His Cavalry Lady

No! There was absolutely no point in speculating. She had to behave as if she were indeed Alexei Ivanovich Alexandrov, commissioned officer in the Mariupol Hussars, and temporary aide-de-camp to his Majesty. A temporary ADC whose task was to spy on the Duke of Calder, and to discover as much as possible about the intentions of the British Government.

It was such a messy business. Her instincts had been telling her to trust the man, to offer him true friendship. But that was impossible now. The coldness of duty was fixing itself around her heart, freezing the warmth that had begun to settle there. Duty! Only duty! Emotion was for females!

So the Duke of Calder lowered himself to become a spy. Possibly. It sat uncomfortably with his exalted station. Spying was a very dirty business.

That last thought made her laugh aloud. If spying was a dirty business, Alex herself was now immersed in it. Up to her neck.

‘His Grace the Duke of Calder, sir.’ The waiter bowed low and then withdrew, his eyes goggling.

Zass stepped forward and bowed. ‘Your Grace,’ he said smoothly, in French, ‘we had not expected the pleasure of your company again this evening.’

Dominic smiled at the aide-de-camp and looked slowly round the room, marking each man. About half Zass’s officers were present, but there was no sign of young Alexandrov. A pity. He was an entertaining young cub.

‘I have come to serve as escort to his Imperial Majesty.’ No response. Dominic tried again. ‘For his Royal Highness the Prince Regent’s banquet. At Carlton House.’ There was something wrong here. Most of the officers were gazing at their boots. And Zass was avoiding Dominic’s eye. ‘Is there some problem I am unaware of, Major?’ Dominic asked coolly.

Zass licked his lips. ‘Perhaps you were not told, Duke. His Imperial Majesty plans to dine here. With his sister, the Grand Duchess of Oldenburg. I had understood that apologies had already been conveyed to the Prince Regent. The fatigues of the journey, you understand—’

‘Of course, sir. You need say nothing more.’ Dominic cursed silently. Fatigues of the journey, indeed! The Emperor’s energy was boundless. He was simply refusing to go. Prinny was already furious that the Emperor had declined the apartments in St James’s Palace. When he discovered that Alexander was refusing one of his sumptuous feasts as well, the Regent would probably sink into another childish sulk.

‘Thank you, Duke. I shall ensure that his Majesty is fully informed of what has happened. He will be very grateful to you.’

Dominic bowed his acknowledgement. But he was not so easily bested. ‘I have to tell you, Major, that no apologies have been conveyed to the Regent. Perhaps one of your officers… er…overlooked his task?’

Zass was looking thoroughly embarrassed now.

‘If the officer in question cares to present his apologies to me, I will convey them to the Regent. Along with those from his Imperial Majesty, naturally.’

Zass looked to be about to have an apoplexy. At that moment, young Alexandrov appeared, as if from nowhere. His slight form must have been hidden behind one of the bigger men. ‘Duke, it is my fault,’ he said simply, stepping forward to stand alongside Zass. ‘Major Zass tasked me with passing the Emperor’s apologies to you earlier today and I…I am afraid that I forgot. It must have been the seasickness. It… er…it put everything else out of my mind.’

The lad was not a very convincing liar, but Dominic knew he would have to pretend to believe him. Dominic was sure where the responsibility truly lay. ‘Perhaps, Major Zass, you would like to accompany me to see the Regent, to present the Emperor’s apologies in person?’ The man paled. Good. Dominic did not relish being made a fool of, especially with the connivance of a lad he had gone out of his way to help.

‘Captain Alexandrov will go, Duke,’ Zass said quickly, adding cruelly, ‘It was his mistake, after all.’

Dominic was appalled. That was no way for a senior officer to behave to his subordinates. But he said only, ‘Very well. When you are ready, Alexandrov, my carriage is at the door. We can ride to Carlton House together.’

Alex clattered down the staircase to the entrance hall, her spurs ringing. She settled her plumed shako on her head as she reached the last step. The Duke was standing by the main door, waiting for her. He was staring out into the street but, even from this angle, he looked magnificent in his full evening dress. Forbidding, too, she had to admit. He must have been very annoyed to discover the Emperor’s change of plans. As, no doubt, the Prince Regent would be also.

She had yet to have even the briefest glimpse of the Prince Regent, but all of Europe knew his reputation. Meg, Alex’s Scottish nurse, had said he was as handsome as a prince in a fairy tale, but that had been decades ago. He was no longer young, or handsome.

