The Reluctant Debutante: A Sweet, Regency Romance (Ladies of Mayfair Book 4)

by Wendy May Andrews

  “But surely you see that it is not your responsibility to raise your little cousins, no matter how much you might care for them.”

  Gazing at the duke helplessly, her eyes beseeching, Victoria struggled for words. “I do not gain my majority until I am twenty-five. Until then I am dependent upon my uncle. That is another five years. I do not wish to anger him. It could make life difficult.”

  By the end of her speech Bryghton was straining to hear what she was saying, as her voice dwindled to a mere whisper. He kept his own voice low as he replied.

  “You could always marry.”

  She gazed at the duke for a long moment with her eyes wide and luminous. Bryghton was taken aback when she burst into laughter.

  “I was not jesting, my lady,” he said with indignation.

  “No, I am sure you were not. It is true—I could marry. But the truth of the matter is that it is a circle we are speaking in. If I do not go about Town I will not meet anyone I could possibly marry. If I do not marry, I do not have access to the funds that would allow me to go about Town. “

  Seeing the truth of her words but refusing to accept them, Bryghton insisted, “I am certain we can find a way.”

  Smiling sweetly, Victoria turned back to watch the children. “I appreciate your concern for my well-being, your grace. I recognize you are displaying me a high degree of honour to do so and I thank you for it. But I am perfectly fine. Now I do believe it is time that you rescue your friend or the children shall have him worn quite ragged.”

  The duke allowed himself to be dismissed, recognizing that no more could be accomplished this day. He called out to Alfred that it was time to be going.

  The baron approached with a wide grin. “My lady, those children are great good fun but they could run you to the ground if you let them. I would never believe it if you had told me how much I would enjoy playing ball with a passel of youngsters. Thank you.”

  Victoria was gratified at the baron’s kind words. “I am sure they were highly diverted by your attentions, my lord. Thank you for your kindness. And I will admit that I appreciate the fact that they will probably be easy to put to bed this evening since you wore off so much of their fidgets with your brisk game. So I thank you.”

  As Alfred gathered up his reins from the duke, Bryghton turned to say his own farewells to the lovely lady. He bent over her hand but then turned it to place a warm kiss on her wrist. Her lips parted with her indrawn breath and he gazed intently at her. Victoria felt as though the air around them hummed with the excitement of it all and she found she could hardly stand still with the commotion she felt inside. Her churning feelings caused her to finally snatch her hand back from his grasp.

  Her action broke the spell binding them, and Bryghton grinned with delight. “I do reserve the right to speak to you again if our paths happen to cross some day.”

  “Very well, your grace. But I may reserve the right to run in the opposite direction should I see you approaching my path,” she replied with a pert grin, knowing full well she would never run away from the handsome man despite whatever problems he may present.

  She watched them ride away, shaking her head as she recalled their discussion. Victoria could hardly believe how personal their conversation had been. She would never have thought that she could have revealed such intimate thoughts to anyone. What had caused her to open up so, she wondered. Perhaps it was just the fact that an adult of her own social standing had taken the time to ask after her and her situation. Or perhaps she had truly lost her mind in the face of the man’s handsomeness and apparent interest in her concerns. Whatever it was, while it had felt comforting to share her burden momentarily, it could not happen again. Thus resolved, she put the man from her mind and returned her attention to her young charges.

  Chapter Eight

  Grinning at his friend as they rode away, Bryghton could not resist commenting. “You look a little worse for the wear, Fred. I do not believe you are presentable for anything. We must return you home for a change of clothes.”

  The baron shot his friend a look of disgust. “It was you who sent me to play with the children.”

  “You did not need to do so with such a degree of enthusiasm, though, my dear boy,” Bryghton answered with a mocking smile.

  Fred could not resist returning the smile with a rueful one of his own. “Those children were actually great fun to play with. I can hardly credit it, but I had a good time with them. Have you ever spent time with youngsters?”

  “Not since I was one myself,” the duke laughed. “I dare say even any of our friends that have some of their own tend to leave them with their nursemaids. I must admit that it is a rarity that I so much as set eyes on a child, much less spend time with one.”

  Fred had a distant look on his face for a silent moment before he carried on the conversation. “It rather puts a whole new dimension on your mother’s push for a grandchild. If you could be guaranteed your son would turn out like that little Daniel, it would not be such a terrible thing. I might even be willing to get leg shackled in exchange.”

  The duke threw back his head and shouted with laughter. “Do not let my mother catch wind of your change of heart, I beg of you. She will have you matched up before you can catch your breath if you are not careful.”

  “I tell you, it might not be such a terrible thing after all, Alcott.”

  “Perhaps not, but do you not wish for it to be your choice, and not my mother’s?”

  “Well you do have a good point there, your grace.”

  “Exactly, so keep those thoughts to yourself. I can assure you, I have absolutely no intention of telling my mother I might have seen her point until I am positively certain, and have even made my choice.”

  Alfred gazed at his friend speculatively for a moment as they rode in silence. “I think it is going to be a prodigiously interesting Season this year, is it not, Alcott?”

