Page 5 of An Unlikely Debutante

Chapter Two

Lina eyed the gentleman in front of her suspiciously. ‘You want me to do what?’

He sighed, threw a glance back over his shoulder to where his sister and another young man were sitting, barely able to conceal their mirth, before trying to explain again.

‘My name is Lord Whitemore,’ he began slowly.

‘I got that part,’ Lina said, adding under her breath, ‘I’m confused, not deaf.’

‘The woman sitting over there is my sister. The man with her is her husband. They have made it their aim in life to see me settled down with a wife and no doubt multiple children.’

‘That’s lovely,’ Lina said. ‘But I hardly see how any of this concerns me.’

‘I have made a wager with my sister and brother-in-law that hopefully will stop them meddling in the affairs of my heart for the foreseeable future. You are that wager.’

Ever since Lina had blossomed from a gangly girl into a pretty young woman she had received many indecent proposals both from the men she travelled with and the customers she flirted with at the fairs. She usually found the best way to deal with them was a sweet smile, a swift knee to their nether regions and a quick escape.

She’d just summoned the sweet smile when Lord Whitemore’s eyes narrowed and he quickly stepped back.

‘Not like that,’ he clarified. ‘Goodness, what sort of man do you think I am?’

‘We have been acquainted for less than five minutes,’ Lina said. ‘I have no idea what sort of man you are, Lord Whitemore. Now, if you would excuse me, I have work to do.’

She moved quickly, darting away through the crowds without looking back until she was sure she must have lost him. The fair was getting busier as the morning turned into afternoon and it was easy to hide herself amongst the large groups of visitors.

‘You’re quick on your feet,’ a low voice came from close to her ear.

Lina tried to hide how she jumped as Lord Whitemore’s words tickled her neck.

‘All the better to get away from lecherous men,’ Lina said, turning to face the young gentleman.

‘I understand your reluctance to consider my proposal, but I’m in a bit of a sticky situation. I cannot lose this wager. My sister would see me settled with some sweet, banal wife before the year was out and my life would be miserable. And I do hate to be miserable.’

Despite her instinct to run as far away from this man as fast as possible, Lina felt a little intrigued. When she’d told his fortune, he’d been dismissive and bored, but even then she’d sensed an energy, a simmering vitality hidden underneath. A few minutes earlier she’d found herself watching him from a distance as he’d laughed and joked with his brother-in-law, wishing she knew exactly what it was that made his eyes sparkle and caused him to fling his head back and let out a raucous laugh. Now he was right here, in front of her, and she knew the safest thing would be to leave and not look back.

‘What was the wager?’

‘Come share a drink with me and I’ll explain everything.’

‘What was the wager?’ she repeated without moving.

Lina watched as Lord Whitemore appraised her before answering. She got the sense he wasn’t a man who people said no to, but she stood her ground, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

‘I made a comment about the conversational ability of today’s debutantes,’ Lord Whitemore said eventually. ‘And I said I could turn any young woman into an acceptable debutante within six weeks, no matter her background.’

‘And your brother-in-law challenged you to do just that?’

‘Exactly.’

‘With me?’

Lord Whitemore grimaced. ‘It wasn’t you specifically. It was the next woman of marriageable age to walk past.’

‘And I’m the lucky girl? What happens if I refuse you straight away?’

‘I lose the wager.’

‘Why should that matter to me?’