Page 2 of An Unlikely Debutante

The gentleman sighed, the long-suffering sigh of a put-upon sibling, and grimaced.

‘Come on, then, let’s get this over with. Impress me with your insight.’

Lina felt herself bristle at his tone and offered her sweetest smile.

‘Step this way, sir.’

Guiding her new customer behind one of the screens, Lina watched as he took a heavy coin purse out of his jacket and handed her the fee. For a moment her pulse quickened, hearing the money jangle as he tucked it away again.

Despite the bad reputation gypsies suffered in England, and indeed across Europe, Lina had never once stolen anything. Just because they say we’re thieves doesn’t mean we have to actually be thieves, her mother had told her time and time again. Proficient at pickpocketing, a skill Raul had taught her not long after she’d started to walk, Lina had never put the training to use.

‘A little about the present first,’ Lina said, looking up at the gentleman from under her long eyelashes. ‘Would you tell me your full name?’

‘Surely you’re meant to be the one with mystic powers.’

‘I tell fortunes, I don’t divine names,’ Lina said shortly, smiling to soften the ice in her voice.

‘Lord Whitemore. Alexander Whitemore.’

A titled gentleman. He probably wouldn’t even miss the money in that purse, it would be small change to him.

‘An influential man, Lord Whitemore,’ Lina said, injecting the silky, dreamy quality into her voice the customers seemed to like so much. ‘A man of responsibilities. You have an estate to run and a sister to care for.’

‘She’s good,’ Lord Whitemore’s sister whispered in his ear.

‘Nonsense. Anyone with half a brain knows a titled man will have an estate to run and you shouted out to the whole fair that I was your brother.’

‘Shall we see what else my half a brain can determine?’ Lina asked.

Lord Whitemore grunted, turning back to her, but allowing his eyes to roam around the rest of the fair.

‘I already know you’re short-tempered and grumpy,’ Lina said, eliciting a laugh from Lord Whitemore’s sister. ‘But I think that is a front, a facade you put up to keep people at a distance. There’s been heartache in your past, a woman.’ Lina paused, but knew she couldn’t help herself. ‘Someone in love with your warm and friendly demeanour?’

‘Indeed,’ Lord Whitemore murmured, looking at Lina properly for the first time.

‘She left you. A wife?’ Lina watched carefully for his reaction. The twitch just above his left eye gave her a clue. ‘No, a fiancée.’

‘I thought you were meant to be telling my fortune.’

‘Your future is affected by your past.’

‘Just get on with it,’ Lord Whitemore grumbled.

‘You’re bored,’ Lina said.

‘How could you tell?’

‘Not now—with your life. You’re stuck in a rut and you don’t know how to get out.’

Taking hold of his hand, Lina made a show of tracing the lines although they meant nothing to her. The skill in telling fortunes lay in reading people, in understanding their facial expressions and reactions.

‘There will be change soon, a great adventure, a new love. Someone who will challenge you.’

‘See, Alex, there is hope.’

The withering look Lord Whitemore directed at his sister wasn’t lessened when he turned back to Lina.

‘Is that everything?’ he asked, standing up.