  “I think you are correct, Freddy, my boy,” the duke agreed with a grin. “Now we are just about to your lodgings. Do you think your staff could rustle us up some sort of repast while you make yourself presentable?”

  Freddy laughed. “I am quite certain they could manage.”

  As they turned onto Park Lane, the baron’s address on the western edge of Mayfair, they were surprised to see the travelling coach pulled up in front of his house.

  “I say, my dear Fred, I thought you were not expecting your aunt and sister until next week,” commented the duke as they rode closer.

  “I did not think I was either,” said the baron, laughing. “But it would seem that I was mistaken. It is a lucky thing for me that my staff is always in readiness and that I also happen to adore my aunt and sister, so it is not such a hardship. I had not mentally prepared myself for the rigours I might face as the older brother to a debutante, but I shall manage, I am sure.”

  The duke grinned at his companion. “Rigours indeed, my friend. I have had a couple of years’ experience on the subject. It is indeed a unique experience to watch your little sister make her curtsy to Society. But it is not nearly as bad as you might think. Let us go and greet your ladies.”

  The two handsome noblemen rode swiftly down the street, pulling up in front of the baron’s elegant townhouse and throwing their reins to a hastily summoned footman. They were just swinging down as Sybil stepped out onto the steps to oversee the footmen bringing in the luggage.

  “Freddy, my dear boy, how lovely to see you! And your grace, what a pleasure to see you as well.”

  “Aunt Sybil, welcome back to London.” The baron dropped a kiss briefly to her thin cheek.

  The duke bowed gallantly over the lady’s hand. “My lady, it is a pleasure to see you. My mother was just the other day expressing a desire to see you. You must call on her once you are settled.”

  “How kind of her to remember me. Thank you, your grace, I will be sure to make a call soon.”

  The doting aunt turned her eyes back to her nephew and they sharpened on his appearance
. “I say, Freddy, whatever happened to you? You look as though you have been roughhousing as you did when you were a boy.”

  “You would never believe me if I told you, Aunt Sybil. But you are quite right. I no doubt look a fright and must change my attire forthwith. Would you be so kind as to ring for some refreshments for the duke and me while I run up to my room and tidy myself?”

  Sybil watched with a degree of disbelief as the baron dashed up the stairs before even finishing his sentence. She looked back at Bryghton with bewilderment. He merely grinned and shrugged in answer.

  “Yes, well, come in Wychwood and get settled in the receiving room. I shall have the housekeeper see to a repast. No doubt Eloise would be glad of a small bite as well since we have just arrived ourselves.”

  “Please do not feel that you must entertain me, my lady,” the duke allowed graciously. “I am sure you must have a myriad of things to do if you have just arrived.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me, your grace?” she asked with feigned outrage.

  “Never, my lady!” he said with aplomb. “I merely do not wish to impose.”

  Sybil laughed. “You are a duke, Wychwood. Is it not your birthright?”

  Bryghton could not resist laughing with her despite shaking his head in denial. He was saved from a need to reply by the hasty arrival of the young lady of the house.

  “Alcott!” Eloise declared with loud joy, dashing into the room. Just as she was about to throw herself at her big brother’s dearest friend she caught her aunt’s eye glaring at her and pulled herself up short while blushing fiercely.

  Dropping a hasty curtsy, Eloise quickly apologized. “I am so sorry, your grace. I quite forgot myself for a moment. My hoydenish ways of the schoolroom are apparently harder to abandon than I thought.”

  Delighted by her honesty, Bryghton did not take umbrage with her behaviour. “Since I have known you forever, I am certain we are allowed to dispense with some of the formalities even though you are now a young lady.”

  Eloise’s cheeks remained stained with colour, but she managed to overcome her discomfiture just as her brother entered the room. This time she did throw herself at the baron. “Alfred, I am so very happy to see you. Thank you for all the lovely dresses Aunt Sybil had made for me. Please do not lecture about any of the bills you may have received. It was ever so exciting to have the dressmaker come, and I am just thrilled about being here for my Season.”

  Alfred blinked rapidly as he set his little sister back on her feet after her energetic hug. He ruefully thought of the quiet he had been enjoying and shook his head over the hubbub that was to come.

  “I am delighted to see you too, Eloise. How was your journey here?”

  “It was prodigiously boring, I must say, Freddy. But never mind that, we are here now, that is all that matters. You have no idea how excited I am to finally get to make my come out.”

  “Yes, of course,” Lord Lynster answered almost faintly as he contemplated just how drastically his household had changed that afternoon. He stepped towards the door. “Well, ladies, the duke and I should leave you to get settled in. We have some things we must be doing this afternoon.” He was interrupted by the arrival of the housekeeper with a trolley of refreshments, as he had requested.

  Alfred released a silent sigh of resignation as he smiled politely and resumed his seat. “We shall leave momentarily,” he said wanly.

  Bryghton took pity on his friend and quickly satisfied the worst of his hunger while listening politely and with at least a degree of attention as Eloise prattled on about all the things she planned to do as the Season got under way. The duke stood when Eloise paused to take a breath.

