“What do you mean by ‘out of the question,’ mother?”

Alexandra Beddoes narrowed her eyes at the woman that stood before her now, quietly chuckling into her half-opened book. “By ‘out of the question,’ I mean that it is out of the question,” the older woman murmured, clearly amused at the entire situation. She ignored her daughter’s clenched fists and rested her book back down upon her knee in a vain attempt to continue reading.

“Father has turned down every man that has come to this door to ask for my hand!” she groaned, placing herself without a trace of delicacy upon the nearest chair. The filmy pink fabric of her dress sunk around her curvy figure with more poise than the girl herself could have accounted for. She rested her chin upon her hand and stared defiantly at the entrance to the drawing room. “He sent William off straight away!”

Her mother gave a pained sigh and shut her book. “That is because he never liked the fellow, Alexandra. You know that. Why on Earth did you let the poor boy think he’d get your father’s permission?”

“I made him think no such thing!”

This was entirely false. The previous night at the opera had held more than a few whispered promises on Alexandra’s part. While she felt little to nothing for this duke’s son, it was better to be an unhappy duchess than a happily married peasant. To be truthful, she had never once felt any soft feelings toward the men that she’d convinced to ask for her hand. The act of persuasion was really all too easy for her. She mentioned her dowry using such words as immense and colossal, even titanic on the rare occasion. She adjusted her bodice for a nice exhibition of her décolleté. She kissed them on the mouth. And then, in a gust of adulation and perfume, she was off again.

Most women would feel badly about doing such horrible things to young men. However, there was no sport in falling in love. If one was to have any fun, there was a certain amount of heartbreak involved, preferably on the opposing side so that there be no need to reapply ones makeup.

“I watched him come in and head straight back to your father’s study. I’ve never seen him with so much confidence. Either he had been lied to or he honestly thought he had a chance.” Beatrice stressed the underlying accusation of Alexandra’s dishonesty before opening her book again and narrowing her eyes at it. The conversation was over.

“Oh, mama,” Alexandra mewed, reaching over to take her mother’s hand. “It is not my fault. Honest. I feel for William, yes, but not romantically. Perhaps he read too deeply into things.”

The door to the drawing room was opened and in walked Caroline, a smug grin on her face. Evidently, she had heard the news. Alexandra’s stomach churned at the very thought of what was to come. Mocking, no doubt, and much teasing. “I hardly think so,” she said off-handedly, seating herself down on the opposite side of the room. Alexandra’s half-sister fiddled with the tassel at the arm of the chair. “I have spoken in great lengths with William Newbury. Evidently, he was led on.”

The girls’ mother shut her book once more, this time with a victorious, “Aha!” She turned in her seat so that she could face Caroline. “What did he tell you, dear?”

Caroline’s watery blue eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment in Alexandra’s direction before her grin changed from a smug one to one that a wolf wore after spotting injured prey. She leaned forward, her fingers laced in her lap. “Last night, Alexandra promised him that her father would allow them to marry!”

“And who are you to believe, mother? The words of a broken-hearted teenager or that of your own flesh and blood?” There was the unmistakable taint of whining in her tone, and she averted her eyes, clearing her throat of it before continuing. “He was lying to you, Caroline.”

“Ah, yes,” Caroline giggled, “Because men routinely break down into tears and strip their souls to the half-sisters of women they were never deceived by.” She, too, cleared her throat, more politely than her sister had. “Believe what you wish, mother, but he was not lying!”

Alexandra groaned, uncrossing and crossing her ankles beneath the seat of the high-backed chair. “Now I see why father chose not to let him marry me,” she said distastefully. “He broke down into tears? Hah! He would be in constant shambles if he were forced to put up with me every day!”

The three women tried not to laugh at this, but they all failed. Alexandra giggled into her hand, honestly shocked at what had come out of her mouth. Caroline laughed because it was the most truthful thing her sister had ever said. Their mother was amused at finally realizing how ridiculous her daughters really were.

Their giggling had alerted Alexandra’s father, who entered the drawing room with a smile on his face. This was not unlike him, but it was a shock to see him in such good spirits after having another one of her suitors to visit. He sat next to his daughter and patted her on the arm. “Now, I say, what’s all this squawking about? Have you all finally turned into hens?”

“Oh, no, Raymond,” their mother said, dabbing at her eyes and trying her best not to begin again. “We were just laughing over your daughter’s charming men.”

Raymond Beddoes heaved a sigh. “Really, girl, you ought to wear more concealing clothes or something. This is getting outrageous.” Alexandra shot an amused look at him, and he chortled, patting her on the arm again. “Now, onto business!”

A collected groan from the three women caused Raymond’s ears to redden. “Father,” Alexandra chided. “It is hardly the hour of the day for business.”

“Then what hour is, my sweet?”

There was a fey smile at the corners of her full lips. “Why, there is none, of course!”

Caroline gave her sister a broad smile. “Well said, dear. Well said. Such cleverness could only come from your mouth and not have it smacked for insolence. If I said such a thing to your father, I’d be without dessert for a month!”

“Perhaps then you could fit into more fashionable dresses, sister,” Alexandra teased.

“To be called a London Tart like you? I should think not!”