At that moment, Calder turned and saw her. She felt herself go bright red with embarrassment. She swore under her breath. Of all the difficulties of playing her role as a man, this was the worst. She had never been able to control it. And of course, this time, she had reason to blush. Calder was going to make her appear before the Prince Regent and take responsibility for the Emperor’s whims. Why had she put herself forward? There had been no real need, for Major Zass would undoubtedly have found a way out of the difficulty. But that might have involved some implied criticism of the Emperor. Such a thing was unacceptable.

‘There you are, Alexei Ivanovich. It is time we left.’

‘My apologies, Calder. My orderly had taken my shako away to brush it.’

Calder looked her up and down. ‘I must admit that the Hussar dress uniform is a most splendid one. Though perhaps,’ he added with a smile, ‘not the most practical.’

Alex relaxed a little. They were getting back to their earlier friendly banter. It felt very comfortable.

‘Come,’ he said briskly, ‘we had better go. The carriage had great difficulty getting here and may have even more in leaving.’ He shouldered his way through the press of people and flung open the door of his waiting carriage.

Alex had to admit he had remarkable presence in that powerful body. She followed in his wake, removing her shako. Its white plume was too tall to be worn inside the carriage.

‘Carlton House,’ Calder ordered sharply. ‘Quick as you can.’

The carriage moved off, but only slowly, for the crowds were in no mood to make way for anyone less than a visiting monarch. Alex glanced back at the hotel. The Tsar, his sister, and various of his officers were standing on the balcony. The crowd was cheering itself hoarse.

‘I fancy this may be quite a tedious journey,’ Calder said with a sigh.

Alex nodded and leaned back in her corner.

‘You will forgive my curiosity, I hope, Alexei Ivanovich, but I cannot help remarking that you are very young to have seen even one battle. Yet I know from the cross you wear that you must have done. It was won at Borodino, I was told.’

Alex launched into the answers she had long ago learned by rote. ‘I am not nearly as young as I look, Duke. I have been serving in his Majesty’s army for more than five years now.’

‘Borodino was not your first battle then?’

She shook her head. ‘I suffer from my lack of beard, but my comrades soon become accustomed.’

‘I’m sure they bait you unmercifully.’

She shook her head again. ‘The amusement soon palls. My youthful appearance has long been accepted. It is only when I meet new people, such as yourself, that it is remarked upon. What matters to my comrades is that I should be an efficient officer and that my soldiers should obey me without question. As they do.’

‘I’m sure they do. You seem to me to be a remarkably resolute young man.’

‘Not so very young, Duke. I am twenty-four years old.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Indeed? Now that I would not have believed.’

She laughed. Usually, at this point in her recital, she would be feeling uncomfortable. But, with this man, it had not happened. Perhaps it was that brotherly kindness? She told herself that it could be nothing else.

The carriage stopped so suddenly that they were both thrown forward. The Duke swore. Then, letting down the glass, he stuck his head out to speak to the coachman. Returning, he said, with a grimace, ‘We are stuck here, I fear. Marshal Blücher has arrived at Carlton House. Even a man on horseback cannot get through.’

Alex picked up her shako. ‘Shall we walk, Duke?’ she asked, with a slight smile.

‘If you wish.’ He reached for the door handle. ‘But wearing that fine Russian uniform, you, too, may find yourself being mobbed.’

Alex put a hand to the hilt of her sabre. ‘Have no fear, sir. If you should be attacked, I will spring to your defence.’

The Duke looked down at her from his superior height. For a fraction of a second, he appeared totally thunderstruck. Then he burst into laughter. ‘With you at my side, Alexandrov, I do believe that anything is possible.’

At the gates of Carlton House, the crowd was enormous, the noise deafening. Dominic had had to use his height and weight to force a path through. For all young Alexandrov’s bluster, he would never have been able to do it by himself. He was fiercely proud, and as brave as a lion, but physically he was as slight as a girl. Such a strange combination in a young man. Yet an immensely likable character, nonetheless.

Dominic decided it was impossible to go any further by the direct route. The crowd was shouting for Blücher, with even more enthusiasm than their earlier huzzas for the Emperor, outside the Pulteney. ‘Come, Alexandrov. Let us go round by the stables.’

The young Russian nodded and followed, holding his sabre tight against his side so that it would not impede their progress.

‘At least I won’t lose you, even among all these people,’ Dominic shouted over his shoulder. ‘With that incredible plume, I could find you in a throng of thousands.’