Page 23 of An Unlikely Debutante

Chapter Eight

Alex glanced up from the papers he was reading in the hope that he might catch a glimpse of Lina or his sister, but he knew that was too much to hope for. Despite it seeming like an eternity that he’d been sitting in the dressmaker’s, he knew in reality it had been less than half an hour.

‘I don’t see why my presence is required here,’ Alex called, hearing the chattering voices on the other side of the curtain pause as he spoke. ‘You haven’t asked my opinion once in the hour we’ve been here.’

‘Do remember that I have a vested interest in you losing your wager,’ Georgina said, poking her head through the curtain. ‘I might advise Lina to purchase something absolutely terrible. Hence the need for your supervision.’

‘You wouldn’t be so underhand,’ Alex said, but then held his hand up to correct himself. ‘You would be so underhand, but you wouldn’t allow Lina to embarrass herself in a frock that was anything but fashionable.’

‘Very true, brother dearest. Anyway, it does you good to be out of the house and away from those horses you’re so obsessed with.’

Alex grumbled, but returned to his papers. He knew how important truly magnificent clothes were for a debutante. If Lina attended the ball in five weeks’ time dressed like the daughter of the aristocracy, then people would believe that was what she was. That was why he had insisted they ride into town and start the process of getting Lina fitted for her appearances in society. Despite all this, he hadn’t expected it to take quite so long and, as far as he could tell from his position on the other side of the curtain, they hadn’t even chosen the dress yet.

‘Remember she needs to blend in with the other debutantes,’ Alex called. ‘It needs to be the latest fashion.’

Standing and stretching, Alex walked the length of the shop, allowing his fingers to trail over the selection of materials that were on display.

‘It is a shame we have to buy something ready-made,’ he heard Georgina say from the other side of the curtain. ‘There’s nothing more luxurious than a dress that fits you and only you perfectly.’

Lina gave a light, carefree laugh that made Alex smile. When she wasn’t arguing with him she was good to have around. She tempered Georgina’s bossiness nicely and had a quick wit that kept him on his toes.

‘I think you’d look lovely in the green,’ Georgina murmured. ‘But really we should stick to less vibrant colours. You are supposed to be a debutante after all. Perhaps the pink?’

‘Pink makes me look ghastly.’

‘White, then. Although half the debutantes will be wearing white, it’s so popular these days. When I was a debutante hardly anyone wore plain white.’

‘White is good,’ Alex called to them. It was a safe choice, guaranteed to group Lina with the other young debutantes as soon as she entered a ballroom.

‘You make it sound as if it were two dozen years ago. It can only be five or six at the most.’ Lina laughed.

‘Six,’ Georgina confirmed.

‘How about this one?’

Silence followed and Alex walked to the window, glancing out into the street.

‘That could work,’ he heard Georgina say after a small pause. ‘It’s unusual, but I think it would suit you very well.’

The rest of their conversation faded into the background as Alex felt his throat begin to constrict. He tried to take a step back from the window, but his muscles failed to obey and for an awful few seconds he was in full view of anyone walking down the street.

He’d known it was her the very moment she’d rounded the corner into the high street, he recognised her graceful walk and exquisite posture as if he had last seen her only yesterday. His ex-fiancée didn’t look a day older than she had three years earlier—it was as if that time had been wiped out in an instant.

Alex felt a coldness descend over his body and, willing his muscles to work again, he quickly moved away from the window. The last thing he wanted was to be forced into a polite conversation with Victoria. She’d almost broken him and the worst thing about the whole debacle was that she knew how much she’d hurt him. For Alex, a man who’d been brought up to respect strength and dignity, the humiliation of how she had almost felled him was as bad as the heartbreak itself.

As the door to the shop slowly opened, Alex cursed every deity he had ever heard mention of. Of all the shops in all the world, Victoria had to choose this one to enter today. Squaring his shoulder as if he were about to go into a fight, Alex fixed a nonchalant smile on his face. He wouldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen her or that he was surprised by her presence, he was better than that, even if his sinking heart might disagree.

‘Good afternoon, Lady Winchester,’ he said as Victoria entered the shop, trying not to enjoy the moment of panic in her eyes as she recognised his voice. He stepped forward, still smiling, took her hand and bowed formerly over it. ‘I do hope you are well.’

‘Qu-qu-quite well,’ she managed after a few seconds.

He waited. Etiquette dictated that she should enquire after his health now, but she still hadn’t rallied from the shock of seeing him.

‘What brings you to Pottersdown?’ he asked, his voice light and conversational.

For three years he had wondered how he would react when he saw Victoria again. He knew it would happen. The people they socialised with—the members of the ton—were surprisingly few in number, but he’d worked hard to avoid Victoria these last few years. Declining invitations to events he suspected she would be attending had become almost habit. He’d never left a ball because Victoria was there, but he had sought out the card tables quickly on the few occasions when their paths might have crossed, knowing Victoria’s views on gambling meant he’d be safe.

‘I am visiting my aunt,’ Victoria said. ‘Alex, I’m sorry, I assumed you would be in London, preparing for the Season. I’d never have come if I’d thought...’