Chapter 1284 First Meeting, Pretending to Be a Lady

Chapter 1284 First Meeting, Pretending to Be a Lady

"Grandma, if you keep teasing me like that, I'm going to die of embarrassment."

Victoria instinctively glanced at the man walking beside her. She'd assumed he would slip away to take care of something once they returned — so finding him still there caught her off guard, and the blush that crept up her cheeks was entirely real.

"I'm not teasing you one bit. I see a beautiful, bright young woman standing right in front of me, and I simply want to introduce her to my favorite grandson. That's all."

Victoria went quiet after that. The man beside her hadn't said a word, and her parents were trailing just a few steps behind.

She didn't even need to turn around to know her mother's eyes were drilling into the back of her head.

"If Victoria were to marry Alexander, the bond between our two families would only grow stronger. I can't think of anything more wonderful."

Arabella walked with Victoria's mother, arm in arm, their voices soft and warm.

"Oh, listen to you. She's nowhere near lucky enough for that — besides, you know how I am. She's my one and only. There's no way I'm letting her stay behind when we go back home."

"Of course. I understand completely."

Arabella said it with a smile, and she meant it.

Victoria was the most precious thing in her parents' world. They had built their life abroad, and the thought of leaving her behind — of Victoria staying here without them — was something neither of them could bear.

When the elders settled in to chat, Alexander took a seat nearby and listened quietly. Victoria sat just as obediently beside her mother — though, to be fair, her mother had pulled her over, clearly not about to let her wander anywhere near him unsupervised.

"If sitting here with us old folks is making you two restless, go on and explore. Alexander, why don't you show Victoria around the house?"

Eloise let the suggestion drop at just the right moment, her tone light but deliberate.

Once Eloise spoke, Victoria's parents had little room to object.

Alexander rose with the easy, unhurried air of someone simply going along with the plan: "Of course. Mr. and Mrs. Kensington, I'll take Victoria on a quick tour."

He was careful to address her parents directly — a small but deliberate courtesy that didn't go unnoticed. With the Harrington family elders right there watching, Victoria's parents gave a quiet nod and said nothing more.

Good manners in a young man were always a point in his favor. Still —

Victoria's mother's expression, if anyone had looked closely, said something else entirely.

What she wanted was simple: her daughter, close to home, with a husband who lived just down the road.

At that moment, though, she hadn't entirely made up her mind about the young man her daughter had been paired with.

Alexander walked her through the ground floor for less than ten minutes before guiding her toward a staircase at the far end of the hall. "Come on."

Victoria tipped her head back and looked up at the long stretch of steps, then looked at him. "Where are we going?"

"I'll show you the rest of the house."

He met her eyes steadily, his expression open and unhurried — and yet —

Something in the way he looked at her made it impossible for Victoria to think straight.

There was a saying: when two people start to feel something for each other, they just know. Some kind of quiet, unspoken current passes between them.

But still —

A man like him must have no shortage of beautiful women around him. So the odds that he would happen to find her interesting — genuinely interesting — seemed almost too convenient.

Not that she had any doubts about herself. She knew her worth. But knowing it and being sure of him were two very different things.

"Victoria. What are you standing there thinking about?"

His voice pulled her back.

"What? Nothing — I'm coming, I'm right behind you."

She dropped her gaze and started up after him.

Alexander stayed where he was for just a moment, watching the flush spread across her face. He didn't say anything.

She was flustered. He could see it clearly.

He thought —

Surely she hadn't already fallen for him. Not this fast.

Victoria stepped past him and reached the top first, turning on the landing. Her skirt caught the air and swirled softly as she turned — and the movement pulled his eyes before he could stop it.

Alexander paused on the last step. He stared at the gentle swing of the fabric. The simplest cut imaginable — nothing remarkable about it at all. And yet, that one small motion did something to him he hadn't quite expected.

He stood there a beat longer than he should have before finally looking up.

Victoria was already watching him. When their eyes met, she spoke: "You go first."

"Together."

"Okay."

She heard that single word — together — and forgot to breathe.

She was almost afraid to. Afraid that if she exhaled, the moment would dissolve, and she'd realize it had never happened at all.

It didn't feel quite real.

Walking beside him didn't feel quite real either.

The hallway had gone strangely still. The staff who had been moving quietly through the house earlier had, without her noticing, disappeared entirely.

The two of them moved at an unhurried pace, side by side, with almost nothing said between them.

Alexander showed her a few of the guest rooms, then the private study where his grandfather practiced calligraphy.

Victoria wandered inside and looked around, but a creeping sense of trespassing came over her quickly. She didn't want to intrude on the family's personal space — and she certainly didn't want to make a poor impression on his grandparents. She turned to leave.

She nearly walked straight into him.

One look at his face and she felt her breath snag. She dropped her gaze immediately, clasping her hands behind her back, and said in a small, careful voice: "Should we — go back out?"

"Sure."

Alexander agreed. He didn't move.

After a moment, Victoria became very aware of the fact that staying in this hallway with him any longer might actually be the end of her. She was performing 'composed and ladylike,' and she knew it. In real life, she was the furthest thing from quiet — she was loud, she was expressive, she filled every room she walked into.

But right now —

She had no idea what kind of girl he was drawn to.

They stepped out together. Alexander stayed close, just as he had the whole time. When he reached back to pull the door shut, his arm brushed against her side — and he stilled. He held his breath for a moment, watching her face before he finally spoke: "You really don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Victoria registered the closeness before the question even registered. He was right there. She could smell his cologne — something cool and clean — and her mind had gone completely blank. She couldn't process a word he was saying.

Alexander studied her with an ease she envied. "I said — you really don't remember me?"

"No."

She held that in for a long moment, then lowered her head apologetically and walked quickly back into the room.

How could she remember?

She had been so young.

Her parents had mentioned him before — she knew that much — but she had absolutely nothing to go on. Not a single image, not even a feeling.

Though maybe that was for the best. Because if it was true — if he really had adored her the way her father once described, if he had spoiled her and looked after her back then — then her behavior today must have been a little mortifying.

She was never like this when she was away from home. She was good at saying what she felt, at meeting people where they were, at being herself.

She walked far enough to finally slow down — then turned back and realized she had put a considerable distance between them. She retraced her steps reluctantly. "Why are you still standing there?"

"I was thinking."

Alexander let out a short, quietly frustrated breath. Then he released the door handle and fell into step behind her. Because just a moment ago —

Just a moment ago, he had caught the faint, warm scent of her. Something distinctly, distractingly her.

"Oh."

Victoria almost asked what he was thinking about. Instead, she just said "oh" and kept walking.

He followed without effort, his longer stride making it almost effortless to keep pace. His eyes drifted down — her legs were right there in front of him, bare and unhurried, and he found himself staring before he could think better of it.

Victoria felt the atmosphere pressing in on her from every angle — charged and awkward in equal measure. She finally turned her head. "We should probably go back down. We've been away from everyone too long."

"There's still one more room."

Alexander watched the tension in her expression and reminded her, his voice easy.

"What room?"

Victoria pressed her back lightly against the wall beside her. She needed air. Every time she looked at him, her lungs seemed to forget their job. She genuinely felt like she needed to step outside and just breathe.

"My room."