Читать книгу An Unlikely Debutante - Laura Martin - Страница 14

Chapter Five

What had he got himself into? Alex let his head sink into his hands for a fraction of a second, before straightening up. This would not defeat him. He was a man who had broken in the most difficult of horses—he would not be beaten by a girl’s incessant questioning and arguing.

‘It’s stupid,’ Lina repeated. ‘What does it matter if I call your sister Lady Georgina or Lady Pentworthy? Both are respectful, both give you an idea who she is.’

Alex counted to five before answering. ‘But neither is correct. One more time. Lady Pentworthy would be the wife of Lord Pentworthy. Lady Georgina would be the daughter of a titled gentleman, in this case a marquess.’

‘Which she is,’ Lina said through gritted teeth. ‘So why is it incorrect to address her as Lady Georgina?’

‘She is now married to Mr Pentworthy, so she becomes Lady Georgina Pentworthy. A quirk of marrying a husband of lower rank.’

‘A ridiculous quirk,’ Lina muttered under her breath. ‘It would be much simpler to dispense with all these stupid rules and titles and just call everyone by their actual names.’

‘I will forward your suggestion to the Prince Regent,’ Alex said drily.

He watched as Lina flopped dramatically back in the brown leather armchair situated by the veranda doors in the library. It was only their first day and to ease her into her lessons to become the perfect debutante Alex had suggested they start by getting to grips with how to address people. How he regretted that now.

‘Maybe it would help if you spent a couple of hours familiarising yourself with the contents of Debrett’s,’ he suggested, standing and perusing the shelves until he found the heavy book he was looking for.

Lina sighed, levered herself out of her chair and followed him over to the small table.

‘And what on earth is Debrett’s?’

‘It is a peerage reference book.’

Lina glared at it suspiciously.

‘You do know how to read?’ Alex regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

‘Just because I’m not titled Lady Lina or Lady Lock or even Lady Lina Lock doesn’t mean I can’t read,’ Lina said huffily, pulling the dusty old tome out of his hands. ‘I would just prefer to read something actually interesting instead of this list of names.’

‘I apologise,’ Alex said, touching Lina lightly on the back of the hand. He felt her stiffen under his touch and quickly withdrew his fingers. It was inappropriate and Alex wasn’t sure what had made him reach out and stroke her hand, but he regretted it immediately.

Ever since Lina had arrived at Whitemore House twenty-four hours ago the time had whizzed past in a whirlwind of activity. It was rather refreshing to have Lina question why they did certain things, to see her amusement at their customs and her awe at the splendour of her surroundings. She was loud, opinionated, sarcastic and not afraid to say exactly what she was feeling, but Alex could see there was more to the spirited gypsy girl than first appearances would suggest. The way he’d caught her running her fingers lovingly along the books on the bookshelves as he’d entered the library, how her eyes had lit up as she watched him with the Arabian horse the day before and how already she and his sister seemed the closest of confidants.

She was pretty, too. Petite and slender, her skin coloured with a hint of warm caramel and dark hair and eyes that told of a heritage somewhere in her ancestors’ past. Once or twice Alex had found himself watching her lips as she smiled and her hips as she moved around the room with a lightness of foot that identified her as a dancer.

This attraction he felt was surprising. Long ago he had been a man who thoroughly enjoyed the company of women. He had kept mistresses, discreetly, of course, and dallied with a selection of both suitable and unsuitable companions. Then Victoria had come along, the woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. He’d gently cut off his association with his mistresses, determined to start his married life as he meant to go on: faithful to his wife. Unfortunately Victoria hadn’t shared his values.

Since then Alex hadn’t had the same appreciation for a beautiful woman. He hadn’t reconnected with any of his old mistresses, hadn’t felt that spark of attraction with anyone really. Until now.

It was completely inappropriate and unhelpful. Lina was from a different world and she was here to help him win a wager, not to become his new mistress.

‘Just have a flick through,’ Alex suggested, motioning to the book. ‘I’ll ring for some tea.’ Or something stronger.

Dutifully Lina leafed through the pages of the book, stopping every so often to read an entry. It was quite satisfying to watch her expression turn from one of mild boredom to avid interest.

‘Did you know the Duke of Hampshire has been married six times?’ Lina asked.

‘Unfortunately, yes. He’s rather a lecherous old man, but women can’t help throwing themselves at his title and money, it would seem.’

‘Does he kill them off?’

Alex nearly choked on the mouthful of tea he had just imbibed.

‘Well, to lose one or two is unfortunate... Six is just suspicious,’ Lina said with a grin.

‘I’ll ask him next time I see him.’

‘You know him?’

‘Went to school with one of his sons. From his second marriage, I think.’

‘I’d love to meet him.’

‘Certainly not.’ Alex realised he sounded like a pompous old man. ‘Unless you’re hoping to become wife number seven,’ he added.

