You Belong to Me Read Free

drink before he said, “What I wrote to the countess was mostly lies, with only a few truths thrown in. Simeon and I did discuss a betrothal of our children back when Alexandra was born. At least that is true. We discussed it at length. We both thought it was a splendid idea. But we never made it official. There were years to do so, after all. Alexandra was not even a year old yet; Simeon’s boy was only six. So—so now you know what I’ve done.”
    Anna let out a sigh. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she had thought, and could be correctedwith another letter that could be dispatched immediately.
    But just to be sure she understood the entire matter, she said, “You made claim to a betrothal that was never settled, and you did so because your friend is dead and can’t dispute it. Is that what you’ve taken so long to tell me?”
    “I was drunk at the time I did it. It was the night you stayed in the village to help with that birthing. When it occurred to me, it seemed like the perfect solution for Alexandra. In fact, I have not the slightest doubt that had Simeon lived, our children would have wed each other seven years ago.”
    “That may be so, but it didn’t happen that way, and your wishing it were otherwise is not going to make it happen now. You must write Countess Petroff immediately with the truth, before she does send her son here.”
    “No.”
    “No?”
    “It is still a perfect solution.”
    Anna’s eyes narrowed on him. “So that is why you are feeling so guilty? You have no intention of correcting what you’ve done?”
    “That will be my cross to bear,” Constantin said with the stubbornness inherent in his family. “But think, Anna. What if they are ideally suited to each other? What if this one little lie—”
    “ Little? ” she cut in.
    “Harmless, then,” he insisted, continuing. “What if it brings together two people whowould never have met otherwise, and they are so taken with each other that they cannot help but fall in love?”
    She shook her head. “You are dreaming. Or is it merely wishful thinking to absolve your guilt?”
    “It’s not impossible—”
    “With our Alex?”
    Her skeptical tone annoyed him. He, more than anyone, knew his daughter’s faults.
    Ignoring those faults, he stressed the one thing in Alexandra’s favor. “She’s beautiful.”
    “No one can deny that, darling, but has it gained her a long list of suitors? You know as well as I that she offends more than she charms, and men don’t usually make a habit of courting embarrassment. It’s a wonder that Englishman attended her as long as he did in St. Petersburg, and continued to correspond with her all these years. The English are sticklers for proper behavior, after all.”
    He didn’t like reminders of the foreigner who had stolen his daughter’s heart with no intention of nurturing it. Were the man still in Russia, Constantin would seriously consider shooting him. But that bounder was no longer at issue, and the saints be praised for that.
    “Simeon was a tolerant man just like me. He admired frankness, scoffed at hypocrisy, and was certainly no snob. It isn’t unrealistic to think that his son will have inherited his qualities.”
    “Didn’t you also once tell me that your friend was a womanizer?”
    Anna would have to remember that. “Simeon never confessed a great love for his wife,” he explained. “Theirs was an arranged marriage.”
    Anna gave him a pointed look. “Which is exactly what you’re trying to foist on his unsuspecting son—an arranged marriage. Do you honestly expect the son to be any more faithful than the father, or for Alex to stand for anything less than complete faithfulness, considering how possessive she is of what’s hers?”
    Constantin flushed bright red. “Dammit, Anna, it’s not at all the same. What I expect, or rather hope for, is that these children will find love together. If Simeon had loved his wife even a little, he would have been faithful to her. I