An Unlikely Debutante. Laura Martin

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СКАЧАТЬ punch and they would be moved on before the fair was even fully underway.

      ‘Fifteen pounds,’ Lina said, as she was twirled backwards and forward. Lord Whitemore was a good dancer and it was taking all her considerable skill to keep up as he guided her this way and that.

      ‘Fifteen pounds?’

      ‘That’s my price.’

      ‘That might be a slight problem.’

      Lina bristled. ‘You don’t think I’m worth fifteen pounds?’

      ‘Not at all, my dear, I’m sure you’re worth ten times that figure. But one of the conditions of the wager is that I am not allowed to pay you.’

      ‘Then why would I do it?’

      ‘From the goodness of your heart?’

      Lina laughed. ‘My heart isn’t that good. Six weeks is a long time. If I’m with you, becoming the perfect debutante, I’m not working. I’ll lose money.’

      As the last note of the dance sounded, Lina felt Lord Whitemore release his grip just a little. He still wasn’t letting her go, but seemed content to hold her at arm’s length and regard her for a moment.

      ‘I would not be able to pay you,’ he said slowly. ‘But there was no rule against the giving of gifts.’

      Lina tried to hide the flare of hope in her eyes. Maybe this was the solution she’d been hoping for. Uncle Tom might moan, but he would accept payment of her debt in jewellery or other goods, as long as he was paid.

      ‘What would I be expected to do exactly?’

      ‘You would come and live with me for six weeks.’ Lord Whitemore held up a hand just as Lina opened her mouth to protest. ‘I will, of course, ensure you are properly chaperoned during that time. Your reputation will be safeguarded.’

      ‘My brother will still protest. He is rather protective.’

      ‘As all good brothers should be. I will talk to him, man to man, and give him my assurances that nothing untoward will happen.’

      Lina shrugged. If Lord Whitemore could persuade Raul to let her stay with him for six weeks, then she would be mightily impressed. Many people thought gypsies to have loose morals and easy virtues, but in Lina’s experience the same standards were expected of the young gypsy women as every other young woman. They might not live the same conventional lives as everyone else, but if they wanted to find a decent partner to settle down with, they were expected to be untouched and unblemished on their wedding night.

      ‘And whilst I am staying with you for six weeks...?’ Lina asked.

      ‘I will teach you to dance, to converse, how to address people at social functions.’

      ‘Really complicated skills, then.’

      ‘I admit you can dance, but can you dance a waltz? You can converse, but can you impress a group of society matrons with your demure manner and correct forms of address?’

      Lina shrugged. This was why she had always steered clear of the county dances in the towns and villages they visited. There were so many rules, so many opportunities for other people to look down on her, it hardly seemed worth the effort.

      ‘These things matter. Don’t ask me why, I happen to agree with you. Life would be much more fun if some of the formalities were dispensed with.’

      ‘So I’d live with you, have lessons in dancing and how to conduct a banal conversation. Anything else?’

      ‘At the end of the six weeks we would attend a ball together. That is the test. If you get a full dance card, behave appropriately and are successful at blending in with the other debutantes, then I will win the wager.’

      ‘And I return to my family.’

      ‘Exactly, and although I cannot pay you, you will be able to take all the new clothes and gifts with you when you leave.’

      It probably wouldn’t be enough to pay off her entire debt, Lina thought, but at least it would be a start. Something to keep Uncle Tom at bay for another few weeks.

      ‘I will do it,’ Lina said.

      She gasped with shock as Lord Whitemore picked her up and spun her round. He looked boyish and carefree for a moment, the frown she had picked up on during his fortune telling wiped from his face.

      ‘If you can persuade Raul,’ she added.

      ‘That, my dear, will not be a problem.’

       Chapter Three

      ‘You want to do what with my sister?’ Raul asked, his fists clenching although his hands remained by his sides for now.

      Alex smiled. It was a well-practised smile that normally portrayed confidence and instilled a sense of trust in the recipient. It was a smile that had served him well over the years, but today it was falling rather flat.

      ‘I want to turn her into a lady—the perfect debutante to be precise,’ Alex said bluntly, realising a direct approach would be better with the suspicious man standing in front of him.

      ‘You want to marry her?’

      ‘Good God, no.’ Alex held up a mitigating hand. ‘I am sure your sister would make any man a wonderful wife, but that is not what I am proposing.’

      Quickly he outlined the details of the wager he had accepted and the role Lina would play in the matter.

      ‘Is this what your lot think of as fun?’ Raul asked, shaking his head. ‘Do you not have better things to do with your time?’

      Alex stiffened at the insult.

      ‘As a matter of fact I do. I run an estate of nearly a thousand acres, with a dozen farms and nearly five times as many residential properties. I employ over two hundred people in various roles and in addition to all that I devote a large amount of time and effort to buying and training racehorses.’ Alex softened his expression and his tone as he saw the respect blooming on the other man’s face. ‘But I also have a sister. A particularly meddlesome sister. And I consider it well worth taking six weeks away from my other responsibilities to ensure I never have to endure her romantic meddling again.’

      ‘What about Lina’s reputation?’ Raul asked.

      Smiling, Alex gave the other man a reassuring pat on the upper arm. He knew he had won this argument already. Lina’s brother would not bother asking about the fine details if he wasn’t going to accept the proposal in principle.

      ‘Your sister’s reputation is of the utmost importance to me.’ It was the truth. Alex didn’t go around ruining young women’s reputations, whatever walks of life they were from. He doubted this Lina was as pure and innocent as her brother liked to believe, but he would treat her like the most precious virgin for the duration of her stay. ‘My sister is staying with me for the next two weeks. As she is a married woman of good reputation, I trust she СКАЧАТЬ