Page 52 of An Unlikely Debutante

As soon as the question hit her, Lina tried to suppress it, afraid Aunt Lucy might read her mind if she allowed her doubts to stay on the surface for too long. She didn’t have a life with Alex now, so there was nothing to lose, nothing to mourn. They had shared some moments of laughter and fun, some moments of closeness and compassion, but there was no relationship there and never would be. The idea of becoming his mistress was not one Lina would entertain and, even with her very basic knowledge of marriage etiquette, she knew a marquess never married a gypsy.

Even with this knowledge, Lina couldn’t stop her heart from pounding whenever Alex came close. She found herself laughing when he laughed, hurting when he hurt...

‘I thought I might find you here,’ Alex said, strolling into the room and giving his aunt a peck on the cheek.

‘I was considering a brisk walk around the estate followed by a ride on one of those fabulous beasts of yours, but thought I’d better save some energy for healing my poor broken ankle,’ Aunt Lucy said, pulling her nephew in for a short embrace.

Alex sat down on the bed, positioning himself so he was directly next to Lina. Their thighs were almost touching, just the layers of clothing separating them, and already Lina could feel the heat beginning to rise in her body. This morning at breakfast she’d managed to time her appearance to coincide with the arrival of one of Alex’s horse trainers, and as such they hadn’t spoken about their kiss and the proposal that had followed afterwards.

‘Good morning, Lina,’ Alex said softly, leaning in as if they were the only two in the room.

‘Lord Whitemore,’ Lina greeted him coolly and stood abruptly, crossing over to the window and pretending something had caught her eye in the gardens.

‘What a beautiful day,’ Alex observed, coming up behind her, standing so close she could feel his breath on her neck. For an instant Lina wanted to lean back, to allow him to envelop her in his arms and feel his body pressed against hers. ‘The perfect day for a swim.’

‘I wouldn’t want to spoil this day with a dip in a cold lake,’ Lina said, turning and facing Alex, trying to pretend his proximity wasn’t affecting her.

‘I don’t think it would spoil it at all. In fact, I would wager it would improve it tenfold.’

‘Have you ever considered that you accept wagers too quickly?’ Lina asked, knowing she was hardly the person to judge, but luckily Alex did not know about her catastrophic bet with Uncle Tom.

‘What a wonderful idea,’ Aunt Lucy interrupted, clapping her hands. ‘You two should go and enjoy the day together. I may be stuck in my sickbed, but there’s no reason you two young things shouldn’t go and have fun.’

Lina peered at the older woman, trying to work out if Alex had primed her to suggest an outing.

‘Take a trip to that lovely big lake and dip your toes in the water. I’ll want to hear all about it later.’

‘I would feel too guilty, leaving you here alone,’ Lina said quickly.

‘Nonsense, Aunt Lucy doesn’t mind. The doctor said she needs to rest.’

‘Perhaps I will rest today, as well,’ Lina suggested, already knowing deep inside that she would not win this argument. ‘Yesterday was a particularly eventful day.’ She’d been thinking about the carriage accident and all the drama that had ensued after she’d discovered Aunt Lucy trapped and injured on the Pottersdown Road, but saw Alex’s grin out of the corner of her eye, no matter how much she tried to avoid looking at him.

‘It was an eventful day,’ he murmured. ‘Sometimes it is best to discuss what has occurred, so any wrongs can be put right and any misunderstandings cleared up.’

Lina eyed him suspiciously. She doubted he was going to apologise—he didn’t think he had done anything wrong—but maybe this was his way of telling her they could move past his proposition and return to their easy companionship whilst they prepared for the London ball where Lina would make her debut.

‘A stroll through the gardens would be lovely,’ she conceded.

‘Don’t do anything naughty,’ Aunt Lucy said as they headed towards the door. ‘I might be laid up, but I still am your designated chaperone.’

‘We won’t do anything you wouldn’t do, Aunt Lucy,’ Alex promised.

‘You wicked boy,’ Aunt Lucy called, her laughter following them out through the door.

‘Aunt Lucy has been married three times.’ Alex bent low to whisper in Lina’s ear. ‘And she’s had a multitude of lovers.’

‘And you thought she’d make a suitable chaperone?’

‘The perfect chaperone.’

* * *

Alex hummed to himself as he leaned against the wall, waiting for Lina to emerge from the house. She’d returned inside to fetch a parasol to give her skin some protection from the sun. Although Lina had a naturally caramel skin tone, the hours she spent in the sun every day made her face and arms freckle. Over the past couple of weeks Georgina had encouraged her to stay in the shade as much as possible and carry a parasol when walking in the sun. As expected, Lina had grumbled, but soon she’d become accustomed to avoiding the sunlight and Alex thought her freckles were fading a little.

‘I think this is about Victoria.’ Lina burst out through the doors on to the terrace, already halfway through the sentence before she met Alex’s eye.

‘Victoria couldn’t be further from my mind right now.’