  “Thank you, ladies, for your kind hospitality. That quite hit the spot. And now we must be off. No doubt we shall be seeing much more of one another over the coming weeks.”

  With relief, the two gentlemen bowed themselves from the room and strode from the house. They held their silence until they were at the mews retrieving their horses. Bryghton was the first to break the silence when he burst out with a chuckle.

  “I must say, Fred, you shan’t have to worry about awkward silences with your sister around.”

  The baron laughed, too. “That is true, Alcott, although silence was never one of my fears.”

  The two shared another chuckle before swinging up onto their restless horses and riding off in companionable silence as they continued on with their previously interrupted plans of making some morning calls and then stopping in to the duke’s club. They listened to some of the current gossip, perused the latest bets being written into the books, and then went their separate ways to prepare for their evening’s entertainments.

  Chapter Nine

  Victoria had struggled with the decision of whether or not to tell the children to keep their encounter with the duke and the baron a secret, but she had come to the conclusion that it would be an impossible task to expect them to do so. There was half a chance that they would forget all about the encounter anyway, and making it more important than it was by telling them it was a secret would ensure that they would remember. If the event did happen to come up, she could brazen it out much better if she placed no importance on it with the children. As a plan, it was the best she could come up with. She had never been told not to talk to her peers, but somehow she had a feeling her uncle in particular would not be happy about it were he to find out. With a mental shrug she resolved to put the matter from her mind, since worrying about it would do her no good.

  The children had chattered cheerfully as they clamoured their way back to Victoria’s townhouse. As they approached the front door it struck her as ironic that this was, in fact, her house. It certainly did not feel as though she had any control over it. She wondered vaguely whether or not she would feel differently when she turned twenty-five.

  “Welcome home, m’lady,” the butler welcomed as he opened the door with a respectful bow. “Did you and the young ones have a good time?”

  “Thank you, Maxwell, we did,” Victoria answered while the children noisily chimed in with their comments.

  “It was grand!”

  “We played ball for hours!” declared Daniel, with slight exaggeration.

  “It was perfectly wonderful, Maxwell,” Gwendolyn summed up all the others’ opinions.

  With proud appreciation, Maxwell stood aside and watched as Lady Victoria ushered the children up the stairs, listening attentively as they all vied for her attention. The housekeeper joined him at the bottom of the stairs.

  “She does a lovely job with those youngsters, does she not,” Maxwell asked rhetorically as they disappeared from view.

  “She does that, there’s no doubt,” Mrs. Marks agreed. “But it sure don’t seem right.”

  Maxwell’s sigh was heartfelt. “I must agree with you there, Mrs. Marks, but there’s naught we can do about it but do our best to support her.”

  The two aging, faithful servants stood in companionable silence. After a moment Mrs. Marks, always busy, cleared her throat. “I ought to be about my business, I s’pose.”

  “Take care, Mrs. Marks.” Maxwell watched her bustle away before turning to his own to-do list.

  Meanwhile, above stairs, Victoria was overseeing the children as they changed their clothes and washed their hands in preparation for their afternoon visit with their mother. It always seems to come to this moment, she thought with some trepidation. Why does it seem that the rest of the day flies by and this moment drags with the slowest of speeds?

  Once the four youngest children were ready, Victoria sped through her own preparations and they slowly descended the stairs once more.

  They were announced into the room just as Mrs. Marks was rolling in the tea trolley for Lady Bartley. Victoria’s heart sank when she saw that the earl was also present, waiting with his wife to see the children.

  Victoria dropped a brief but respectably deep curtsy to the earl and countess and explained briefly that Everett had remained with his
tutor before moving to the side of the room and taking a seat, settling herself to observe as the children interacted briefly with their parents. She watched the awkward byplay for a moment but then soon lost herself in a reverie.

  Allowing her mind to drift was a mistake Victoria soon realized as her uncle’s sharp question brought her hastily back to reality.

  “You were speaking to two gentlemen in the park?” he asked in a tone bordering on harsh.

  Victoria realized the question was addressed to her but she was unsure what had preceded it. Since they had not told Lady Bartley about Daniel’s fall into the Serpentine, Victoria was unsure how much detail to go into.

  “Uh, yes, we did speak to them briefly,” Victoria acknowledged.

  “Daniel said one of them played ball with him,” the earl prompted in the same hard tone.

  “It was grand!” Daniel insisted with jubilance.

  Victoria could not help smiling at her little cousin’s joy. She turned to her uncle with an innocent look. “He really did seem to have more skill in the matter than I do, my lord. The children were delighted.”

  “No doubt,” he replied coldly. “Who was this lord who had the nerve to play with my children?”

  “Well, my lord, I do not know about nerve. I thought it was prodigiously kind of him to take a few moments with the children. His name is Lord Alfred Lynster, the Baron of Fielding. Do you know him? We do not really know him very well, of course, merely meeting him briefly, but he did seem to be a very nice young man.” Victoria said all this with a soft, sweet voice and not an ounce of guilt showing on her face. In all reality, she had nothing for which to feel guilty, and she refused to accept that her uncle might feel otherwise.