Lina fell quiet for a while, turning the pages and occasionally smiling to herself. After a few minutes, she sat back and turned to Alex. Inwardly he groaned. Normally he would praise a woman for having an enquiring mind, but there was a certain way Lina asked her questions—a tenacious stubbornness not to let any matter rest if she wasn’t quite satisfied—that was exhausting. Alex didn’t normally mind admitting he didn’t know something; it happened rarely enough and often the subject matter was something obscure seeing that he was well educated and had an enquiring mind, but he had lost count of the number of times he’d had to concede he wasn’t entirely sure of an answer since Lina’s arrival.

‘What would happen if I addressed someone incorrectly?’ Lina asked.

Alex frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, imagine we are at this ball of yours in six weeks’ time.’

He had to suppress a shudder at the thought. Right now Lina was so far from being ready she’d fuel the gossips for a decade if he took her to a London ball.

‘I’m imagining it...’ he murmured.

‘And you introduce me to some duke or duchess.’

Heaven forbid. At the moment he was wondering if he could get away with only letting Lina talk to strategically placed friends around this proposed ballroom.

‘I curtsy.’

Alex had seen her curtsies; they would certainly need at least half a day’s work.

‘And then I address him as Duke Dorrington. What would happen?’

‘I still don’t understand the question.’ Alex could understand the words, but wasn’t entirely sure exactly what Lina wanted to know.

‘Would I be hauled in front of a magistrate? Exiled to Australia? Would the ceiling of the ballroom crumble on top of me? Would the Duke expire from shock? What. Would. Happen?’

Alex had forgotten to include prone to exaggerate in his mental list of Lina’s qualities.

‘You would probably get some very hard looks and the whispering would start as soon as you were out of earshot.’

‘Oh, Lord—not the whispering,’ Lina murmured.

‘A woman’s reputation can be ruined by just one poorly timed remark or faux pas in form of address.’

‘That’s ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes.’

Alex agreed. The etiquette and rules of polite society did seem over the top sometimes.

‘To you it may not be of great concern to have some gossipy matrons judging you, but imagine if you were a debutante eagerly searching for a husband. These women would be part of your social circle for the rest of your life and who knows whom they may have influence over? In a matter of minutes you could go from the most eligible young woman in the ballroom to someone to be avoided because of their vulgarity and lack of manners.’

‘And if it were a man that made the mistake?’ Lina asked shrewdly. ‘If it were you that addressed someone wrongly?’

‘I agree it is unfair, but the standards are different for men and women. I could probably call someone Lord Coward, Duke of Half-Wit, and it would be laughed off within seconds.’

Lina nodded thoughtfully, pursing her lips. ‘My mother used to say that women have to hold themselves to higher standards than men. We have to have double the respect, double the strength, double the commitment.’

‘She sounds like a very sensible woman.’

‘She was.’

Alex heard the catch in Lina’s voice as she spoke and was just rising out of his chair to offer comfort when Lina turned to him with a breezy smile.

‘Enough of this,’ she declared. ‘Wouldn’t it be much more fun if we went to see your horses?’

‘And how exactly will that help me win this wager?’

‘I’ll practise addressing the horses as if they were lords and ladies.’

What would the stable boys think? Yet Alex felt the irresistible pull of the stables. All morning he had been eager to dash out to the yard and throw himself back into his work. Spending the time teaching Lina how to address the different ranks of nobility hadn’t been as bad as he had first feared—Lina was quick and clever and had a sly humour that made the time pass much quicker. Nothing, however, could keep his mind from wandering to his new Arabian and how he would approach the next stage of its training.

‘Half an hour,’ Alex agreed sternly. ‘Then it’s back to your studies.’

Lina was up and out through the door before Alex was even on his feet and as he quickened his pace to keep up his mind was calculating training timetables and regimes.

‘What is it that you do with the horses?’ Lina asked as they approached the stables.

‘I raise them, train them and then race them. Well, I get them ready to be raced,’ he corrected himself. ‘Someone else does the actual riding during the race.’

‘How many horses do you have?’

‘At the moment, fifteen. The number varies as I buy and sell them on. And they’re not all racehorses. I have two mares that I’m hoping to start breeding soon, four Cleveland Bays for the carriage and two old thoroughbreds for general riding.’

He saw the excitement in her eyes as he spoke and knew it wouldn’t be long before she had persuaded him to take her out riding. Not that Alex minded. As much as he enjoyed breaking in a new stallion or training a thoroughbred for a race, nothing could beat the feel of galloping over the fields purely for pleasure.

‘And the horse I saw yesterday?’

‘My latest project,’ Alex said. ‘An Arabian that had been giving its previous owners all sorts of problems. They haven’t been able to harness or ride him, so I took him off their hands for a very reasonable price.’

