Page 49 of An Unlikely Debutante

Alex found his cheeks flushing for the first time in years. Aunt Lucy always had been direct and after the episode in the lake earlier in the day Alex had something to feel guilty about.

Gently he worked his hands underneath his aunt’s leg, manoeuvring slowly to cause as little pain as possible.

‘She’s from a gypsy family, Georgina tells me.’

‘That’s right.’

‘I once knew a man from the circus, but never a gypsy.’

‘Aunt Lucy!’

‘Try not to be so uptight, dear. I’m fifty years old and I’ve been married three times. I think it’s safe to say I’m familiar with the opposite sex.’

Wriggling his fingers, he pushed against the bowed piece of wood that seemed to be pinning her leg in place. If only he’d had smaller hands, more delicate fingers, he might’ve been able to wriggle them underneath the wood and dislodge it.

‘Lina,’ Alex called, lifting his head so he could see when she arrived at the strangely angled window.

‘First-name terms. I see I really will need to keep an eye on you two.’

‘Can I help?’ Lina asked.

‘I need you to try to move this piece of wood,’ Alex explained quickly. ‘Aunt Lucy’s leg is trapped and my fingers are too large to get underneath. You’ll have to climb in.’

He watched as without hesitation Lina vaulted into the carriage, more like a cat than a human. It was a snug fit inside with the three of them and Alex had to hold Lina as she put her feet on the angled floor so she would not slide into Aunt Lucy. He felt her stiffen as her body brushed against his and wondered if she would pull herself from his grip. Instead she rallied, found her balance, then crouched down next to Aunt Lucy.

‘Wriggle your fingers underneath and see if you can dislodge the wood,’ Alex ordered.

‘So bossy,’ Aunt Lucy murmured to Lina, as if they were the best of friends already.

Lina crouched, inspected Aunt Lucy’s leg and then leaned over, craning her neck to see how it was pinned.

‘It needs moving from underneath,’ Alex informed her. The look she flashed him was pure ice.

‘That may be so,’ she said primly. ‘But I need to ascertain what angle to push at, where there will be the least resistance.’

‘Just push the wood away.’

‘That clearly didn’t work for you.’

‘Only because my hands are too big.’

‘Or you were going about it all wrong.’

‘Put your hands under Lady Grenville’s leg and push the wood away,’ Alex instructed firmly.

‘When will you realise you’re not always right and you don’t always know best?’

‘When it is the truth. Right now, you’re wasting valuable time.’

‘This is beginning to sound like a lovers’ tiff,’ Aunt Lucy interjected.

‘We are not lovers,’ Lina said so loudly the grooms outside must have heard.

‘Yet,’ Alex whispered softly in her ear. It was provocative, especially given the fire Lina was spitting at him already, but Alex reasoned things could not get much worse.

Leaning over Aunt Lucy, with one hand tucked beneath the trapped leg, the other braced against the offending piece of wood, Lina pushed gently.

‘You’ll have to push harder...’ Alex began to say, but trailed off as Lina shot him a triumphant look as the wood moved easily upwards and away from Aunt Lucy’s leg.