Page 59 of An Unlikely Debutante

‘So position three is worse than position one and better than six?’ Lina asked.

‘Exactly. How much of a difference it makes is questionable, but often the odds of the horse in the first stall are lowered because of this bias.’

Surreptitiously, he glanced at Lina. On the surface she seemed calm and collected—she appeared interested in the horses and eager for the race to begin. Perhaps a little too eager. Normally Lina would be laughing and joking, questioning him about every little detail, picking up on any gaps in his knowledge. Right now, Alex thought she was trying to act normal, trying to convince him she was unaffected by the scene earlier in the afternoon.

Part of him wanted to turn Lina to face him, look her squarely in the eye and promise her he was over Victoria. Surely the encounters he’d had with his ex-fiancée over the last few weeks proved it? But he’d seen the hurt in Lina’s eyes when he’d mentioned Victoria; when his angry and uncensored mind admitted that once he’d thought he was destined to spend his life with her.

The other slightly uncomfortable realisation was just how much Lina was beginning to care for him. Only a woman with deeper feelings for a man would react in the way Lina had. Maybe it would be for the best if he gave up his pursuit of her.

As Alex contemplated this option, he wondered if he would be able to stop now. Of course desire was something he could rein in, but he couldn’t deny there was something else pushing him to pursue Lina. He wanted her in his bed, but even more than that he wanted her in his life. The idea that she would leave for ever in a couple of weeks was unbearable. If she stayed as his mistress, then she would stay in his life.

Careful, he cautioned himself. Desire was one thing, but asking Lina to stay because of deeper feelings they shared sounded more like marriage than an affair.

‘Look!’ Lina said, grabbing his arm with one hand and pointing with the other.

The race had started, all nine horses building up speed at an impressive pace, their hooves churning up the grass and their riders bent low over their backs.

‘Go, Dawnbreaker!’ Lina shouted, completely caught up in the moment, unaware of her surroundings or the fact that other people were staring.

Alex envied this ability of Lina’s to do what she wanted without caring what other people thought of her. He was able to do the same to an extent, but it wasn’t a natural state of affairs for him, he had to work to go against his upbringing and not be bothered by other people’s opinions.

Lina grabbed his hand, squeezing it with excitement as the horses raced past their position, Dawnbreaker vying for the lead position. Watching carefully, Alex saw how his horse remained completely focused, ignoring the other animals around it, not becoming distracted by the crowds or the noise. A surge of excitement began to build, travelling down his spine, and he observed Dawnbreaker and his rider take the lead, slowly but surely increasing the distance between them and the horse in second position. If he wasn’t very much mistaken, he was watching a champion racehorse win his first race.

‘He’s won!’ Lina cried as Dawnbreaker crossed the finish line clearly in the lead.

She threw her arms around Alex, hugging him for a second before he felt her body stiffen as she must have remembered Georgina’s reprimand from earlier in the afternoon.

‘Congratulations,’ Lina said, pulling away and offering her hand for him to shake instead.

Feeling strangely bereft without her lithe body pressed against his, Alex took her hand and raised it to his lips.

‘Shall we collect your winnings?’ he asked.

‘My winnings? Oh, from the bet I placed. How exciting!’

Quickly Alex led Lina through the crowds, instructing her on how to collect her winnings after presenting her betting slip at one of the numerous booths.

‘Alex, there’s thirteen pounds here,’ Lina whispered quietly as they stepped away from the booth. ‘This can’t be right.’

‘It is. As Dawnbreaker was unknown and untested in a big race environment, the odds were twelve to one. I gave you one pound to bet, so you get twelve pounds in return plus the pound you bet originally.’

‘It’s so much money.’

She caressed the notes for a moment before holding them out to him.

Carefully he plucked one note from the pile before pushing the rest back towards her.

‘I’ll take the original stake... You get the winnings.’

‘Alex, that’s too much.’

‘You chose which horse to bet on, the money is yours.’

He watched as she flicked through the banknotes again as if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes. She tried to form a word with her mouth but nothing came out. Alex could see the tears building in her eyes. It was easy to forget that twelve pounds might be enough to change someone’s life.