‘Will you race him?’

Alex shrugged. He hadn’t planned to initially. A large majority of the winning horses in the big races were thoroughbreds, but Arabians certainly took some of the titles. His initial plan had been to keep the new stallion for breeding, so good were his bloodlines, but after seeing his strength and spirit Alex thought he might well have a winning racehorse on his hands.

‘Can I race him?’

Laughing, Alex shook his head. ‘Most certainly not.’

‘You’d let me if I were a man,’ Lina grumbled.

‘I have no idea how good you are with horses or if you can even ride.’

‘I can ride. Give me ten minutes with your Arabian and I will have him eating from my hand and racing like a winner.’

‘Slow down.’ Alex laughed, although he had to admire her enthusiasm. ‘I’ll make you a deal. You show me you can care for a horse, and if you impress me, I’ll let you ride.’

‘The Arabian?’ Lina asked, her eyes shining.

‘Not the Arabian,’ he said firmly.

They entered the stables and Alex led her down to the very end where a gentle-natured horse was munching on a mouthful of hay.

‘This is Stormborn,’ he said, raising a hand to stroke the old thoroughbred’s nose. ‘My very first racehorse. He’s retired now, but still a joy to ride.’

He watched as Lina approached the horse slowly, lifting her fingers to rub his nose and murmuring reassuring sounds. Maybe she was good with horses, but Alex couldn’t risk letting her loose on any of his prize-winning racehorses.

‘Clean out his stall, rub him down, tend to the saddle and harness, and then I might let you ride him.’ He was certain Lina would argue; she argued about everything.

Watching in amazement as she hitched up her skirts, revealing two slender legs without any hint of embarrassment and vaulting over the stable door, Alex wondered what sort of deal he had just made. Still, Stormborn would keep Lina busy for a while and give him a chance to work with his new Arabian for an hour or two.

With a backwards glance Alex moved away to the other end of the stables, listening with half a smile as Lina introduced herself to the horse much more politely than he had ever heard her speak to another human.

* * *

Lina was in heaven. Rubbing down the old thoroughbred’s shiny coat might not appeal to many young women, but Lina could not think of anywhere she would rather be. She knew Alex had set her working in a bid to both stop her from asking to ride his precious horses, thinking she would not stick out the unglamorous work, and also to give him some time to work on his Arabian.

How he had underestimated her. She would be content to clean out the stables all day. In fact, she’d go as far as to say she preferred it to practising how to address people in Alex’s comfortable library.

It wasn’t that she was unimpressed with his house—she doubted there was a grander, more beautifully decorated dwelling in all of England, and certainly not one she’d ever be invited into. And Alex had been an exemplary host; he’d been kind and welcoming, even if his question as to whether she could read had stung her more than she cared to admit. No, her unease came from somewhere deep inside. Lina liked to think of herself as adventurous. The whole point of this escapade was to have a more exciting life. Well, that and to pay off the huge debt she owed Uncle Tom. But now she was here, she felt the first stirrings of inadequacy and she hated it.

All her life she had ranted against the aristocracy and the way they looked down on the ordinary people. She’d gone out of her way to avoid even the lower levels of the gentry, staying away from the country dances she dreamed about attending. Now she was here at Whitemore House and Alex and his sister were treating her with such kindness, Lina had to wonder if the problem was partly to do with her.

‘What do you think, Stormborn?’ Lina asked. ‘Am I the problem?’

The horse nuzzled into her hand, rubbing his head against her shoulder in a consoling manner.

‘How are you doing?’ Alex’s voice came suddenly from the other end of the stable. He’d left her for well over two hours, probably expecting her to give up at some point.

Lina didn’t reply, forcing him to walk the length of the stables to Stormborn’s stall. She saw the surprise on his face to still find her there, especially with his favourite horse nuzzling against her shoulder.

‘It looks like Stormborn likes you.’

‘We’ve had plenty of time to get to know one another.’

‘Sorry, I lost track of time,’ Alex said without a hint of remorse. ‘I’m sure you’re keen to return to the house for lunch.’

Lina had already opened her mouth to protest when she noticed the mischievous glint in Alex’s eyes. He was teasing her. Normally she was so good at reading people, but Alex she found a little harder than most. She’d been able to pick up the basics when they’d first met at the fair, but since she’d arrived at Whitemore House he hadn’t given much personal information away.

‘Shall we ride?’ he asked, grinning at her before tossing her the heavy saddle to strap on to Stormborn’s back. Lina staggered under the weight, wondering if he treated his aristocratic lady friends in such a manner. It was all very well him training her to curtsy and flutter her fan like a lady, but if he treated her like a common gypsy girl, no one would ever accept her as anything else. She nearly said something, but decided he might agree with her and put a stop to their ride in favour of another session with Debrett’s.