You Belong to Me Read Free Page B

marriage that neither one was expecting. It’s likely that they will both protest it, but I am absolutely certain that Alex will. And what happens if they don’t take to each other? If they are both against the marriage, they won’t exactly meet under the best of terms. Alex could end up hating the man, which would hardly produce the happy life you envision for her.”
    “Purely suppositions, Anna.”
    “But more likely than those you anticipate.”
    “The truth will be clear when they meet,” he replied stubbornly.
    “And if I am right?”
    “If it’s obvious that they won’t suit, then of course I will release them from the betrothal and compensate the count for his trouble in coming here.”
    “Well, thank God you’re not going to be pigheaded about this to the very end.”
    He flinched at her sarcasm and retaliated by saying, “Actually, I’m feeling much betterabout it, now that you’ve raised issues that hadn’t occurred to me and I have successfully put them aside.”
    She was about to reply quite scathingly to that remark when the front door slammed, and a moment later, Alexandra appeared in the doorway. She didn’t notice them yet, as she was busy slapping dust from her sleeves with her equally dusty fur cap, spreading a fine coating of it on the floor at her feet where her Borzoi was making a bigger cloud of it with his wagging tail. A single lock of ash-blond hair had escaped her coiffure and fell over her shoulder to her waist.
    She looked like a Cossack, a male Cossack, in her baggy pants which were tucked into knee-high boots, her bright red sash tied around her narrow waist, her no-longer-white shirt with the fine blue embroidery down the front, and her knee-length coat with the wide skirt. This was her customary dress for riding and working with the horses. Her bedraggled and filthy appearance was nothing new to her family.
    “Much, much better,” Constantin said in a soft whisper that only Anna could hear, a reiteration of what he had said moments before. “And fortunate it is that a man with a new wife will lay down the laws early in their marriage and see that they are obeyed.”
    Anna’s nostrils flared wide as she gritted her teeth. But because of Alexandra’s present, she couldn’t address that statement in the manner that it so richly deserved, so shepicked up Constantin’s second glass of vodka, which still had enough liquid in it for her purpose, and without the slightest hesitation tipped it over his head.
    Witnessing only the dunking and her father’s sputtering, Alexandra laughed delightedly. “Anna? You have given in to temper? But then, I told you I would be a bad influence on you eventually, didn’t I?”
    “Indeed, darling—and you know where to find the bucket and mop, don’t you?”
    Glancing down at the trail of dust she had tracked into the hall, Alexandra was still grinning when she asked, “Before or after Bojik and I bathe?”
    With visions of the disaster that the Russian wolfhound was going to leave in the bathhouse, Anna said, “I don’t believe it matters.”
    Alexandra flashed one of the smiles that could so easily turn grown men into mush if she only knew how to utilize it, and marched off toward the kitchen, Bojik following at her heels as usual. It had been unnecessary to mention the mop and bucket. The girl always cleaned up after herself—and her overlarge pet. They might have a dozen servants on hand to wait on her, but she rarely made use of them.
    “Anna?”
    The word came softly for all that it was a growl—as if she could forget the undoubtedly furious man standing behind her reeking of vodka. She cringed inwardly at what she’d done. Never, ever, had she stooped to such alow level of behavior. It simply wasn’t in her nature.
    “Shall I pour you another glass?” she offered without looking around.
    She heard a snort. “Will I get to drink it?”
    After a moment’s thought, Anna said, “Probably not,” and marched out of the room