speaker. She was pacing like an angry leopard, tugging on one of her braids, while the loud, shrieking voice of the woman on the phone went on.
“Selfish is what you are, Jacyn. Selfish and jealous. You only want, want, want. You can’t even let your sister—”
“Step-sister!”
“You can’t even letyoursisterenjoy her engagement in peace!”
“What?” Jacyn’s voice was full of pain.
The woman—who Alex assumed was her stepmother—shrilled on. “You want me to believe that it was sheer coincidence that you suddenly get engaged to some stranger? As soon as you find out your sister’s finally happy? What was that? A joke? What are you using to bargain with? Are you paying this guy? Because nobody in their right mind would ever want to marry someone as plain and ordinary as you—”
Before he could even think about it, Alex was snatching up the phone, cursing in French. “Madame, my name is Alexandre Dubois, second son of the lateComte d'Ambly des Ayvelles. I am the fiancé of your stepdaughter. Your assumptions are grotesque and baseless, and I would advise you to immediately withdraw them. I assure you that my reach and power are great. If I ever hear of you speaking like this to the woman who will be my wife, both you will have me to contend with.”
He ended the call before the woman could say any more, and then wrapped his arms around Jacyn. He could feel her tremble with hurt and humiliation, so he whispered soothing words in her ear. “I will never let anyone hurt you, Jacyn. Never again.”
CHAPTER 13
“A PICNIC?”
Jacyn held up the packages with a proud grin. “I thought we’d do something different. Now that you’re confident enough in my riding that we can go off the property, we should celebrate.”
Alex took the bags from her and began to loosen the strings on one of them, but she smacked his hand away. “Nuh-uh. No peeking until it’s time to eat.”
“Maybe I’m hungry now,” he protested, but began to stuff the parcels into a set of specially made saddle bags that could be buckled to the saddles Brute and Orage were already wearing.
“Cry me a river,” she answered. “I had a hard enough time convincing Yvette to let me mess around in her kitchen to make this! You’ll eat when I say we eat.” She eased herself into the saddle, marveling at how quickly riding had become second nature.
Alex didn’t look the least bit put out.“Oui, mademoiselle.”
They rode off the family estate, enjoying the warmth of the early morning air, and the fields and roads unfolding before them. After some time, Jacyn decided it was time to say something. “I want to thank you.”
He cocked a brow at her. “For?”
“For what you said to Teresa the other night. I usually don’t have time for any of her crap, but for some reason, she was just getting to me. You know?”
“I know.” After a moment’s silence, he added, “I don’t want you to think it’s just you. You aren’t alone; every family has its drama. Including mine.”
She waited, dying with curiosity. Was Alex going to disclose to her the quandary between himself, Liam, and Sofia?
Instead, he began to tell her about his father. “He wasn’t a nice person, Jacyn. He loved power and control, and that extended to his sons. Liam and I grew up as friends, but our father believed that pitting us against each other in everything, from academics to finances to our personal lives, would make us better men.”
“That’s awful,” she said sympathetically.