The two girls began to laugh again, and their mother pressed her hand to her forehead. “If there is any business you wish to speak of, Raymond, I doubt you will be able to speak of it here. These two are being absurd.”

Raymond chuckled, more amused than annoyed. “That’s my girl,” he said quietly, squeezing Alexandra’s shoulder and leaning over the arm of the chair to give her a kiss on the cheek. Letting go of her, he grunted as he hoisted himself up onto his feet. “Come along, Madeleine. If these two wish not to hear about our new coachman, then so be it.”

Caroline’s blue eyes widened, as did Alexandra’s. “Ooh,” cooed their mother. “Is he handsome?” Raymond shot her a confused look and she tilted her head toward Alexandra as if to say, ‘Come on, dear, just go along with things.’

“I imagine that some would consider him so, but only if they enjoyed tall, strapping lads such as him.” He stopped for a moment to reconsider his words. “Actually, I should hardly call him a lad. He is nearly forty years old and twice my size. He could probably break me in two. Enormous hands, you see.”

With that, both Alexandra and Caroline stood from their chairs.

“The hour for business has arrived, father,” the blonde announced, lacing her fingers with his. Raymond kept chuckling. What he had done to deserve such a witty and charming daughter, he did not know. She smiled, nudging his arm with hers. “Now, onwards! I wish to meet this new coachman before I get too flushed.”

Caroline chuckled as they began to file out of the room, their mother taking up the rear and shutting the drawing room doors. “Too late.”

Gasping, Alexandra turned around. “Hush, you!”

“Oh, yes,” Madeleine sighed, rushing to keep up with the rest, “You two are sure to impress our new coachman with your striking good looks and delicate manners. Such ladies you two are.”

By the time the four of them had reached the back door of their apartment, where it opened out into the alleyway, Alexandra and Caroline were abuzz with excitement. However, Caroline’s buzzing was much tempered by the fact that he was sure to prefer her much younger sister. Thus, she had taken to assuage Alexandra’s excitement with realism.

“What if he’s fat? Your father said he was rather large,” she stated plainly.

Alexandra sighed a single word, “Muscular.”

“What if he has bushy eyebrows and a beard?”

“Better to tickle my face and thighs, sister.”

Caroline gasped, her cheeks flushing. She hoped to God that their mother did not hear her say that. “What if he smells like a horse?”

“What is a man if he does not smell of nature?”

“Poetic?” Caroline asked. “About a coachman? Shakespeare would be pleased.”

“Ah, Demitrius!” shouted Raymond as he hobbled down the few stairs that led to where they kept the carriage and the horses. Madeleine followed him, and the two girls followed her. Alexandra could not help but giggle at his name, trying her best not to poke Caroline in the side. Why not waste Shakespeare on a coachman named after one of the poet’s male characters?

However, her jeering victory was silenced when she rested her eyes upon the man. He had been leaning over, shoveling a bit of hay into the horse’s stall. Now, he straightened up, and Alexandra realized just exactly how large this man was. He was two heads taller than her and three times her width, four times near the shoulders. His skin was ruddy from being out in the sun and wrinkled near his forehead and mouth. She could tell from the restrained scowl at his lips that they were not happy lines.

And her father had not been lying about his hands. They were wide, with long, thick fingers. He wrung them out as he moved closer to them, trying his best to smile.

“Hello,” he greeted his new boss. His voice was rough, but not without intelligence. Alexandra felt urged to shut her eyes when she heard it. The two short syllables raked across her skin, giving her goosebumps and causing an unfamiliar fire to burn beneath her belly. “You have a good pair of horses, sir. A good pair.” He chuckled, and she nearly lost her breath.

Raymond nodded curtly, turning to his wife and daughters. “This is Madeleine, Demitrius, my lovely wife.” Madeleine nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Caroline to step forward. “This is Caroline, my step-daughter.” Caroline dipped down into a curtsey, raising her blue eyes to his.

“A pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said in a coy tone that none of the others gathered had ever heard before. He did not seem very taken with her, though, which caused Alexandra to smirk. No matter how coy she tried to be – this was war.

“And this is Alexandra, my jewel.”

Alexandra stepped forward, her heavy-lidded hazel eyes on his, watching for a sign of anything. When she curtseyed even lower than Caroline did, his eyes fell to her cleavage and there was a faint twist of something on his lips. She lifted herself back up slowly, extending her hand to his. He took it, and she felt his roughened fingertips on the delicate skin of her palm. She could not stop herself from imagining his work-hardened fingers roaming along the underside of her breasts, along the virgin skin of her belly, down to her… “Good afternoon, sir,” she stuttered, her cheeks aflame.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it as was proper. “And good afternoon to you, miss.”

Without knowing exactly what was happening, Alexandra’s mind began to swim and she sunk downwards, only to be caught in the strong arm of Demitrius. He bent at the hips and dipped his other arm beneath her knees, carrying her like a child. Her neck fell to the side, against his chest, and she smiled faintly up at him.

“What should I do with her?” he said as Caroline erupted into a bout of loud laughter, covering her mouth and nearly running back inside. Madeleine grinned, shaking her head, and Raymond nearly crossed himself as well. “Does she do this often?”

“Only when my hand is kissed by handsome men,” she whispered, her eyes still closed, before heaving a content sigh.